Presidential debate shapes local opinions

In the dimly lit Tribes bar Saturday morning, a handful of local voters gathered to watch presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama debate for the first time in this year’s race for the White House; and as the two contenders traded barbs on television from the opposite side of the globe, the talk clearly influenced opinions on the election here.

Hosted by the local Democratic Party, the gathering saw a small but vocal turnout of Saipan residents on both sides of the nation’s electoral spectrum, which became apparent in the audience’s reactions as the two presidential hopefuls weighed into each other on government spending, America’s economic crisis, and national security issues.

In the aftermath, one key point for the debate watchers was the rhetoric McCain—a long-time opponent of the Senate’s earmark spending—had fired at Obama on fiscal responsibility, saying Obama has accepted $923 million in pork barrel funds for his Illinois constituency during his Senate career. Obama supporters downplayed its impact.

“The issue of government spending is Republican boilerplate talk,” said Scott, an audience member who declined to give his full name. “It just doesn’t really resonate in the way they think it does and I think Obama more than held his own.”

However, McCain supporter Sergio Loya said his candidate—a senior senator who has never accepted an earmark—had raised a point that sets him apart from Obama.

“That’s quite distinguishable,” he said. “That’s [Obama] going into the Senate and doing what everybody else does because everybody else gets away with it. It’s a legitimate criticism.”

Yet McCain’s stance on spending could pose a serious concern to the CNMI, which depends on federal support for a host of needs, if he wants to clamp down on earmarks as president, Obama supporter Angelo Villagomez said.

“The CNMI should be worried if John McCain is suggesting a spending freeze,” said Villagomez. “We should be worried about a lot of things he has said.”

At several points, McCain had also hammered Obama by suggesting the younger lawmaker lacks the experience needed to serve as president, at times suggesting he is “naïve,” an issue that has long plagued Obama’s campaign. But this line of attack failed to shake local Obama supporters’ confidence in their candidate.

“Experience is a good thing but it doesn’t necessarily equate with always knowing the right thing to do,” said Laurie Peterka. “You can’t solve the world’s problems today with yesterday’s thinking.”

Meanwhile, observers on both sides still found common ground on some issues, with some Obama supporters commending McCain’s stance on the environment and at least one McCain backer acknowledging that the political fallout over the ongoing war in Iraq has hurt the Republican party’s standing as election day draws near.

According to the results of a CNN and Opinion Research Corporation poll, 51 percent of observers sampled believe Obama won the debate, while 38 percent said McCain had prevailed.