John McCain repeatedly assailed Barack Obama's character and campaign positions on taxes, abortion and more Wednesday night, hoping to transform their final presidential debate into a launching pad for a political comeback. "You didn't tell the American people the truth," he charged.
About 25 Ball State University students gathered at Botsford and Swinford halls Wednesday night to watch the final presidential debate and participate in a discussion.
Students began the discussion focusing not on the issues, but how the candidates seemingly avoided the questions.
Once students addressed the issues, they said the most important for them were education, alternative energy and the economy.
The 90-minute encounter, seated at a round table at Hofstra University, was the candidates' third debate and marked the beginning of a 20-day sprint to Election Day. Obama leads in the national polls and in surveys in many battleground states, an advantage built in the weeks since the nation stumbled into the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.
McCain played the aggressor from the opening moments of the debate, accusing Obama of waging class warfare by seeking tax increases that would "spread the wealth around."
Struggling to escape the political drag of an unpopular Republican incumbent, McCain also said, "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. ... You wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."
Obama returned each volley, and brushed aside McCain's claim to full political independence.
"If I've occasionally 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," he said.
Asked about running mates, both presidential candidates said Democrat Joseph Biden was qualified to become president, although McCain added "in many respects" as a qualifier.
McCain passed up a chance to say his own running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was qualified to sit in the Oval Office, though he praised her performance as governor and noted her work on behalf of special needs children. The Palins have a son born earlier this year with Down Syndrome.
Obama sidestepped when asked about Palin's qualifications to serve as president, and he, too, praised her advocacy for special needs children.
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