Obama fans wanted to see him kick butt
They're impressed, but need to see him fight for them
The trendy Chi Bar in the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers is definitely a great place to have fun.
But on Friday night, it was the scene of a watch party for the first presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, and the people in the bar were glued to about a dozen flat screens.
Hosted by Young Lawyers for Obama, the party was also a fund-raiser drawing about 100 people.
"We want him to come out firm and strong," said event-goer Brian Robinson, minutes before the debate began. "I want him to bring some facts about how this Republican administration ruined what was a pretty good economy eight years ago. I want him to be aggressive."
These were solid Obama supporters. Nonetheless, they were worried that Obama's tendency to keep his cool under pressure had been misinterpreted.
Really, they were waiting to see if their guy would step outside of his scholarly demeanor and basically kick his opponent's butt.
When it was over, some supporters thought Obama had held his own against McCain's barbed attacks. Others didn't.
"He came out swinging, and laid the blame for the current condition on the Republican Party's failed policies," said Robinson, a state employee. "He consistently echoed that theme. He had his facts together. He had his figures together."
That's true.
Obama challenged McCain's distortions and misrepresentations.
But he still had difficulty rolling over his opponent when he needed to make his point and McCain was blocking him.
Andre Grant, a well-known local defense attorney, said he believes Obama is "overcompensating" because he does not want to be stereotyped as an angry black man.
"Barack has to get aggressive. He has to slap McCain one good time. He doesn't want to be perceived as an angry black man, but a lot of Americans are looking for a 'maverick,' " Grant said.
"Everybody knows he is the best candidate, and he has our votes, but people are going to vote for someone who they think is going to fight for them," he added.
Toni Perrien, a project manager and blogger, disagreed.
"I think Barack Obama did extremely well because in the primary debates he was a little shaky. I think he showed confidence," Perrien said.
Several Obama supporters said McCain came off as condescending, and truthfully, every time he said Obama "doesn't understand" the issues, it came off as dismissive.
"The fact that Obama did not react showed great discipline," Perrien said. "I think McCain was trying to goad him into getting off-message."
In fact, Obama got off a few great lines of his own and nailed McCain on the Iraq issue, repeatedly telling him he was "wrong" about Osama bin Laden, about the weapons of mass destruction, and about how long the war would take.
Another eventgoer, A. Thompson, said that overall, Obama did better than he has done in the past.
"But he always seems to be on the offensive," said Thompson, a management consultant. "I think he could do better. McCain spoke over him. Hopefully, he will overcome that. I think he is just going to go up from here."
Joyce Brown, a research nurse, saw lots of improvement in Obama's debating skills.
"He was much clearer," she said. "I didn't hear a lot of uhs. . . . He was precise."
During the primary, Obama had to carefully weigh his words against Hillary Clinton because he ran the risk of being labeled sexist.
He certainly didn't want to be perceived as beating up on a woman, let alone a white woman.
He is now in a similar spot with McCain. While his opponent consistently labels him as "inexperienced" and tells voters that he doesn't understand public policies and foreign affairs, Obama can't bring up McCain's age and longevity in any negative way without running the risk of being accused of ageism.
Given the restraints Obama is under, he did a phenomenal job just by keeping his cool.