By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
Candidates’ responses in the second presidential debate strengthened the support of two local residents already backing John McCain and Barack Obama.
But for two still-undecided voters, the town-hall face-off pushed them toward a preference — in different directions.
Paul E. Davis, an independent voter from Webb City, and Meaghan Wilkins, a Joplin Republican, also got opposite impressions from the two candidates during the debate Tuesday night at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.
Davis said McCain seemed to him to be more sincere and more knowledgeable.
“He seemed very sincere, like the guy next door,” Davis said. “I thought Obama was a little arrogant.”
But Wilkins said she found Obama to be “a more approachable person.”
“I felt like McCain was talking down to people,” she said.
Both residents said they still see themselves in the undecided column.
Davis said his attitudes “have moved a little (toward McCain), based on tonight,” while Wilkins said the debate caused her “to lean toward Obama, but I’m still not absolutely sure.”
Lynette Stokes, a McCain supporter from Carl Junction, said the Arizona senator’s responses during the debate made her believe even more strongly in the candidate.
“He comes across as more honest, with more integrity,” she said. “I think he’s more knowledgeable, and I trust him more.”
R. Duane Graham, an Obama supporter from Joplin, said Obama “was steady, calm and reassuring.”
“He looked presidential, and I think he erased any remaining doubts to those who think he wasn’t ready,” he said. “He allayed any fears. He looked presidential. You could tell he knew what he was talking about.”
Stokes said McCain “is not as eloquent as Obama, but he doesn’t change his position as much either.”
She said Obama “tries to sound like a moderate,” but those responses “don’t fit with his record or what he said in the primary.”
Graham said McCain performed better than he did in the first debate, but he criticized the time McCain spent talking about congressional earmark spending “when it is so small, compared to the overall budget and the problems we’re in.”
“I think Obama has the temperament we need to deal with the economic crisis, and that’s important,” he said.
Wilkins said she disagreed with McCain’s answers on the Wall Street bailout “because it all appeared to be geared to big business.”
“I want to know how it will affect people like me,” she said.
Davis said Obama was wrong when he said all the country’s economic problems “boil down to deregulation.”
“This began a long time ago, in the Clinton administration, when they lowered the requirements for people to buy homes,” Davis said. “McCain put the blame where it belonged, on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They spent millions lobbying Congress.”
Graham said McCain’s proposal for a freeze in response to the economic downturn “would be unfair burden-sharing.”
“It sounds good, but it’s meaningless when discretionary spending represents such a small part of the budget,” he said.
Wilkins said Tuesday’s debate was the first one she has been able to watch from start to finish, and that it may take some more research before she makes a decision.
“I’m going to check out the vice presidential candidates, because there’s always the possibility they could end up as president,” she said. “This election is going to be very, very important for all Americans.”
Biden in Missouri
Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden will be in Springfield on Friday as part of a two-day campaign trip to Missouri. The time and location of the Springfield appearance have not been set, but the campaign on Tuesday announced that Biden will make three stops on Thursday: at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, at William Jewell College in Liberty and at Memorial Park in Jefferson City.
