McCain: Four years with an adoring media left Obama unprepared for real questions
Speaking on “Fox & Friends,” McCain was asked to explain the poor reviews Obama garnered after the first of his three televised debates. “Four years inside the bubble with an adoring media,” McCain responded.
Polls taken after the debate showed a strong majority believed Romney won the encounter, with many liberal pundits also expressing disappointment with Obama’s performance.
“If it were a fight, they would have stopped it,” joked McCain about the debate, but he also warned Republicans that Obama would prove a tougher debater in the next contest and that his supporters would rally behind him.
“Do not underestimate President Obama. The guy is good — he’s smart, he gives a great speech,” said McCain, who himself debated Obama in the 2008 election as the GOP nominee.
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I wish the GOP wouldn’t buy into this BS that Obama was unprepared for ‘real questions’. There were NO real questions asked last night by the moderator. It was a complete farce.
The next 2 POTUS debates WILL have REAL QUESTIONS and if you thought Obama had a hard time last night with those softball topics, you’ll be in for a real treat IMO.
gatorboy on October 4, 2012 at 2:18 PM
Speeches aren’t debates, Mac my friend, and Barky can’t control what is being asked or said.
Romney is going to hammer him with Libya and FF, and the media blackout of those debacles will officially be over.
Bishop on October 4, 2012 at 2:19 PM
4 years of not reading the bills before signing the bills left Obama vulnerable to looking like he did not know what his left hand was doing.
astonerii on October 4, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Obama’s lack of knowledge was on display last night and on Univision’s interview. He’s always had journalists there to correct him when he screws up, but they couldn’t save him this time.
El_Terrible on October 4, 2012 at 2:21 PM
It wasn’t a bubble, bubblehead.
Conservatism beat Obama last night.
faraway on October 4, 2012 at 2:21 PM
Mccain pretty much nailed it.
The Notorious G.O.P on October 4, 2012 at 2:21 PM
Interesting fact:
mrscullen on October 4, 2012 at 2:22 PM
The media weren’t the only ones adoring Ogabe in 2008, crazy John.
You were too.
Remember telling your anguished crowd in WI that Ogabe would make a great president and there’s no need to fear him?
Remember how the audience was shouting “Oh come on John!” ?
You old RINO codger, you don’t remember that do you?
We all do.
rightwingyahooo on October 4, 2012 at 2:22 PM
I forgot that McCain is still there. I thought he was in Syria.
Oil Can on October 4, 2012 at 2:23 PM
Yeah, but ONLY if it pre-scripted and on his Teleprompter! And ONLY if it’s a speech, answering questions? Not So Much!!
We all watched what a failure Obama was last night…
Scrumpy on October 4, 2012 at 2:24 PM
That’s beautiful.
faraway on October 4, 2012 at 2:25 PM
Romney did what McCain was never willing to do.
He went for the knockout punch and hit Obama where it hurts and dismantled him for the empty suit he is in 90 minutes.
McCain decided he would rather lose with dignity and was unwilling to defy the media or tear into Obama.
McCain always fell for the guilt trip media tactic of always taking responsibility for his surrogates and denouncing them when they disparaged Obama.
Romney would always tell the media that he only answers for himself and to go ask the other guy.
McCain laid down where Romney stood tall.
NeoKong on October 4, 2012 at 2:25 PM
Even though Lehrer tried to “coach” the Preezy a few times.
Hill60 on October 4, 2012 at 2:26 PM
Palin said that to Cavuto immediately after the debate. She also was the first one to say Obama did poorly because he didn’t have his buddy, the teleprompter, telling him what to say.
NoNails on October 4, 2012 at 2:27 PM
Pretty much. Well, first of all it’s very difficult to defend an indefensible record such as Obama’s. And at the very least if Obama had at least been forced by the media to articulate some sort of new agenda for a second term, he would’ve had something to talk about last night.
The reason he showed up last night with a stump speech and nothing else is because he’s gotten away with relying on that for 5 years. The Democrat/media complex has no one to blame but themselves for last night’s ass-whooping.
Doughboy on October 4, 2012 at 2:28 PM
Well, thats not wrong. But its not like Obama had anything different to deal with in the 4 years preceeding the 2008 election and you still ****** it up, McCain. Go away!
Valkyriepundit on October 4, 2012 at 2:29 PM
dude, that is why you lost. believing in this crap. he is not smart, reading from telepromters is not “great”, or inspirational…well, maybe – to the 47%…
runner on October 4, 2012 at 2:32 PM
I always wondered what it would be like to see an emperor exposed as naked. Now I know.
gatorboy on October 4, 2012 at 2:32 PM
But he prepared more than any other president.
He must be a real dummy.
Schadenfreude on October 4, 2012 at 2:33 PM
Plus, McCain should just shut up and mind his Depends.
Schadenfreude on October 4, 2012 at 2:33 PM
Doesn’t this also support Palin’s argument a while back that the lengthy primary would sharpen the eventual nominee?
For sale following last nights debate: One set of nose plugs, intended to be used November 6 but not needed now.
moo on October 4, 2012 at 2:36 PM
Mcain is partly right.But Mcain was right there with the MSM in not challenging Obama.
add
Romney had a great demeanour and a total command of the language. He was 1000x better then in the primaries.
Also add that
Faraway is right. Romney stuck to a true conservative message. Not talk of big gov T.Roosevelt solutions. Romney was Tparty from start to finish. And the debate format helped.
The debate format was awesome. It’s the first time I’ve seen these pols actually debate unfiltered. It was a proper academic debate. Lehrah deserves a lot of praise.
BoxHead1 on October 4, 2012 at 2:37 PM
Been watching your comments awhile; you crack me up. Ü
SailorMark on October 4, 2012 at 2:37 PM
Clearly time for the President to high tail it back to The View and bone up on some more of those hard hitting media questions before the next debate.
parke on October 4, 2012 at 2:40 PM
One would think those hard hitting interviews on the View and Letterman would have prepped him for last nights smack-down.
antipc on October 4, 2012 at 2:40 PM
Yeah the media and whoever it was who ran against him last time who was too afraid te bring up real issues. “Earmarks!”
bernverdnardo1 on October 4, 2012 at 2:44 PM
Starting with you, doof. Too bad you couldn’t have witnessed someone who knows what they’re doing BEFORE your debate. It’s not like Obama has become stupider in four years. He’s still the same stupid.
kim roy on October 4, 2012 at 2:45 PM
He shied away from it for the most part, but he certainly is 100% behind keeping in place the current big government that FDR and LBJ put into place as well as GWB. SS, Medicare and Part D are all big government. The biggest of big government.
Sadly though, you might be right, the Ta Party might actually support these big government items. One reason they fell out of favor with me, along with their attacks on social conservatives in general.
astonerii on October 4, 2012 at 2:53 PM
As I said last night, Barackabama kept looking down waiting for the media.
SouthernGent on October 4, 2012 at 3:00 PM
I don’t know. I was referring to what he said to th 60million viewers last night. That’s what counts. He took on O’s socialist ideology and made the case for states rights. He might walk that back once president but he did good last night.
He furthered the national conversation in a good way.
BoxHead1 on October 4, 2012 at 3:06 PM
Well, if anyone would know about this, McCain would. He was a media darling, without substance, for much longer.
LegendHasIt on October 4, 2012 at 3:12 PM
Obama did have to face ‘real questions.’ But it wasn’t friendly Jim Lehrer who was asking the questions, it was his opponent.
And he couldn’t handle it.
At least, that was my interpretation of his mannerisms. “I can’t believe he’s questioning me, the President, and I have to stand here and answer it.)
tom on October 4, 2012 at 3:13 PM
If he were a strong, lithe German woman and could dance the tango I would still adore him.
Seth Halpern on October 4, 2012 at 3:17 PM
I am as well. He said he was going to put the money back into Medicare, that he was not going to cut Social Security and he also said if more money needed to be put into medicare part D, then he would.
There is no small clip I can cut to present this in full.
The bottom line, the real big drivers of our future deficit spending, they will be alive and able to continue to degrade the nation.
Good politics I guess. It is not conservative in the least. At least not the conservatism I know.
It is a moderately disappointing point and one I knew going into the debate, but I just do not like it when people give others accolades they did not earn.
Romney did great, was solidly conservative on many points, disappointed on some conservative ideas. The biggest one is failure to connect SS/Medicare to the same immorality that passing on debt to future generations is.
The statement about it not being moral to pass onto our children our generations excessive spending was phenomenal. He should be able to make the connection that passing onto our children our failures to provide for ourselves is also not moral and figure out a way to explain it to the people. Effectively the way the system is set up is that current retirees are paid by current taxes, the next retirees paid for by the next new group of workers, basically it is a continual passing on of debts to future generations. It is slavery and that is all there is to it. Those newly entering the workforce, and even those that are under age 18, have to pay, but have never had any power to stop it.
astonerii on October 4, 2012 at 3:19 PM
Obama’s not used to someone in the room calling him on his lies.
CrustyB on October 4, 2012 at 3:21 PM
Romney did good last night. Can we count on him to hew that line from now on? Probably not. But it was certainly a good start.
Of course, Obama claimed last night that we owed our success to the free-market economy, that the first priority of the government is to keep us safe, that he really wants to cut the deficit, and that he wants to cut taxes for the middle class. So if all it takes is to say the right things, then Obama would be a good, conservative president.
But we know better.
tom on October 4, 2012 at 3:22 PM
Another thing to consider is that 0bama is an academic. He’s used to sitting around a table with other academics, theorizing about how things “ought” to be. He probably did that in preparation for the debates. He and his team assumed, because they’re the smartest people in the world, of course, that they’d know exactly what Romney would say.
Like someone once said: No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.
Romney didn’t say the things 0bama and his fellow academics assumed he’d say, and 0bama has proven he cannot think on his feet.
CurtZHP on October 4, 2012 at 3:23 PM
You aren’t going to get that debate. But this country is slipping into a pro socialist mindset/zeitgiest and what Romney did last night was to remind everyone that there is a more rational alternative. Also , believe it or not, he put that panel of 15 experts on trial and Obama did a miserable job of defending their role. And he didn’t propose 300billion housing bailout ala Mcain or start talking about replacing, at the federal level, Ocare(my pre debate fear).
Obama was almost incoherent and all over the map. Romney was clear and convincing. If Obama had said what Romney said last night then I would be very happy. It would mean the death of American socialism.
BoxHead1 on October 4, 2012 at 3:32 PM
Jim Lehra threw so many life preservers at little Bammie that the Secret Service was getting twitchy.
slickwillie2001 on October 4, 2012 at 3:36 PM
There’s been a lot of unfair, unnecessary McCain bashing in the post-debate discussion. In 2008, Bush was the sitting president with a negative 250 approval rating, and Obama was a man who dropped from the sky with no record. McCain had the impossible task of differentiating himself from Bush while attacking a Lightbringer.
If Romney had been the nominee he would’ve lost by the same margin.
Mr. Wednesday Night on October 4, 2012 at 3:45 PM
To be fair to Maverick, he was debating a hypothetical unicorn rider, in that Obama had no record to speak of thanks to his carefully determined ‘present’ votes in Illinois and the U.S. Senate. That meant the media could mold him into anything, and McCain was left debating a cipher.
Romney would have run into the same problem if he had been the nominee four years ago. But now, Obama has four years in the White House and a miserable record to defend, and try as he might have last night to flash back to days of the Greek columns in Mile High Stadium, this time in Denver his meaningless generalities could be countered by Romney citing the realities of the past four years.
jon1979 on October 4, 2012 at 3:46 PM
I just hope we can actually convince Americans it is not moral to pass on debts, as Romney correctly stated. I guess from there we can move the goal posts. It would be a start. I seriously do not think Americans understand this simple concept. Romney might push it!
Still wishing for more.
astonerii on October 4, 2012 at 3:55 PM