Sit yourself down

The middle can be an advantageous place for a political candidate. In a televised debate, though, the middle seat -- the one Claire McCaskill occupied this morning -- can be a subtle problem.
That's because the middle seat is the most uncomfortable in any three-way conversation. Think about three people, sitting on a couch. The two on the outside can talk with one another, and with the person in the middle, without any major change in posture or eye contact. The person in the middle, on the other hand, has to twist back and forth to make eye contact with the folks on the outside. It's an unnatural way to carry on a conversation.
Today, Jim Talent held the outside seat -- he could talk with Tim Russert, then, with a head tilt of ten or fifteen degrees, address McCaskill. She, on the other hand, had to twist more than 180 degrees to look at him.
Normally, in a TV debate, the moderator takes care of the problem by putting himself or herself in the middle, with the candidates on either side of a table -- they can look at him/her and the opponent without having to move much. The theory is the TV professional is most comfortable on camera and his twisting and turning is the least objectionable.
Unless, of course, you're Tim Russert.
It'll be interesting to see how seats were assigned in this debate, if they were.

Posted by Dave Helling

Comments

[Dickeylee]

Valid point, but the act of turning foursquare and making eye contact with your opponent while answering another's question is also effective if not done too much. Claire looked very comfortable in posture in that seat.
I'd give the edge to Claire, but both have had tons of interview/debate experience. Jim was caught looking off camera to his fluffers a couple of times, and the cardinal sin of lookinf down at his hands twice. Claire only stumbled with her words once, when confronted with a quote about Bush and Katrina.
Russert was the biggest winner in this, he looked solid. More questions for Talent, but he is the incumbent and has the record of votes to answer for.

[John Evans]

Talent looked nervous as he tried to cover his Rubberstamping Butt. Claire should not back down from stating that Bush Hates the Poor both Black and White.

[KC Cicero]

Talent had the most uncomfortable seat: Sitting on W's lap, pretending it's OK to cover up for predators, leave our troops in a quagmire, and sacrifice hope for sick kids on the alters of right-wing ayatollahs.

Here's the questions for you: Is there anything Sen. Plasticman & his Party would not do to cling to power? What October Surprise is in store to try to scare Americans into keeping that bunch in power?

Lucky for Talent he was sitting on Bush's lap instead of Foley's.

[alibarmar]

i was extremely proud of mccaskill this morning, and embarrassed for talent. claire did a fantastic job, she was natural and poised, yet down to earth. i say that the mccaskill camp scored big this morning!

[Politically Caring]

2744 U.S. service people have now died in Iraq.
Jim Talent says we are on the right path.

Excuse me. Is he nuts?

[Old Drum]

I think the most revealing aspect of the encounter on Meet the Press was Talent's inability to say Bush is doing a great job!

He has supported Bush proposals 94% of the time, but this was not evidence of whether he is doing a great job!

McCaskill got it right with her rejoinder that Talent was unable or unwilling to answer the question.

It is very clear that Talent does not want Missourians to connect him to Bush.

[Engawyer]

I THOUGHT IT WAS A TIE, AND TIE GOES TO THE INCUMBENT.

TALENT HAD THE MORE IMPRESSIVE SUBSTANTIVE ARGUMENTS (THOUGH THEY WERE BASED ON FALSE PREMISES AND IRRATIONALLY FOLLOWED THEREFROM). HE HAMMERED HOME HIS NAME CALLING STRATEGY (I.E. YOUR "WEAK").

CLAIRE WON ON STYLE, THOUGH SHE'S NOT EXACTLY MARY LANDREIU. BUT MAN AS FAR AS LOOKS AND CHARISMA GOES OLD JIM (AS DUBYA LIKES TO CALL HIM) MAKES LIEBERMAN LOOK LIKE TOMMY LEE.

CLAIRE, GAVE A GOOD ANSWER REGARDING BEING A PROSECUTOR (I.E., NOT WEAK), BUT SHE HAS TO LEARN HOW TO HIT A HOMERUN. SHE HAS TO LEARN TO END HER ANSWERS WITH AN UMPF. FOR EXAMPLE, SHE SHOULD HAVE TURNED TO JIM, GLARED INTO HIS 4 EYES (AS ONLY A PROSECUTER CAN), AND SAID SOMETHING LIKE "I'VE BEEN CALLED WORSE NAMES OR LABELS BY CONVICTED KILLERS," OR "THERE ARE MEN SITTING ON DEATH ROW (OR DOING LIFE) WHOM I AM PRETTY SURE WOULD NOT CONSIDER ME WEAK ON ANYTHING," OR "I WILL BRING THE SAME BULL-DOGGED DETERMINATION THAT ENABLED ME TO PUT AWAY X# OF CONVICTED KILLERS AWAY."

...END ANY ANSWER ABOUT THE WAR ON TERROR WITH "LOOK ITS SIMPLE, IF MANY MORE HATE YOU, GENERALLY YOU ARE NOT SAFER. ITS TIME TO GET BACK TO GOOD OLD FASHION MIDDLE MISSOURI COMMON SENSE, AND STOP ALL THE LYING."

FROM HERE ON OUT CLAIR NEEDS TO HAMMER HOME 2 THEMES:
RESTORATION OF OVERSIGHT/ RUBBER-STAMP (CLAIR PLEASE SEE MY BILLIONS MISSING POST AND USE IT), AND HIS FLOPPING ON STEM-CELLS (WHICH IN FACT MAKE HIM LOOK WEAK). RUSSERT PRACTICALLY BEGGED HER TO HIT JIM OVER THE HEAD WITH THEM TO NO AVAIL. SHE GOT IN A LICK WITH 94%, BUT FAILED TO EVEN MENTION HIS CHANGING VIEWS ON STEM-CELL.

...WITH RESPECT TO STEM-CELLS, SHE SHOULD HAMMER HOME THAT THESE ARE CELLS THAT WOULD BE OTHERWISE DISCARDED. SHE COULD SAY "LOOK I AM A MOTHER, I BELIEF LIFE IS THE GREATEST GIFT ON EARTH, I CARRIED LIFE FOR 9 MONTHS, BUT PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, AND THESE ARE NOT VIEWS, I AM JUST STATING WHAT HAPPENS, AS IT IS INCONSISTENT WITH HIS POLITICALLY OPPORTUNE CLAIM THAT HE BELIEVES THESE WOULD-BE DISCARDED CELLS TO BE LIVES EQUAL TO OUR OWN. 1. EVERY STATE AND OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS ALWAYS MEASURED LIFE FROM THE DATE OF BIRTH. OUR BIRTH-CERTIFICATES IN MISSOURI REFLECT THE SAME. THAT SAID, OF COURSE, THERE ARE PREMATURE PERIODS WITHIN THE LAST TRIMESTER WHEREIN LIFE IS SUSTAINABLE AND SHOULD BE PROTECTED. 2. WE, INCLUDING SENATOR TALENT, ALLOW THESE THOUSANDS IF NOT MILLIONS OF CELLS TO BE DISCARDED EVERY YEAR BY FERTILITY CLINICS. DESPITE HIS STATED BELIEF REGARDING LIFE, SENATOR TALENT HAS DONE NOTHING TO PREVENT THE DISCARDING OF THESE CELLS. 3. WE DON'T HOLD FUNERALS FOR THESE CELLS, EVEN SO FAR AS MISCARRIAGED EMBRYOS ARE NOT TYPICALLY HONORED WITH FUNERALS AND BURRIALS. SO YOU HAVE TALKING POINTS TO CATER TO A FRINGE OR BASE VERSUS HIS ACTIONS. I THINK WE CAN ALL DETERMINE WHAT HE AND OTHERS LIKE HIM TRULY BELIEVE BEHIND ALL OF THE TALKING THAT YOU WILL HEAR. THE PROBLEM, HOWEVER, IS THAT HE IS CONSISTANTLY CHANGING HIS OPINION SO THAT YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE HE STANDS.

I HOPE THERE WILL BE MORE DEBATES?

[LarrytheScrabbleGuy]

Enqawyer, for crying out loud, switch off the all caps. It makes your posts unreadable and it makes you look like a kook. Not saying you are, but all caps are considered shouting and if someone's shouting ALL THE TIME, no one takes them seriously.

[Engawyer]

OKAY, I'LL CONSIDER PHAsing it out.

[LarrytheScrabbleGuy]

Just friendly advice. I think you do have some interesting things to say, but when I see that much in ALL CAPs, I just start scrolling, and I have a hunch most folks do too.

[Brooksider]

I think that it was a tie. Both had their good and bad moments. Each made the points that they wanted to. Claire needs to erode Talents base in rural Missouri if she wants to win and I do not think that this TV time did anything to accomplish that.

[Tommy]

If you're Claire McCaskill, I don't know what you could do to erode away at Talent's rural base. She's postitioned herself on nearly everything 180 degrees different from Talent.
Today:
"U.S. Senator Jim Talent and Missouri Farm Bureau President Charlie Kruse on Monday will travel to five Missouri communities to hold Farm and Ranch Rallies with supporters in the area. The two agriculture leaders will travel to Hannibal, Kirksville, Easton, Webb City and Springfield to discuss the important differences between Senator Jim Talent and Claire McCaskill on agriculture issues."
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman will be at the event in Easton (just outside of St. Joseph).

I'll attend the one at Easton...anyone else?