In the second of three presidential debates of the 2008 election, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama met for a 90 minute town hall debate in Nashville, Tennessee, which featured questions from an audience of undecided Tennessee voters. With just three weeks until the election, Obama and McCain sparred on foreign policy, domestic issues and what to do about the financial crisis that has dominated the campaign for the past several weeks. The town hall debate allowed the candidates to move around the stage and speak directly to voters. The remaining debate will be a standard podium debate held on October 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Warm Up Questions 1. What do you know about the presidential candidates? 2. Did you watch the first debate? What were your impressions of the candidates? 3. What are you interested in hearing the candidates talk about? 4. How can you tell who wins a debate? Discussion Questions 1. Who do you think won the debate? 2. Do you think the candidates answered all or most of the questions posed to them? Why do you think they avoid directly answering some of the questions? 3. Did the candidates' answers help you understand how they would govern? Do you think they will do the things they promise during debates? 4. What would you have asked the candidates? Additional Resources Watch the debate question-by-question New York Times Debate Interactive