Presidential Debate Bingo

Many Americans sat down this past Tuesday evening to watch the presidential debates between Republican candidate John McCain and Democrat candidate Barack Obama with very
strong views of both candidates, but the
real story is the number of undecided voters that could swing the November election one way or the other.

With this in mind, both presidential candidates had the opportunity to present themselves to undecided voters, swaying them one direction or another during an economic crisis that is being described by many as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Of course, with Election Day less than a month away, both campaigns have gone into overdrive, making the final push for these swing votes.

As for who won the debate, one can argue for the McCain camp or the Obama camp, but in an instance where no candidate made claims to leap forward Presidential Debate Bingo or fall flat during the debate, viewers would be forced to consider the debate a tie. Well, strictly from watching the debate.

If voters are looking at the election as a
whole, however, the results then change from a "tie" to a situation synonymous with baseball: "tie goes to the runner."
And in this case, Obama is the runner.

With November fast approaching and Obama pulling away in the race for president, as with any instance where one is ahead, maintaining position is most important. Since McCain needs to be the one making moves, any situation that is not a clear-cut win for him is a loss, because it makes up no ground that Obama has gained.

Viewing the debate objectively and with this mindset, there are fundamental differences where the viewer can argue support for Obama or support for McCain. It's easy to see that McCain has a much stiffer disposition than
Obama, seeing him pacing back and forth, writing furiously on his debate notepad, or simply awkwardly smiling and joking. Obama, when McCain speaks, goes into a statuesque pose, with a slight smile that, in its simplicity and lack of intensity, really shows off the difference in body language that he and McCain represent.

Two of the main problems with the debate were the format of questioning and answering, coupled with the inability of the candidates to answer questions. With such a strict outline for time, answers never seemed real, and thus the candidates were forced to rely upon either their fixed policies endorsed by their campaigns or to simply attack the association of candidates during past administrations (Obama about McCain) or lack of experience (McCain about
Obama). With these time constraints, coupled with the idea that both campaigns are simply looking to not damage their respective candidates' images, the responses were about as groundbreaking and differing rhetoric as
the first debate... which is not at all.

However, during the debate there were many questions that actually yielded interesting responses, such as McCain's stance on buying up bad mortgages in order to stabilize home values. Also, the candidates' response to health care being either a responsibility (McCain) or a right (Obama), where Obama appealed to the people stating his moral obligations for universal health care.

With one more debate scheduled for later today, and with both campaigns not looking to lose ground, expect more of the same when
it comes to substance and politically strong statements.

We at the Corsair aim to make your Presidential Debate experience more fun. Using the supplied Presidential Debate Bingo cards, you have the opportunity to watch the debate and have a good time with friends and family, we all know that you need will need it!

Presidential Debate Bingo Instructions:

1. Find a friend, preferrably someone aligned
with the opposite political party, with whom
you would like to watch tonight's debates.

2. Print out the BINGO cards next to the article.

3. Obama supporters take the 'Obama Default
Card,' McCain supporters take the 'Mc-
Cain Default Card.'

4. When your candidate says one of the included 'buzz terms' mark that space.

5. Center Square is a free space.

6. The first person to get 5 spaces in a row,
horizontally, vertically or diagonally, wins.

7. The winner then dances tauntingly around
the loser, bragging endlessly about his/her
meaningless victory.