a debate they were neither required to watch nor for which were they given any extra credit.
That one - almost all who watched noticed in real time. Many were offended. About half of those who watched would not be classified as white, and perhaps that had something to do with it.
They were offended by his remarks that the young black man might not have known about Freddie and Fannie before the crash.
My friends - oh, did they notice that!
I know how - as one student reacted (and Susan G, you would have been proud) "Really? If he knows how how come he has never done anything about it?"
There's more.
In one class of about 30 Advanced Placement students, I asked if anyone was, after the debate, supporting McCain. Not a single hand went up. That surprised me, because I know some come from Republican and/or conservative backgrounds. I probed further. There were some who remained open to being persuaded, but had seen nothing in McCain that attracted them. Now in fairness, my students were attracted TO Obama even before the debate. What is interesting is that none of that class was dissuaded from, pushed away from, supporting Obama by anything they saw or heard last night.
I heard comments, not just in AP classes, that McCain did not seem to answer questions. Several students commented on his unwillingness to prioritize when asked to do so by Obama.
In five of six classes at least one student volunteered a comment about how Obama talking about his mother was effective, perhaps by personalizing an issue, or by showing that he had experiences through here of what was happening to them.
Some students thought McCain looked and sounded old.
Others commented on how when McCain would attack Obama, Barack would continue looking at him and just smile, but when Obama critized McCain he would write things down.
Those who watched on CNN commented on how when either candidate attacked the other the lines went down. Also, that in this debate there was greater difference between the male and female lines than they had seen in the VP debate last Thursday. One student remarked about the extended period of time where you could not see the female line because it was all the way up against the top of the box.
I always enjoy seeing and hearing how my students react to such debates, because I have found their rections to be much more in tune with the American electorate than most of what I hear from the mouths of the pundit class.
This diary offers no profound insight. But I think the brief recounting of the reactions of my students may make some people feel even more comfortable about their own perceptions of last night.
I did share the data from the snap polls, and the two additional polls (SUSA, GQR) whose data I saw today. They were most amazed at the data from GQR that after the debate the positive-negative for Obama had gone to 80-14. One student commented that was better than a president was likely to get. Out of the mouths of young people . . .
Peace