Presidential Debate in Nashville - McCain Vs Obama
The second Presidential debate was held Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - exactly four weeks before Election Day - at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont is a small Christian liberal arts institution (5000 students) near downtown Music City, USA.
This meeting was a 90 minute affair; the format was the 'town hall meeting' type of discussion with questions from the audience and several internet users of selected, mostly undecided, voters directly to the candidates with a one minute limit on a discussion period. (That was largely violated.)
The debate was facilitated by NBC newsman Tom Brokaw. He did a noteworthy job in directing the discussions - at times allowing prolonged debate from each candidate, at times chiding each candidate to keep within the time limits and on topic.
It got underway immediately with no opening statements. The first question concerned economics as did the preponderance of them. The tone of the questions at times reflected the mood of the nation - anguished, anxious, concerned. It seemed that after an hour the questions turned more to foreign policy and were directed primarily at the conditions in Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. All in all the questions were excellent in their content and pertinence.
There was much at stake in this debate with Senator McCain having the most riding on the outcome owing to his recent slippage in the polls. He did a fair job though at times rambling or resorting to campaign rhetoric we have all heard before which did not necessarily answer the question or contribute to the discussion in a direct and forthright manner.
McCain did not come across especially strong on health care or on the credit crisis facing us. He strongly stated his foreign policy views and was persuasive in doing so. Overall, his performance most likely did little to change the dynamics of the race where Obama has taken a pronounced and troublesome lead over the last week.
Senator Obama did a superb job answering the questions, demonstrating poise under fire, and exhibiting his calm and eloquent manner. His stage presence was relaxed and smooth as he addressed the audience. He appeared to have a good grasp of the essentials, was organized in his responses, and was not in the attack mode as was McCain at times. But, he adeptly countered almost every parry from McCain with civility and intelligently.
Obama's strong points were in the domestic arena including health care and tax cuts for the middle class although McCain convincingly warned of raising taxes on anyone. Obama was less than clear on the current credit debacle. He won style points in his display of self-confidence and ease with the audience which will be helpful in dispelling doubts as to whether he is 'Presidential' material.
Post debate analysis differed as it did last time. I watched MSNBC coverage - not out of love for that overly biased cable news outlet, but because I felt they would be most
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