[jeltz25]

that’s actually not true about Obama and McCain. If you look back at the polls, the debates really made little difference. Obama didn’t see any big boosts from any of them.

It’s also hard to tell because the market was collapsing by 30% over the same time frame as the debates. as well as McCain’s suspension and then support for TARP.

But I don’t really think the debates had all that much influence on the outcome. I don’t recall Obama doing all that well. Basically his entire debate strategy was “I’m not a Republican and McCain is” with a hearty helping of “I’m not Bush and McCain is”.

McCain also got in trouble in that the 1st debate was supposed to be on foreign policy which was his strength but they shifted it to domestic policy because of the economic meltdown and bailout votes. And even McCain would admit the economy wasn’t his strong suit.

basically, though, once the economy went south after Lehman collapsed the die was cast. the debates didn’t relaly matter all that much.

[CitizenM]

I see your point, and I thought Obama was irritating, haughty, arrogant, and childish during the debates, but: Many of the people I have talked with who voted for Obama did so because they said they thought he did better in the debates. Now maybe the polls didn't reflect a bump for him after each debate, but in the end I believe there are many who liked his ridicule, sarcasm, and caustic comments...and his energy. And that did win many votes. Yes, we all agree that his African American base was always there and even Obama and his handlers knew it and took advantage of that.

This time I just hope and pray that whoever goes face to face with him is a sharp as a tack, quick with the come-backs, and able to expose how very ignorant, hateful, and uninformed/misinformed Obama really is.