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Home › Politics

Poll | 10/15/2008 12:00 am

Will you watch the final presidential debate tonight?

Read more about: Barack Obama, Election 2008, John McCain, Presidential Debate

68 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Chrome Toe
the reason I watch now is simply to be able to address the rhetoric in conversations. seriously. when one of my friends or family says that Obama said blah blah or McCain said blah blah I want to actually KNOW what they said.
By Chrome Toe on 10/15/2008 8:20 am
phyllis Doyle Pepe
I wouldn’t miss the debate for anything. It’s what’s happenin, baby, and if it proves to be nothing new under the sun, then so be it. If nothing else the way these two men conduct themselves is a show it itself. Little things make a difference. So who watched last night’s “The Choice” on PBS–––would like to get some takes on it.
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 10/15/2008 8:38 am
Ms. Dee
Hey, Phyllis. I did watch “The Choice” last night on PBS, and found it a very soft. Frontline usually gives me new and sorta edgy information, but they didn’t really even explore the conflict between these two candidates. Good photography, but overall, I was really disappointed in Frontline.
By Ms. Dee on 10/15/2008 12:36 pm
phyllis Doyle Pepe
Thanks for your input. I thought they gave a very careful, balanced portrait of both. To get too edgy before an election would not have been kosher. I’m just guessing, but perhaps their purpose was just to present a bio of both candidates and not get into the conflict. I do think it was done very well and for people who keep complaining that they don’t know enough about this one or that one it would have shed some light.
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 10/15/2008 1:55 pm
Ms. Dee
I know you’re right, but they’re both such complex, multi-layered figures…two hours wasn’t enought time to answer many of the questions people still seem to have about each candidate. They did seem to imply that McCain “caved” to Bush policies to get the party behind him, and didn’t question Obama’s apparent “standing strong” against Wright, but other than that, I couldn’t see any bias…which is a good thing…just not enough personal info about why and how they developed the political stances they’ve taken in this election. That’s what I was hoping for…life-events producing their positions.
By Ms. Dee on 10/15/2008 2:42 pm
phyllis Doyle Pepe
BUT didn’t you see the strength of Obama? This is no “good speech guy, but what else does he have?” kind of man. “The iron fist in the velvet glove.” He’s been on an upward trajectory from the get go. Also the fact that after he became president of the Harvard Law Review he stood his ground and didn’t lean toward the liberals that thought he would be their spokesman. I found that impressive. It showed me that he has the capacity to weigh issues carefully and be confident in his decisions. It isn’t easy to go against the grain when there are friends involved.It sounds to me what you were looking for will take another program or you will have to get that information elsewhere. Another thought here. Frontline presented the facts––––and from those facts you could draw some conclusions without them spelling it out. I think one could make a case for why and how each one of them developed their political stances from the life they have led. It’s very much like a novel that shows instead of tells–––makes you draw your own conclusions; and the best novels do this.
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 10/15/2008 5:09 pm
Ms. Dee
Oh, sure! I’m not saying it didn’t achieve it’s purpose, and no one appreciates the constraints time can place on any narrative more than I do. And within those time constraints, to tell the 47-year story of Obama and the 72-year-old story of McCain was bound to lead to dilemmas of emphasis. Maybe I just wanted Obama to make me cry. Or McCain to do a Rumplestitskin dance. I’m just saying they were heavy on the positive side…utilizing Keating and Rev.Wrigiht…as the only significant negatives revealed on either side. And depending on how you feel about Bush and Reagonomics weather or not you feel okay about McCain embracing President Bush and his strategies (or how you feel about the Reverend Wright and Obama’s rejection of the man) whether or not either of these “negatives” illustrate the tragic flaw of the subject. I’m not saying it wasn’t well done, I’ve just seen Frontline bios more skillful utilize the “draw-your-own-conclusion” quality of revelatory story-telling.
By Ms. Dee on 10/15/2008 5:48 pm
Eliza Dodd
Depends …I am PMSing its MOON Time for me ..almost ..I will need to drink some wine to be able to watch the man with Alzheimers and his silly side kick …I just get this feeling like I want to feild dress her for some reason …I just wish i could be there …with my glass of wine … they would think Rosanne Barr is in the House ! I bet I could make every-body laugh at this cartoon …this is a circus … McNut and Palin are the Ring Leaders ….
By Eliza Dodd on 10/15/2008 9:34 am
Brooklyn Gal
I will certainly be watching. And while nothing new will be discussed, it will give those still on the fence a chance to see that Obama is highly intelligent and worthy of this position.
By Brooklyn Gal on 10/15/2008 9:38 am
Jackie Sanders
Will be at the theatre tonight supporting my fellow artists…have watched every debate since the primaries for BOTH parties. Will watch the highlights on the net at some point….but the past 2 between Obama and McCain have been a big yawn, so I didn’t hesitate to accept an invite out tonight!
By Jackie Sanders on 10/15/2008 9:55 am
EKA -
As said above, if you are a political junkie, there is no way you can NOT watch. I am hoping that the format of this one, sitting at a table, time to ask each other questions, will bring a little spontaneity. I put an Obama sticker on my bumper in June of ‘06……. 2006 ! People laughed at me, my sister, a Fox watcher, asked who the heck he was . I said “He will be the next president, mark my words “, and here we are 20 days away from an historic election. I am thrilled, excited, nervous, apprehensive ….. and very sorry for anyone who has to govern us out of this mess. So, yeah, I will be watching, and I do not expect concrete answers because there are non, we are in unchartered territory here and there are no easy answers. But, as Christopher Buckley, William F’s son said, “Obama has in him—I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy “We are the people we have been waiting for” silly rhetoric—the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for.” These next 20 days can’t go by fast enough, and this debate is just another nick in the process.
By EKA - on 10/15/2008 10:09 am
phyllis Doyle Pepe
E: Speaking of Buckley: See my post on the Monica Crowley thread––last page or go to Huff Post and read about him.
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 10/15/2008 10:13 am
LuckyLady n/a
I cannot possibly be “on the fence” any longer. The fence has fallen down…. This whole debacle has made Ralph Nader look promising.
By LuckyLady n/a on 10/15/2008 10:35 am
phyllis Doyle Pepe
He may look,/i> promising, but that’s about as far as he’s gonna go.
By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 10/15/2008 12:35 pm
Susan B
DId you catch him on NewsHour last night? Blechhhh! I wish he’d go back to being a consumer advocate, because he’s unsafe at any speed. :-D
By Susan B on 10/15/2008 1:48 pm
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