Post | 10/15/2008 10:05 am

Will We See More Sparks Fly at Tonight's Presidential Debate?

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Barack Obama and John McCain will square off for their third and final debate. Here’s hoping there are a few more fireworks than at the last two.

Tonight’s debate will take place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, and begins at 9 PM ET. The 90-minute face-off will likely focus on the economic crisis plaguing the country, and will be moderated by CBS News’s Bob Schieffer.

This time, the presidential hopefuls will sit at a table facing one another. Schieffer told the AP that he will try to get real answers from the candidates on what each one will bring to the presidency.

"By now, we’ve all heard their talking points," he said. "The time has come to be a little more specific."

Former CBS anchor Dan Rather talks to Politico.com on what a moderator should do to get the debaters to answer the questions asked and to stay on topic.

Both Obama and McCain have apparently made interesting demands for tonight’s showdown, CNN reports.

Both campaigns, for example, have requested that an air-conditioning vent be placed above their candidate to prevent sweating. They also both demanded a water glass, but not just any glass – an exact replica of water glasses used at the previous debates.

Obama has been prepping at a resort in Toledo, OH. CNN reports that advisers say that as the debate nears, the Illinois senator gets a sense of calm, turns off his cell phone three hours ahead of time and just focuses.

McCain was making final debate preparations in New York. He’s hoping for a game-changing performance tonight.

McCain has suggested that he is likely to bring up Obama’s links to William Ayers, a Vietnam-era radical who was a member of the violent Weather Underground group but later became a university professor in Chicago. He and Obama both worked with some of the same charities in Chicago, and Ayers hosted a reception for Obama when he first ran for the Illinois state Senate.

"We’re always prepared for him to be hyperaggressive in his attacks," Obama campaign aide Robert Gibbs said of McCain. "I just think that doesn’t work in an environment where so many people are concerned about the issues in front of them, not scare tactics they don’t see as helping to pay the bills."

Politico.com also reports that McCain is at odds with many of his top advisers over launching a new attack on Obama’s ties to his long-time pastor and mentor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and several top campaign officials see a sharp attack on Wright as a good chance to rattle Obama and force voters to rethink their support of him. But campaign officials say McCain is fighting against that tactic out of fear such an attack would be viewed as desperate and racist.

“Wright is off the table,” said one top campaign official. “It’s all McCain. He won’t go there. His advisers would have gone there.”

Obama Pulls Ahead

McCain needs a boost, if you believe the most recent polls.

-A new Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll shows that that Obama has a 4-point national lead over McCain. Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 44 percent among likely U.S. voters in the latest four-day tracking poll, down slightly from Obama’s 6-point advantage on Tuesday. The poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

-The latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows that McCain’s recent angry tone and personal attacks on Obama have hurt him. Six in 10 voters surveyed said McCain spent more time attacking Obama than explaining what he would do as president; by about the same number, voters said Obama was spending more of his time explaining than attacking. In general, the poll found that if the election were held today, 53 percent of those determined to be probable voters said they would vote for Obama and 39 percent said they would vote for McCain.

-A Wall Street Journal/Washington Post poll conducted by Quinnipiac says Obama has taken a solid lead in polls of four large battleground states: he’s ahead by double digits in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and by a smaller margin in Colorado. Obama’s prospects in these states has gotten better in the wake of the first two debates and by the fact that the electorate views him as better prepared to deal with the economy.

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

Eliza Dodd
Hey Girls The other Criminal Carl Rove …and he should know ..well he told Bush last week OBAMA has already won the Election …I heard it on NPR .I am so sick looking at this old elderly man who cant think with out -someone promting him …He forgets in Mid Thought …He already is showing signs of Alzheimers ! I know I had a Anut who died form it ..George Bush and Dick will never leave the White House …..it would be another 8 years of Hell on Earth ! Ask any Service person do they want another 8 years in Iraq ? The Iraqis dont even want us there now ! They have Been Saying Please Leave Now ! Something The Media Leaves Out of the Evening News …Please read memri.org …really ….want to see the truth ? or keep hearing Bush and Dicks lies ?This McNut and Plain are Pukey Sickening ! Really I feel like puking when I see those 2 …I cant even listen to the TV I have to hit the MUTE button …
By Eliza Dodd on 10/15/2008 10:22 am
C Hardy
Eliza…I went to the website memri.org and the only article I can find is where a certain Iraqi Writer in Saudi Daily wants the Iraqs to invade and try to take over the US Bases and that way the US would have to negotiate to get them back…Is taht what you want to see? You want to see more of our Military Men/Women get killed during these attempts? I mean seriously? Is that what you want to see? Yes we are there under some really awful intelligance BUT now that we are there can’t we make it better for our Troops…and before you say that I dont know what I am talking about b/c I tend not to believe everything I read or hear on the news or interenet but hear it from my friends and future husband who have been there and did that in Iraq…So your telling me that you want the Iraq’s to invade our bases & take over? Because that is the only article I can find on this middle eastern website that hates the US obviously…I am really sorry I even went there to begin with…I can’t believe you want American’s to read such stuff…
By C Hardy on 10/15/2008 1:38 pm
Eliza Dodd
As I read your Post …really I wasnt going to reply …but NOW I have to after I thought about it awile ..YOU ARE BRAINWASHED …so you should just go home and go back to bed and dream of the MISERABLE life you have lead …and please do not respond to anything I POST…everything I have ever said Flys right between your ears like George Bush …You people will never get it ….So go away and stop causing yourself so much grief …go back to bed and dream of that Miseable life you live ….and once and for all BUZZ OFF ! Shalome` which is Arabic …in Peace …and always remember A is for Allah !
By Eliza Dodd on 10/15/2008 2:25 pm
C Hardy
Eliza, ummm sweetie I am more middle eastern then you will ever be considering you yourself is an Indian…Um I am Lebanese so please refrain from thinking you know more than me! AND DONT EVER SAY THAT I HAVE A MISERABLE LIFE B/C GUESS WHAT, MY LIFE IS TONS BETTER THAN YOURS…I DONT RANT AND RAVE ABOUT THE STUFF THAT YOU DO & HOW MUCH YOU HATE THIS OR HATE THAT…I AM NOT BRAIN WASHED BUT I DO FEEL THAT YOU ARE…I HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE THAT INCLUDES AN AWESOME FIANCEWHO I AM ABOUT TO MARRY NEXT WEEKEND AND A PERFECT 2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER W/ THIS MAN & A GREAT FAMILY AND A JOB WITH FULL HEALTH BENEFITSYES I LOVE MY LIFE, MORE THAN WHAT I CAN SAY FOR YOU AND HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURS….ALL YOU EVER DO IS RANT AND RAVE ABOUT HOW AWFUL YOUR LIFE IS AND THEN PUT OTHERS DOWN WHEN THEY DONT AGREE W/ YOU… I CAN REPLY TO ANY OF YOUR MESSEAGES JUST LIKE YOU CAN RANT AND RAVE ABOUT ANYTHNG YOU WANT ON THIS WEBSITE & YOU CAN EITHER READ IT OR NOTIF YOU WANT TO REPLY TO ME, THEN DO, IF NOT, ALL THE BESTYOU HAVE BEEN REPORTED SEVERAL TIMES ON THIS WEBSITE FOR WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT OTHERS AND WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO TO THEMBUT THE BEST IS YOUR POST ON THIS SITE ABOUT WANTING TO KICK A COP OR A JUDGE! NOW TO ME THAT IS A THREAT AND SINCE MY FIANCEIS A STATE TROOPER HERE IN MY STATE, I WELCOME YOU TO COME AND KICK HIM WHEN YOU WANT TO GO TO JAIL B/C I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU HAVE UR COMPUTER TAKEN AWAY & SIT IN THE JAILS WE HAVE IN MY COUNTY FOR ASSAULTING A POLICE OFFICER…I WILL EVEN BE GLAD TO PAY FOR YOUR HEALTH CARE WHILE YOUR IN THERE JUST TO SHOW YOU WHAT A WONDERFUL PERSON AND LIFE THAT I TRULY HAVE….SO PLEASE AGAIN I EXTEND THE INVITATION FOR YOU TO COME AND KICK MY COP….PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE, IM BEGGING YOU!
By C Hardy on 10/15/2008 3:48 pm
Eliza Dodd
No ,really he isn’t going to Marry you ….better get ready for that day …I am serious ..Here on the other hand is some good news from my Bestest Friend in the Whole Wide World …>>read this sweet heart > October 15th, 2008 2:50 am Poll Says Attacks Backfire on McCain By Michael Cooper and Megan Thee / New York Times The McCain campaign’s recent angry tone and sharply personal attacks on Senator Barack Obama appear to have backfired and tarnished Senator John McCain more than their intended target, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll has found. After several weeks in which the McCain campaign unleashed a series of strong political attacks on Mr. Obama, trying to tie him to a former 1960s radical, among other things, the poll found that more voters see Mr. McCain as waging a negative campaign than Mr. Obama. Six in 10 voters surveyed said that Mr. McCain had spent more time attacking Mr. Obama than explaining what he would do as president; by about the same number, voters said Mr. Obama was spending more of his time explaining than attacking. Over all, the poll found that if the election were held today, 53 percent of those determined to be probable voters said they would vote for Mr. Obama and 39 percent said they would vote for Mr. McCain. The findings come as the race enters its final three weeks, with the two candidates scheduled to hold their third and last debate on Wednesday night, and as separate polls in critical swing states that could decide the election give Mr. Obama a growing edge. But wide gaps in polls have historically tended to narrow in the closing weeks of the race. Voters who said their opinions of Mr. Obama had changed recently were twice as likely to say they had grown more favorable as to say they had worsened. And voters who said that their views of Mr. McCain had changed were three times more likely to say that they had worsened than to say they had improved. The top reasons cited by those who said they thought less of Mr. McCain were his recent attacks and his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. (The vast majority said their opinions of Mr. Obama of Illinois, the Democratic nominee, and Mr. McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, had remained unchanged in recent weeks.) But in recent days, Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin have scaled back their attacks on Mr. Obama, although Mr. McCain suggested he might aggressively take on Mr. Obama in Wednesday’s debate. With the election unfolding against the backdrop of an extraordinary economic crisis, a lack of confidence in government, and two wars, the survey described a very inhospitable environment for any Republican to run for office. More than 8 in 10 Americans do not trust the government to do what is right, the highest ever recorded in a Times/CBS News poll. And Mr. McCain is trying to keep the White House in Republican hands at a time when President Bush’s job approval rating is at 24 percent, hovering near its historic low. While the poll showed Mr. Obama with a 14 percentage-point lead among likely voters in a head-to-head matchup with Mr. McCain, when Ralph Nader and Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, were included in the question, the race narrowed slightly, with 51 percent of those surveyed saying that they were supporting Mr. Obama and 39 percent supporting Mr. McCain, with Mr. Nader getting the support of 3 percent and Mr. Barr 1 percent. Other national polls have shown Mr. Obama ahead by a smaller margin. The poll suggested that the overwhelming anxiety about the economy and distrust of government have created a potentially poisonous atmosphere for members of Congress. Only 43 percent of those surveyed said that they approved of their own representative’s job performance, which is considerably lower than approval ratings have been at other times of historic discontent. By way of comparison, just before the Democrats lost control of Congress in 1994, 56 percent of those polled said that they approved of the job their representative was doing. And after nearly eight years of increasingly unpopular Republican rule in the White House, 52 percent of those polled said that they held a favorable view of the Democratic Party, compared with 37 percent who said they held a favorable view of the Republican Party. Voters said they preferred Democrats to Republicans when it came to questions about who would better handle the issues that are of the greatest concern to voters — including the economy, health care and the war in Iraq. The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Friday through Monday with 1,070 adults, of whom 972 were registered voters, and it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for both groups. After several weeks in which the McCain campaign sought to tie Mr. Obama to William Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground terrorism group, 64 percent of voters said that they had either read or heard something about the subject. But a majority said they were not bothered by Mr. Obama’s background or past associations. Several people said in follow-up interviews that they felt that Mr. McCain’s attacks on Mr. Obama were too rooted in the past, or too unconnected to the nation’s major problems. “What bothers me is that McCain initially talked about running a campaign on issues and I want to hear him talk about the issues,” said Flavio Lorenzoni, a 59-year-old independent from Manalapan, N.J.“But we’re being constantly bombarded with attacks that aren’t relevant to making a decision about what direction McCain would take the country. McCain hasn’t addressed the real issues. He’s only touched on them very narrowly. This is a time when we need to address issues much more clearly than they ever have been in the past.” The poll found that Mr. Obama is now supported by majorities of men and independents, two groups that he has been fighting to win over. And the poll found, for the first time, that white voters are just about evenly divided between Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama, who, if elected, would be the first black president. The poll found that Mr. Obama is supported by 45 percent of white voters — a greater percentage than has voted for Democrats in recent presidential elections, according to exit polls. Mr. McCain was viewed unfavorably by 41 percent of voters, and favorably by 36 percent. Ms. Palin’s favorability rating is now 32 percent, down 8 points from last month, and her unfavorable rating climbed nine percentage points to 41 percent. Mr. Obama’s favorability rating, by contrast, is now at 50 percent, the highest recorded for him thus far by The Times and CBS News. There were still some strong findings for Mr. McCain. Sixty-four percent of voters polled said Mr. McCain, 72, was well-prepared for the presidency, which has been a central theme of his campaign. Fifty-one percent said Mr. Obama, 47, was. But roughly 7 in 10 voters said Mr. Obama had the right kind of temperament and personality to be president; just over half said the same of Mr. McCain. Mr. Obama’s supporters continued to be more enthusiastic about him than Mr. McCain’s supporters, the poll found, and more of those surveyed said they had confidence in Mr. Obama than in Mr. McCain to make the right decisions about the economy and health care. And while more than 6 in 10 said Mr. Obama understood the needs and problems of people like them, more than half said Mr. McCain did not. ………………………….McNut has No Class whats-so-ever nor his side kick …. If I were a Repig I would be so ashamed ….of the Nut and the Mole ….. Health Care Now .org …sign the New Petition People ? GOD BLESS AMERICA WE GOT PRESIDENT OBAMA ! Thank You Sweet Jesus ,Thank you ! GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!!
By Eliza Dodd on 10/15/2008 5:00 pm
gulliver fourmyle
Ladies, pretty please, with ice-cream (butter-pecan)—-be ladies—-you’re making me seem ‘tame’—-Yipes!!!!!
By gulliver fourmyle on 10/15/2008 7:31 pm
C Hardy
Gulliver, friend, but it was so fun to read her rants…Just loved it…Make sure you toast my wedding next Saturday!!!
By C Hardy on 10/16/2008 7:20 pm
gulliver fourmyle
i do truly wish you a happy, ‘durable’ marriage—-so rare these days—-but a long ‘engagement’, as yours, i feel wise—-oh, send me some ‘Dom’—-best toast for weddings—-
By gulliver fourmyle on 10/16/2008 8:00 pm
f p
Tell me something CO do you know why we are in Iraq? Why our troops were sent there/? And why those fine men and women are being killed? Just curious.
By f p on 10/15/2008 3:06 pm
C Hardy
Frank…Yes I know why we are there and like I have said plenty of times before WE SHOULDNT BE THERE…but please if you feel it necessary tell me again b/c you seem to think I dont know from all the times you and others have said on this site….
By C Hardy on 10/15/2008 3:51 pm
georgia fatwood
Oh, do please, spare me all the pukey references….so unnecessary, lovey.
By georgia fatwood on 10/15/2008 2:22 pm
Eliza Dodd
If I had the cahnce I would in a heart beat ..and its hard for me to get sick ..but since I have no haelth care and they are really pigs …I could Puke all over Palins Hair and eye glasses and Johns shoes …I would become Linda Blair !
By Eliza Dodd on 10/15/2008 2:29 pm
Belinda Joy
I don’t think sparks will fly.
By Belinda Joy on 10/15/2008 10:38 am
f p
I agree Belinda—more like snores along with the smirks and sighs.
By f p on 10/15/2008 3:07 pm
Mary NSB-Florida
The 24/7 news cycles have made this election another game and the whole process needs to be much…much… shorter. It’s more boring because you see how often the same stump speeches are repeated. Politicians must get terribly bored… no wonder they make so many errors. Senator McCain cares too much about his “honorable” image to get as nasty as he would need to get to make his supporters happy. How he handles tonight will be his image in history. I think he’ll try to stay with issues.
By Mary NSB-Florida on 10/15/2008 10:39 am