October 07
McCain and Obama braced for second debate
Posted by Laura Snook, senior news editor
What’s happening:
Aspiring US presidents Barack Obama and John McCain meet for their second TV debate today – hours after clashing over terrorist links and dodgy business dealings. Less formal than the first head-to-head, which was declared a virtual tie, today’s will be a ‘town hall’ session in which the audience of undecided voters asks the questions.
What people are saying:
The campaign is turning ugly, but can we expect the debate to follow suit? Probably not, says the BBC’s Jonathan Beale: unlike prime minister’s questions, presidential debates aren’t “a cockpit of confrontation.” They’re about “engaging with the electorate, not political point-scoring.”
Why we should give a damn:
When would-be presidents stoop to conquer, voters find it a turn-off. Gentle putdowns are considered more statesmanlike, as demonstrated by Reagan’s famous chiding of Walter Mondale in 1984. In other words, most of the eye-scratching and hair-pulling will be left to Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. In the meantime, McCain and Obama would do well to read CNN’s 10 rules for winning a debate – and remember that debates are lost more often than they’re won.
I’ll be bringing you the best comment and analysis in a post-mortem tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a little wisdom from the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart on the recent showdown between Biden and Palin.
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