3rd Presidential Debate

Overall, McCain didn't get the "game changer" that he was looking for in this debate. He spent more time (again) attacking Obama than he did outlining his policies. He frequently was condescending to Obama when he responded to points he didn't agree with, unlike Obama, who stayed on message and stayed polite the whole night. McCain also kept bringing up a supporter named "Joe The Plumber," tonight's euphemism for "ordinary people," again trying to subtly portray Obama (and by extension, his supporters) as outside foreigners meddling in the affairs of Joe Six Pack, hockey moms etc. Obama skillfuly addressed Joe The Plumber (JTP) later in the debate and McCain had trouble incorporating it any more in his arguments. (There does happen to be a Joe The Plumber in Amarillo, TX - www.joetheplumber.com - maybe McCain was hoping he could unclog his campaign.) Here are some points that I noted as the debate progressed:

9:03 Why does McCain always write things down before the debate really starts?
9:04 McCain looks uncomfortable
9:09 Obama gets the first laugh of the night for saying that McCain has been watching too many of his own ads
9:11 McCain accuses Obama of "class warfare" without much explanation
9:13 McCain again uses his poor comparison to Ireland re: tax rates
9:17 Schieffer is popping in and out of the frame of the video and it's distracting
9:20 Obama brings up the Bush deficits
9:21 McCain says he's not President Bush; annoyed at Obama bringing up that McCain voted for Bush's budgets
9:23 Obama gets the second laugh for saying even Fox News disputes one of McCain's accusations
9:27 McCain brings up Rep. John Lewis's remarks about the McCain campaign
9:31 more Joe The Plumber references from McCain
9:32 Obama restates his mild repudiation of Rep. Lewis' comments
9:35 Obama staying on track with emphasizing his focus on policy change vs. McCain mudslinging
9:37 Obama clearly and succinctly refutes the allegations against him re: Ayers and ACORN
9:40 McCain refuses to accept Obama's statements
9:44 McCain says Palin's husband is a tough guy too (??!!??) in response to a question about running mates.
9:48 McCain comes across as condescending frequently in these debates as he just did answering a question about energy policy
9:52 McCain takes a jab at Obama saying he never traveled south of the border and he would understand it better if he did. Neither have I so I guess I can't say anything more.
9:53 Obama counters with "I understand it pretty well"
9:56 McCain comparing Obama to Herbert Hoover again
9:58 Obama outlining his health plan
10:00 More Joe The Plumber about health care (it's getting real old by now) claiming Joe will get fined under Obama's health care plan
10:01 Obama addresses Joe personally and says Joe will play no fines as McCain claims; McCain stunned, can't believe it.
10:03 McCain says Joe is rich now. Wishes him congratulations.
10:05 McCain (accidentally?) calls Obama, "Senator Government"
10:09 Schieffer pressing McCain on whether he would appoint a Supreme Court justice who supports abortion rights
10:13 McCain brings up some of Obama's votes about abortion in the Illinois State Senate which Obama has to address - a frequent tactic of McCain. Obama again skillfuly addresses the accusations.
10:16 Last question about education
10:18 Obama outlining his strategies for improving the education system including emphasizing the role of the parents (yay!)
10:19 McCain starts his response with something about civil rights and equal access to schools apparently in relation to charter schools
10:21 Obama says the Bush administration left the money behind with No Child Left Behind
10:27 McCain giddily sneaks in the last response before closing statements emphasizing his support for school vouchers
10:28 McCain - I'm a reformer, you can trust me, I'm in a "long line of McCain's" serving their country.
10:30 Obama - We live with failed policies. We need tax cuts for middle class, health care and better education. "It's not going to be easy, it's not going to be quick ... [but] I'm sure we can do it."

Jazz Programs & Competitions

I recently applied to a jazz program with a band and found out that we weren't selected which was not entirely unexpected - I had spoken a few weeks ago to a colleague who had won entry into this program in the past and he thought someone was already hand picked for this year's program and mentioned their name. Frustrating but not unexpected. This made me think of the lack of transparency in many jazz competitions and auditions and how who knows who can make the difference between getting opportunities and not. After a certain point, actual talent and creativity frequently seem like secondary factors. Here are some ideas for making competitions fairer:

• An anonymous application process. We were required to submit a picture of the band and this just serves to screen people out based on looks - young/old, black/white etc. Even names and addresses should be screened out so that judges don't know who is applying. I don't want someone thinking "D'Andrea from where...North Carolina?! That doesn't sound like anybody I know and they can't be serious if they aren't living in NYC." Only musical talent and other explicitly stated qualifications should be judged.
  
• An anonymous audition behind a screen like in classical auditions. There a very few auditions at all in jazz (which is a topic for another post) and the ones that are around should be anonymous.
  
• Know who the judges are - why are the judges who can make or break the future of a musician a secret? If the panel of judges are from a certain clique, applicants should know ahead of time so that they can decide whether it's worth the effort to apply.
  
• Specific criteria for what the competition is looking for. Not just be a good player but whether the competition is looking for straight-ahead bebop, originals etc. Imagine if the Olympics didn't specify what events there were going to be and only said you'd better be a good athlete - this is currently what many competitions are like. What is the harm in a program saying we're only looking for people who play such-and-such a style?
• Subsidize application fees so that a musician can apply for free. I understand that there are overhead costs for processing applications but there is too much temptation for an organization to try and get as many applications as possible just to get more money. Groups holding competitions should get grant funding or advertising revenue to pay for the overhead costs.
• Provide feedback to the applicants as to why they weren't selected so that there is evidence that someone actually listened to the recordings and looked at the application. The "you weren't selected, have a nice life" form letter response is not helpful at all. Even a short, honest comment like "we didn't like the feel of the rhythm section" would give the musicians something to work on for next year.
• Publish all the applicants' names and provide status reports as to who is getting further along in the competition. Again, sports is a good analogy.
• Publish the finalists complete winning performances/qualifications so that other musicians can learn from it.
  

2nd Presidential Debate

Overall, the same old stuff, different debate. Obama was too polite with all the jabs and factual liberties that McCain was taking. McCain is starting to sound more desperate but I'm sure he still is appealing to his base. The debate format was too restrictive too with Obama frequently needing to go outside of the time limits to respond to the inaccuracies of McCain's comments and McCain going over with tangents into different topics. Tom Brokaw could be heard on an open mic, after the debate concluded, saying that he was looking "for a trap door I could spring" and "two minutes, one minute, yeah right."