Obama, McCain face off in second debate
The second presidential debate of 2008 has just begun at Belmont University in Tennessee, moderated by Tom Brokaw of NBC. The "town hall" style debate will last ninety minutes and will focus on multiple topics, though a lot of the questions will probably be about the credit crunch.
Ken and I will be checking in throughout the debate. The Think Progress team is also going to be doing extensive liveblogging.
6:10 PM: Nice opening by Obama, who responded to the first question about the financial crisis by explaining how his agenda for America would help the middle class. Obama also faulted the Bush administration and his opponent (Mr. Regulator) for allowing this mess to happen.
John McCain, for his part, jumped into attack mode almost immediately.
McCain is also doing quite a bit of wandering around, seemingly trying to get as close to the audience as possible.
When Tom Brokaw asked McCain who he would appoint as Treasury Secretary, McCain paused and deadpanned, "Not you, Tom."
What kind of an answer is that?
6:20 PM: Oops:
6:30 PM: The discussion is turning to energy. Obama has explained the importance of achieving the goal of energy independence.
McCain has told lie after lie about Obama's campaign platform, from fiscal management to energy to healthcare. Fortunately, Obama is doing a good job of both setting the record straight and staying on offense.
6:50 PM: Nice framing from Obama - correctly describing global warming as "the climate crisis". And when Tom Brokaw reminded the candidates they were going over their time, Obama said, "I'm just trying to keep up with John."
7:00 PM: A few minutes ago, responding to McCain's attacks on his healthcare system, Obama asserted that healthcare "is a right". Bravo! He also reminded the American people that McCain voted against expanding SCHIP - the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
7:05 PM: Obama just ripped McCain on Iraq, offering a brilliant and concise critique of how disastrous the occupation has been...and how John McCain has been nothing but a cheerleader for George Dubya Bush. "We have to fundamentally change...America's foreign policy," he concluded.
7:20 PM: McCain continues to distort Obama's position on Pakistan. Obama insisted that he be able to respond so he could debunk McCain's lies, and he offered a powerful refutation of McCain's nonsense about idolizing Teddy Roosevelt and "speaking softly". (Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran, anybody?)
7:30 PM: The debate just wrapped up. A couple important things happened in the last ten minutes.
Brokaw asked the candidates if Russia today is "an evil empire" (as Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union). Obama did not answer directly (Yes or No?) as prompted, and neither did McCain, who said "Maybe."
Then there was an audience question: How would you as president respond if Iran (hypothetically) attacked Israel. Would you commit American troops?
McCain described Iran as a threat but didn't directly answer the question. Obama said "We will never take military options off the table" but added that we must "use all the tools at our disposal" to solve a potential crisis diplomatically first.
Obama noted that we can lessen Iran's power to make mischief by reducing our need for Middle Eastern oil (that means investing in renewable energy) and working with the international community to impose tougher sanctions.
The final question was What don't you know and How will you learn it?
Obama answered with grace and humility, saying that his wife could probably provide a longer list than he ever could. McCain merely said that what he didn't know was what everyone else didn't know.
I'm not a neutral observer, but I think Obama won this second debate hands-down.
Ken and I will be checking in throughout the debate. The Think Progress team is also going to be doing extensive liveblogging.
6:10 PM: Nice opening by Obama, who responded to the first question about the financial crisis by explaining how his agenda for America would help the middle class. Obama also faulted the Bush administration and his opponent (Mr. Regulator) for allowing this mess to happen.
John McCain, for his part, jumped into attack mode almost immediately.
McCain is also doing quite a bit of wandering around, seemingly trying to get as close to the audience as possible.
When Tom Brokaw asked McCain who he would appoint as Treasury Secretary, McCain paused and deadpanned, "Not you, Tom."
What kind of an answer is that?
6:20 PM: Oops:
The second questioner of the night, a young African-American man, was named Oliver Clark. Toward the end of his response to Oliver’s question, however, McCain forgot his name and called him “Alan.” McCain also told Oliver that he was probably ignorant of the housing market, saying, “I bet you may have never heard of them before this crisis.”Does McCain think he'll get points for insulting audience members?
6:30 PM: The discussion is turning to energy. Obama has explained the importance of achieving the goal of energy independence.
McCain has told lie after lie about Obama's campaign platform, from fiscal management to energy to healthcare. Fortunately, Obama is doing a good job of both setting the record straight and staying on offense.
6:50 PM: Nice framing from Obama - correctly describing global warming as "the climate crisis". And when Tom Brokaw reminded the candidates they were going over their time, Obama said, "I'm just trying to keep up with John."
7:00 PM: A few minutes ago, responding to McCain's attacks on his healthcare system, Obama asserted that healthcare "is a right". Bravo! He also reminded the American people that McCain voted against expanding SCHIP - the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
7:05 PM: Obama just ripped McCain on Iraq, offering a brilliant and concise critique of how disastrous the occupation has been...and how John McCain has been nothing but a cheerleader for George Dubya Bush. "We have to fundamentally change...America's foreign policy," he concluded.
7:20 PM: McCain continues to distort Obama's position on Pakistan. Obama insisted that he be able to respond so he could debunk McCain's lies, and he offered a powerful refutation of McCain's nonsense about idolizing Teddy Roosevelt and "speaking softly". (Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran, anybody?)
7:30 PM: The debate just wrapped up. A couple important things happened in the last ten minutes.
Brokaw asked the candidates if Russia today is "an evil empire" (as Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union). Obama did not answer directly (Yes or No?) as prompted, and neither did McCain, who said "Maybe."
Then there was an audience question: How would you as president respond if Iran (hypothetically) attacked Israel. Would you commit American troops?
McCain described Iran as a threat but didn't directly answer the question. Obama said "We will never take military options off the table" but added that we must "use all the tools at our disposal" to solve a potential crisis diplomatically first.
Obama noted that we can lessen Iran's power to make mischief by reducing our need for Middle Eastern oil (that means investing in renewable energy) and working with the international community to impose tougher sanctions.
The final question was What don't you know and How will you learn it?
Obama answered with grace and humility, saying that his wife could probably provide a longer list than he ever could. McCain merely said that what he didn't know was what everyone else didn't know.
I'm not a neutral observer, but I think Obama won this second debate hands-down.
# Posted by Andrew : 6:30 PM
Comments:
No question - Obama won hands down. McCain seems to be resembling Bush I at this point - he doesn't seem to enjoy campaigning; he seems insulted at having to debate a younger opponent; and he just doesn't seem to be enjoying meeting people and speaking to the public.
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