Obama and McCain face off in Nashville
By Kyle Charland

In the midst of an increasingly bitter presidential race, the candidates took off their gloves last week for the second debate, which was held at Belmont University in Nashville, Ky.

This historic election is drawing bitter partisanship from both sides of the aisle. Though most polls show Barack Obama was the clear winner, some John McCain supporters have a different opinion.

“I think Obama is a socialist. He is good at reading from a teleprompter, but beyond that he doesn’t have anything to offer except increasing the countries deficit,” said Tracy Dunigan, a McCain supporter. “It blows my mind that people watch that debate and see anything in [Obama]. McCain has always put his country first, and I think he did a way better job than Obama did.”

With poll numbers showing McCain’s numbers falling nationally on news of an economic meltdown, supporters believe he tried to focus on issues rather than mudslinging during Tuesday’s debate.

“One of my favorite parts of the debate was McCain’s new idea that he introduced to help with the mortgage crisis,” explained Dunigan. “He really took the time to look the person asking the question in the face and gave a response that was very detailed. McCain has plans to help America, and all Obama has is a hope for change and big promises, which I doubt he can keep.”

On the other side of the fence, supporters believe Obama gave a superior performance.

“I believe Obama came out strong from the beginning of the debate and continued to tie McCain to Bush, which I think is an effective tactic,” explained Corey Maxfield, an Obama supporter. “He made it clear that this is one of the most important elections of our lifetime, and he addressed the concerns of our economy with specifics plans. That is something I didn’t see from John McCain.”

Many political pundants and supporters believe this is Obama’s race to lose, and he needs to continue to do what he has been doing since the primaries.

“I think Obama will win this election because he doesn’t seem bitter and angry like McCain does,” explained Maxfield. “One of Obama’s strongest qualities is that he relates to people on their level, and he seems to genuinely want to help the American people and change Washington.”

The next debate will be held on Oct. 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.