Final Presidential Debate: Analysis
McCain and Obama get confrontational at Hofstra.
Shane McDermott
Issue date: 11/10/08 Section: Presidential debate
The final presidential debate in the 2008 election took place at Hofstra University on Wednesday, October 15th. The format for this debate was much more personable than the others, allowing Senators John McCain and Barack Obama the opportunity to respond to claims made. The emphasis was on the struggling economy and domestic policy.
At times, conversation between McCain and Obama became confrontational.
When talking about each other's campaign ads, both went on the defensive. Obama seemed more offended, saying, "100% of your ads are negative." However, this claim is false. There have actually been certain weeks that Obama had a higher percentage of negative ads, according to a recent study.
They also both made accusations against each other. When talking about the budget, Obama compares McCain to President Bush. Mc Cain quickly responded with an annoyed voice, saying, "I am not President Bush." This was not the first time that Obama has compared McCain to Bush, nor is it the first time that McCain has tried to separate himself from Bush.
McCain also made several accusations against Obama, describing Obama and 1960s radical Bill Ayers as associates. McCain's running mate Sarah Palin went as far as saying that Obama "pals around with terrorists." Obama did serve on a board with Ayers, but according to FactCheck.org, the two have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail since Obama came to the Senate in 2005.
Ean McDermott,33, a registered democrat who voted for John Kerry in the last presidential election, thought that these accusations helped McCain. "While anyone listening should have realized he isn't tied to these people, just getting Obama to address it is a win for McCain."
Lesley McDermott,55, also a democrat, disagreed with Ean. "I thought he explained extremely well, without any reservations, his relationship with Bill Aires; another feeble attempt by the GOP to discredit Obama."
McCain made another false claim when talking about the group ACORN. ACORN, a group hired to register democratic voters, is currently under investigation for registering fake voters. During the debate, McCain accused Obama of giving $230,000 to ACORN. According to FactCheck.org, this claim is absolutely not true.
At times, conversation between McCain and Obama became confrontational.
When talking about each other's campaign ads, both went on the defensive. Obama seemed more offended, saying, "100% of your ads are negative." However, this claim is false. There have actually been certain weeks that Obama had a higher percentage of negative ads, according to a recent study.
They also both made accusations against each other. When talking about the budget, Obama compares McCain to President Bush. Mc Cain quickly responded with an annoyed voice, saying, "I am not President Bush." This was not the first time that Obama has compared McCain to Bush, nor is it the first time that McCain has tried to separate himself from Bush.
McCain also made several accusations against Obama, describing Obama and 1960s radical Bill Ayers as associates. McCain's running mate Sarah Palin went as far as saying that Obama "pals around with terrorists." Obama did serve on a board with Ayers, but according to FactCheck.org, the two have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail since Obama came to the Senate in 2005.
Ean McDermott,33, a registered democrat who voted for John Kerry in the last presidential election, thought that these accusations helped McCain. "While anyone listening should have realized he isn't tied to these people, just getting Obama to address it is a win for McCain."
Lesley McDermott,55, also a democrat, disagreed with Ean. "I thought he explained extremely well, without any reservations, his relationship with Bill Aires; another feeble attempt by the GOP to discredit Obama."
McCain made another false claim when talking about the group ACORN. ACORN, a group hired to register democratic voters, is currently under investigation for registering fake voters. During the debate, McCain accused Obama of giving $230,000 to ACORN. According to FactCheck.org, this claim is absolutely not true.
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