Debating the Debate

Was there a winner in the first presidential debate? If post-debate polling is any indication, Barack Obama may have come away with a slight edge.

A CBS News poll suggests that uncommitted voters favored Obama, with the senator from Illinois improving his image more than rival John McCain. The USA TODAY/Gallup poll shows a similar pattern, with Obama leading McCain 52%-35% when voters were asked which candidate offered the best proposals for change to solve America's problems.

I thought Obama was poised and thoughtful, McCain angry and forceful. Obama could have defended himself better, although he answered many of McCain's charges directly. And for the next debate, a couple fewer "John's right" lines might benefit Barack.

But what's with McCain refusing to extend the basic courtesy of looking at Obama? He didn't look Obama's way once the entire debate. It struck me about 30 minutes in, and I'm still stunned. Was he simply too angry? Or too insecure? One columnist thinks McCain's disrespect toward his opponent makes him look, quite simply, like a mean old man.

Image matters in politics. In the first televised presidential debate in 1960 (pictured), most viewers gave the nod to Kennedy, who appeared cooler and more charismatic than Nixon. Radio listeners, however, gave the nod to Nixon.

James Fallows of The Atlantic believes Friday's debate at Ole Miss may go down in history with that 1960 debate, the 1980 Reagan-Carter debate, and the 1992 Clinton-Bush debate:

"In each of those cases, a fresh, new candidate (although chronologically older in Reagan's case) had been gathering momentum at a time of general dissatisfaction with the "four more years" option of sticking with the incumbent party. The question was whether the challenger could stand as an equal with the more experienced, tested, and familiar figure. In each of those cases, the challenger passed the test -- not necessarily by "winning" the debate, either on logical points or in immediate audience or polling reactions, but by subtly reassuring doubters on the basic issue of whether he was a plausible occupant of the White House and commander in chief."

We'll find out in a few weeks whether Obama passed the test. And with two more presidential debates on the horizon, we'll also find out whether McCain will extend the basic courtesy of acknowledging the presence of his opponent.