A Substantive Presidential Debate, and a Good Job by Bob Schieffer

Just turned off the post debate blather on CNN following the third and final presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.

Compared to the two preceding it, this was a substantive debate that for the most part focused on critical issues of importance to American voters during a global financial crisis. I thought Obama responded as a liberal with few exceptions, and McCain came through essentially as a moderate conservative.

I find myself agreeing with Obama on issues like Rove v. Wade, health care, and education, but then wondering how someone as inexperienced as he is can be expected to follow through as president.

On the other hand, I’ve witnessed John McCain the reformer in action over the years and know that he truly has not been one to hew to the party line as Obama has done in his short tenure in the U.S. Senate. Plus, it has gotten really tiresome to hear Obama repeatedly accuse McCain of offering four more years of George W. Bush.

McCain has the record to prove that he can work across the aisle. Obama has no record to speak of. Which makes the DNC seem even more perverse in selecting Obama over Hillary Clinton as its candidate in opposition to the will of the majority of voters in the primary.

Finally, a word about Bob Schieffer. Regular readers of Katalusis will know how offended I’ve been by the media bias, whether liberal or conservative, throughout the primary and the general election. Lately, I’ve been appalled at how the Obama camp has gotten away with its ugly ageist attacks on McCain; whereas, McCain has been called out for every negative ad his camp has produced. When Schieffer began the debate by asking about negative ads, he listed examples from both campaigns, including the sickening ageist stuff from the Obama camp. That's the first time I’ve heard anyone in the media suggest there’s something wrong about referring to an older opponent as “erratic,” “out of touch,” etc. – and from the expression on his face, Obama hadn’t seen it coming.

Kudos to both candidates tonight for a good debate and even pretty good sportsmanship, and kudos to Bob Schieffer as well for his questions and his skills as moderator.

The Caucus at the NY Times has already done some fact checking about claims made by the two candidates tonight. To read the findings, go here.

High Stakes in Tonight’s Final Debate Between Obama and McCain

Obama and McCain face off at 9 p.m. Eastern at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York this Wednesday with a potential audience of 60 million or more.

John Whitesides at Reuters reports this morning:

“The debate comes as new opinion polls show Obama gaining strength nationally and in battleground states after weeks of economic turmoil and plunging stock markets, with more voters saying they trust Obama's leadership on the economy.

“A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll gave Obama a 4-point edge over McCain, but other national polls showed a larger margin for the Illinois senator. A CBS News/New York Times poll that showed Obama leading by 14 percentage points was the fifth survey this week to register Obama's lead in double-digits.

“The bad poll news heightened the debate stakes for McCain, who unveiled a package of measures on Tuesday to help investors, particularly older Americans, who have seen their retirement savings decimated by stock market losses.

“But McCain also said he was not finished talking about Obama's service on a community board in Chicago with former 1960s radical William Ayers. The Arizona senator said he was likely to talk about Ayers during the debate.”

Read more.