Advanatage, Obama

We always learn a little something in debates, almost in spite of the speechifying.

First, let’s agree to dispense with the words winning and losing, when we talk about performance. At the most you can say who did better and who did worse in Tuesday night’s town hall meeting.

Many voters want these guys to come up with a definitive plan to save the economy. Fact is, they don’t really have a clue. The best economic minds in the country are working on this now, and these two candidates are just lay people when it comes to this stuff.  John McCain’s suggestion (which he is not the first to make) that the government take charge of distressed home loans and renegotiate them to allow residents to stay in their homes makes perfect sense. But if you step back and ask which of these two men could be the most effective at pulling the nation through this crisis with him, I would say Obama has the advantage – at least that’s the one with whom I’m most comfortable.

I think McCain showed his age in the debate, pacing around in circles and petulantly calling Obama “that one” on one occasion. I also wish he’d stop using the words victory and defeat when talking about Iraq, though his closing remarks were eloquent indeed.

We’re all getting tired of what each of these candidates did in the past, or what they say they other guy did in the past -- and I wish both campaigns would learn that. If it comes down to which one I believe, at this moment, could best take us us into the future, even thought I disagree with him in many respects, it’s Obama.

But perhaps both hopefuls can take comfort in the fact that I won’t be mailing my absentee ballot in for a while yet.  I want to see what happens in the next episode.

There, now I’ve said it.