Differences but no fireworks in US debates

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By James Coomarasamy BBC News, Washington Despite testy TV exchanges, the two shook hands at a charity dinner

When people look back at this US presidential election, it is unlikely they will be talking about the great autumnal debates of 2008.

By general consent, they have been largely devoid of drama and - until the last contest, at least - devoid of much in the way of debate.

The formats, which were agreed by the campaigns, did not exactly help.

In the first two encounters there was little interaction, few follow-up questions and plenty of opportunities for the candidates to avoid giving direct answers.

And then there is the fact that three of the four debaters were senators; members of a chamber, where speaking for hours on end - or filibustering, as it is known - is a prized political tool.

It all meant we heard a bit too much about earmarks and pork-barrel spending. A bit too much Senate speak.

The greatest drama probably came before the first debate, when the Republican nominee, John McCain, called on Barack Obama to put off their encounter, until the financial bailout bill had been passed by Congress.

For a while, it was unclear whether the debate would go ahead. It did, even though the fate of the financial bailout bill had not been decided.

That U-turn by John McCain was fateful. It ensured that he went into these contests on the defensive; accused of playing presidential politics at a time of financial crisis.

It put his temperament even more clearly under the microscope than that of his younger, less experienced opponent.

Contrasting styles

By and large, Senator McCain gave a competent performance in Oxford, Mississippi.

Neither he nor Senator Obama had a convincing answer for the big question of the day - how would the financial bailout package affect their spending plans once they were in office?

But, as might have been expected, the Republican nominee seemed more comfortable with foreign policy questions; better able to knit his own personal experience into his world view.

For McCain, who wants to make this election about character and national security, events have conspired against him <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7671116.stm">Tense final debate for candidates</a>

But the general public did not seem to agree. Most of the opinion polls suggested that Barack Obama had come out on top; that his calm manner, almost as much as the substance of his answers, had shown him to be a viable leader.

And this set the tone for the remaining two contests.

Whatever they make of the substance, the American public has been able to see a real contrast in styles.

On the one hand, the battling Mr McCain; eager to emphasise his experience and his record of taking unpopular positions.

On the other, the largely unflappable Mr Obama; at times hesitant in his answers, but always measured in tone.

For Senator Obama's critics this has often been seen as evidence that he is too detached, too professorial to connect with enough Americans to be elected president. At such an uncertain time, though, cool headedness has become a prized asset.

Tetchy

That first debate also summed up John McCain's biggest problem.

The encounter was meant to be devoted to his strongest point - foreign policy - but the first half-hour was devoted to the economic crisis.

For Mr McCain, who wants to make this election about character and national security, events have conspired against him.

The second debate in Nashville should have suited him better. Its town hall format is one that the Arizona senator usually relishes. Not on this occasion, though.

John McCain looked awkward in the Nashville town-hall debate

For a start, the format emphasised the physical restrictions caused by the injuries he sustained as a prisoner of war, in a way that standing behind a lectern or sitting behind a table, in the other encounters, did not.

As he paced around the stage or perched awkwardly on his stool, the 25-year age gap between him and his opponent was clear to see.

His voice also sounded strained at times and he appeared tetchy, especially when he strayed from senatorial protocol and referred to Barack Obama as "that one".

There were not any real fireworks or memorable turns of phrase from the Democratic nominee, but you got the sense that his plan was to avoid mistakes, to project calm in the midst of the economic storm. Once again, opinion polls suggest he succeeded.

Between those two encounters, the vice-presidential nominees took part in what was the most watched of the debates.

The box office draw was Sarah Palin, John McCain's surprising choice for running mate.

She had given a series of badly received TV interviews in the days before the debate and many were wondering whether she would look hopelessly out of her depth.

She did not. The woman who said she had not blinked when John McCain asked her to be his vice-presidential nominee even winked at the camera a few times, as she drove home - no matter what the question - the points she wanted to make about her executive experience and connection to regular "Joe Six Pack" folks of middle America.

The other Joe, her democratic opponent, Joe Biden, did not fall into any obvious traps, either.

He avoided making the kind of verbal gaffes for which he is famous - and there was a moment of real human connection, when he recalled in emotional tones the death of his first wife and child.

In the end, though, despite the hype, the vice-presidential debate probably played its usual, secondary role in the campaign.

'Not President Bush'

The presidential candidates saved the best to last.

Aided by a sterling performance by moderator, Bob Schieffer of CBS News, their encounter in Long Island offered voters a real debate on issues, character and the conduct of their respective campaigns.

Cast in the role of the underdog, John McCain was in a particularly feisty - or angry - mood, depending on your perspective.

I'm completely flabbergasted with this whole thing and just hope I'm not making too much of a fool of myself Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7673170.stm">Who is Joe the plumber?</a>

He left no line of attack unused; accusing his opponent of everything from associating with dangerous radicals to using eloquent language to pull the wool over Americans' eyes.

And - for the first time - he had a good response to the damaging accusations that he would usher in four more years of a Bush administration-style policies.

"Senator Obama, I am not President Bush," he said. "If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."

But Barack Obama kept his cool - and laid out in clear terms his policy differences on issues such as health care and taxes.

At times, camera angles showed each man smiling in disagreement with the other's debating points.

One thing they agreed on was the central place in the debate of Joe the plumber, a name that was invoked time and again.

His actual name is Joe Wurzelbacher. He had confronted Barack Obama on the campaign trail in Ohio about his plans to tax people earning more than $250,000.

Attempting to paint his opponent as a dangerous socialist, John McCain turned Joe the plumber - for posterity - into a symbol of aspiring small businessmen, whose American dream would be snuffed out by his opponent's support for "spreading the wealth around".

But while this may have turned Joe the plumber into an overnight cult figure, there are no signs yet that it has turned around John McCain's poll numbers.

Whatever the merits of his policies, swing voters seem - at this point - more inclined to focus on his demeanour. And that is not helping him.

Debates have generally been about style as much as substance, about tics and gaffes that reveal character traits and make Americans feel either more or less comfortable with a candidate.

This is - in many ways - a unique election, but some things do not change.