Top News Story 4: A Date with the Debate

The 2008 presidential debate set the record. Over 80 million viewers tuned in Friday night, to watch Barack Obama and John McCain battle it out. According to and article on MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26906002/), Robert Thompson of the Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University said the fact that McCain wanted to postpone the debate to handle the economic issues the country was facing, helped the numbers jump. He also overheard people at the grocery store, talking about what time the debate was going to be on. It is pretty evident that this campaign has the nation's attention, whether you are part of a political party or not.

The topic was foreign affairs, but personality flaws were also a topic of their own. McCain called Obama inexperienced and naive, while Obama quickly jumped in to defend himself. It wasBaracl clear we had two very different people standing before us. One, an old and respected veteran. The other, an intelligent young man with charisma. Both men, as different as they are, have managed to capture the attention and hearts of the American people.

From the very beginning of this campaign, America has followed the news and updates pertaining to the two candidates. It is even more refreshing to see the youth of the nation become more involved in today's politics. More debates await us, and I'm sure more of us will be tuning in.


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