WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT JOHN MCCAIN AT THE HOFSTRA DEBATE: VOL. 3
ABC News' George Stephanopoulos: "Best Of The Three Debates." ROBIN ROBERTS: "Very important debate for him last night. And it was his best debate?" GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "Clearly. Best of the three debates. especially at the beginning when he did introduce Joe the Plumber and put Barack Obama on the defensive on issues like taxes, especially taxes and the economy. Also laid out his plan for buying up those bad home loans. I think his first half hour was very, very strong." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 10/16/08)
Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody: "John McCain Put A Dent In The Obama Persona." "Wednesday night John McCain put a dent in the Obama persona. There's no doubt that out of all the debates this fall, John McCain had his best one at Hofstra University. He was able to pokes some holes in Obama's armor. He nicked him with Ayers, ACORN, public financing, negative advertising, abortion and yes, Joe the Plumber." (David Brody, "McCain Dings Obama At Hofstra Debate," Christian Broadcasting Network's "Brody File" Blog, 10/16/08)
· Brody: "The 'Joe The Plumber' Moments Were Probably Some Of McCain's Best Moments." "The 'Joe the Plumber' moments were probably some of McCain's best moments. Not only was McCain able to use the Joe the Plumber story as an example of class warfare, he also used Joe as a way to make the economy a personal story." (David Brody, "McCain Dings Obama At Hofstra Debate," Christian Broadcasting Network's "Brody File" Blog, 10/16/08)
· Brody: "Clearly, the line of the night was when McCain's distanced himself from the President by saying: I'm sure a lot of McCain supporters thought 'It's about time'. Obama has been hammering McCain on his ties to Bush forever but Wednesday night McCain not only delivered the big line but also listed numerous examples of how he is different than President Bush." (David Brody, "McCain Dings Obama At Hofstra Debate," Christian Broadcasting Network's "Brody File" Blog, 10/16/08)
The New York Times: "John McCain Was In A Groove Early." "Senator John McCain was in a groove early in the presidential debate on Wednesday night, looking Senator Barack Obama in the eye and chiding him over taxes, over his backbone in standing up to Democrats and over the Obama campaign's portrayal of Mr. McCain as the second coming of George W. Bush." (Patrick Healy, "Pressing All The Buttons, McCain Attacks, But Obama Stays Steady," The New York Times, 10/16/08)
The Arizona Republic's Dan Nowicki: "For McCain, It Clearly Was His Best Debate Performance And For At Least The First Part Of The Proceedings He Effortlessly Kept Obama Off-Balance." (Dan Nowicki, "Both Candidates Stand Tall In The Final 2008 Presidential Debate," The Arizona Republic, 10/16/08)
The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes: "The Winner Was John McCain." "The winner, and in my view quite decisively, was John McCain. From the very first question, McCain seemed certain of himself and his answers." (Stephen Hayes, "McCain Wins Round Three," The Weekly Standard, 10/16/08)
National Review's Byron York: "Who Won? There Seems Little Doubt That McCain Scored Many More Points Than Obama." (Byron York, Op-Ed, "'I Am Not President Bush.'" National Review Online, 10/16/08)
New York Post: "On Issue After Issue, McCain Made His Case, Deftly Countering Obama's Jabs." "On issue after issue, McCain made his case, deftly countering Obama's jabs. Why, he asked, does Obama 'always say we have to spend more?' Added McCain: 'Throwing money at every problem is not the answer.'" (Editorial, "Lessons From The Plumber," New York Post, 10/16/08)
New York Post's Charles Hurt: "John McCain Delivered The Best Debate Performance Of His Campaign Last Night." "With an assist from Joe the Plumber, John McCain delivered the best debate performance of his campaign last night. And it was probably the best night of the entire general election so far for him, rivaled only by the electric evening on which Sarah Palin gave her acceptance speech during the GOP convention last month." (Charles Hurt, "Old Warrior Finally Has His Great Debate," New York Post, 10/16/08)
· Hurt: John McCain "Made The Strongest And Most Convincing Argument Yet That He Is Prepared To Keep The Federal Government From Making The Current Economic Crisis Worse." "McCain last night made the strongest and most convincing argument yet that he is prepared to keep the federal government from making the current economic crisis even worse." (Charles Hurt, "Old Warrior Finally Has His Great Debate," New York Post, 10/16/08)
USA Today: John McCain "Kept Obama on The Defensive." "So the Republican's tone was crisper, sharper and more cutting than it had been in the first two debates. He kept Obama on the defensive for much of the 90-minute forum, attacking him for everything from his association with '60s radical Bill Ayers to his decision not to take public financing for his campaign." (Editorial, "Analysis: McCain More Cutting; Obama Low-Key," USA Today, 10/16/08)
Denver Post's Joanne Ostrow: "It Wasn't Obama's Night." "On Wednesday, Joe, you saw Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain making their cases, seated uncomfortably close, without the distraction of a town hall. It wasn't Obama's night." (Joanne Ostrow, Op-Ed, "McCain Seemed Energized; Obama Kept Cool," Denver Post, 10/16/08)
The Boston Globe's Peter Canellos: "John McCain Last Night Put Barack Obama Through A Red-Hot Grilling, Barely Hiding His Disdain For The Illinois Senator And His Outrage Over Obama's Policies." (Peter S. Canellos, "Intensity May Help The Republican," The Boston Globe, 10/16/08)
· Canellos: "McCain Also Scored Substantively By Focusing On 'Joe The Plumber,' A Real Person Who Wants To Buy His Business And Worries That Obama's Tax Policies Would Hurt Him." (Peter S. Canellos, "Intensity May Help The Republican," The Boston Globe, 10/16/08)
