McCain's Hits Are Not Going to Bruise Obama

HEMPSTEAD (New York) – At the final round, at Hofstra University in Long Island, John McCain went on the offensive. At times with an angry tone, at times so lucid and systematic, the Republican candidate has tried to put up a defense against Barack Obama, pointing his arrows now against his economic recipes, now on his character, now on his relations with former terrorist William Ayers. However, the last presidential debate between the two candidates for the White House did not see a K.O.

Obama saved all or almost all the shots, some very effective brought on by McCain. However, above all he never lost his calm, in this respect by offering a more presidential opponent. The first poll, conducted on the spot by CNN among those who saw the debate on TV, give reason to the Democratic senator: 51% indicated him as the winner, against 31% who chose McCain.

Three weeks before the elections, the outcome of the debate does not seem able to reverse the trend of a country that sees Obama firmly in the lead. From the beginning, the debate was scintillating. To Obama reviving the accusation of his being a photocopy of Bush, McCain replied with one of the best jokes of the evening: “I am not President Bush. If you wanted to stand as a candidate against him, you should have done it four years ago.” However, others did not come as a surprise: “If I occasionally mistake your policies for those of Bush’s, it’s because on the issues that are dear to the American people, you were an ardent supporter.”

Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, which occupied most of the ninety minutes, the great protagonist (in absentia) of the evening was an unknown plumber from Ohio, Joe Wurzelbacher, who a few days ago in Toledo had told Barack Obama of the fear that his tax proposals would come to harm his small business. His name was mentioned 24 times. McCain made him his prototype: “Why does Senator Obama want to tax small entrepreneurs like Joe and redistribute the wealth?” “It is not true,” relied Obama, “I want to cut taxes by 95% of working families, of the plumber, but also of the fireman, the teacher, the small entrepreneur.”

When moderator Bob Schieffer raised the issue of negative tone of the campaign, McCain brought up the relationship of Obama with Ayers for the first time. “I am not interested in a washed up former terrorist, but we need to know everything about his relationship with him.”

Obama’s response was very effective: “Ayers is a university professor in Chicago, who 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old, committed detestable acts. Ten years ago, he and I were members of the board of an educational project, sponsored by a former ambassador and a good friend of Ronald Reagan.”