"How, how can I listen to talking heads give the thumbs up to McCain?"

There is nothing that Obama can do to change the opinions of the talking-heads. They have decided long ago what the narrative would be, and nothing is going to change that. No matter that Obama is ahead in the polls for months on end and continues to rake in record financial support. No matter that according to Pollster.com, Obama maintains a 284 to 169 electoral vote advantage. No matter what the story about Obama is, the media has decided that it's a somehow a problem for Obama.

Do you really think that if Obama performs brilliantly in the debates that Joe Scarborough or Wolf Blitzer or Pat Buchanan or David Gregory or Mark Halperin or any of the other talking-heads is going to give Obama rave reviews?

"do not make excuses for Obama, expect and demand he do better, he cannot afford to be cool when it comes to that hot medium"

Be cool huh...hmmmm...anyway!

My fear for Obama before the dem primary began was whether or not he would be strong enough to call something the way it is. Has he met my desire that he do so, ummm no. However, after watching the Clinton campaign be the first (in my opinion) to do things that I expect the republicans do regarding race and the sensitivity behind that, I understand his trepidatious behaivor. Do I like no, I do not! At the same time I disagree that he doesnt deserve a tiny bit of latitude because of the fear the racists, the republicans, and the media have if he is elected President. As Jester said, McCain will always be called the winner by the media. The republicans understand that a sea of change is comming. The racists, well thats self explanitory, and the media know who is going to butter their bread out of the two candidates. So in the end, through some of the disapointment I have with Obama in some debates going all the way back to Hillary asking him to explain his relationship with Farrakhan, while her campaign manager was on video praising farrakhan, and he didn't jump on her for her hypocrisy, I still wont judge him too much. He may not do things the way I want 100% of the time, but he is 100% times better than his opponent! As I have said and will continue to say, the choice is clear, and if the people elect John McCain another republican who voted with that idiot in their now 95% of the time, then we get what we deserve! It's on the people now!

Admitted, Obama can come off sort of nowhere when he's off the cuff. Just kind of drifting. And it's upsetting when it happens.

But he can come off really well too, as he did on Meet the Press a few weeks back. And who noticed? The press is framing this narrative and Obama's the younger black version of John Kerry as of now. Warning: don't have a vocaulary in the US of A, if you're a guy keep you legs wide apart while walking or sitting, and wear a codpiece if you can carry it off.

Meanwhile, McCain threatens war with Russia and the press smiles and give him the nod. Go figure.

Obama is asked to attend a forum in which he will be asked questions of a personal nature relating to character,values and, above all faith. In light of this, how can anyone describe what happened as a "debate" between him and McCain? This is absurd. The point that so many of you are missing is that in such a format the only thing that is important is SUBSTANCE, not style. Obama is being criticized for concentrating too much on substance (thoughtful, deliberate, heartfelt responses) when the venue called precisely for this kind of approach. When Obama finds himself in a debate he will know exactly which strategy to use. Stop trying to turn him into a soundbite-run-of-the-mill political hack. What we like about Obama is that he is unique so let us revel in that.

...If I were him I would study Bill Clinton in his 1990 debate in the town hall meeting....he cannot afford to be cool when it comes to that hot medium....

Yup, but it's not just TV or debates that are a "hot" medium, an entire presidential campaign is a hot medium.

This is very precisely what I think he is lacking:

He was tireless in his efforts to win a personal connection with as many voters as possible

http://www.kennesaw.edu/pols/3380/pres/1992.html

One can do this on the campaign tours actually talking to individuals and getting coverage of that, or through talking as if directly to individuals through the TV camera, or by reacting empathetically to a single person in a town hall as a stand-in for many others, telling them how you are going to work for them.

So far, what I see is that he is coming off as cool as George H. W. Bush running for re-election, looking at his watch during a debate, figuring that 90% approval rating from the Gulf War was going to stick.

I am suspecting that he does that because he has needed to look presidential (as well as coolness being natural to him.) Well, sorry, people like to see aspiring presidents working like a dog to get votes, and passionately trying to persuade that their policies would be the best answer to problems. Undecideds expect that.

Gore, even though he got a majority, failed to realize this until it was too late. Remember how he changed his campaign messaging at the end to "I want to fight for you!" away from the imperious presidential lecturing Gore?

So far I am seeing too much Dukakis, Adlai Stevenson, Bush I, and the lecturing version of Gore from Obama. Granted, he needed to introduce himself because he was so unknown, but it's way past the time he should to stop talking about himself and showing how smart he is about this or that, and start talking directly to voters in the swing states and make it about them, not him. Granted, looking presidential and courting voters are conflicting goals, but I don't believe he didn't know that was going to happen when he decided to run before he had any name recognition on foreign policy. He's got to appear like he's working like a dog doing it, that he wants to work for the people real bad, so bad that he'll go without rest, I hope that part is coming, I haven't seen it yet.

Somehow he did it in Iowa in an intimate caucus situation. Wish he could start doing again whatever he did in those rooms. Seems to be forgetting that it wasn't his inspirational speechifying that actually got him recognized as someone who could be a contender and not just a celeb with a following, it was winning enough votes in Iowa that did that. His speeches worked to get him a base that contributes money. Now he's got to get passionate about selling policies to undecideds. He needs to put an end on the slogan yes we can--yes we can WHAT?

The cards are stacked for him, and yes he could still win without doing all of this. Kerry's campaign thought so too. I got bad dejas vus seeing photos of Obama playing in ocean surf; I know a break at this time was probably a good idea but those photos going public definitely were not a good idea.

The other plus is, as others have observed, that Obama comes across as non-threatening. His in person 'vibe' and presence tends to greatly counter the "radical outsider" caricature of him.

It's all in the eye of the beholder. I thought Obama was wonderful -- showing his intellect, compassion, and introspection.

I thought McCain was a bore. He gave canned replies and made sure he squeezed in his talking points. How is that "winning" anything? After about the 12th "my friends" from McCain in several minutes, I had to click to another channel.

"great debates of generations past" did not rely on soundbites. McCain lied about his record and others' records in many republican debates (as i would know since i supported another republican candidate), and was caught only once by George Stephanopolous. The whole republican primary debates were not real policy discussions, but just a bunch of chest thumping about Osama bin laden and Iran. Take a second and watch them why dont you? Im not the only one who was concerned about the ABC policy debate between clinton and obama, considering she has never been asked about her associations with black panthers after yale, whereas Obama is asked about his association with someone he did a fundraiser once with... a fundraiser that happened to raise money for a charity for school-children.

Obama is a phony. That's why he had to ask his buddy the Massachusetts governor to let him borrow his words during a speech.

Considering the audience, this atheist thought that Obama meant "God" when he gave the above my pay grade answer.