Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama met at Long Island's Hofstra University for their third and finale debate. The two men sparred more energetically than the previous two debates in Oxford and Nashville.
For instance, when asked if he could balance the budget, McCain said, "If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I'm going to give a new direction to this economy in this country." Obama later retorted, "So the fact of the matter is that if I occasionally have mistaken your policies for George Bush's policies, it's because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people, on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities, you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush." McCain also namechecked Mayor Bloomberg, by pointing out that Bloomberg called for across-the-board spending freeze here, that's why he (McCain) thinks budgets need to be slashed (Obama's position to that some budgets could be cut, but some programs are currently underfunded). See the video after the jump.
The economy was a big focus of the debate, and "Joe the Plumber" was frequently invoked. Also, McCain raised ACORN and William Ayers a half hour into the debate, giving Obama the opportunity to explain. Video is after the jump; you can read more about the ACORN issue at Newsweek.
Much of the punditry has pointed out that Obama seemed cool and less inclined to attack (notably not questioning Sarah Palin as a VP running mate), perhaps to protect his lead. On the other hand, McCain was aggressive but not hostile at the start but then became more agitated and seemed to make faces and show frustration. McCain used air quotes a few times--once during an exchange about abortion (see video after the jump). But is it too little, too late for McCain? There's 20 days left till the election.
McCain, Obama, Bush:
Obama on ACORN and Ayers:
The candidates on abortion:
