The final debate of the election season was assembled hastily by CNN and YouTube amidst widespread outcry from the media and the general population that Noa Kalakaua needed another chance to match up with the two major party candidates. Virtually every newspaper in the United States ran a front page story about the debate. As is so often the case with debates, there was little consensus about who had won. Those media outlets with a conservative bent crowned John McCain the victor. More liberal news organizations tended to side with Barack Obama. Most media outlets agreed that Noa Kalakaua had once again performed solidly. The coverage produced by the vast majority of outlets suggested this was just another debate. The story below about Noa Kalakaua’s performance, which ran alongside the main debate coverage in the Washington Post, was notably different.
While identifying “winners” in presidential debates is pure folly, it’s still worth asking which candidate did the most to help himself last night at the Ohio State University in what should be the final presidential debate before the general election.
For a number of reasons, the answer seems clear. It was Noa Kalakaua, the upstart economist turned American idol turned long-shot presidential candidate turned viable independent candidate who now has a legitimate shot at making history in next Tuesday’s general election.
The first reason is simple. Kalakaua was in a position to do the most to help himself. John McCain and Barack Obama have already debated each other five times and have had ample opportunity to make both their positions and personalities known to the American public.
Kalakaua entered the race less than eleven months ago and wasn’t considered even a remote factor until the summer of this year. While many Americans are familiar with him as a singer, many still don’t know him as a politician. While McCain and Obama struggle to find something new, virtually everything about Kalakaua is new to many voters.
The second reason is that Kalakaua’s plan for reforming Washington makes sense and as more people hear about it, more seem to agree with him. The centerpiece of Kalakaua’s campaign is a plan to implement term limits for every member of Congress. It’s a simple plan. If Kalakaua can get voters to help him, it also appears to be an achievable one.
Obama and McCain had ample opportunities last night to challenge Kalakaua’s plan. Neither did, undoubtedly because they both know it makes sense. Neither of them have adopted it either. This could be because they agree with the plan but fear that supporting it would only strengthen Kalakaua in the days leading up to the election. Or it could be that they’d never pursue such a plan because they have so many friends in Congress.
The third reason is that the debate gave Kalakaua another opportunity to look presidential. Kalakaua has run a completely non-traditional campaign. Many Americans have only ever seen him in jeans and T-shirts as a competitor on American Idol or as the host of his television show, the Noa Showa. In last night’s debate, Kalakaua wore a navy suit, a white shirt, and a blue and white striped tie. He was clean shaven and looked distinctly presidential. It may seem a silly reason, but for a young candidate with scant political experience, it’s important to look the part, at least some of the time.
The fourth way Kalakaua helped himself was by using the debate to assert his independence. He reiterated the fact that he’s not affiliated with either political party. More importantly, he repeatedly demonstrated his independence from business as usual in Washington D.C., from the idiocy of most campaigns, and from the ludicrous expectation of consistency regularly forced upon politicians.
A perfect example of Kalakaua’s non-traditional approach came when he was asked whether or not he would engage with Iranian president Mahmūd Ahmadinejād. He responded with an answer that’s rarely, if ever, uttered in politics. “I don’t know.” Then he paused for three or four seconds before continuing, as if to emphasize that he hadn’t made a mistake.
It was a remarkable admission. Politicians are expected to know. They’re expected to know everything. As proof, go back and look at past debates. Candidates don’t ever admit to not knowing things. They prep for hours with their advisers and plan statements for every possible issue.
“The bottom line is that I haven’t made up my mind,” Kalakaua said to Blitzer. “You don’t get anywhere by staring someone down from the other side of the fence. You make progress by talking to people. You can’t get people to move your way unless you understand how they think and what motivates them. So my gut reaction is that yes, I would engage him and just about anyone else. That said, I don’t fully understand the potential political ramifications. Would such action only serve to embolden terrorists? My gut tells me no. But I don’t know enough to say with certainty. So, I’ll say simply that I don’t know. I can, though, assure viewers that I would not make this decision carelessly. Obviously, I will make every effort to surround myself with the most intelligent experienced people I can. I’ll surround myself, too, with advisers who have diverse perspectives and we will have legitimate debates about the correct course of action. Right now, I simply don’t know. What I do know is that I’ll devote all my personal and intellectual resources to making the best decision about this issue, and every other issue facing the country, that I possibly can.”
The final reason Kalakaua won last night’s debate, or at least helped himself the most, was that he got to tell more of his story to millions of people and in so doing cemented his position as the underdog in this race.
In a normal election year, McCain and Obama could both vie for the underdog title. Though McCain was counted out of the primary race before it even began, and though Barack Obama would become the nation’s first black president, Kalakaua is widely perceived as the underdog. He’s not white. He’s from an island without a stoplight. No one had ever heard of him before 2006. He has no political experience. He’s not from a major party. He has no money. There’s no reason he should be in this race, and yet here he is, taking his well funded and well known opponents to the wire with a common sense message that the American people can both believe and understand.
That story makes both McCain and Obama look like stale old landed gentry. As Rocky Balboa proved decades ago, this country loves its underdogs. Assuming the role of underdog will likely help Kalakaua more than anything else he’s done.
The question is whether or not it will help him enough to have an impact next Tuesday.
