The presidential debate: a view from small-town Mississippi
If Pontotoc, Mississippi is anything to go by, small-town America will have been bored stiff by the first thirty minutes of the presidential debate on Friday night. In the end though, people want the candidates to be totally relevant to their lives.
The presidential debate: a view from small-town Mississippi
By Armen Georgian
To read more about the debate: McCain, Obama clash over economy, foreign policy
If Pontotoc, Mississippi is anything to go by, small-town America were probably bored stiff by the first thirty minutes of the presidential debate on Friday night.
The day before, we sipped extra-sweet tea and ate ribs at a small joint, virtually the only place open in Pontotoc at 10pm. While Washington and the pundit-ocracy were abuzz, our friendly bar-owner cheerfully delivered his verdict ahead of the showdown: "boring shit." He said he wouldn't be watching. Still, we got a hint of how some locals might vote. One man showed us pictures his friends had sent to his mobile: Barack Obama's face morphed into a chimpanzee.
Had our bar-owner tuned in, he would doubtless have found the economy segment incomprehensible. Congressional earmarks? Oh, please ! The only moment when Obama and McCain might have hit home is when they were straightforward. Obama looked into the camera and pledged to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans. McCain said Obama will raise your taxes.
If anyone was watching in Pontotoc, they might have engaged more with the foreign policy debate. The candidates came alive, the exchanges were sharper, and McCain excelled. Obama was cerebral. To tackle a problem, he would start by outlining the issues involved. McCain's starting point was his personal experience. Concrete examples of what he'd done as a senator during the Lebanese civil war, the First Gulf War and Kosovo projected authority. Obama was nuanced, polished and credible.
In the end though, people want the candidates to be totally relevant to their lives. As our bar owner said, "what are they going to do about the gas jumpin' up an' down at the pump?" For the debate on domestic policy, the best advice to both candidates is probably the old saying "keep it simple, stupid!" That way, the guys sipping their Mississippi extra-sweet teas might sit up and listen.
