David S. Broder Wants A Jerk

David Broder, Op-ed columnist for the Washington Post, has made a remarkable interpretation of the Presidential Debate hosted this past Friday by Jim Lehrer. He sees McCain's angry, undignified demeanor as somehow being a good thing - a positive for McCain. The fact that McCain could not look Obama in the eye or even speak directly to him, Broder sees as a plus for McCain. For most Americans who watched, this apparently was not true. It is not true for me. McCain looked like a jerk, in my opinion. A candidate who cannot look his opponent in the eye, even when shaking his hand, most likely has hatred for the other candidate. This makes me question what causes such hatred. Hatred for a political opponent is certainly not a quality I want in the President of the United States. Broder looks to statements by Obama that McCain was "absolutely right" on very specific points as evidence that Obama was somehow conceding to McCain. This surely was not the case. Obama clearly showed that although he agreed with McCain's concern about a particular problem, it was not agreement on the solution for that problem. Obama proved himself a statesman. McCain proved himself the opposite, whatever term fits. For Broder, that term is "Alpha Male." I find use of this term laughable. Obviously, Broder has never seen wolves pick an "alpha." They do not turn their eyes away from their challenger. Obama conceded nothing to McCain, not command of the issues, not intellect, not the strength to lead. Obama showed the calm, reasoned response that the President of the United States should be able to maintain in the face of opposition.