Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain Debate (Photo: democrats.org)
By Dorothy Rowley
AFRO Staff Writer
(September 27, 2008) - Facing off in the first of three presidential debates, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain appeared to equally hold their own during the square-off Friday night at the University of Mississippi at Oxford. Neither seemed to have garnered a clear-cut victory by the time the forum ended 97-minutes later but many pundits gave Obama a slight edge.
Moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS’ News Hour and aired on CNN, the pair responded in equal time and stamina to the manner in which they would handle issues facing the country, as Americans prepare to elect a new president and commander-in-chief on Nov. 4.
It was estimated that between 60 and 70 million people watched the debate on TV and that it was broadcast to some 55 countries.
As expected, energy policy, healthcare and taxes were hot topics but the major thrusts of the debate hinged on the faltering economy and the war in Iraq. Amid a series of heated exchanges, Obama’s response on how he would deal with the economy dominated while McCain showcased his military expertise.
While McCain, 72, repeatedly attempted to portray Obama, 47, as weak on foreign policy, Obama stood his ground and was firm in his rebuttals, proving that he was very knowledgeable and well-abreast of the situations taking place in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
As several analysts said later, Obama demonstrated his readiness to be commander-in-chief. In doing so, Obama, the lanky Democratic senator from Illinois who exuded a youthful cool, amplified with sharp reasoning skills, repeatedly accused the Republican Party of badly mismanaging the war. He said that McCain, like President Bush, was wrong to lead the country to war in Iraq following the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“You said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were. You were wrong,” said Obama.
McCain, who has a track record as a scrappy combatant, shot back that his opponent was wildly liberal and failed to know the difference between the tactics and strategies employed in the war by Gen. David Petraeus.
On improvements surrounding the war, McCain repeated his assertion that Obama claimed the “surge” could not work, that “it would increase sectarian violence, said it was doomed for failure,” McCain said.
On the economy, both candidates acknowledged the upheaval on both Wall Street and Main Street, with Obama stressing that an economic rebound has to be grown from the bottom up.
“It's a system that needs to be cleaned up,” said Obama.
McCain countered that there are fundamental problems in the system and spending has spiraled out of control.
While Obama proposed to close corporate loopholes that helped lead to the crisis on Wall Street, McCain said he would “cut spending and keep taxes low.”
With a little over a month left before Election Day, talks regarding the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout plans have yet to be settled. Following the debate, both nominees said they planned to return to Washington to join Bush and other officials in an effort to come to an agreement by Sunday.