Chuck Todd: "Obama may have had more authentic moments but McCain was impressively on message."

[highplainsdem]

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/16/1270330.aspx

MCCAIN'S BACK IN THE SADDLEBACK

Posted: Saturday, August 16, 2008 9:57 PM by Chuck Todd

From NBC's Chuck Todd

Normally, on a night like tonight, we here at First Read would have been liveblogging every moment of Rick Warren's presidential forum. But with the Olympics and the fact this is THE Saturday Michael Phelps will be making history, we kept our liveblogging in check.

It turns out, actually, we should have been because this was a pretty good scrimmage and there's a lot to learn from these back-to-back appearances by John McCain and Barack Obama.

Quick first impressions: Obama spent more time trying to impress Warren (or to put another away) not offend Warren while McCain seemingly ignored Warren and decided he was talking to folks watching on TV. The McCain way of handling this forum is usually the winning way. Obama may have had more authentic moments but McCain was impressively on message.

This was a mistake Obama made a few times during the primary season. On one hand, it can make a moderator feel good when their subject actually tries to answer every question and take into account their opinions on a particular topic. And Obama's supporters will email me tonight and say this is what they love about him.

And yet, this reminded me of the many comparisons we made between Obama and Hillary Clinton. She was much more effective at answering questions in 90 seconds and always staying on message while Obama too easily allowed himself to get knocked off his talking points. Remember, Obama doesn't need to win over his supporters, he needs folks who are just now tuning in.

Take the VERY first question Warren posed to both candidates: who are three people you'll depend on for wisdom in the presidency. Obama seemed to answer this in a very personal way, talking about his wife and grandmother. McCain went right to this message, checking boxes on Iraq (Patraeus) and the economy (Whitman) for instance. Now, I'm betting Obama's answer came across as more authentic but McCain's was probably more effective with undecided swing voters.

The two answered the Supreme Court justice question VERY differently, with Obama seemingly trying to say a nice thing or two about justices he disagreed with, while McCain went right to pander mode in his answer. And yet, McCain's straightforward answer easily penetrated while Obama's did not.

-snip-

Warren may come away from this experience liking Obama more and respecting the fact that he seemed to take pains to not offend him and respect their disagreements. But I'm betting that if a focus group of undecided voters were watching this, they'd come away having a clearer understanding of McCain's beliefs.

Overall, this was a fascinating event because the contrast between the two candidates was so clear. The quesitons were made to order of McCain in the early going and that allowed him to get comfortable quickly. This was always going to be a tough venue for any Democrat, including one who is as comfortable talking about his faith as Obama is.

Obama better be thankful for the timing of this; he seemed a little rusty and clearly has some work to do before he meets McCain face-to-face on Sept. 26, the night of the first presidential debate in Oxford, MS.

Gergen's making similar points on CNN.

[Faygo Kid]

1. I just met Chuck Todd two weeks ago. In a parking structure. As he climbed into his 75K Mercedes.

It was a very nice car. He was dismissive, even though I am older than him. And have done well on my own.

He loves the perks. And himself.

[marylanddem]

7. He does seem very pleased with his little goateed self...

[Tutonic]

17. Perhaps if he is reading this post, he'll get that goatee trimmed

from around his mouth. He always appears to have last nights spaghetti sauce embedded in it.

[Dinger]

11. Fuck Chuck

He's pissed me off, going back to his c-spin days. He's full of himself.

[Skwmom]

26. You mean Chuckie Cheese. Scarborough refers to him as Chuckie T

but I refer to him as Chuckie Cheese, because Chuckie T just doesn't ridicule the sell out enough (and anyone who sells out the fourth estate for profit should be the subject of scorn and ridicule).

[KoKo]

37. Yep...it's been said he's been groomed to be Russert II.

He's done very well for himself learning to do the "double talk" and I'm sure he's well compensated.

[anonymous171]

2. Obama better drive up McCain's negatives before then.

I want everyone to think of McCAin as the "doddering incoherent geriatric warmonger" from AZ.

[savistocate]

43. }}}}}}}}FIST BUMP{{{{{{{{{{{

[ErinBerin84]

3. seemed rusty? As opposed to McCain who is the definition of rusty?

[woo me with science]

13. LOL nt

[Cosmocat]

4. Process vs content ...

If this was a job interview, and it IS ... For a major company, with people doing the hiring who were SERIOUSLY looking for the best and most capable person to lead their company ...

What would they think ???

Gee, we like this McCain guy, we were fascinated about his life story ... But, this Obama guy is smarter, more capable and has a much better capacity to work with others in finding the best way to make the decicions that need to be made ...

You see someone who is a complete robot, spouting competely unorigional thoughts, another who has an ability to PROCESS ...

Just saying ...

[dbonds]

5. Isn't that really the change that people want?

They are tired of the same old pandering one liners, they want authentic.

[jezebel]

6. I sort of agree somewhat. I think Obama is more genuine and McCain is an ass, but when it comes to

the debates it's all about concise messaging and the quick soundbite.
Obama is a thoughtful person who would be a much better President because of that, but the media has conditioned Americans to want the quick hard stick to position point and pound them in answers.

[Kool Kitty]

22. And I think that is one of the biggest problems

in this country. No one wants to take 5 minutes and THINK. They would rather just go off half-cocked and spend years regretting their snap decisions. What will we get with McCain? Duke Nuke 'em-a belligerent man whose only response to any problem is to punch someone in the face. A man that thinks that the best response to any problem is send in the guns. What will we get with Obama? A man that seems to take his time and actually THINK about what the options are and what the best response will be. Or at least that is how it seems to me.

And the belligerent bastard gets the accolades from the dipshits in the press. Amazing. People in this country never seem to learn anything from experience.

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

8. Yeah, McCain was "On message" alright.

He was on his usual message of "My friends 100 years of war my friends Gates of Hell my friends drill drill drill my friends, and did I forget to mention I was a prisoner of war, my friends."

What he did NOT do, is answer any of Warren's questions properly with his own thoughts. Like Obama did.

[gaiilonfong]

9. Chuckie the troll Todd is a ReTHUGlican tool

he proves it daily.....he is looking to get asked to buy a house witht the Brokaw Nantucket crowd.they all suck!!!!!!!

[Dinger]

14. Maybe He's Pissed He's Not Taking Russert's Place

He probably figured he was entitled to it.

[savistocate]

45. Yes brokaw as his model:drone-oonnnn machine

[Honu one]

10. It's the perfect format for McCain

He spews a canned answer and he isn't challenged to elaborate.

Friggin next time we have to watch this dinosaur we need to start a "My Friends" drinking game. :beer:

[Thrill]

12. Funny Warren never hesitant to give Obama the cut sign. Yet let McCain go on and on

[gblady]

21. right on....

the deferential treatment to Johnny was so obvious!

[savistocate]

44. saw that********& that expression of impatience

they had figured out ahead of time..a sub-text. Yet Obama's answers got strong applause.

[creeksneakers2]

15. McCain gets by a skirmish on his own turf and with

the media backing him up as always. The real war will be the debates. McCain had a shot at the low expectations game before tonight but now he doesn't. And we'll see how well McCain's cheap applause lines hold up against a real test.

I don't think Obama could have done any better. He couldn't use quick talking points because he was not in agreement with the audience. He was better to thoughtfully and respectfully explain his differences.

[Cosmocat]

27. Yep ...

On nearly every major issue, BO had to tell THIS audience something it did not want to hear ...

Conversely, the audience was predispositioned toward McCain on nearly every major issue ... He NEVER told them anything they did not want to hear, and on the few occassions where his position might not have been right in the wheel house, he simply did not answer it ...

[Mz Pip]

16. McCain's message sucked

Old John may be able to stay on message, but his message is one of intolerance, inflexiblity and neocon dogma. :puke:

[highplainsdem]

18. I agree. I hate his positions on the issues. But we aren't the audience he's aiming at.

What he said tonight will obviously turn off more liberal independent voters. We just don't know yet how many of them are more liberal, as opposed to how many are more conservative. McCain almost certainly lost some independent voters playing to the GOP's conservative base.

I think Obama's sincere answers about his faith would have impressed the evangelical voters likely to be swayed. I've posted here before about his appeal to young evangelicals, especially. (OTOH, it's clear from some topics and replies I've seen here tonight that some DUers were made uncomfortable by the answers that would gain Obama more evangelical votes. It's always hard to appeal to one voting bloc without annoying another.)

We'll just have to wait and see how this was judged by the wider public, if anyone does any polling on this. And it was probably a fairly small audience anyway.

[Mz Pip]

20. McCain was playing to the

people who came out for Bush in 2004. In doing so he alienated those who found him interesting in 2000. He not only is running for George Bush's 3rd term, he is running on George Bush's talking points.


Obama needs to hammer this home over and over again.

[XemaSab]

25. Most of the fundies I know WRESTLE with their faith

I think Obama's language about wrestling with faith will intrigue more people than it alienates, and vice versa for McSame.

[and-justice-for-all]

19. This was not an official debat...

so I do not give a shit.

[HardWorkingDem]

23. WTF is "impressively on message"....

Jesus. Does this show you just how fucking low we have sank if "impressively on message" is the new criteria for a presidential election?

What a fucking joke. And people like Todd are the same people claiming candidates need "bold" and "fresh" ideas....someone needs to slap his ass around a bit and tell him to get a real job.

[bevoette]

24. yeah...but read the comments on that post...

vast majority think Chuck is wrong, and that Obama came out looking great! :)

[liberal1973]

28. This todd guy is full of crap.

[npincus]

29. I like Chuck Todd, respect his analysis

and think that he does his best to call it like he sees it. I understand what he's saying- Obama was authentic and McCain fed the crowd what he thought they wanted to hear. Why all the whining here? This is what we're up against. McCain lost his authenticity long ago (if he ever had it).

As I watched last night, I loved what I saw from Obama. But when McCain was up and spewing shallow, predictable repsonses with the crowd going nuts i thought, oh no. hey're buying that shit.

[jerryster]

30. They bought it a long time ago.

I didn't see any of the forum. However, if your description of the crowd "going nuts" is accurate I am not surprised at all. Consider the arena and the congregation.

That said, I have to believe that the only other Dem presidential candidate who would have shown up at this event is Carter. I doubt even Clinton would have gone, but he was fearless, so maybe yes.

Obama, by accepting the invitation gave a clear message that he is not dismissive of any voter (or voting bloc, if you prefer). He went into an environment that my secular self considers hostile to Democrats. By going he sent a message to McCain and the Repubs that he will concede nothing to them. They no longer have the automatic advantage among Evangelicals they've enjoyed for too long.

[npincus]

31. Obama clearly cam off as the 'thinkg man's"'canidate.

His answers were expansive, thoughtful and complex. McCain's were brief and often deflected the question entirely to pull in an anecdote or biographical reference (his wartime days).

[Raine]

42. I agree

with you on all points.

[savistocate]

46. Cutting through BS farthest thing from whine..

[quaker bill]

32. Two different missions

From McCain, the mission was throwing red meat to the RW base, and not screwing up - "staying on message". Todd is right, McCain did this quite well.

Obama's mission was a bit more complex. Obama does not expect to win the evangelical vote, and I am sure that this was not the mission he had in mind. John Kerry got 25% of these votes and Barack is convinced that he can do a bit better, on a good day, perhaps as much as 30%. But, there are far more important aspects to this outreach.

First, as other folks here have put forward, defeating the Muslim rumor was an important purpose. But it is also more than this.

The major purpose was an attempt to fall within the bounds of the larger faith community. Obama wants to become as much as possible, unworthy of the serious, concerted, and near universal opposition that John Kerry suffered on this front. People were being threatened with excommunication over support of John Kerry. These churches were massive organizing forces against John Kerry. However, if there is enough of a split in these congregations, and Barack can fall sufficiently within the reasonable definition of a practicing Christian, it will be very difficult for these churches to play this role in 2008.

The mega churches in particular have a large problem. They have massive facilities to make payments on, large staffs and well paid pastors to compensate. One can only do this by filling the pews, and there are alot of seats to be filled. Political controversies in the congregation do not serve this purpose well. This is the reason that many of these churches are starting to stress "civil dialog". It is not that they care how the candidates treat one another, it is that they care how the supporters of the candidates treat one another at church on Sunday. Pastors have to deal with conflict in the flock, and invariably, when conflicts like these surface, people leave, and generally in far larger numbers than one might suspect. They have found that it is not just that these conflicts drive the Kerry or Obama supporters away, but the conflict also takes a large toll on folks who simply want a pleasant church experience on Sunday. It is this latter group who generally drop the big checks in the collection plate.

Many are finding that overt political involvements do not serve their larger purpose well. Barack Obama is working to be sufficiently acceptable to give them an out.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[ErinBerin84]

34. McCain didn't have room for any screw ups i.e, appearing not to pander to the right

after his comment about maybe considering a VP who is pro-choice. Chuck Todd said earlier that Obama did not have to "win" evangelicals obviously, but if he could make evangelicals "not hate him" tonight, it would be a success . That being said, I did not watch but the consensus here seemed to be that Obama was at least adequate, yet Todd said he was "rusty". Chuck Todd has also been implying all G.E season that Obama would be "graded on a curve" with the debates, because he does not have to be perfect, but just demonstrate that he is "acceptable" and "passes a certain threshold in people's minds". And I think that we all know that McCain is going to be the one who is graded on a curve when it comes to debates, so I call bullshit on Chucky T. for that one.

[CreekDog]

35. r u guys coordinating on the Obama hits this early morning?

:shrug:

[paulk]

36. I think Todd has a point -

"And yet, this reminded me of the many comparisons we made between Obama and Hillary Clinton. She was much more effective at answering questions in 90 seconds and always staying on message while Obama too easily allowed himself to get knocked off his talking points. Remember, Obama doesn't need to win over his supporters, he needs folks who are just now tuning in."

What many of Obama supporters don't seem to understand (and I've run into this from many of his supporters locally, not just in the blogosphere) is that not everyone thinks that Obama is the greatest thing since sliced bread, like they do. They don't know how to argue for him outside of that box -

Even on this thread we see many posters attacking Todd rather than defending Obama.

[KoKo]

38. Obama shouldn't need to be defended, though. And, Chuck Todd is notorious

for turning a phrase with just enough "wiggle room" that can cleverly cast a Dem or a Dem position in an unfavorable light. The M$M deserves the criticism, given what we've seen from them for a couple of decades now.

[savistocate]

47. We attack here Corp-media via Todd..most have

given high points to Obama -he doesn't require defending.

I & many I've talked with have gone through a process to arrive at high confidence in
Obama not just your 'box' thinking.

[Supersedeas]

39. Warren warned Obama to stay away from STUMP SPEECH TALKING POINTS, no such warning to

McRove.

[savistocate]

40. Chuckie cheesey Todd -it's just your puny anal-ysis

gop-estimate.

Todddddduh gets so tangled!!!up in his sentences listeners can lose interest in his point
or give a damn. Obama's thoughtful answers always have a payoff.

His numbers crunching polling have decidedly turned from primary being balanced/credible to twisty, he thinks tricky. promo of McBushie.

We can easily leave off tuning in until 5Pac for Olberman in weeks ahead. Olberman repeat even we leave on it's packed w/so much reality.

Gregory packs in over abundance of RWers his "Questions" -follow ups are so transparest GOPpy.

[Awsi Dooger]

41. More of an impression what and where?

I honestly had no idea anything happened. And I guarantee the vast majority of Americans also had no clue. This is an Olympiad. Nothing else exists for 2 weeks.

Any analysis is guaranteed overblown. They might as well have been singing in the shower.