Round Two: Obama vs. McCain
Joe McElroy
Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: News
Here we had two wonderful combatants face off against each other once again on October 7th at 9pm. The Political Science Club hosted a gathering (with free food) to bring people together to watch the debate and give their own opinions afterwards. Professor Steve Hartlaub, Political Science teacher that helped host the event said, "The turnout was amazing, but we need to order more pizza for next time. No matter what, it's great to see so many students involved." Indeed, the number of students that showed up to the event was amazing. Every seat, except for the few broken seats in room 104 of the Guild Center, was filled, and yet more people kept coming in, parking it on the stairs rather than standing around to watch the debate. When I asked a few of the students from the Political Science Club how this event compared to the Vice Presidential Debate, which had about twenty students show up for that debate, there was about double the size. I can easily say that the next Presidential Debate, which airs on October 15th and the Political Science club will most likely host again, will have to have more pizza.
Now for the meat of the debate. The stage for this version of the debate was the town hall format, which is supposedly McCain's specialty. Many hot topics such as the recent bailout bill, the ever looming energy crisis, healthcare and Medicare, and the war in Iraq were discussed. Both candidates spoke very well and very fluently about their opinions and what they planned to do if elected president. However, a main issue that became more or less of a joke throughout the debate, was Tom Brokaw having to remind the candidates that they are supposed to give their statements within the time allotted, one minute. More or less, from my perspective, the candidates did a lot of finger pointing and blame, each trying to one-up the other's attack at them with a sarcastic comment or snide remark of how the other will do wrong. At times, it was very unprofessional. When the discussion of how the candidates will end America's debt, McCain blatantly said that Obama just wants to raise taxes and that his plans "are as effective as nailing Jell-O to the walls." This was a response to Obama's opinion of what he would do, stating that, "people feel like they aren't sharing the burden [National debt], the high school teacher being told to tighten their belt with their spending while a CEO is living the high life. It's not fair. The people that need help the most are not getting it, and those that don't need help are getting it."
Now for the meat of the debate. The stage for this version of the debate was the town hall format, which is supposedly McCain's specialty. Many hot topics such as the recent bailout bill, the ever looming energy crisis, healthcare and Medicare, and the war in Iraq were discussed. Both candidates spoke very well and very fluently about their opinions and what they planned to do if elected president. However, a main issue that became more or less of a joke throughout the debate, was Tom Brokaw having to remind the candidates that they are supposed to give their statements within the time allotted, one minute. More or less, from my perspective, the candidates did a lot of finger pointing and blame, each trying to one-up the other's attack at them with a sarcastic comment or snide remark of how the other will do wrong. At times, it was very unprofessional. When the discussion of how the candidates will end America's debt, McCain blatantly said that Obama just wants to raise taxes and that his plans "are as effective as nailing Jell-O to the walls." This was a response to Obama's opinion of what he would do, stating that, "people feel like they aren't sharing the burden [National debt], the high school teacher being told to tighten their belt with their spending while a CEO is living the high life. It's not fair. The people that need help the most are not getting it, and those that don't need help are getting it."
Be the first to comment on this story