Soundbite wars

Fred Barnes:

Winning isn't enough. To gain from a presidential debate, there must be sound bites that appear on TV day after day and show your opponent in an unfavorable or embarrassing light. John McCain was better than Barack Obama in their first presidential debate last night. But the debate produced no knockout sound bites--none I noticed anyway--that might harm Obama's campaign. So McCain's win isn't likely to affect the presidential race.

That's unfair, but politics is often unfair. McCain was far more forceful and aggressive than expected. And he had Obama on the defensive for roughly an hour of the 90-minute debate. But that doesn't matter much since Obama was never rattled and made no obvious blunders.

I concluded that mere winning doesn't count for much in presidential debates, while sound bites do, after participating as a questioner in 1984 in the first debate between President Reagan and Walter Mondale. It was the best night of Mondale's entire political career and Reagan often stammered and occasionally looked flustered.

But the effect on the race was nil. Why? Because as bad as Reagan was in the debate, no memorable or damaging sound bites emerged. Reagan escaped, and in the second debate recovered effectively with a quip about Mondale's youth and inexperience.

...

I think a compilation tape of Obama saying, "I agree with John on that," or "John is absolutely right," could be effective and make a good McCain ad. It would certainly annoy Obama's backers, but it would also make it harder for Obama to slip off some points that don't favor Democrats.

Rush Limbaugh was the started the use of compilation tapes and has used them too effect in attacking Democrats and the media. It would not surprise me to hear it Monday on his program. If the McCain people are on their toes this weekend it will be in YouTube that will go viral.

Byron York has already compiled a list for his report on the debate at National Review Online. He found at least eight.

Via Hot Air a YouTube of three of the "John is right" moments:

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