Obama Crams for Debate with McCain

One of Obama's debating coaches is the same one who coached Kerry and Gore. The Dems just don't learn from past mistakes. Oh, well.........

By Leonard Doyle in Washington
Wednesday, 24 September 2008

The danger that Mr Obama's advisers see is that their sometimes-humourless candidate will fall into an all-too-familiar mode of lawyer and law professor

After weeks of flinging mud at each other on the campaign trail, Barack Obama and John McCain are preparing for what could turn into a seminal moment in the election, a bout of single combat in the form of a televised debate watched by a huge national audience.

With the race for the White House neck and neck and the financial markets in turmoil, interest in the debate, being held in Oxford, Mississippi, is expected to be unprecedented.

The stakes are especially high for Senator Obama, whose prickliness and long-windedness make him an easy target for his rival. John McCain has a well-deserved reputation for slamming his opponents while tap-dancing his way out of tricky situations. The former fighter pilot relishes the give and take of single combat.

One of Mr McCain's favourite tactics in debate is simply sitting grinning to the cameras with his hands folded while his rivals say their piece. The danger that Mr Obama's advisers see is that their sometimes-humourless candidate will fall into an all-too-familiar mode of lawyer and law professor.

This week Senator Obama is holed up at a special "debate camp" in Tampa, Florida, where one of his few grey-haired advisers, a hard-nosed Washington lawyer Greg Craig, is sparring with him. Another practice opponent is Ron Klain, who was part of the team that helped John Kerry and Al Gore prepare for debates during their failed presidential bids. Kevin Spacey played him in the movie Recount, about the 2000 Florida "hanging chad" debacle.