Barack Obama’s Debate Weakness

With the first democratic debate coming up at the end of the month, we at 2008 Central will be analyzing the debating skills of various candidates. First up, we’ll be looking at Sen. Barack Obama…

There’s no debate over Sen. Obama’s oratory skill - he is gifted. Aside from overusing a lightly uttered “uhh…” as a transitional device, his execution is basically flawless. That being said, exceptional delivery does not necessarily translate into a strong debate performance. Debates are dynamic, engaging and force candidates to respond to stimuli in short order; thus, creating a rare opportunity for voters to see raw emotion and hear/see unprocessed responses. Now, I realize that candidates prepare extensively for debates, thereby reducing the likelihood that raw, unprocessed responses slip out. But, they’re still there…

In terms of the debate, Sen. Obama has the most to lose and the least to gain. Obama’s rhetorical abilities are well established and many voters have their impression of his personality already. These existent impressions positive, so a stellar performance at the debate won’t enhance the perception of him, but simply reinforce it. However, if he conducts himself out of character (and expectations are already pretty high for him), he runs the risk of disillusioning his rapidly growing base. In my opinion, the Senator has weaknesses that if exploited could make the debate and the ensuing political consequences very interesting…

Sen. Obama does not like to be pressed. When pressure is applied to him, he becomes visibly agitated. His eyes serve as a billboard for the anger he feels…his hand gestures border on hostile…his responses curt. His debates with Alan Keyes are telling…

In his third debate with Keyes, Obama’s potential volatility are put on display (there are plenty of other examples, but I felt that these happen to be best ones).

• In the beginning, the moderator pushes Obama to reconcile his positions on gay marriage, gay civil unions and his religion. Aside from the slight frustration visible on his face, his hand gestures better express his frustration constantly making the “stop” gesture.
• 1 minute and 45 seconds into this clip, the moderator asks Obama if he thinks homosexuality is a choice. Prior to replying, Obama sighed. This is a pretty common question that I believe the Senator should have expected. A sigh was unnecessary. Obama wasn’t sighing because the question itself, but rather was sighing because he frustrated that the moderator was continuing his line of questioning.
• He can’t let things go. At 5:40 in this clip, he demands an unnecessary follow up (something he does fairly often)
• 7 minutes and 30 seconds into this clip, Obama puts his frustration with the debate completely on display with some over-the-top body language and facial expressions.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Obama’s performance in the aforementioned debate was bad, or sub par or anything like that. Rather, what I am saying is that the Senator has weaknesses that can be exploited by his rivals that may be better at pushing Obama’s buttons than Keyes. These weaknesses are enhanced by three factors.

1. Sen. Obama is rapidly becoming the front runner, so poaching his supporters before they become too attached makes him a very attractive target. Edwards has massive incentive to do this.
2. Dennis Kucinich can be aggressive and personally confrontational in these debates, which may not go over well with someone like Obama.
3. Sen Obama’s political inexperience only enhances his volatility. Learning how to let comments roll by you and not affect you personally is something that this new big time politico is still learning.

We’ve seen Obama’s raw and unprocessed responses before. We saw it when he got swept up in the moment while discussing Iraq and said that “we have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted” [I'm not saying the comment was terrible, but it was something that Obama said he regretted]. We also saw the Senator respond pretty strongly to Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s attack on him.

Sen. Barack Obama has exploitable weaknesses, a track record of responding strongly to those that criticize him and tends to let unprocessed statements slip out when emotional. With the bar as high as it is for Sen. Obama, he’s going to need to prepare extra hard for these debates in order to avoid losing supporters, while at the same time knowing that it probably won’t gain him any extra. No doubt an unpleasant spot to be in.

Sphere: Related Content