Further Reflection of the first Presidential Debate: The Students' Perspective

My students (high school seniors, about 17 and 18 years of age) had an interesting take on the debate- they framed the debate as one between someone who has street smarts (McCain) vs someone with book smarts (Obama).

They thought that McCain had street smarts because he had been there, done that- he had experience, history, and the school of tough knocks on his side. He talked about how he had learned from the past, learned from past actions, and now was smarter because of it.

They thought that Obama had book smarts because he sounded like he knew what he was talking about- he sounded like he had read a lot about the issues, like he had studies and prepped for the debate for a while, and that he had a lot of learning from Ivy League schools behind him. He talked about how he had learned from people he had talked to, learned from things he had read, and had a lot of his own ideas that he had come up with.

My students compared the two, and felt that what you want in a President is someone with more street smarts. The President is supposed to be older and more experienced- that's why it has the highest age requirement. The President is supposed to be a person of character, values, and wisdom- and that description fits McCain better than it does Obama. And, McCain it isn't like McCain isn't book smart- this isn't like last elections, when the media ran story after story about how Bush isn't smart. McCain is an intelligent, learned, widely read individual- in my view, more widely read and learned than Obama. And although learning is important, there is something to be said about learning the wrong stuff- when Obama read Kissinger, he took the wrong messages from his book. How many other books has he read and arrived at the wrong conclusions after reading? His book smarts may not be that smart after all.

My students felt that although they like Obama, and they want change, and they are against the war, and they don't like the economy, and they like the cooler and younger guy, that after weighing everything, McCain should be President. I agree with them.