Description: Opening
Candidate: Moderator: Tom Brokaw
Question: Opening ]
October 7, 2008
The Second McCain-Obama Presidential Debate
SENS. MCCAIN AND OBAMA PARTICIPATE IN A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE, BELMONT UNIVERSITY, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
SPEAKERS:
U.S. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (AZ)
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE
U. S. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (IL)
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE
TOM BROKAW, MODERATOR
[*] BROKAW: Good evening from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. I'm Tom Brokaw of NBC News. And welcome to this second presidential debate, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Tonight's debate is the only one with a town hall format. The Gallup Organization chose 80 uncommitted voters from the Nashville area to be here with us tonight. And earlier today, each of them gave me a copy of their question for the candidates.
From all of these questions -- and from tens of thousands submitted online -- I have selected a long list of excellent questions on domestic and foreign policy.
Neither the commission nor the candidates have seen the questions. And although we won't be able to get to all of them tonight, we should have a wide-ranging discussion one month before the election.
Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to a common question, and there will be a one-minute follow-up. The audience here in the hall has agreed to be polite, and attentive, no cheering or outbursts. Those of you at home, of course, are not so constrained.
The only exception in the hall is right now, as it is my privilege to introduce the candidates, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Senator John McCain of Arizona.
Gentlemen?
(APPLAUSE)
Gentlemen, we want to get underway immediately, if we can. Since you last met at Ole Miss 12 days ago, the world has changed a great deal, and not for the better. We still don't know where the bottom is at this time.
As you might expect, many of the questions that we have from here in the hall tonight and from online have to do with the American economy and, in fact, with global economic conditions.
I understand that you flipped a coin.
And, Senator Obama, you will begin tonight. And we're going to have our first question from over here in Section A from Alan Schaefer (ph).
Alan (ph)?
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