Obama shouts out Malcolm X and Jay-Z's Dirt Off Your Shoulder, making McCain look like the Eugene Levy by comparison

Let's get this out of the way first and foremost: ABC sucks. There is an entire generation out there who owe a little something to ABC for a slice of TV heaven called TGIF. But that ended years ago. Wanna take a gander at what passes for entertainment over there now? A line-up that should have Fox thinking they can greenlight Man Vs. Beast 2 for May sweeps. It still wouldn't have a prayer of out-shaming ABC. We are talking Dancing With The Stars, Wife Swap, Men In Trees, According To Jim, Private Practice and Cavemen (yes, the Geico Cavemen have their own show...and one hell of an agent) all on the same craptacular network.



So I guess it should come as no surprise that when everyones favorite Greek Midget took the stage with Charles Gibson, a man who looks like Brit Hume with a facelift, they would treat audiences to a debate that had about as much journalistic integrity as a Real World Reunion Show.

Here is a short list of questions asked:

"Would you two pledge here tonight that if one of you loses, you will make the other candidate your running mate. Right here and now."

"Do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do?"

"Do you disown him"



"How would you use George W. Bush?"

"Do you believe in the American Flag?"

I am surprised Hil-Dog and Obi didn't just kick over their respective podiums and walk out. Hilary has yet to fire back (although I hope she will) but Barack proceeded to get gangsta all up on the media, which he has diplomatically refered to as "Washington."

Playing to a friendly crowd, Obama lambasted the moderators of the ABC debate, saying they played "gotcha games" and attempted to "hoodwink" and "bamboozle" the American People. He even proceeded to brush his shoulders off. He turned his gaze to the right of the stage to where some female supporters were standing as if to say "Ladies is pimps too, go on, brush your shoulders off."



But even as he played to the crowd and threw in a few jokes here and there, you could tell he was frustrated with the debate.

And he sure as shit wasn't the only one.

Tom Shales of the Washington Post called the debate "shoddy" and "despicable."

The Boston Globe called it "thoroughly wretched."

The New York Times called the debate "The Battle of the Baggage."

ABC News has been flooded with comments, calling for the heads of Gibson and Georgie Boy. And rightly so. In all, ABC recieved over 17,600 on their website. Many of them reading something like "ABC should be ashamed of themselves," as one viewer was quoted around the blogosphere.

By now the debate backlash, the Obama response and even the quick jabs taken by Bill Clinton against Obama, are old news. What no one seems to be talking about is how this will all affect the general election.



Since Wednesday night, Obama has picked up two new superdelegates, bringing his total count to 231. That means that in order for Hilary to win, she now has to get 75% of the remaining super delegates to win. Wait, it gets worse.

In a piece examining the poll numbers and delagate counts between the two candidates, the LA Times reported the following:

"On Wednesday, when Carter hinted strongly of his intentions, Obama won support
from Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who had been appointed the state's U.S.
attorney by Clinton's husband.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania in recent days
abandoned plans to stay neutral in the competition between their Senate
colleagues. Both are opting for Obama.

And in an embarrassment for Clinton, one of the superdelegates supporting her,
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.), predicted in an interview with a Canadian radio
station over the weekend that Obama would win both the nomination and the
presidency.

"I will be stunned if he's not the next president of the United States," Cleaver
said."

Indeed, interviews with several remaining superdelegates revealed that few were swayed by any of the gaffes or missteps over the last few days by either candidate. The New York Times reported that, after conversations with over 15 superdelegates "If there were some moments of concern reflected in the debate — the talk of Mrs. Clinton’s high unfavorability ratings, Mr. Obama’s flashes of annoyance — they all doubted that those moments would be deal-breakers. Instead, most of the superdelegates said they wanted to wait for the results of at least the next major primaries — in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and Indiana and North Carolina two weeks later — before choosing a candidate."



Many voters had said weeks ago that they were concerned that Obama had not been properly vetted and worried about how he would fair in the general against McCain. Clearly, after the low-ball attacks of the ABC debate failed to sway delegates, that worry is over.

And what about John McCain? He has been living it up in the land of the unopposed for some time now. McCain has not yet made any comments regarding the ABC debate with the exception of an interview he gave Andrea Mitchell before the debate took place on Wednesday, in which he said he was "happy with the way the media has covered recent events and will leave the questioning up to them."



McCain recently spoke at an event at Carnegie Mellon University and then at a Wisconsin business summit. Those speeches, if looked at alongside the coverage of the debate backlash, make McCain look tired and sleepy by comparison, leading some to ask the question: is it better for McCain to be unopposed at this stage? Is the ongoing campaign making things better or worse for the Democrats? Does the citizen outrage against the media make Clinton and Obama seem like commiseraters with the American People? Comments like the one above by John McCain certainly make him look more like part of the problem than part of the solution.



Another question I have is which political tack is more effective? You can go on the offensive against the media like Obama. You can attack your opponent like Clinton, saying that the media is an issue but the bigger issue is that Obama can't take the heat. Or you can take the McCain approach and act as if the problem doesn't exist. And I understand all three tactics. McCain is just trying to say as little as possible, saving his attacks for the general. Hilary, who was largely considered to be the victor Wednesday night, has to side with the media, who spent most of the time grilling Obama about associations with everyone from his controversial neighbor to his pastor to his jewelry choices.

Frankly, if I were Obama, I would brush my shoulders off too. In the grand scheme of things, it appears he can do no wrong. After appearing slightly weaker than Clinton on the economy and a few other minor issues, the public reacted with such outrage against the media that the debate seemed to come out a push. But when the dust settled, the actions of Jimmy Carter and some late-released polls seemed to have more affect on delegate counts in Obama's favor. Maybe its time he took a page from another famous musician and "celebrate good times, c'mon."