Post- Debate

Last night was not good for Obama... sort of. The reason I hedge a bit is because, like the Wright controversy, he has been provided with a textbook example of what it is that we are fighting against and he has the opportunity to harness all the contempt floating around towards ABC and redirect it toward constructive ends.

In last night's debate there were many questions that caught him off guard early on and its pretty clear he stumbled. Then, as the questions about flag pins on lapels and bitterness dragged on for more than 45 minutes, you could see the absolute frustration on his face as he tried (unsuccessfully) to redirect the conversation into more constructive and informative territory.

But what did Obama expect? He wrote in his book, The Audacity of Hope, that this type of politics was the norm and it should be expected. He warned us of "the gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics — the ease with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial" and that we need to rise above it in order to accomplish our lofty goals. So, he shouldn't be taken aback when what has worked so effectively in the past (politically, at least) has not yet been rendered obsolete just because he said it should be.

I believe Obama got caught of guard, but I also believe that he is truly a gifted mind who will use last night's embarrassing and immature attempt at journalism to remind the voters what it is that we are up against. Last night certainly reminded him of what he is up against. His campaign has been largely based on promising us a way to move beyond the crap that we saw last night. Now he needs to lead us past it. He needs to convince us of the destructiveness of the form politics that seeks to tear down and not build up and that last night was that form of politics manifested in all its tainted glory. I believe that he can do this. I HOPE that he will.