Election 08: African Americans Take Sides after the Presidential Debate

John McCain went on the offensive in the most heated of the three presidential debates leading up to Nov. 4, held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News. The Arizona senator attempted to definitively separate himself from the Bush Administration. In one of the debate’s most heated moments, McCain told Democratic nominee Barack Obama “I am not President Bush…if you want to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I’m going to give a new direction to this economy and this country.”The comment was the direct result of McCain’s aides reminding the Republican candidate that he needed to put more of a distinction between himself and the President. With less than three weeks before the election and with Obama leading in polls in several key states, McCain went into attack mode, taking several shots at the Illinois senator. McCain again questioned Obama’s association with former left-wing extremist William Ayers, stating the American people “need to know the full extent” of his relationship with Ayers. Obama reiterated that Ayers has nothing to do with his campaign, and that he had been a child when Ayers committed his crimes, but also denounced Ayers’ actions as ‘despicable.” He also countered that McCain and his campaign’s continued focus on Ayers “says more about your campaign than it says about me.”The two candidates also made several references to “Joe the plumber,” a man that Obama ran into while campaigning in Holland, Ohio last weekend. “Joe” asked Obama if he believed in the American Dream—and explained that he was about to a buy a company that makes more than $250,000 a year and was worried that Obama would tax him more because of it. Obama gave a lengthy explanation of his tax plan—saying it’s better to lower taxes for Americans who make less money, so that they can afford to pay for Joe’s products and services. McCain’s tone may not have helped the numbers significantly. His forceful demeanor seemed to have little impact as 58 percent of those polled viewed Obama as having had the best performance, while 31 percent thought McCain was the victor African Americans were talking about the debates; here’s what a few of them had to say:“McCain did what he had to do, but the separating of himself from Bush was probably his biggest plus in the entire debate,” said Shawn Davidson, a U.S. marine, English major at Georgia State University and McCain supporter. “I think he did a really good job of pointing out inconsistencies in Obama’s history—and his campaign.”“Obama has been the picture of poise during the entire campaign and McCain, once again, had to resort to attacks and distortions to try and paint him as unfit to lead,” said Portia Marcus, a Democrat and financial advisor from Marietta, Ga. “He accuses Obama of being afraid to stand up to his own party, but McCain voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time!”“I thought Barack Obama did a great job countering McCain’s statements, and he’s been consistently adept at pointing out the holes in McCain’s approach,” Davarious Grier, a 38-year-old graphic designer and father of two. “He was also able to draw attention the hint of desperation in McCain’s constantly referencing Bill Ayers.”“McCain, in my opinion, gave his best performance in a debate,” shared John Carver, a sales executive and lifelong Republican from Dallas, Tex. “The John Lewis stuff may not have had an effect, but I don’t think Obama expected him to be so aggressive, and he was able to shake a little of Barack’s resolve, I think.” – todd williams