Posted in its entirety at The Minority Report

There was a moment in last Friday’s debate when Sen John McCain held up his wrist and told the audience that he was given that bracelet by the family of Cpl Mathew Stanley, and that he would not allow Cpl Stanley’s sacrifice to be in vain.

Sen Obama immediately interrupted Sen McCain, pointing out that he too wore a bracelet to honor a fallen hero, then as he flailed for words, deftly held the bracelet up to read the name off the bracelet.

That moment in time, better than anything else during the debate, captured the differences between the two candidates. Substance over style, Sen McCain demonstrates why he connects with the people, while Sen Obama appears aloof and uninvolved, unable even to remember the soldier he presumably honors.

When asked by reporters about the bracelet, Sen McCain said, “It means any political ambitions of mine pale in comparison to the sacrifice that nearly 4,000 family members have made.”

In his speech at the Republican National Convention he mentioned his bracelet again. “I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire,” he said. “Matthew died serving our country in Iraq. I wear his bracelet and think of him every day. I intend to honor their sacrifice by making sure the country their son loved so well and never returned to remains safe from its enemies.”

Sen Obama wears a bracelet bearing the name of Sgt Ryan David Jopek. Incredibly, the father of Sgt Jopek has asked Sen Obama to STOP wearing his son’s bracelet and to stop politicizing his son’s death, but the good senator continues to do so. (link and quotes provided)

On an ironic note, a POW bracelet was discovered in June, bearing the name of Sen John McCain. While cleaning out the attic of his deceased mother’s home, Leon Abbott found the copper bracelet that his mother wore for more than three years.

“She was instrumental in launching the POW/MIA movement, and it turns out the bracelet she wore was John McCain’s,” Abbott told NBC News in discussing his mother, Sarah Abbott. “Pure coincidence. I was pretty amazed.” (NBC News link provided)

Pundits have called Friday’s debate performance between the two presidential candidates a “draw.” But as demonstrated by the comparison of bracelets, on substance, it was a clear win for Sen McCain.

Originally posted at The Minority Report