2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsCandidate debate a toss up
Students have differing views on winner
Sarah Bennett
Issue date: 9/30/08 Section: News
The first presidential debate was last Friday, and there are different opinions about which candidate won.
Andrew Cline, an expert in political rhetoric, said a debate is very specific and has clear rules, and the presidential debate that took place was not a debate. Therefore, a winner cannot necessarily be determined.
Viewers might be able to determine whose polls were positively and negatively affected by the debate, Cline said. However, before making a decision, they should take a careful look at what the poll is measuring a win or loss by.
"Take a look at what questions they ask, the way the questions were asked, how many people were asked, did they get a representative sample," Cline said. "There is so much that goes into it that to my way of thinking there is really no way to know."
Judging by the poll numbers after the debate, it would seem as if Sen. Barack Obama won, Cline said.
"That appears to be predicated on the expectations that were set forth before the debate that foreign policy is John McCain's turf," Cline said. "All Barack Obama had to do was go in and stand toe to toe with him."
Mary Belzer, a member of Students for Barack Obama, said it was a close debate, but Obama won.
Obama stayed away from his hope-change mantra and answered the foreign policy questions well, an area where Sen. McCain was expected to outshine Sen. Obama, Belzer said.
"He did a really good job of convince us supporters and non-supporters alike that he had a good plan to get out of Iraq and that he had good plans to handle Afghanistan and Iran," Belzer said.
Rachel Hassani, a member of College Republicans, said she believes that McCain was able to display his experience in foreign policy and national security.
"I was impressed with John McCain's performance in the debate, especially since he had been working in DC in the days leading up to it instead of practicing," Hassani said.
McCain excelled during the first 45 minutes of the debate and kept Obama on the defense, Hassani said.
Andrew Cline, an expert in political rhetoric, said a debate is very specific and has clear rules, and the presidential debate that took place was not a debate. Therefore, a winner cannot necessarily be determined.
Viewers might be able to determine whose polls were positively and negatively affected by the debate, Cline said. However, before making a decision, they should take a careful look at what the poll is measuring a win or loss by.
"Take a look at what questions they ask, the way the questions were asked, how many people were asked, did they get a representative sample," Cline said. "There is so much that goes into it that to my way of thinking there is really no way to know."
Judging by the poll numbers after the debate, it would seem as if Sen. Barack Obama won, Cline said.
"That appears to be predicated on the expectations that were set forth before the debate that foreign policy is John McCain's turf," Cline said. "All Barack Obama had to do was go in and stand toe to toe with him."
Mary Belzer, a member of Students for Barack Obama, said it was a close debate, but Obama won.
Obama stayed away from his hope-change mantra and answered the foreign policy questions well, an area where Sen. McCain was expected to outshine Sen. Obama, Belzer said.
"He did a really good job of convince us supporters and non-supporters alike that he had a good plan to get out of Iraq and that he had good plans to handle Afghanistan and Iran," Belzer said.
Rachel Hassani, a member of College Republicans, said she believes that McCain was able to display his experience in foreign policy and national security.
"I was impressed with John McCain's performance in the debate, especially since he had been working in DC in the days leading up to it instead of practicing," Hassani said.
McCain excelled during the first 45 minutes of the debate and kept Obama on the defense, Hassani said.
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