The view from here: US Presidential Election

After watching the first Presidential debate live*, thought some quickie links with the view from here, would be useful:

ABC News Tag: US Elections
ABC TV: Insiders: Meltdown a challenge for Obama and McCain
ABC TV: 7.30 Report:  Clarke and Dawe on Wall Street's Woes; (Satire, Humour: BRYAN DAWE: President Bush, thank you very much for your time; it's a great honour.  ...)
SBS TV: Insight, Jennie Brockie in America:  McCain & Obama.  Insight transcript.  Interesting comments from would be voters.

JENNY BROCKIE: OK, anyone else like to join in here? What are you looking for? The people who are still deciding, what are you waiting for? Gentleman over here:

MAN: The thing I'm looking for is competence and competence is not experience, it's having the wisdom and the curiosity to consider an issue from all sides and then come up with the smart solution, not the ideological solution or not the sound-bite solution or not the politically expedient solution.

* Presidential Debate:

McCain would put a price freeze on to solve the financial crisis!?  That thinking went out the window even in the Shakey Isles with Rogernomics (wiki), back in the '80s!

Obama kept hitting the mark on the economy.  95% of tax payers would get a tax reduction.  Noticed he constantly referred to the "middle class".  Isn't there a "working class" in the US?  (Or do they still believe they're all "living the great American dream"?)

And while it's nice to keep the level of disagreement down, he said that McCain was "right" a few times too many times for my liking.

Number one rule of sales:  Don't mention/disparage the competition, but when you do, make sure you come back with an even stronger feature/advantage/benefit of your own product/service.  Obama may have kept to the rule, but all I heard was that McCain was right.

And just for another view altogether: Chrsitian Science Monitor Campaign 08:  How the US Presidential debate played overseas;

Pakistani political scientist Hasan Askari Rizvi is of two minds about Friday night’s presidential debate in the United States.  On one hand, he flinches at Barack Obama’s swashbuckling comments about taking out Al Qaeda leaders on Pakistani soil – with or without Pakistan’s consent. No policy could make him more unpopular in Pakistan, Mr. Rizvi says.

Then again, Rizvi acknowledges, he cannot rid himself of the idea that, despite his nuanced arguments Friday, Republican John McCain will be “George Bush III.” 

>Full Story here