[mukto-mona] Who won the third presidential debate? No one!

The outcome of final presidential debate is in the eyes of the beholder!

 

A.H. Jaffor Ullah

 

Many Americans were psyched up for the third presidential debate that was slated for the evening of October 15, 2008.  The Hofstra University located at Hempstead, Long Island, NY was the venue for the historic event, which was moderated by CBS's veteran newsperson, Bob Schieffer.

 

The format of the debate was very different from the first two.  The two candidates sat closely for 90 minutes next to the moderator.  Therefore, it was expected to be a non-confrontational meeting of the two candidates.  The other thing worth noticing is that each candidate could retort to any comments made by his opponent.  Also, the moderator was in full control of the debate unlike the second debate held about a week ago at Belmont University campus in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Many political analysts have rightly predicted that Senator McCain who had been trailing by as much as 10-12 percent in some blue states and by 5-6% in some tossup states will be on the offensive in tonight's debate.  Since both the financial market and economy in America are going through some rough weather to put it in milder terms, the entire debate was on domestic policy and in particular on uncertain future from the perspective of ordinary Americans vis-à-vis jobs, home values, credit market, recession, etc.

 

Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama performed well in the debate but the Republican candidate did well in the first 30 minutes and Senator Obama performed a tad better than McCain in the last 30 minutes.  McCain was very focused on economic issues while Obama handled the healthcare, education, job creation, and energy issue rather well. 

 

There were some lively interactions going on between the two candidates as they spar on many domestic issues.  John McCain had more to gain by winning the debate; therefore, he went ballistic from the very start.  Barack Obama on the other hand wanted to play safe; therefore, he remained calm and behaved like a professor throughout the debate.

 

At the end of the debate, CNN had corralled a whole bunch of political pundits from both sides of the aisle.  The Republican ones thought that their man (McCain) have done better than Obama; whereas, the Democratic-leaning analysts thought Obama performed better overall.  The CNN also placed about 30 independent voters in Columbus, Ohio, who get to vote and talk immediately after the debate.  There, about 12 undecided voters thought Obama came out victorious as opposed to 6 undecided voters.  I am of the opinion that Senator McCain gave his best performance in the final debate as compared to the first two debates.  Senator Obama was calm and calculated and he did not give an inch to McCain; he rebutted his opponent at every possible opportunity.

 

To illustrate how testy was the debate, I will provide here the dialogue that took place between the two when the question was who is running a negative campaign?

 

"One hundred percent, John, of your ads, 100 percent of them have been negative," Obama shot back in an uncommonly personal debate less than 20 days from Election Day.

 

"It's not true," McCain retorted.

 

"It absolutely is true," said Obama, seeking the last word.  

 

Senator McCain played the role of aggressor from the very beginning of the debate, accusing Obama of waging class warfare by seeking tax increases that would "spread the wealth around." 

 

The Republican candidate also demanded to know the full extent of Obama's relationship with William Ayers, a 1960s-era terrorist and the Democrat's ties with ACORN, a liberal group accused of violating federal law as it seeks to register voters. And he insisted that Obama disavow the recent remarks by Rep. John Lewis, a Democrat, who accused the Republican ticket of playing racial politics along the same lines as Governor George Wallace, a segregationist of the past.

 

Struggling to escape the political liability of an unpopular Republican incumbent, McCain also said, "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. ... You wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."

 

Obama was very agile while returning each volley, and brushed aside McCain's assertion to full political independence.

 

"If I've occasionally mistaken your policies for George Bush's policies, it's because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people — on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities — you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush," Obama said. 

 

There were quite a few skirmishes that took place between the two candidates.  Thanks to the format of tonight's debate that made the usually dull confrontation into an exciting one. 

 

As I alluded to earlier, no one had under-performed tonight.  Being an underdog John McCain came to Hofstra University campus to have a knockout win, which never did happen.  Senator Obama came out slightly bruised over 1960-era terrorist, Bill Ayers, issue.  Senator McCain could not say how his running mate, Sarah Palin, is uniquely qualified to be the president. 

 

Therefore, should I call the debate a draw?  No, I won't.  I think Senator Obama did a fine job defending his liberal policies to American voters.  Most polls in America are pointing for a landslide victory for Obama-Biden ticket.  It will be a shocker if McCain-Palin ticket could come out victorious on election night.  In my earlier write-ups I have mentioned that whoever would win the state of Colorado would become the next president of America.  The Obama campaign thus far has run a flawless election drive nationally.  They were quick to reply to any allegation against their campaign.  More and more Obama looks more presidential than Senator McCain.  The sign of sea change is everywhere.  Perhaps the era of neo-conservative movement a la Ronald Reagan is over.  The birth of neo-liberalism is about to happen after November 4 election and that is an exciting development after ruination of American economy by Bush-Cheney Administration.

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Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA

 

 

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