Running head: 2008 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 1

2008 Presidential debate

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2008 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 2

2008 Presidential Debate

From the start of the debate, each speaker used a different way to pass their argument.

McCain was the first to speak, and he begins his argument with an attempt to sway the audience

emotionally. He states, "…Americans are hurting right now, and they are angry…they are

innocent victims of greed and excess….they want this country to go a different direction.” (The

third Presidential Debate, 2008). On the other hand, Obama begins by providing logic for the

economic crisis and goes ahead to outline his plans for reversing the situation.

Fallacies seem to be present at some point in the debate. McCain appears to use informal

fallacy in his argument about the plumber and tax cuts as outlined in Obama’s plan. While

McCain aims to provide a tax solution to small businesses, he seems to base his argument on the

assumption of what the plumber feels about Obama’s tax plan.

Throughout the debate, it seems that the candidates mostly based their arguments and

claims on reasonable evidence. Both candidates provided background evidence to support their

arguments and used examples of policies they would implement as president. For instance,

Obama provides reasonable evidence of the deficit that they need to deal with. He states that

when President Bush took office, the national debt was at a little over $5 trillion, which doubled

over the past eight years (The third Presidential Debate, 2008).

In my opinion, both candidates did well in using background evidence to support their

argument and persuade the audience. However, Obama appears to be more persuasive in his

arguments. While Obama provided evidence and examples of policies in his plan to revive the

economy, his counterpart McCain was more concerned with breaking down these plans and how

they would hurt the economy further. McCain focused more on the limitations of Obama’s plan

instead of offering solutions for the American people.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 3

References

YouTube. (2008, 10 15). C-SPAN: Third 2008 Presidential Debate (Full Video) [Video file].

Retrieved August 31, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvdfO0lq4rQ