The Debate structure

In my early judgment here, the OCGM and the Obama campaigns played this 1/2 right and 1/2 wrong...more specifically 3/4 right and 1/4 wrong. Here's a story on the debates and how they've been set-up.

I think the OCGM campaign would have benefited from letting Palin get beat up a bit in a free-flowing debate where Biden would be more likely to overstep his bounds, let some big gaffe slip, and let Palin look like the victim. From the reporting, it sounded like Obama wanted free-flowing throughout the 4 debates.

Normally, I would concur. But, with Biden's tendency to catch foot-in-mouth disease, this ultimately helps him stay on message and within a limited time frame response-wise.

On the other hand, Obama no doubt believes he can outwit, outplay, outlive the OCGM in a debate. All evidence in the campaign points to it, as he has shown some serious "senior moments."

But, I would caution Obama here to take a careful tone. With the not-so-shocking news (as far as I am concerned) that white Dems still harbor some racist tendencies towards Obama, it would be damaging if Obama were to be seen as badgering, bludgeoning a batered, and bruised POW veteran. And you know, as we have seen lately, OCGM has been abashedly unashamed of using his "war record" and his "sacrifice" to make himself the "outsider."

A black man, even cooly, and calmly, and on the facts, beating up a tired, old, scarred emotionally and physically OCGM, could be seen as unseemly, and pathetic.

I still want Obama to crush this false "maverick" knucklehead who has clearly taken the right-wing up the ass recently, but he must be careful in how he slices and dices. And he must slice and dice. Thin line to walk here.