Below you will find pdf documents of the readings for your reference.
These documents will be available shortly.
Your assignment is to prepare a PowerPoint presentation to the class which summarizes your section of Chapter 1 and shares some of your additional research findings.
More on the parameters for the presentation to come soon.
The presidential debate was discussed in the second half of the class. The discussion of our four basic questions (see Monday, September 29th blog entry) is summarized below:
- Most felt that depite the fact that the topic of foreign policy favored John McCain's experience, Barack Obama performed well enough to be considered the winner of the debate.
- Most did not make their judgement regarding who won the debate based on differences in policy between the candidates. Almost exclusively, the determination was based on Obama's ability to communicate his positions more favorably and smoothly.
- McCain "scored" more points in terms of demonstrating his more extensive knowledge of the issues discussed and his experience in terms of his public service record, where he clearly has an advantage
- Obama demonstrated enough competence on matters of substance to satisfy the general viewing audience that he is up to the job of president.
- Both candidates met or exceeded most people's expectations -- a good sign for Obama, based on the fact that he is presently leading in the polls.
- See the article below on post debate polling.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/01/race-tightens-nationally-battleground-polls-obama-wide-lead/
