This debate(s) is to convince those 5-10% of voters who are still undecideds or the 1-2% who are firmly committed along party lines but can be flipped when actually hearing/seeing these people talk--- certainly not the vast majority of people. And I think to those undecideds-- the "independents", the ones who actually vote both parties every year, etc... McCain came out horrible IMHO.
FWIW, I haven't followed much of the early campaigning of either party. I'm registered as "Unaffiliated" in NC. I *think* I'm pretty much the demographic these guys are trying to reach in the debates.
I watched it and thought it was pretty even. Neither candidate came across as lost, hopelessly out of touch, insincere, etc. McCain seemed more aggressive, which I'm not big on. I especially did not like the repeated "doesn't understand" charge -- I'll decide if he doesn't understand, thanks, and don't talk down to me. Both guys stretched the truth or took things out of context to "punk" the other; that didn't do either one much good in my eyes.
This debate wasn't enough to push me firmly in either direction. Then again, I wasn't drunk when I watched it.
Clive, there's a huge difference between being a registered as an Independent or Unaffiliated and being "undecided". I'm registered as an Independent, but at this point you'd have to put a gun to my head to force me to vote for McCain. (And I say this because I don't foresee anything happening in the next 40+ days that would be considered a "game changer". If the Repugs are going to release a video of Obama shaking hands with Bin Laden, they would have done it by now.)
Out of curiosity, if you truly are undecided, what do you think it would take to swing your vote either way?
