Archive for September 27th, 2008
Who Won The Debate? Perhaps The Voters
The first 2008 presidential debate is over and, the morning after the night before finds a raging secondary debate being conducted. Over who “won” last night’s verbal dual.
In The McCain Obama 2008 Debate Room in Paltalk Studio A on Paltalk.com, voters were given the opportunity to share their own reactions. The lively discussion lasted into the wee hours of Saturday morning.
“Obama wiped the floor with McCain,” one Democratic said.
“Everyone is saying McCain won,” was the comment of a Republican.
But does it really matter who “won” the debate? Was that the purpose? To determine who is the better debater? Or is reason they debate to clarify their positions to the American people?
In some areas, the two, naturally, disagreed. In a few, there was agreement. And in several, what they agreed upon was that they “fundamentally disagreed.”
There was also opportunity for each candidate to correct or clarify accusations made by the other.
If one was listening closely, one heard that John McCain and Barack Obama both basically favor a bailout of Wall Street and checks and balances to prevent a recurrence of the financial mess the nation faces. Details remained elusive. So they settled on differing over the reason for the crisis.
McCain made the most dramatic suggestion about how to better prioritize the federal budget as a result of the nation’s financial woes, by cutting out huge amounts of spending … a “spending freeze” is what he called it. Obama countered that would be “using a sledge hammer when you need a scalpel.” This is the kind of fundamental difference that could help someone who is undecided determine who to vote for.
