Since I watched the second presidential debate on Tuesday night, I have not read any newspapers or watched any network news to avoid an influence or persuasion.

This is the first year that I have kept up with the debates. From what I have seen from the debates so far this year, I believe that there has not been a winner in any of them.

I liked the town hall format of the debate at Belmont University. I liked that we got to see the candidates move around more and interact with the people more, even though a lot of the time their rhetoric and stature felt planned or staged.

However, at times I felt that the candidates were talking down to the people. McCain told a black man that he probably never even heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac before the economic crisis. His response to the black man sounded condescending. Obama also referred to the people as "you all" a lot rather than saying "we."

I also felt like the two candidates repeated a lot of them same points that they made in the last debate. I was surprised that they used the same manipulative tactics in this debate as they did in the last. The two candidates danced around issues a lot, often changing the topic of the question to repeat their stance on a certain issue or talk about an issue that their party owns.

Obama and McCain touched on topics such as the economy, spending, tax cuts, health care, alternative energy, the war in Iraq, Medicare, Social Security, and other issues. However, I still do not feel that I am completely clear about where they stand on every issue. They manipulate the truth so much, that it is hard to figure out what is fact and fiction.

The final topic that I wanted to discuss was the last question the candidates were asked: "What don't you know, and how will you learn it?" Obama responded with the fact that he did not know what challenges he would have to face. He said that unexpected situations are usually what consume the president. He said that he is ready to take on those challenges and give the nation the fundamental change that it needs. I think that Obama answered this question decently, but he never really answered it completely. McCain answered the question by saying he did not know what is going to happen here and abroad. He said he can learn how to deal with the challenges through his experience (because he "knows what it is like”) and by always putting his country first. I felt that these answers were very vague and indirect, just as many of the answers throughout the whole debate.

Although neither candidate answered the question completely, both acknowledged that they did not know what they would have to face as president. None of us truly know what the future holds. It just makes me wonder… if the candidates cannot even acknowledge their weaknesses, then how will they ever learn to correct those weaknesses so they can handle the unknowing challenges that they may have to face as president?