Day 5: October 7

28 days to Election Day

Because of the different format of this specific show, the tenor was actually significantly different. However, it still had the trappings the show typically has, just in different proportions.

The show was far less politically biased than a typical episode. Since it was far more concentrated on coverage and analysis of the debate, there was a smaller opportunity for the typical cracks at the Republican Party and much more objective reporting. However, much of the reporting was in the vein of interpretation. Much of the show was devoted to questions about what candidates meant by saying certain things and what their bases and independents would think of what they said. There was, for example, quite a bit of discussion and analysis of what McCain meant when he discussed the federal government possibly buying up bad mortgages, especially concentrating on whether that would sour the conservative base, and whether it amounted to "socialism."

There was a lot of discussion about the tone of the debate and the demeanor, personality, and likability of the two candidates, including a segment on John McCain referring to Barack Obama as "that one," a segment on how McCain avoided the negative attacks on Obama's character that have characterized the campaign recently, and another in which Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan simply discussed the demeanor of the debate. To be fair, though, Keith Olbermann mentioned several times that he would prefer to be discussing the issues rather than the "visceral" elements of the debate, but they didn't really make the effort to do that.

One thing that stood out was that while it was done in more of a measured way than the usual fiery sarcasm, there was some political bias still in the show. A lot of the discussion of demeanor went against John McCain, with references to him wandering aimlessly around the stage and mention of the cliche "old man" quote, "Get off my lawn." Of course, it's hard to really be sure that this is bias, and not just the truth. It's possible that McCain really did look bad, and far worse than Obama, and that it would be irresponsible not to report that. In fact, Olbermann mentions several polls of uncommitted voters during the show, all of which tilted heavily against McCain. Due to the precedent that has been set, though, and the manner in which the points were made, it's not easy to make that argument.

However, they did do something that's atypical -- Pat Buchanan made a couple of appearances, as mentioned earlier, in an attempt to balance out the show and give a conservative voice and opinion.

All in all, there was a lot more actual information, but still a lot of interpretation and speculation, and some clear (and not-so-clear) political bias. This show was less combative and more neutral than most, but still not up to Patterson's standards.