Take Two

The Next Debate Matters

By David Kuo

The next debate will be the most important debate of the campaign–yet neither Barack Obama nor John McCain will be present. The next debate is about what happens to conservatism after John McCain’s defeat in November.

That McCain will lose is now a virtual certainty. This great American war hero, this truly great American has been broken by a campaign that has overwhelmed him. He does not know how to handle the unexpected economic horror that has been revealed over the past several weeks. He does not know how to break the increasingly confident, comfortable, and unflappable Barack Obama. Worst of all, John McCain has no real idea why he should be president. He knows that he has grueling contempt for his opponent. He knows, intuitively, that he is a better, more tested man. But when it comes to specific policies and solutions he is intellectually, philosophically, and politically vacuous.

In that he is a perfect reflection of conservatism in America today.

Today’s conservatism is lost. It is so lost it doesn’t actually know if it lost at sea, lost in space, or lost in a desert. It lacks moral courage, a philosophical core, and intellectual certitude. McCain’s defeat will help change all of that because his defeat will lead to a debate within conservatism unlike anything in several decades. 

Exactly 16 years ago this month conservatism found itself in a similar - though much more grounded - place. 

It was clear that President George H.W. Bush was likely headed towards defeat ruined by his own lack of passion and a team of political advisers out of touch with the concerns of average Americans. Bill Clinton–to the dismay and disbelief of conservatives–seemed to be on his way to the White House. 

Some conservatives quickly got over the grief and set about trying to reclaim the policy and political underpinnings of a conservative movement to come. Among the ideas and policies that were advanced were school choice, programs to move people from welfare to work, anti-crime policies that were both tough and compassionate, term limits, and a balanced budget amendment. Many of these ideas would go on to fuel the so-called "Republican Revolution" just two years later. 

It is time for conservatives to head into the wilderness once again or, as Bill Bennett put it 16 years ago, to have their own Council of Trent.

We at Culture11 welcome that journey and that debate.


How To Win Friends and Influence People

By Peter Suderman

Who won the debate? Tom Brokaw. He was funny. He was probing. He was fair (and balanced even!). He tried to hold the candidates to the rules on which they’d agreed.

Who lost the debate?  The questioners in the room, mostly, none of whom asked a single question you couldn’t answer with a few minutes on Google.

But that’s par for the townhall format. On the other hand, we did get a better sense of the candidates’ physical presences. 

Obama, as always, appeared sophistacted, urbane: He held the mic in that delicate, refined way of final-level American Idol contestants, and constantly seemed to be holding an imaginary pen in the air and trying to visualize it. He will solve America’s energy crisis with telekinesis.

McCain, on the other hand, came off as less the high-toned maverick and more the self-satisfied frat-boy goof: He started several of his answers with an Igor-via-Beavis-and-Butthead chuckle: heh-heh, heh-heh. Sorry dude: not funny.

One thing that’s clear from this debate is how little there is to John McCain and his campaign. He’s running on a few, vague issues – tax cuts, an aggressive response to Russia in specific and terrorism in general, something about energy – and a whole lot of non-policy fluff: America’s inherent strength and goodness, Obama’s inexperience, scorn for Washington insiders. But mostly, he’s running on a platform anchored by a single assumption: that John McCain is inherently, singularly qualified to lead the country, and, subsequently, deserving of the office of president. McCain views the White House as something to which he is unequivocally entitled. Beyond that, nothing else matters. Indeed, if you hold this view, nothing else would.

Obama, on the other hand, despite all the criticism and complaints that he’s running a personality cult rather than an issues-based campaign, is running a much more expansive campaign. It’s about Obama, yes, and Obama’s singular personality, but it’s also about Obama’s specific plans and proposed policies: on health care, on the environment and concerns about energy, on the economy, and on foreign policy. I don’t agree with much of what Obama proposes; he shares a fundamentally different view of how the economy works and how it should work. But the plain fact is that Obama is running a smarter, more detailed, more thoughtful and relevant campaign than McCain – and it’s showing at the polls.