Hello, everyone. I’m Dan Petty, the online editor of The Collegian. I’ll be live-blogging alongside Collegian news assistant Stephanie Rice. We’re being joined by conservative commentator Timothy Patterson, a blogger for The Collegian’s Election ’08 blog. Dan Colosimo is back again, giving the liberal perspective. Their comments are at the bottom of this post.
12:20 a.m. — Final thoughts: University of Richmond students attending the debate in Whitehurst seemed most interested about the economy — not surprising. Four out of ten students on this campus are “somewhat confident” or “not confident at all” about getting a job within six months of graduating from college. Obama’s response about creating an energy revolution that will create jobs will surely appeal to our generation, but the other looming crisis is our federal deficit. McCain said to control our spending, we would have to cut programs.
As others have said, McCain was aggressive in his attacks, particularly because he’s lagging nationally in polls against Obama. Polling numbers from on-campus show Obama has gained three percentage points over McCain since the first presidential debate. Still, I’m not sure how much this debate will sway students if they’re undecided. It’s clear that our nation’s leaders, and our nation’s presidential candidates, are not entirely sure how to solve this financial crisis.
— Dan Petty
10:42 p.m. — Final thoughts: This debate was more aggressive and consistently involved the candidates pointing out the other’s faults, yet both candidates did a good job defending their stance on issues. Students did a lot of laughing throughout the debate, but stayed quiet and contemplative. It will be interesting to see if the next debate brings up new issues and new responses from the candidates.
— Stephanie Rice
10:32 p.m. — From one question submitted: What don’t you know, and how will you learn it? Students and the audience laugh at the question, which was sent in by e-mail.
— Stephanie Rice
10:30 p.m. — McCain: He would not wait for the United Nations Security Council’s approval to defend Israel if Iran attacked them. Obama: All options need to be used before the military is sent in. America needs to have direct talks with Iran. “It may not work,” Obama said, but talks need to be attempted.
— Stephanie Rice
10:26 p.m. — McCain: America is not going to have another Cold War with Russia, a war current students could be fighting, funding and dealing with for years to come. Yet, America needs to show support for Georgia, he said.
Obama: America needs to not only provide support but concrete materials to help stimulate the Georgian economy. America also needs to anticipate problems with Russia. “Energy is going to be key in dealing with Russia,” Obama said. Reducing America’s reliance on foreign oil will reduce the amount of money Russia has to do “mischief.”
— Stephanie Rice
10:18 p.m. — Fifty-eight percent of students, according to the latest Collegian poll, conducted from last Monday to today, say the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the most pressing foreign policy issues. Still, there isn’t much visible protesting or lobbying for either war on this campus. Forty-eight percent trust Obama to handle international affairs the best as president, while 31 percent say McCain.
— Dan Petty
10:11 p.m. — Some students have started trickling out as the discussion has turned to foreign policy.
— Dan Petty
10:03 p.m. — McCain took the debate back to experience and records when the questions turn to foreign policy. America does not have “time for on-the-job training” with Obama, McCain said. Obama brought up the debt accumulated during the Iraq War and said America “does not have the resources or the allies” to be as active as possible in foreign policy issues.
— Stephanie Rice
9:58 p.m. — McCain is spending a considerable amount of time setting himself apart from Obama and grilling him on his record. Obama is doing the same, but to a lesser extent. This debate seems far more heated than the first one, likely because McCain is lagging nationally in polls, and Obama is approaching 270 electorate votes, based on state polls, if the election were held today. McCain is playing catch-up.
— Dan Petty
9:56 p.m. — Obama: People with health care will keep their current plan. The government will work with employers to lower premiums. McCain will tax benefits and take away a state’s ability to decide what pre-existing conditions are covered, Obama said. Obama does not mention his plan on health care for those who do not yet have health care.
McCain: Ninety-five percent of Americans will have a choice and be able to “shop around” for their health care plan with McCain’s plan. McCain said health care is the government’s responsibility; Obama said health care is a right.
— Stephanie Rice
9:51 p.m. — McCain refers to Obama as “that one” resulting in sneers and surprised laughter from students. McCain goes on to say that America needs off-shore drilling.
— Stephanie Rice
9:49 p.m. — Obama: Environmental issues can create 5 million new jobs. Students are worried about job security as they prepare to graduate with the current economic crisis.
McCain is telling listeners to look at the candidate’s record, an issue voters and students have been debating the importance of throughout the election.
— Stephanie Rice
9:43 p.m. — Energy seems to be a popular issue in this debate so far. It’s not too surprising that a young person asked the question. Obama has already said energy and the environment are his most important priorities among health care, social security and energy. Both candidates have similar plans, but the largest disagreement is about offshore oil drilling. And both candidates say it’s something to jolt the economy.
— Dan Petty
9:40 p.m. — Students laugh at McCain’s comment about “nailing jello to a wall.” More laughter when the camera shows Obama’s expression while McCain talks about the problems with Obama’s spending plan. The candidates are pointing out each other’s faults with some humor. That was the intention of John McCain, Republican aides have said to some national media outlets.
— Stephanie Rice and Dan Petty
9:32 p.m. — Obama is mentioning young people and their interest in sustainability efforts. Polls from The Collegian show that 12 percent of students say energy/oil prices/gas is the No. 1 issue — the second most popular response behind the economy, and a more popular response than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (6 percent of students). Interest on campus in the environment is strong, and the university is bolstering its environmental initiatives.
— Dan Petty
9:31 p.m. — The candidates go over their allotted one minute each for discussion. Brokaw reminds them again to keep it short or they’re going to have a “larger deficit than the federal government.”
— Stephanie Rice
9:29 p.m. — Brokaw asked the candidates what issues would be the priority during their first year in office. McCain said he did not see why all three could not be done at once. He mentioned his “clear record of reaching across the board” and said Americans could solve its problems together. Obama listed his priorities as 1) Energy and oil 2) Health care and 3) Social security and Medicare.
— Stephanie Rice
9:25 p.m. — The latest Collegian poll, conducted last week, shows 40 percent of University of Richmond undergraduates say they trust Barack Obama to handle the economy over John McCain. Twenty-nine percent prefer McCain. Six out of 10 students say the economy is the No. 1 issue right now.
— Dan Petty
9:16 p.m. — Roughly 60 people are here inside Whitehurst Living Room on the University of Richmond campus. It’s the week before fall break, and lots of students are bogged down with exams, papers and projects. On Thursday, about 115 people showed up for the vice presidential debate
— Dan Petty
9:13 p.m. — As expected, the economy is a dominating issue during this debate. McCain mentioned young people and that the incredible federal deficit — $10 trillion — is something our generation will have to solve. He’s the first candidate so far during these debates to mention anything about that.
— Dan Petty
Contact staff writers Dan Petty and Stephanie Rice at dan.petty@richmond.edu and stephanie.rice@richmond.edu
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