Why John McCain lost the debate

John McCain lost the presidential debate last Friday night for three reasons:

1. As the one who has based his candidacy on being the experienced and mature leader he needed to demonstrate that image, he needed to walk the talk. With the exception of his most ardent supporters, he didn’t accomplish that goal. For most of us he came off as arrogant and angry. The sour expression he wore most of the time said volumes as non-verbal communication, speaking more loudly than his words.

The second and third reasons are both tied to his condescending attitude toward Barack Obama.

2. If I were an African-American, sensitized by centuries of being treated as a second-class citizen by white people, I would be enraged at how he refused even to give Obama the courtesy of looking at him. Now, it is probably safe to say that McCain wasn’t going to get many votes from the black community in the first place, but what he may well have done is help drive many more black voters to the polls to vote for Obama.

3. Finally, as a marketing person I try to keep up on consumer attitudes that can impact on marketing decisions (by the way, I consider politics a huge marketing activity). One of the factors that has a powerful influence on marketing decisions is what generation you’re in. For Millennials, those now roughly under 30, being talked down to is a major gaffe. I have no doubt that with his repeatedly dismissive “you just don’t understand,” again delivered with the disrespect of not even looking at Obama, McCain turned-off a lot of Millennials. Again, even though it is unlikely McCain was going to be strong among Millennials anyway, how many more of this age group did he help drive to the polls to vote for Obama?