September 28, 2008
Los Angeles, CA - The American public has rendered its verdict regarding the winner of the first Presidential debate of the 2008 election: Senator Barack Obama is the clear winner.
According to numerous polls and focus groups, Senator Obama was able to connect with voters and demonstrate to them his clear understanding of foreign policy and domestic economic issues.
Here are the results of a CNN Opinion Research Poll taken immediately after the debate:
Who Did the Best Job In the Debate?
Obama 51%
McCain 38%
Who Would Better Handle Economy?
Obama 58%
McCain 37%
Who Would Better Handle Iraq?
Obama 52%
McCain 47%
A CBS News/Knowledge Network Poll shows similar pattern. Here are the key results:
40% of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. 22% thought John McCain won. 38% saw it as a draw.
68% of these voters think Obama would make the right decision about the economy. 41% think McCain would.
49% of these voters think Obama would make the right decisions about Iraq. 55% think McCain would.
A Democracy Corps focus group conducted in St. Louis, Missouri reported the following results:
Though these voters "had an unmistakably Republican tilt," McCain "could only manage a draw among this group. Of our 45 initial undecided voters, a quarter moved to Obama and a quarter to McCain after the debate with the rest remaining undecided. Moreover, by a 38 to 27 percent margin these voters said that Obama won this debate."
In addition, Time Magazine's Mark Halperin, perhaps the most important voice in setting the conventional wisdom in politics, gave Senator Obama a grade of A- and Senator McCain a grade of B-.
Areen Ibranossian, Chair of Armenians for Obama, had this to say regarding the debate. "All Americans had a chance to see for themselves yesterday what Armenian Americans have long known – that Senator Obama is clearly the best choice to lead our great nation. He came into this debate the underdog since foreign policy has been considered Senator McCain's home turf. The fact that Senator Obama was able to not just hold his own, but in many instances put John McCain on the ropes with his depth and breadth of foreign policy knowledge, demonstrates he has clearly passed the Commander In Chief threshold."
"Beyond the substance of the debate, Americans were also shown a glimpse of the demeanor and temperament of the candidates. Senator Obama was calm, composed, and sought to have a face-to-face conversation with Senator McCain. Senator McCain was on the opposite end of the spectrum - he was snide, condescending, angry, and strangely refused to make eye contact with Senator Obama. It made me wonder what kind of President Senator McCain would be if he can't even look his opponent in the eye," added Ibranossian.
Armenians for Obama is a nationwide voter registration, education, and mobilization effort dedicated to electing Barack Obama President. Based in Los Angeles, and with chapters and affiliates across the nation, Armenians for Obama will harness the energy and enthusiasm for Barack Obama's candidacy to ensure record high Armenian American turnout in critical battleground states.