Contrary to RNC official, Politico's Javers said of debate: "McCain really benefits from low expectations"
Please upgrade your flash player. The video for this item requires a newer version of Flash Player. If you are unable to install flash you can download a QuickTime version of the video.
SUMMARY: On MSNBC Live, the Politico's Eamon Javers said, regarding the upcoming presidential debate, that "everybody assumes that Barack Obama is a better speaker than John McCain" and added: "[I]f Obama stumbles, on the flip-side, and doesn't appear as well-versed or as smooth a talker as we've come to expect of him, that could be a real disaster for the Obama camp. ... So, McCain really benefits from low expectations going in here." In fact, "everybody" doesn't "assume[]" that Obama is the better speaker in a debate setting and that McCain needs only to exceed low expectations -- several media figures, and even the deputy chair of the RNC, have suggested the opposite.
During the September 22 edition of MSNBC Live, host Jeff Rossen and Politico correspondent Eamon Javers agreed that expectations in the upcoming presidential debate were higher for Sen. Barack Obama. After Rossen referred to Obama as "an amazing orator," Javers said that "everybody assumes that Barack Obama is a better speaker than John McCain" and added: "[I]f Obama stumbles, on the flip-side, and doesn't appear as well-versed or as smooth a talker as we've come to expect of him, that could be a real disaster for the Obama camp. ... So, McCain really benefits from low expectations going in here." In fact, "everybody" doesn't "assume[]" that Obama is the better speaker in a debate setting and that McCain needs only to exceed low expectations: Republican National Committee deputy chair and McCain campaign fundraiser Frank Donatelli recently asserted that McCain "is much better at giving answers off the cuff, and Obama has some troubles when he doesn't have his teleprompter." Moreover, several media figures and outlets have also suggested that a debate setting favors McCain.
In a September 16 interview with National Review Online, Donatelli said: "Starting early next week, I think you'll see a lot of interest in Friday's debate. It may draw the highest numbers we've ever seen, and I think that for the v.p. debate, you'll see a tremendous amount of interest. We feel good about that. Senator McCain is much better at giving answers off the cuff, and Obama has some trouble when he doesn't have his teleprompter."
Numerous media outlets or figures have also asserted or suggested that a debate format favors McCain. For instance:
- In a September 9 column, The Des Moines Register's David Yepsen wrote: "The next big events are the debates. Democrats should be worried about those as well. McCain sticks to his message and is better at sound-bite answers in these gabfests. Obama hesitates and meanders. He seems too thoughtful. Too thoughtful? How can that be bad in a president, when we've had so little thoughtfulness in recent years? Sorry, but the nature of television being what it is, the one-liner and the glib jab tend to look more commanding and executive-like. Thoughtful is too equivocal. We got a little taste of how the debates could look at that Saddleback Church forum awhile back. McCain did much better than Obama simply by delivering clearer answers. Obama should have done a better job of focusing his answers, especially since this problem plagued him in the primary debates."
- In an August 24 editorial, the Dayton Daily News wrote of Obama: "He is not the greatest debater in the world. In the debates during the presidential primaries, Sen. Hillary Clinton did better. And when Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain were interviewed a week ago on television by the same minister, Sen. McCain did better.
- In an August 18 post on MSNBC.com's First Read blog, political director Chuck Todd, deputy political director Mark Murray, and political researcher Domenico Montanaro wrote of August 16's Saddleback Civil Forum: "[It] was a fascinating event because the contrast between the two candidates was so clear. Obama better be thankful for the timing -- he seemed a little rusty and clearly has some work to do before he meets McCain face-to-face on September 26, the night of the first presidential debate in Oxford, MS. If there is an upside for Obama, it's that he might now enter the first debate with slightly lower expectations than McCain."
- On the August 18 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, Terry Jeffrey, editor of the conservative Human Events, said of Obama: "He's an excellent stump speaker. He's not a good debater. When they were asked direct questions on Saturday [at the Saddleback Civil Forum], John McCain gave clear, direct, immediate answers. He was funny sometimes. Barack Obama was convoluted in his answers. He wasn't direct. He seemed evasive at times. I think that these debates could be very good for John McCain."
- In an August 18 article for the conservative American Spectator, Philip Klein wrote: "But if this weekend's forum hosted by Pastor Rick Warren at his Saddleback Church is any indication of how the two candidates will perform in the presidential debates, it's time to recalibrate the existing expectations. The debates may still be a wipeout -- only Obama now seems likelier to bite the dust."
- During CNN's August 16 coverage of the Saddleback Civil Forum, senior political analyst David Gergen said: "I think coming out of this, the clear lesson for Barack Obama is if he wants to win the debates against John McCain, he's going to have to lift the quality of his game. He's got to be like McCain, forceful, persuasive, patriotic, moved the crowd. Barack Obama thoughtful, but I don't think moved the needle very much emotionally. He's going to have to lift it up. I think we ought to readjust our thoughts about what these debates look like. John McCain is going to be a much tougher opponent. But tonight is an example of much tougher opponent in these debates than anybody thought."
- On the April 8 edition of Fox News' America's Election HQ, during a discussion of Gen. David Petraeus' testimony to Congress, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said that "Obama here was kind of groping for words. He was nowhere near the normal eloquent Obama he usually is." Host Megyn Kelly replied: "And a lot of Republicans think that if we go forward into a general election with McCain on one side and Obama on the other, we'll see more of that, because their feeling is he is better on the stump than he is in the debate forum." Fleischer replied: "Absolutely."
From the 10 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live on September 22:
ROSSEN: Now, on Friday, Barack Obama and John McCain will go from trading sound bites and these long-distance jabs we keep seeing to a face-to-face showdown. That's when it gets real interesting. It's their first debate, but while most Americans are focused on the economic crisis, this debate is about foreign policy and national security. Eamon Javers is a correspondent with Politico.com. Good morning to you.
JAVERS: Hi, how are you?
ROSSEN: What are the expectations going into Friday? I mean, could this be a game-changer debate?
JAVERS: It's absolutely a game-changer. I mean, the stakes couldn't really be higher. I mean, we've got the financial world in a total meltdown, and we're supposed to talking about national security, but I don't see how the candidates will be able to resist talking about this financial crisis, that really, if it is allowed to unspool, could become a real national security crisis for the United States and much of the Western world here, as the economies are really on the brink of total disaster. The stakes for these presidential candidates really couldn't be higher on Friday.
ROSSEN: Eamon, that's the point here. I mean, McCain had a bad week last week, he has since come down in the polls -- we're beginning to see it in the daily tracking polls, and I have some of the state polls in front of me as well. How does he turn this around? Does he really have to -- I mean, does he have to change his message, or does he just keep going the way he's been going?
JAVERS: Well, there's two problems for John McCain. One is on the substance, and then the other one is on the style of the debate. On the substance, this is going to be about national security, which is his strong point, but to the extent that we get into the economy at all, that hasn't really been his strength so far. Understanding what's going on in the financial markets right now is difficult enough for people who are sophisticated players in the markets, let alone for John McCain, who has never been an economic expert. So, beefing up on the substance is going to be very tough for him. And then on style, Barack Obama is such a smooth, good-looking, polished speaker. For John McCain really isn't, and to go head to head with Barack Obama on that front is gonna be difficult. And you can be sure that his aides are really rehearsing him right now, over and over and over again on the key lines that they want him to say and just getting comfortable with the camera and the environment and all the things -- the little things that you have to do when you're on stage to present a calm and commanding presence on stage.
ROSSEN: Obama is setting up debate camp in Tampa, Florida, I think, this week. What is John McCain doing, do you hear about?
JAVERS: Well, John McCain is gonna be doing the same thing. Both candidates are gonna find a staffer who is really good at imitating the other candidate. So, McCain people will have a person actually playing Barack Obama during their mock debates as they go through, and they try to throw everything they can think of at their candidate to make sure that he is on his toes and can respond to any kind of jab from the other side. Both sides will come up with an aide who will actually play the opposing part.
ROSSEN: No one is gonna take away from Barack Obama -- he is an amazing orator. Does John McCain try to go after that, or just play his own game here? Why even try to beat a guy that you think you can't beat in that category?
JAVERS: Well, yeah, it's tricky. I mean, McCain can play the expectations game, right. I mean, everybody assumes that Barack Obama is a better speaker than John McCain, and if that's how it turns out, then people will say, "Well, that's pretty much what we thought." But if Obama stumbles, on the flip-side, and doesn't appear as well-versed or as smooth a talker as we've come to expect of him, that could be a real disaster for the Obama camp, because McCain, by contrast, will look a lot better. So, McCain really benefits from low expectations going in here.
ROSSEN: Lot to lose for both sides. Eamon Javers, Politico.com. Thanks so much for your help today.
I bet McShame gets nasty at the debate and loses his temper, starts throwing a glass of water.
Either that, or he'll fall and break a hip.
Then they'll just say that that proves he's a maverick.
The onus is always-- always-- on the Democrats. Look who's running the show.
i guess the "expectations" are so low for palin, she gets points for walking in the door. mccain was on the today show this morning and i was waiting for him to be asked when palin will be coming on there or meet the press. he was not asked and i do not get why this is not an issue. they're hiding her because they don't want her messing up everytime she goes off script. the agenda is just smile and wave, throw out a few cliched crowd pleasers and avoid the press at all cost.
You forgot the clapping.
She smiles, waves and then claps like a seal waiting for a fish.
It's Palin's incessant clapping that really drives me over the edge.
My wife wants to throw something at the screen every time she sees this woman clapping.
the agenda is just smile and wave, throw out a few cliched crowd pleasers and avoid the press at all cost.
It really is sick, isn't it? I mean, end of the world time.
Why I'm scared of her;
http://www.montrose.net/craig/PalineoFacism/
Boy, what does that say when your primary choice for the free world (republican) has "low expectations" as his primary skill, and "VP draws more crowds than you" as his secondary skill?
If Obama was not the product of a "mixed-Race" union, mccain would be so far behind in the polls he would have to have had Bill Clinton as his running mate and would have had to announce Hillary as Sec. of State to even have a shot. This country has still got racial issues.
Unfortunately that is very true, and the rightwing knows it...
I don't know how you can say that....it's just that Obama is denying that he's a Muslim. Oops, there's nothing wrong with being a Muslim
Okay, Obama isn't a Muslim: it's just that Obama is a Christian who had an outspoken pastor who said shocking and uncomfortable things instead of pleasant little bromides.... everyone knows that America has always been totally pure and holy and NEVER does things that God would condemn.
And he has met and served on boards with people who had dicey histories. Plus he orders orange juice in a diner.
Okay, you're right. This country has still got racial issues. There are many people who won't vote for him because of race; some who are outright racists, and others who are still deluding themselves that they're not.
I see it in my inlaws.........
Its more like thier walking along with their fingers in their ears, humming "I'm not racist, I'm not racist"
There are many people that won't vote for mccain because he has rigormortis setting in as I post this. His movements are controlled with servos installed in all of his joints. The tricky part was to teach dicky cheatme to lipsinc and speak in a voice like someone just had a cucumber shoved up their...............you get the point. Anyway, this porr guy needs to kick back in his rocking chair and gulp his favorite brand of hard licquor.
quote:"This country has still got racial issues."
Yup. they do, but it's interesting how it's always positioned as a one-sided thing- especially on here. Latest polls show that among african-americans, the Obama vote is 98% in favor. It's equally racist to vote for someone because they're black as it is to vote against them for that same reason, but that perspective gets swept under the rug.
Now just imagine if the polls showed 98 percent of caucasian voters favored McCain? You'd never hear the end of it...
"It's equally racist to vote for someone because they're black as it is to vote against them for that same reason, but that perspective gets swept under the rug."
Wrong. It might be biased, but it's not racist. Now go back and tell us what the latest polls among African-Americans show about their vote in favor of DEMOCRATS. You are interpreting a result as biased in favor of Obama because he is black...when it might be more accurate to interpret it as bias because he is the Democratic nominee.
McCain couldn't get 98% of the white vote because he's a repug.
It's equally racist to vote for someone because they're black as it is to vote against them for that same reason, but that perspective gets swept under the rug.
I'll type this slowly, Miss Dee Point, because you obviouslt have a BIG problem with grasping basic concepts.
Blacks cannot be racists, because racism involves using race to have power over others. Since whites have the power in our society, only whites can be racists.
That's institutional racism. Black people can think other races are inferior and/or hate people for their race, they just can't affect as many people with it.
Of course, voting for an individual person because they're black isn't racist because it's not a commentary about the opponent's race.
Blacks have always been reliable Dem voters.
The MSM is setting up the narrative so they can cleave and over-analyze each word of Barack Obama, and overpraise the Flip-Flop Express for any slight inclination of knowledge.
Bush got through every debate by memorizing five sentences.
They tell me the format this time might actually solicit half an ounce of extemporaneous speech. I'll believe it if I see it.
By the way, every debate is a tie (in medialand). No need to even watch them.
Sadly..... there is some truth here...... Grampy really does benefit on low expectations...... at least as it pertains to Republicans.....
The bar has been set so low for Gramps thanks to the last eight disasterous years of GWB..... come Nov 4.... we'll see just how much America has woken up from this most recent nightmare name Darth Cheney or is it ready to elect a no-name, stand upon the coattails of Hillary, 'I can see Russia from my house', sorry excuse of a 'you have to be kidding me' hockey mom as VP??
Of course the ethics and other issues that are brewing up there in Alaska will probably send her packing well before then?
"And you can be sure that his [McCain's] aides are really rehearsing him right now, over and over and over again on the key lines that they want him to say and just getting comfortable with the camera and the environment and all the things -- the little things that you have to do when you're on stage to present a calm and commanding presence on stage."
When you truly know the subject matter you are speaking on, and when you have a sincere interest in it, even a passion for it, then there are no "discomforts" due to cameras and the environment and "the little things" that could wreck your "calm" and your "presence" (commanding or not), because you are completely possessed of that knowledge, and possessed of that feeling or passion, and the audience and the cameras and all those "little things", they become just a dim and quiet (even silent) background, to the words that you speak while under such an influence, of knowledge and feeling (passion).
It's what's truly behind what it is these idiots are trying to describe, in the transcription above.
There's no amount of rehearsing that can fake or mimic it.
You either have a knowledge and a passion for the subject matter on which you speak, or you do not... and if you do, then the words just flow, true and effortless: and if you do not, then rehearsal just makes for a wooden and stilted delivery.
Flowing speech, true and effortless, versus a wooden and stilted delivery: match these two things, to these two candidates, and tell me who it is, that knows about and has a passion for, what it is they speak of, and who does not.
If you have it, then it's hard to hide it... and if you don't, then it's impossible to fake it.
Isn't that what people are doing, when they rehearse... aren't they just practicing faking it?
Nothing new here, the GOP is THE Party of low expectations.They may be torturing, but at least they're not beheading. The economy sucks, but there's an African nation that's worse. Isn't that what we've been hearing for the past 8 years? The silver lining is that there's always somebody on the planet who's worse than America, and that's all they need to wave their flags and feel good about themselves.
Obama -
Unconscious competence The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it becomes "second nature" and can be performed easily (often without concentrating too deeply). He or she can also teach it to others.McCain -
Conscious competence The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires a great deal of consciousness or concentration.Who do you think will perform better in the debate?
In a sense there are low expectations for John McCain's debate performance and Republican voters consider that a merit. Despite their constant chest pounding about American exceptionalism, they apparently worship mediocrity. No exceptional candidates for them...they like their candidates to be regular folks just like them. Just like George W. Bush... Can't speak well...that's okay, neither can they. Don't know much about foreign affairs, like Sarah Palin...that's okay, too; all they need to know is USA! USA! USA!... No egg-head intellecectuals for them...they like their candidates ordinary. John McCain could forget where Texas is and still his minions would cheer him for his Republican American essence.
yup.
John McCain is one big low expectation.
I'm going to give a rare (for me) WITH.
After all, MY expectations are low. I'm sure most of the sensible (read: Liberal) posters here have LOW expectations. And anyone who finds McCain inspriring is so far gone that niether candidate should really even bother with them.
And my expectations from Obama ARE high, as I'm sure are most of the posters here. And those who are NOT ispired by Obama's speeches? Well... there not so far gone as those inspired by McCain's vacant talking points, but I'm sure they still expect Obama to dazzle and McCain to be a charicecture of Bob Dole, at best.
(Now... My expectation is that Biden will bore anyone will an average or shorter attention span, while Palin with frighten every reasonably intelligent person (who won't know if she's kidding or not, or if Tina Fey showed up to debate instead) and TRULY INSPRE those religious nuts who, again, are so far gone that niether candidate need bother campaining to them.