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Direct.  Snappy.  Off-Topic.
pandagon.net - these things don't just blame themselves — by Jesse Taylor Chuck Todd sums up the big media reaction to the Faith Forum event last night.  Quick first impressions: Obama spent more time trying to impress Warren (or to put another away) not offend Warren while McCain seemingly ignored Warren and decided he was talking to folks watching on TV. The McCain way of handling this forum is usually the winning way. Obama may have had more authentic moments but McCain was impressively on message. McCain pretty much spent an hour using various keywords to trigger bits of ...

Direct.  Snappy.  Off-Topic.
pandagon.net - these things don't just blame themselves — by Jesse Taylor Chuck Todd sums up the big media reaction to the Faith Forum event last night.  Quick first impressions: Obama spent more time trying to impress Warren (or to put another away) not offend Warren while McCain seemingly ignored Warren and decided he was talking to folks watching on TV. The McCain way of handling this forum is usually the winning way. Obama may have had more authentic moments but McCain was impressively on message. McCain pretty much spent an hour using various keywords to trigger bits of ...

CNN's Analysis: At Saddleback, Obama Was 'Thoughtful'
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias — ... That Obama is just so darn thoughtful.  This isn't just CNN's judgment.  Over at MSNBC, political director Chuck Todd noted that "every Obama answer was certainly thoughtful enough. . . "  ...

CNN's Analysis: At Saddleback, Obama Was 'Thoughtful'
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias — ... That Obama is just so darn thoughtful.  This isn't just CNN's judgment.  Over at MSNBC, political director Chuck Todd noted that "every Obama answer was certainly thoughtful enough. . . "  ...

Did McCain Best Obama At The Faith Forum?
The Moderate Voice — ... Obama’s performance has not been judged bad (except by some GOP partisan writers who likely would have proclaimed it bad no matter how well he did because that’s how the spin game is played). But it was NOT a buzz-creating home run or or game-changer. And McCain — once again — came across as highly likable, sincere and decisive. Will the word “nuance” — once considered a plus — again become a dirty word in campaign 2008? NBC Political Director Chuck Todd, one of the most perceptive observers on the political scene, ...

Did McCain Best Obama At The Faith Forum?
The Moderate Voice — ... Obama’s performance has not been judged bad (except by some GOP partisan writers who likely would have proclaimed it bad no matter how well he did because that’s how the spin game is played). But it was NOT a buzz-creating home run or or game-changer. And McCain — once again — came across as highly likable, sincere and decisive. Will the word “nuance” — once considered a plus — again become a dirty word in campaign 2008? NBC Political Director Chuck Todd, one of the most perceptive observers on the political scene, ...

Saddleback And Its Aftermath
A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days — I missed the McCain and Obama interviews with Rick Warren last night, but from the looks of things, McCain was the one who gained the most from the interviews. This fits in with a lot of the e-mails that I received regarding the appearances. Now, the e-mails that I received are from people predisposed to voting for McCain, but at the same time, many of those people have had critical things to say about McCain in the past. Again, since I didn't watch the program, I don't want to pass judgment just yet on how the candidates did respectively. But it seems ...

Saddleback And Its Aftermath
A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days — I missed the McCain and Obama interviews with Rick Warren last night, but from the looks of things, McCain was the one who gained the most from the interviews. This fits in with a lot of the e-mails that I received regarding the appearances. Now, the e-mails that I received are from people predisposed to voting for McCain, but at the same time, many of those people have had critical things to say about McCain in the past. Again, since I didn't watch the program, I don't want to pass judgment just yet on how the candidates did respectively. But it seems ...

Was McCain's Ear to the Wall After All?
Taylor Marsh — ... Reality is that nothing was stopping Obama from having short crisp answers, save having a lousy debate game. Chuck Todd’s review: ...

Was McCain's Ear to the Wall After All?
Taylor Marsh — ... Reality is that nothing was stopping Obama from having short crisp answers, save having a lousy debate game. Chuck Todd’s review: ...

Carol Platt Liebau: Nice? Maybe. President? Not So Much.
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog — ... . A quick point: Chuck Todd made a deeply insightful point, noting that Barack "spent more time trying to impress Warren (or to put another away) not offend Warren," in contrast to McCain, who "seemingly ignored Warren and decided he was talking to folks watching on TV." Todd concluded: Warren may come away from this experience liking Obama more and respecting the fact that he seemed to take pains to not offend him and respect their disagreements. But I'm betting that if a focus group of undecided voters were watching this, they'd come away having a clearer understanding of ...

Carol Platt Liebau: Nice? Maybe. President? Not So Much.
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog — ... . A quick point: Chuck Todd made a deeply insightful point, noting that Barack "spent more time trying to impress Warren (or to put another away) not offend Warren," in contrast to McCain, who "seemingly ignored Warren and decided he was talking to folks watching on TV." Todd concluded: Warren may come away from this experience liking Obama more and respecting the fact that he seemed to take pains to not offend him and respect their disagreements. But I'm betting that if a focus group of undecided voters were watching this, they'd come away having a clearer understanding of ...

One Reason We're Polarized
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — Because Chuck Todd can describe the following as a reason Obama lost last night's debate: The two answered the Supreme Court justice question VERY differently, with Obama seemingly trying to say a nice thing or two about justices he disagreed with, while McCain went right to pander mode in his answer. And yet, McCain's straightforward answer easily penetrated while Obama's did not. Chuck basically says that unless you pander in soundbites, you lose. If you show respect for your opponent's views, you lose. However defensible this ...

One Reason We're Polarized
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — Because Chuck Todd can describe the following as a reason Obama lost last night's debate: The two answered the Supreme Court justice question VERY differently, with Obama seemingly trying to say a nice thing or two about justices he disagreed with, while McCain went right to pander mode in his answer. And yet, McCain's straightforward answer easily penetrated while Obama's did not. Chuck basically says that unless you pander in soundbites, you lose. If you show respect for your opponent's views, you lose. However defensible this ...

No More Mister Nice Blog — ... I say this because Obama, despite poor reviews for this appearance, is going to be the presumptive favorite in their three debates (with the possible exception of any debate specifically on foreign policy), just because he's perceived as the silver-tongued one and McCain isn't. That worries me. Personally, I'd like Obama to go in as an underdog in all three, but that's not going to happen. What this means is that all McCain has to do is not fall asleep or trip over his tongue too obviously and he gets credited with being the debate winner -- and it's clear he can do that. ...

No More Mister Nice Blog — ... I say this because Obama, despite poor reviews for this appearance, is going to be the presumptive favorite in their three debates (with the possible exception of any debate specifically on foreign policy), just because he's perceived as the silver-tongued one and McCain isn't. That worries me. Personally, I'd like Obama to go in as an underdog in all three, but that's not going to happen. What this means is that all McCain has to do is not fall asleep or trip over his tongue too obviously and he gets credited with being the debate winner -- and it's clear he can do that. ...

Saddleback And Its Aftermath
RedState: Conservative News and Community — I missed the McCain and Obama interviews with Rick Warren last night, but from the looks of things, McCain was the one who gained the most from the interviews. This fits in with a lot of the e-mails that I received regarding the appearances. Now, the e-mails that I received are from people predisposed to voting for McCain, but at the same time, many of those people have had critical things to say about McCain in the past. Again, since I didn't watch the program, I don't want to pass judgment just yet on how the candidates did respectively. ...

Saddleback And Its Aftermath
RedState: Conservative News and Community — I missed the McCain and Obama interviews with Rick Warren last night, but from the looks of things, McCain was the one who gained the most from the interviews. This fits in with a lot of the e-mails that I received regarding the appearances. Now, the e-mails that I received are from people predisposed to voting for McCain, but at the same time, many of those people have had critical things to say about McCain in the past. Again, since I didn't watch the program, I don't want to pass judgment just yet on how the candidates did respectively. ...

Warren Asked Obama and McCain Different Questions
Crooks and Liars — ... Chuck Todd of MSNBC was quick to note the strikingly different answers Obama and McCain offered, but not the clearly different questions they were asked: ...

McCain won the first GOP presidential debate
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — ... answers were strong: he faced the camera squarely, and scored big with his circa-2000 attacks on pork spending and special interests. He was both passionate and articulate. His sole bad moment came with his fumbling answer about why he opposed the Bush tax cuts. But for a candidate who seemed to have lost his way, McCain did very, very well.McCain debates very, very well. Creepy Dick Morris isn't the only pundit who praised McCain's debating prowess. Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza saw it, too. Let's not start pretending otherwise now. ...