The online article was just over 1,000 words and outlined some of the highlights of the debate and abbreviated some of the full quotes. For example it says that McCain tried to make a joke about his age when he commented, "Were you afraid I couldn't hear him?" but this comment was more about the Jim Lehrer trying to get the candidates to talk to each other than McCain talking about age. It explained how the two candidates tried to differentiate themselves from each other; Obama trying to connect the very unpopular George Bush to McCain, and McCain commenting on experience and naivete. The article was mostly referencing the most important comments between these two individuals and repeating them. There was also a link at the bottom connecting you to facts about the debate; taking the claims and breaking them down into the actual truths behind the statements.
The Mercury News had 219.5 column inches devoted to the debate including two articles side by side. The front page artwork with a large picture of McCain and Obama took up 84 column inches of the 220. One of the articles was a summary while the second offered an analysis of the debate. The newspaper gave more specific quotes and included what they were in reference to. For example the Mercury News wrote, "Obama shot back with a litany of things he said that McCain had been wrong about: 'You talk about the surge. The war started in 2003. And at the time, when the war started, you sad it was going to be quick and easy. You said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were. You were wrong. You said that we were going to be greeted as liberators. You were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between the Shia and Sunni and you were wrong.'" The online article simply said, "'You were wrong' on Iraq, Obama repeated three times in succession." The article commented on how each candidate succeeded and what they missed. They concluded there were no real defining moments, but the contrasts between the candidates became apparent. Interestingly enough, the Merc had the exact same truths and facts write up as the online article did in two corner columns.
The television broadcast had a three people debating as to which candidate outperformed the other. The basic consensus was that there were no shining moments, but both stood their ground and showed they had the ability to be commander in chief. One argued that Obama outdid McCain, as the Republican candidate repeated the same points several times, acted condescending and stood with a smug smile. Obama kept his cool and impressed people with his knowledge of the economy and ability to stand his ground against an opponent with more experience. McCain was in his element when speaking about the war, but his lack of specifics was not unnoticed. They did not feel the need to summarize the debate as much as the written articles since it was only a short time after the debate and focused more on opinion and analysis than recapping what was said.
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