The final 2008 presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain has concluded. Another win for Barack Obama. This might have been McCain's best performance yet but it was not nearly enough to do what he needed to do.
He used the same false smears as he has before to try to distract us but I don't think that's going to work this time. Once again Obama is being called the winner by people all over the political spectrum. Keep reading to see some of the reactions that are coming in and how you can take action to make sure John McCain's politics of fear.
Reactions:
Just like last time the results are overwhelmingly positive for Obama. Here's some of the reactions I've found so far.
Snap Polls/Focus Groups:
CNN Focus Group:
Who won the debate?
Barack Obama 58 / John McCain 31
Did you change your vote
3 yes's
All for Obama.
Who expressed their views clearly:
Obama 66 / McCain 26
Favorables/Unfavorables:
McCain Faves Before Debate: 51
McCain Faves After Debate: 49
McCain Unfaves Before: 45
McCain Unfaves After: 49
Obama Faves Before Debate: 63
Obama Faves After Debate: 66
Obama Unfaves After: 33
CBS Focus Group:
Who won?
Obama 53 / McCain 22
Who shares your values?
Before debate: Obama 54 percent
After debate: Obama 62 percent
Who are you voting for:
28 Obama / 14 McCain
Fox News:
Obama won (looking for more info)
Media Curves:
Pundits/Blogs:
Taegan Goodard: Sen. Barack Obama ultimately won the debate by repeatedly bringing it back to the issues. He occasionally lapsed into wonkish, policy speak, but it seemed to register well with the Ohio focus group CNN was tracking. It was refreshing that Obama understands the important issues facing the country. He did a much better job than McCain simply explaining his own policy positions. LINK
ABC News: Sen. Obama also gets specific right away -- looking right to the camera with his bailout package for the middle class. And if you're looking for the first candidate to draw a distinction tonight, it's Obama, not McCain. LINK
Ari Mebler: Barack Obama never delivered a knockout punch during the final presidential debate, but it did not matter. Obama won a T.K.O. -- defeating his opponent without ever knocking him out. LINK
Washington Post (Chris Cillizza): Obama is ON message. A question about campaign finance and nasty campaigning becomes an economic answer. LINK
TIME: "Jobs." And the dial lines go WHANGO! Obama should work "jobs" into every answer, including any about Bill Ayers. LINK
CNN (Bill Schneider): Obama's answers during this first line of questioning appear crisp and clear, while McCain's sound disconnected and rambling. LINK
Time for action!:
Fed up with McCain's %100 negative, fear based campaign? Then take action! There are lots of ways you can help and we can't afford to sit on the sidelines any longer.
One way you can help right now is by donating. During the primaries some other bloggers and I started the Obamathon netroots fundraising drive. That has raised $63,376 so far. Can we get that to $75,000 by the end of tonight to show we won't put up with the politics of fear?
Yes we can!
Donate to the Obamathon!
Every little bit counts. 5 bucks or 500 bucks. Whatever you can give right now.
If you can't give or want to do more go to this site and click on your state. Find the office nearest to you and if your not yet involved, go there, they'll find some way you can help no matter what your talents are. If you can phonebank and canvass? Great. If you don't like doing that kind of stuff there is tons of data and other work to be done. I'm sure you can find something that will be fun and help get Barack Obama elected, the people at the office are always friendly and eager to help. It will be fun, trust me.
It's time for us all to step it. Barack's got us to this point, now it's up to us. I think this new ad from SEIU sums up the stakes very quickly.
Are you fired up?
Joe Biden is fired up
Donate to Barack Obama