2008 Woodie Awards
U.S. presidential debates are over and the results are in...
Stephanie Roets
Issue date: 10/24/08 Section: News
| |
|
Each debate was a little different. The first debate was very traditional with each senator standing behind a podium and arguing the questions given by the moderator and then each other. The bulk of this debate was the economy, even though it was scheduled to focus on foreign policy.
The second debate was set up in a town meeting format. This allowed a small group of people to sit in and ask the questions on the debate. Foreign policy came through for a the first time.
The Republican Party was confident with this style because it is said to be McCain's strong style and he was slipping behind Obama in the polls. Unfortunately, it was not an exciting debate, and McCain did not show well. McCain attempted to make jokes at Obama's expense, but it did not come out in a joking manner and instead seemed more like attacks.
The Democratic Party was very upset when at one point, McCain referred to Obama as "that one."
For the last debate, the candidates sat down with a moderator and answered the questions. The debate spent time on the economy because on Oct. 15 DOW dropped over 700 points. The candidates also spent a good chunk of time discussing the policies they are bringing to the table if made president. Both talked about tax cuts and who those tax cuts will affect.
A man in Ohio named Joe Wurzelbacher, referred to all night as "Joe the plumber," received more than 20 mentions alone from McCain in an attempt to show which of the candidates had the better tax breaks for a small business Wurzelbacher wants to buy.
When it came to speaking about their policies, it seemed McCain focused on reaching out to conservatives. Obama stayed more in a gray area, reaching out to those who are undecided. It is true that some of McCain's views will attract those who are undecided, but it seemed that Obama made a stronger case towards them and that should keep him up in the polls.
As of today, there are 11 days left until Election Day. All the candidates have to go on their campaigning trails, and their supporters are spreading their policies to those who have remained undecided. However, in an interesting turn of events, some states that are always expected to go red, such as Virginia which hasn't voted Democrat since 1964, may go blue. Polls show that as of Oct. 15 after the final debate, Obama was leading in Virginia, Colorado, Georgia and Florida. He is only down by one point in Missouri.
If these numbers hold out, Nov. 4 may turn out to be a much more exciting day than expected. It also brings the question: will Kansas go blue this year? In a survey done on campus, more students expressed a liking for Obama over McCain. However, most people would say the odds are unlikely because Kansas, like Virginia, has not voted Democrat since 1964. Moreover, Kansas has only gone blue twice in history according to Governer Kathleen Sebelius.
Yet, this interesting turn of events in many red states makes the polls this year much more interesting, and it only reinforces the idea that every vote counts.
Be the first to comment on this story