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Second presidential debate; no 'gamechanger' ?
Global Eye
By Rich Bowden on October 8, 2008 5:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)
In a more subdued than expected second "town hall" style debate, both candidates traded blows and tried to pin blame on each other from everything from the economy, to foreign policy and health care, without landing any telling punches.
Senator McCain surprised by announcing a $300 billion buyout of struggling mortgages saying he will "...renegotiate at the new value of those homes, at the diminished value of those homes" while Sen. Obama reiterated his tax plan to give 95 percent of working Americans a tax cut.
With the economy justifiably dominating the questions asked by the audience and through moderator Tom Brokaw, both sides would appear to be reasonably happy with the stalemate. The Republican campaign team because McCain improved on his last performance in this his favourite debate setting and the Obama team because a draw would suit their candidate who has taken the lead in opinion polls in the wake of the financial crisis.
However there was no mention of "guilt by association" of either candidate with shady characters as had been suggested in campaign material earlier in the week, nor were there any major personality clashes despite the fact there is obviously no love lost between the two men.
Long-time political consultant and now CNN political pundit David Gergen marked the debate marginally in favour of Obama.
John McCain was more effective on domestic issues than he was on the second debate but flatter on national security. Periodically, he made an excellent argument and he was more composed than earlier...Gergen said Obama looked the part of a president despite his inexperience, saying he believed the candidate had "strengthened his position" with voters.
Barack Obama showed once again that he is more articulate and a better debater, able to weave together arguments and themes with great skill. Once again he was also steady. But he was hardly on fire and he didn't give us much more insight -- or new ideas -- about the economic crisis now gripping the country.
So, my scores tonight are lower than last week:
McCain B
Obama B plus
Despite the sometimes low-key nature of the debate, Democratic advisers were quick to spin out one controversial reference by McCain to Obama as "that one". Though fairly innocuous as insults go, the Obama camp took little time in painting McCain as arrogant for the reference (see below to judge for yourselves). The Washington Wire of the Wall Street Journal has the details.
Politically, this debate strikes me as good news for Obama and bad news for McCain. With two straight victories under his belt, Obama has established in the minds of many voters that he is as qualified to be President as McCain -and given the economy, that means he should have strengthened his position. [source]
Marc Ambinger of the Atlantic said the expression was an innocent turn of phrase that came across a little awkwardly in the debate format. CNN focused on the speed on the pickup from the Democratic camp to inform reporters.
The third and last debate before November's election will be on Wednesday October 15 at Hofstra University's Hofstra Arena in New York. The debate will be moderated by CBS News Chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer.
Image top: Belmont University Presidential Debate logo.
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Debate: did McCain do enough?
Global Eye
By Rich Bowden on September 29, 2008 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (34) | TrackBacks (0)
Post mortems and in-depth discussions from Washington insiders have flowed freely following Friday's first McCain-Obama debate with the majority of pundits seeming to agree that neither side came out the winner in a spirited contest. Both Obama and McCain traded blows on issues ranging from foreign affairs to the economy without landing any killer punches though importantly neither contender produced any major gaffes - a big consideration for both campaign teams.
This was a typical example of the analysis:
"It was one of the more competent debates we've seen in a long time. There were no major gaffes. It was data-driven, and both spoke clearly to their constituencies, as they should have," says Allan Louden, a debate expert at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "I would rate it as a draw, but if it's a draw, the draw goes to the challenger and that would be Obama." [source]So it was down to perceptions with the tough, nuggety Senator from Arizona reinforcing his reputation as an experienced, down-to-earth debater with Senator Obama looking more cool and dispassionate. For this observer, though it seemed a draw, it was McCain who took the spoils, recovering from a disastrous week where the financial melt-down on Wall Street threatened to derail his campaign. Far from seeming out of sorts on the economy, it seemed that McCain reassured his supporters with his fighting display.
With the economy seemingly headed for dark days, could it be that voters may see the experienced McCain as the preferred option for president, over the inexperienced Obama?
This BBC article gives an interesting slant on the first debate:
Expect much more on the economy in those confrontations and, if the polls show that Mr McCain's more aggressive tone has paid off in this first clash, expect all the debates which follow to be a little more bad-tempered and direct than this one. [source]However polls taken since the debate have continued to show Obama edging ahead though with the margin very close across the battleground states. Will the perception of the Bush administration as being "asleep at the wheel" during the financial meltdown infect the McCain campaign? Or will the doughty ex Vietnam hero convince the American people of his maverick status and independence from the tainted Bush administration?
Image top: Senator John McCain. Credit: bobster1985/flickr
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Raindance Film Festival - Estomago
London Calling
By Evrim Ersoy on October 8, 2008 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)A subtle, innovative and inventive gem, Estomago can rightly be considered a small masterpiece. Taking its' cue from the inevitable connection between Food, Sex and Power - the film tells the story of a young man; Raimundo Nonato who arrives in town, on a coach bus, without a penny in his pockets and starts working as help in a bar - sleeping in the storage room on the back, and under a cold neon light learning how to fry "pastel" and "coxinhas", outdoing his "master", Zulmiro (Zeca Cenovicz), the owner of the bar. Nonato is ignorant, but talented. He knows how to work the kitchen, soon others realize it too. The first one to notice him, is Iria (Fabiula Nascimento), a prostitute, who loves to eat, Nonato's coxinhas are enough to seduce her, she starts an affair with him, where she provides sex in exchange for food. Then, Giovanni (Carlo Briani) the owner of the Boccaccio - an Italian restaurant in the neighborhood - offers Nonato a job as his apprentice. Nonato's talent doesn't go unnoticed in prison, among his jail mates - whom we meet through a series of scenes. For the prisoners and their boss, the violent Bujiù (Babu Santana), Nonato is a savior; in fact soon their meager meals turn to a feast of exotic dishes orchestrated by Nonato's magic. As a consequence of this, Nonato is given the following the nickname, a well suited one indeed: Rosemary. How the he ends up in jail - especially, the reason behind his imprisonment - is concealed to us. And it is this concealment, the unwrapping of this mysters that propels the whole narrative forward.
Estomago is also a very funny, very wry film. The relationship between the three main ingredients are explored cleverly, without resorting to any ridiculous speeches. The main character is ably played by Joao Miguel who gives the right sense of naivete and desire. He is an unbridled force, one which does not know how shape or control his own destiny. His one love, the prostitute Iria is also portrayed amazignly: she is a sensuous woman and this extends to her enjoyment of food - although sex is a commodity to her, food is something more sacred - the way she devours Nonato's meals is nothing short of amazing.
And of course the food! The vibrant colors in the film bring out the life in each dish we see and Nonato's ability to turn anyhing into an edible and lovely meal with nothing more than a little rosemary, some garlic and black pepper is portrayed brilliant because of this colorful cornucophia.
Estomago is a surreal ride: an amazing genre-defying film that rewards those who give it a chance. It is simply something different by showing us a side of Brazil we don't usally see in the imported films: a world of food, a world that's a million miles away from recent films like Elite Squad. and just for this Estomago deserves as wide an audience as possible.
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Raindance Film Festival : It's Hard To Be Nice
London Calling
By Evrim Ersoy on October 8, 2008 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) Srdjan Vuletic's second feature is a small but perfectly formed film ; and also happens to be one of the best films playing at Raindance at the moment.Set in Sarajevo, the film tells the story of taxi-driver Fudo who alongside driving also hovers around the fringes of organised crime by giving local thugs tips on which houses to target to rob. He is also not above accpeting sexual favours as fare if customers can't pay and spends his remaining hours at a grill house which also serves as the taxi rank. Fudo's wfie Azra is not happy about her husband's dodgy dealing - she thinks that now that they have a baby together , he should become more of an honest man. However Fudo is not ready to switch : not until a well-inteded tip goes wrong and Azra walks out on him. A genunie belief that he should only do good propels Fudo to start making some serious attempts at changing and finding out for himself how really hard it is to be nice.
Sasa Petrovic plays Fudo as a sort of average everyman: he's mid forties, balding and is just like any ohter taxi driver one might encounter in the streets of Sarajevo. What sets him apart however is his sense of humor as well as his devotion to his child: the first shot of the film opens as Fudo drives his son around the city whilst giving him 'sagely' advice.
Once the whells of change are set in motion, we watch Fudo desperately try to do his best. He wants to be nice, he wants to do good: but circumstances keep trying to trip him up. From his friends to even the fares he ends up picking up, the film shows post-war Sarajevo as a place where to be honest is a genuine effort. Fudo approaches each obstacle with a good sense of humour and although the film gets very dark towards the end, it is his inherent humanity that serves as a remainder of why the human race must always pull through the bad times and the atrocities.
The rest of the cast is very good, too: Fudo's friend Sejo played ably by Emir Hadsihafizbegovic comes across as between a grumpy old man and stubborn child, Daria Lorenci plays Azra as a woman with a strong will who's ready to take a lot of risks for her husband - the smaller, more quirky characters also amuse: a customer whom Fudo keeps encountering but simply cannot give a ride to is one of the more amusing running gags in the film.
The look of the film might be gritty but it also is very bright - a realistic sort of canvas upon which the director is able to paint the portrait of the city: Sarajevo features perminently in the film and we are constantly reminded of a city still trying find its' identity and shed the horrors' of the past. Most of the scenes are bright and it is hard not to get a good sense of the place and time.
In the end, It's Hard To Be Nice succees because it creates characters in which the audience has to invest: perhaps European and Western audiences might be lost at some of the more Eastern humor and logic but this should not stop anyone from making an effort to see this subtle, humorous and touching film.
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Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport
The World in Pictures
By James Wray on October 2, 2008 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)
The new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport is presented at a Volkswagen event, ahead of the Paris Motor Show 2008 in Paris, France, 01 October 2008. The 2008 Paris Motor Show will take place from 04 to 19 October 2008, in Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles in France. EPA/ULI DECK
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Devotee to Chinese Shrine of Sapam has face pierced
The World in Pictures
By James Wray on October 2, 2008 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
A devotee to the Chinese Shrine of Sapam has his face pierced by sharp sticks during the street procession to mark the annual Vegetarian Festival in Phuket island, Thailand, 01 October 2008. The annual traditional Chinese vegetarian festival held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar emphasizes merit making and ritual cleansing of the body to mark the nine days long festival features with face-piercing spirit mediums strict vegetarianism. EPA/YONGYOT PRUKSARAK
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