Debate 1

I watched the debate on CNN last night. They had a weird little thing on the bottom of the screen that had lines depicting the audience reaction: red for Rep., blue for Dem. and greenish for Ind. I couldn't exactly tell if it was accurate since the lines kept swaying all around, but I've never seen something like that before. I had to laugh at all the different reactions the media had to the debate, as presented in the headlines of the hufington post. Some say Obama was distinctly better than McCain, while others critized both. Here we can see the opinions and views of the writers for these news organizations. Washington Post had several thought provoking articles, and this one didn't seem to be too biased in their depiction of what went on at the campaign. They do state that Obama shot McCain down quite a bit about the Iraq war situation, in which McCain indefinitly supported the Bush administration. Did anyone else see McCain's hairline temper perking during this part? He laughed it off to play it safe...

Washington Post also writes an article that they think neither of the candidates really came out "shining." There was no clear advantage over the other.

Here is an article from The Nation that basically said Obama had his chance to take over McCain on issues that he has no clue about: "At other times, though not tonight, Obama has spoken forcefully as the first 21st century candidate---addressing the limits of military force in a world whose central challenges are pandemics, nuclear proliferation, global inequality, and climate change. These are issues which McCain has no clue how to address. He is a man who craves the reassuring reflexes of the early Cold War era, when military power was the appropriate response to any provocation. Tonight, though, at too many key moments, Obama played on McCain's turf." I do think that Obama played it safe at times when he could have blown McCain out of the water with his knowledge. I also didn't like the fact that he was saying let's get out of Iraq and go into Afghanistan. It's like the sequel to the first disaster war. Like the article says, why didn't Obama talk more about what he's going to do HERE, in AMERICA for the people...thats what we need. He has said it before, why did he clamp up last night?

Slate feels pretty much the same way as WashingtonPost...no clear victory!The media seems to be telling us that Obama needs to "kick it up a notch!" (to borrow an Emeril phrase!) if he wants to gain a clear lead over McCain. It shouldn't be that hard...