Mac Runs Hot, Obama Cool

Voters compare gambler mentality v. calm thinker as they react to crises
By Kate Rockwood,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 28, 2008 7:30 PM CDT
Mac Runs Hot, Obama Cool
Barack Obama and John McCain join each other on stage at the conclusion of the presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. Friday, Sept. 26, 2008.    (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Crises like the Georgian conflict and the credit crunch have revealed how differently Barack Obama and John McCain would rule. McCain’s fitting moniker is Mr. Hot, write John Meacham and Evan Thomas in Newsweek. By suspending his campaign, gambling on Sarah Palin, and see-sawing on the economy, McCain shows himself to be “a candidate who makes no apologies for his merry mischief-making.”

By contrast, Obama is calm and cerebral to the point of appearing a “windy professor" at times. He may want to duck the "Angry Black Man" image, but some will see such precision as passivity. Yet these issues are not deal-breakers, Meacham and Thomas conclude: Voters ultimately want a strong president who defends the nation and lays off taxes. "Whoever can strike that chord best is likely to win in November, regardless of whether his spirit runs hot or cold."

(More Barack Obama stories.)

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