Professor: Debate more of the same

‘ ‘ ‘ Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain traded blows and ignored time restraints during… ‘ ‘ ‘ Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain traded blows and ignored time restraints during Tuesday night’s presidential debate. ‘ ‘ ‘ The debate, which used a town-hall format involving audience interaction from the candidates and moderation by NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, was the second of three debates scheduled before Election Day and the first to follow the voter registration deadline. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’m not exactly sure there were any [strengths],’ said Pitt communications professor Gerald Shuster. ‘McCain’s attitude is getting increasingly negative, especially for the office he seeks.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ He also considered Brokaw’s moderating a problem. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Brokaw was clearly not in command,’ said Shuster. ‘ ‘ ‘ Shuster said that neither candidate provided any new information, which he identified as one of the reasons behind having debates. ‘ ‘ ‘ Shuster also thought it was odd that certain topics weren’t discussed. Neither the Keating scandal, which involved charges of corruption on behalf of McCain, nor Obama’s connections with Bill Ayers, who was formerly associated with a terrorist organization, were mentioned. ‘ ‘ ‘ Presidential debates, Shuster said, should be a forum for contrast and comparison, but candidates are becoming more and more reluctant to be spontaneous, even if this means committing an occasional gaffe. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It could be an excellent tool to inform the electorate,’ said Shuster, continuing that lately, the electorate is upset about losing its regular programming. ‘ ‘ ‘ Shuster believes that Obama won, ‘but by style. [Concerning] substance, they were about even.’ He added that polls have shown that the debate had little impact on the minds of voters. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pat Graham, president of the College Republicans, said that one of the strengths of the town-hall format was the questioning from the audience. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The questions were coming from real people with real concerns,’ said Graham. ‘ ‘ ‘ He said the debate was a conflict between experience and hype. ‘We saw McCain’s experience versus Obama’s hype,’ said Graham. ‘[McCain] did a much better job laying out his experience.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Graham emphasized McCain’s ability to act in a bipartisan fashion. ‘ ‘ ‘ Graham said he sees presidential debates as a chance for voters to observe the candidates unscripted and thinking on their feet. ‘ ‘ ‘ Continuing a trend that began with the previous presidential debate, the College Democrats hosted a watch party for the presidential debate, this time in Posvar Hall. ‘ ‘ ‘ College Democrats president Lissa Geiger said she thought that the questions were a lot better this time around. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘They were a little bit better at connecting with people,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Last time, there was a lot of tension between them, but this time the candidates were ‘more accessible, more interesting, more dynamic,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Geiger thought that Obama deserved praise because he answered a lot of the questions directly. ‘ ‘ ‘ She added that it was obvious that both candidates were having problems with the pre-established time limits. ‘ ‘ ‘ Diane Manovich, a freshman, came into Tuesday’s debate with her mind already made. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The debates haven’t really changed my mind,’ said Manovich. ‘I feel like [the candidates] both came across as a bit obnoxious,’ she said.