Now that a major poll has come out showing Obama with a significant, widening, and outright lead over McCain, we have the opportunity in the next two days to help shape the MSM "expectations" narrative for Friday's debate. Come along, folks, and let's meme-ify this mofo before the MSM starts peddling bullshit about Obama's "spectacular debating skills."
Repeat after me: JOHN MCCAIN HAS TO HIT THIS ONE OUT OF THE PARK!!
First, you can already see the McCain campaign, and indeed McCain himself, setting expectations on their own terms. As the senator said yesterday in Berea, Ohio,
Look, have no doubt about it, the capabilities of Senator Obama to a debate--I mean, he's very, very good. He was able to beat Senator Hillary Clinton, who, as we all know, is very accomplished, very accomplished.
Now, for anyone who followed the coverage of the primaries, you'll know that this is utter, unadulterated crap. Take, as just one example, the early June debate. There was widespread consensus that Hillary cleaned Obama's clock. I mean, even Arianna Huffington was all like "Obama failed to..." and "Obama let Clinton get away with" etc. etc.
Once again: JOHN MCCAIN HAS TO HIT THIS ONE OUT OF THE PARK!!
In fact, it's difficult to find any coverage of a Dem primary debate that doesn't go out of its way to comment on Obama's umms and aaahs, his awkward delays, his supposed lack of energy, and his fudged answers to pointed questions. The January debate provoked even from sympathetic, left commentators wise nuggets like this:
I believe Barack Obama lost the debate and his chances for the Democratic nomination.
So don't tell me, John McCain, that Barack Obama is "very, very good" at debating.
And again: JOHN MCCAIN HAS TO HIT THIS ONE OUT OF THE PARK!!
And let us not forget Obama's performance in that notorious mid-April debate that sparked all the kerfluffle between him and the Clintons. This was what Josh Marshall called Obama's "rough night," and it led to all kinds of subsequent discussion of Obama's putatively sinking fortunes in the horse race. The upshot of that debate was a general consensus that this forum is not one of Obama's strong points--that, in fact, despite his considerable oratorical skills, he's kind of a lousy debater. In other words, then...
JOHN MCCAIN HAS TO HIT THIS ONE OUT OF THE PARK!!
So let's all join hands here, people. We need to spin, spin, spin, and make sure this meme sinks in like a light rain in dry dirt. Obama has already shown himself to be a middling debater at best. Debating isn't Obama's strong point. The New York Times said it best the other day:
Senator Barack Obama has shown himself at times to be a great orator. His debating skills, however, have been uneven.
Yes, yes, yes. This is the theme we need to push and push hard in the coming days. So let's have diary entries and letters to other blogs out the wazoo until Friday night. The expectations for John McCain are impossibly high. Obama's kinda crappy at debates. So...
JOHN MCCAIN HAS TO HIT THIS ONE OUT OF THE PARK!!