THE DEBATE

Posted at 7:51 a.m. ET

Most legitimate surveys I've seen say that Obama "won" the debate.  I put "won" in quotes because it's so clear that style, rather than substance, was decisive.  Obama is one of the best performers I've seen in politics.  He is, in my view, stylistically superior to Reagan, who often had trouble forming his thoughts, if he didn't have a prepared speech.  That was also true, by the way, of Jack Kennedy, although most people don't remember it that way.  In fact, Kennedy could garble things with the worst of them.  He was often saved by his humor.   

John McCain, a man light years ahead of Obama in substance, simply doesn't have Obama's verbal dexterity.  True, McCain is fine, sometimes even eloquent, when he gets going and goes passionate, but those are bursts.  It is almost absurd to say it, but the shallow Obama often seems to be better informed than the experienced McCain, simply because he has the ability to organize facts in his mind and deliver them with the smoothness of the higher-cholesterol spread.   

When Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House, his advisers gently hinted that he could use some coaching in how to appear on TV.  Eisenhower, a wonderful writer but a so-so speaker, was less than adept at using what was then a new medium.  The screen actor, Robert Montgomery, was called in to help.  (He was the father of Elizabeth Montgomery, who some readers might know better.)  Eisenhower grumpily commented that, with the influence of television, America would one day elect an actor to the White House.  When Ronald Reagan was running in 1980, Ike's line was brought up.  Of course, by that time Reagan had served two successful terms as governor of our largest state, so the line didn't exactly play.  But even Reagan said that he couldn't imagine anyone but a good actor being president, the influence of television being what it was.

Is Obama's TV personality decisive?  It's impossible to say how it would have played in a year more favorable to Republicans.  But this is a Democratic year, and virtually everything has gone against John McCain, from the unpopularity of George Bush to the economic shock we're still experiencing, to scandalous press bias.  Americans want to vote the incumbent party out, but they've needed reassurance that Obama is up to the job.  Obama is providing that reassurance, not with sound policies or careful analysis, but with a reassuring style.  He has a great bedside manner, and America is a willing patient. 

Pretty sad state of affairs.  Given Obama's razor-thin record, maybe Eisenhower's prophecy is coming true.  We're electing an actor to the White House.

October 16, 2008.