Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The 'Not-So-Great' Debate


Tuesday night saw the second of three debates between the top two presidential contenders, Republican John McCain, Senator from Arizona, and Democrat Barack Obama, Senator for Illinois. It did not hold my attention as much as the Vice Presidential Debate last week.

Last night's debate was a 90 minute exchange in a town-hall-style meeting in front of 80 selected voters, and focused on a nation in economic crisis. Each candidate promised anxious Americans that he had the better plan and vision to lead the country through what both men agreed was the America's worst financial situation since the Great Depression.

The audience mostly watched in silence -- not applauding or laughing — and the debate was without dramatic confrontations or the personal exchanges that have characterized both campaigns in recent weeks. I saw no evidence that this debate would change the course of the campaign.

Part of the reason it didn't hold my attention was because I was preoccupied with other things: my own ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder); my outpatient surgery which was less than 24 hours away at the time of the debate (more about that in a later post); and assisting my son with a project due for his Spanish class about the great boxer, Oscar De la Hoya.

One more debate, scheduled for next Wednesday, will be the last before the November 4 election day. Hopefully it will give those voters who are as yet undecided the clarity they need to vote for "The Maverick" (a.k.a. McNasty) or "That one"... or one of the other four major candidates we never hear about.

3 comments:

Brian said...

I lost interest before it was over and got on the computer. It really doesn't even matter who has the best ideas at this point, because McCain is so unlikable that I don't think he has a shot.

Brian said...

Also, don't know what kind of surgery you are having, but I hope everything goes well!

"pastor" Jim Thompson said...

I think many people I know don't want to vote FOR either candidate, they just want to vote AGAINST the other guy.