Friday night, America and the rest of the world got their chance to see and hear the next president of the United States debate the runner-up. Regardless of who wins, be it Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain, America witnessed two great leaders who made the debate informative and interesting.
Jim Lehrer shone as a skilled and impartial moderator, and proved once again why he is worthy of moderating such an important event. His questions were well phrased and framed to draw substantive answers out of the candidates, although they oftentimes talked around or completely dodged them. Lehrer’s eagerness for the candidates to address each other rather than the camera helped to remind them they weren’t giving stump speeches.
The candidates used different tactics in their attempts to get their point across to the public and each other. In addition to their philosophies, these varying methods created a distinction between the two early on.
McCain was very aggressive and was sure to point out Obama’s inexperience as a freshman senator. He was not remiss in reminding the American people that he has been working to solve many of the nation’s problems much longer than Obama, including a short history of pre-Musharraf Pakistan. McCain also made a few self-deprecating remarks concerning his age, which drew giggles from the crowd.
Obama was quick to connect McCain to President George W. Bush, a tactic he uses frequently. He continued to push his "change" message by referring many times to "failed policies" enacted by Bush and supported by McCain. He agreed the "surge" in Iraq is working, but also repeated his opposition to the war from the beginning. His several references to working families and their problems helped to offset the academic nature of some of his responses.
One issue that could and should have been avoided was bragging about receiving bracelets from dead service members’ families. It’s bad enough to resurrect the spirits of politicians past, but to invoke the memory of service members who were killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan is simply in the poorest of taste and belongs nowhere on the political stage.
Both candidates proved articulate, passionate and knowledgeable on the toughest issues facing America and its leaders. As we come closer to Election Day, the candidates must remember to maintain this civility and give the American public what they need – clarity on their stances and their plans to steer this nation in a better direction.
