Photo: Senators Barack Obama and John McCain during
Tuesday night’s debate at Belmont University in Nashville,
Tenn. (Stephen Crowley/The New York Times)
NYT
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: October 7, 2008
Senators John McCain and Barack Obama debated for 90 minutes on Tuesday night before a nation in economic crisis, each promising anxious Americans that he had the better plan and vision to lead the country through what both men said was the most dire financial situation since the Great Depression.
The gravity of the moment and the somber setting — a town-hall-style meeting in front of 80 selected voters who, when not asking questions, watched in silence, not applauding or laughing — produced an often stifled encounter, largely absent of dramatic confrontations or the personal exchanges that dominated the campaign over the past several days. There was no indication that the debate did anything to change the course of a campaign that appeared to be moving in Mr. Obama’s direction.
Mr. McCain chose not to use the evening — the second of three scheduled debates — to attack Mr. Obama’s background or character. But in a moment that caught the attention of people in both parties, he appeared agitated in criticizing Mr. Obama for a Senate vote he cast, referring to his opponent only as “that one.” Read more.
Obama did a better job than last time. McCain, I think is not qualified to be a President at all. I don’t understand why he would like to become a President. Unless the White House is some kind of Sanatorium, he should have gone for a peaceful and harmonious days in his senior years.