EL CERRITO – A pensive crowd at the 33 Revolutions Café in El Cerrito watched intently last night as presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama presented distinct plans for addressing the nation’s economic crisis.

Each candidate declared himself better prepared to help bring the country out of what they called the most serious financial disaster since the Great Depression. Most people watching here, however, felt only one man had their best interests at heart.

“Obama is definitely committed to middle class people,” said Lisa Carey, a Berkeley resident. “McCain didn’t say anything like that.”

Held in front of 80 self-identified undecided voters in Nashville, Tenn., the debate reflected the somber national mood and the increasingly high stakes for the contenders.

McCain introduced a new and specific proposal for addressing the national housing crisis. Under his plan, the treasury secretary would buy up $300 billion worth of bad home loans and refinance mortgages to help struggling Americans keep their homes.

McCain’s proposal seems intended to deflect both the widespread misgivings of his economic qualifications and Obama’s continued efforts to portray him as an extension of the Bush administration.

“It’s my proposal, it’s not Sen. Obama’s proposal, it’s not President Bush’s proposal,” he said. “I know how to get America working again, restore our economy and take care of working Americans.”

Obama focused on the need for more government oversight and industry regulation, priorities he said McCain has spent a career fighting against.

“I believe this is a final verdict on the failed economic policies of the last eight years, strongly promoted by President Bush and supported by Sen. McCain,” he said.

Obama summarized the Republican economic philosophy as “strip away regulations, consumer protections, let the market run wild, and prosperity would rain down on all of us.” But, he said, “It hasn’t worked out that way.”

The Democratic candidate also identified a need for all Americans to make real sacrifices, particular in response to the energy crisis – a sentiment that seemed to resonate with many in the café audience.

“I like that Obama talked about that people have to make personal sacrifices and start to think about how we use power,” said Gina Barsotti, a school teacher from Richmond. “We can’t just be the way that we are, we actually have to conserve.”

Many in attendance credited the town hall format with maintaining a spirit of civility, even as campaign-trail attacks from both sides have become more personal and acerbic in recent days.

“I think having to answer to people in the audience tempered their fighting,” said Lisa Carey of Berkeley.

But while McCain chose not to directly attack Obama’s background or character, there were moments when he uttered rather pointed personal criticisms of his opponent.

Once, while denouncing Obama for a past Senate vote he cast in favor of an energy bill, McCain pointed towards his opponent and referred to him as “that one.” At another point, McCain said that pinning down Obama’s tax proposals is like “nailing Jell-O to the wall.”

Dial groups conducted by MSNBC and other networks during the debate showed that audiences, most notably independent undecided voters, reacted adversely to such comments. Local viewers agreed.

“McCain showed a little more warmth here and there but he also tried a few jokes that I don’t think came off well,” said Phil Mehas of Richmond.

Kerstin Feist of Albany was more blunt.

“I just feel like McCain is just full of hot air,” she said.

By most accounts the debate did not prove to be a game-changer for either candidate, though a series of online instant polls showed Obama to be the winner, and by a much larger margin than after the first debate.

Even a FoxNews.com poll, won by McCain and Palin following the first two debates, showed Obama winning this round, 62-38 percent.

The final presidential debate will be held Wednesday at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York.

“I have a lot of respect for McCain and always have, but I just think his time is gone,” said Mehas. “Our country just can’t afford to have someone of his generation as president. We need someone with fresh ideas  – hopefully Obama can bring that.”

BY N’JERI EATON//

A small crowd of locals gathered at Raphael’s Café in El Cerrito to watch Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama clash on issues of the economy, tax cuts, and foreign policy during a town hall presidential debate on Tuesday night. For the spectators at the café, the repetitive nature of the debate was disappointing.

Raphael’s regular Kenneth Joseph thought the debate seemed more like a publicity stunt.

“I have a problem calling it a debate. They should call it a joint appearance instead,” Joseph said.

For the audience at Raphael’s, the town hall format was a chance to see how its candidates would hold up in that setting.

Rob Katzenstein, a solar energy project manager, thought that part of the problem was the town hall-style debate that let the audience ask questions, but didn’t allow any follow up.

“The format was weak,” Katzenstein said. “Both used it to preach their doctrine and didn’t focus on the questions.”

Obama and McCain often repeated the same policies that they talked about in the first debate, but without adding many specifics. McCain talked once more about cutting government spending and not raising taxes. Meanwhile, Obama elaborated on his middle-class tax cuts and discussed restoring America’s standing. Both candidates stuck to their strategies of attack: McCain painting his opponent as naïve and unprepared, while Obama continued to link McCain to the failures of the Bush administration.

Raphael’s owner and chef Otis Timmons was hoping the format would lead to some surprises from the candidates.

“I thought it would bring about a different side of McCain,” he said. “But he was the same old guy with the same old lies.”

Timmons normally closes the café at 2 p.m., but when he heard many people were turned away from the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater next door, he decided to keep his doors open.

“I was going to watch the debates anyway, so I thought we might as well watch them here,” he said.

Katzenstein said he believes that McCain is misleading the public about his energy policy. He said that McCain has indeed voted many times against alternative energy.

“The record speaks for itself: McCain is just jumping on the renewable energy bandwagon,” Katzenstein said.

For Joseph, who was born in Panama but is now an U.S. citizen, he hopes that Obama will fulfill his promise to restore the country’s standing in the world if he becomes president.

“I have a vital interest in this election,” he said. “Because every time I leave this country, the last thing I want people to know is that I’m an American citizen.”

Timmons hopes that for the last debate, the candidates will provide specifics instead of rhetoric. He said that he’s frustrated with the candidates’ strategy and hopes that they will give people more.

“They just kept repeating, repeating, repeating,” Timmons said

Raphael’s has been an El Cerrito eatery for more than 25 years. It is a place where the staff greets customers with hugs and handshakes. Katzenstein admits he came to the café to watch the debate because “Otis can make a mean omelet.”

The café had a limited staff tonight: Just Timmons and his son Raphael. Occasionally, someone would order a sandwich or an omelet, but most of the time, work was at a standstill and everyone’s attention was focused on the debate.

Raphael’s Café will stay open late once more for the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday, Oct. 15. The debate will be held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., and will focus on the economy and domestic policy.

BY FERNANDO GALLO //

A capacity crowd gathered at the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater in El Cerrito to watch the vice-presidential debate between Democrat Sen. Joe Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin on Oct. 2. Here’s your chance to take a look inside the theater and see the event in an up close and personal way.

The audience at the Cerrito Speakeasy awaits the start of the debate

BY FERNANDO GALLO //

EL CERRITO, Calif. – Many of those in the mostly liberal crowd that gathered at the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater on Oct. 2 to watch the vice-presidential debate believed it would be the undoing of relatively unknown Republican Gov. Sarah Palin. But after she had battled Democratic Sen. Joe Biden for 90 minutes, some said that Palin not only exceeded expectations, but might have actually won some people over.

“People’s expectations of Sarah Palin were extremely low,” said viewer Michelle President. “Her ability to speak coherently on current events will boost the (Sen. John) McCain campaign.”

“The expectations were so ridiculously low that she had to exceed them,” said viewer Marc Kersten.

The highly-anticipated debate featured two candidates with drastically different backgrounds: Former lawyer Biden is one of the longest tenured members of the Senate, while former beauty queen Palin is only six years removed from being the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska and is in her second year as governor. During the debate she referenced the short amount of time she has had on the national stage.

“And how long have I been at this, like five weeks?” Palin said when asked about campaign promises. “So there hasn’t been a whole lot that I’ve promised.”

A long line formed outside the theater well before the doors were scheduled to open at 5 p.m., and those who had come out to see the debate were divided about its potential impact.

“People are so partisan, it’s probably not going to make much of a difference,” said Dustin Monix.

Viewer Stephen Murphy disagreed.

“I think if Palin comes across great and Biden comes across terrible, I don’t see why this kind of see-saw couldn’t just completely and totally change,” he said.

The crowd that gathered to watch the debate in the two theaters at the Speakeasy was generally pro-Biden, and many of his responses drew applause and whistles of approval. The senator spent most of his time attacking McCain, criticizing his voting record and policies on taxes, health care and the economy.

“The middle class under John McCain’s tax proposal, 100 million families… they got not a single break in taxes,” Biden said. “(McCain) wants to add $300 billion in new tax cuts per year for corporate America and the very wealthy while giving virtually nothing to the middle class.”

Viewer Kristen, who declined to give her last name, said Biden’s knowledge of McCain’s record was extensive.

“He just could recite (McCain’s) voting record like no one I have ever seen, it was unbelievable,” she said. “He just really impressed me, and I haven’t been a Biden fan.”

When Palin went on the offensive concerning Sen. Barack Obama’s proposed health care plan, Biden slammed McCain’s own health care policy in which many Americans would receive a $5,000 tax credit to pay for their own health care plan.

“And then you’re going to have to replace a $12,000 (plan) – that’s the average cost of the plan you get through your employer… with a $5,000 check you just give to the insurance company. I call that the ultimate ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’” he said, lampooning an expensive infrastructure plan Palin reportedly first supported, then later opposed. The comment elicited thunderous applause and loud cheers from the Speakeasy crowd.

Palin tried to build upon her image as a self-proclaimed “hockey mom,” and referred to her family as being part of the middle class in America.

“Let’s commit ourselves just every day American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say never again,” Palin said. “Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars.”

She also repeatedly talked about McCain’s qualifications for the presidency, and about his so-called “maverick” status in the Senate.

“We’re going to forge ahead with putting government back on the side of the people and making sure that our country comes first, putting obsessive partisanship aside,” Palin said. “That’s what John McCain has been known for in all these years: He has been the maverick, he has ruffled feathers.”

Many of Palin’s comments drew laughter and ridicule from the crowd. Her “shout-out” to a third grade class in Alaska drew howls from the audience, as did some of Biden’s reactions to his rival’s arguments.

“This is gonna’ be a pretty democratic, if not liberal, if not radical, crowd that’s going to come here to the Cerrito to see (the debate), so (laughter) could be expected,” said viewer Jan Probst. “I came to see (the debate) at the Cerrito somewhat for entertainment value.”

There were also a couple of significant gaffes by the governor, including a phrase in which she mixed up Main Street and Wall Street.

“It’s a toxic mess, really, on Main Street that’s affecting Wall Street,” Palin said.

Throughout the debate, the atmosphere inside the theater was relaxed. Spectators sat in large chairs or on spacious couches and watched the proceedings with a slice of pizza or a cold beer.

Despite what some said was a solid performance by the first-term governor, Kersten said he remained convinced that Palin was unfit to be one step away from the presidency.

“I don’t think any reasonable person could come to the conclusion, after watching that debate, that she’s in any way competent, experienced or ready to assume the office of the presidency,” he said.

The debate was the only meeting for the vice-presidential candidates, but Obama and McCain will face off once more on the national stage before Election Day on Nov. 4. The final presidential debate is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

BY MATT DURNING //

EL CERRITO – A capacity crowd of more than 500 people gathered at the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater in El Cerrito last night to watch the first debate between presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

Afterward, national pundits appeared hesitant to declare a victory for either candidate, but for Crystal Higgins, 44, of Concord, the victor was clear.

“Obama came out on top. He really showed us that he has what it takes to be our leader, to get us out of this rut that we’ve been in, and to earn us the respect again that Bush has lost for our country.”

Wearing pro-Obama t-shirts, hats, and buttons, the lively theater audience expressed seemingly unanimous support for the Democratic candidate, cheering loudly for Obama and booing enthusiastically for McCain throughout the 90-minute event.

“There’s no doubt who every single person in this theater is going to vote for,” said Michael McCarthy, 31, a law student at UC Berkeley.

Repeating established campaign themes, McCain took every opportunity to characterize Obama as too “naïve” and “inexperienced” to lead the country, while Obama frequently associated McCain with what he called the failed policies of the Bush administration.

In particular, Obama sought to connect the $10 billion a month America is currently spending in Iraq with the country’s lack of universal health care coverage and what he sees as an inadequate federal investment in education, science and technology, especially renewable energy projects.

David Wheeler, 30, of Pinole said he was impressed by Obama’s ability to communicate the cause and effect dynamics of complex issues and felt McCain spent too much time focusing on isolated policy positions.

“Obama was looking at the forest whereas McCain concentrated on the trees,” he said.

While neither candidate seemed to deliver any clear knockouts or major gaffes, both local reaction and national polling immediately following the debate showed increased public confidence in Obama’s ability to handle critical foreign policy and national security issues.

“I think there were a lot of questions about his foreign policy stance and whether or not he was capable of answering international threats,” said Gabrielle Rhodes-Dreyer, 23, of El Cerrito, “and I think he answered those questions very well.”

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp survey of debate watchers agreed, finding McCain’s edge on the question of which candidate would best handle terrorism had fallen to just four percent, 49 – 45.

Similarly, among a group of undecided Republican-leaning voters in St. Louis, Obama’s debate performance achieved significant gains on the question of who would do better on foreign policy (closing the gap with McCain by eight points), according to a set of dial and focus groups conducted during and after the debate by Democracy Corps, a national opinion research polling firm.

“I think that Obama showed his confidence and his capability and he seemed to take the higher ground,” said Sandhya Ramadas, 26, of Berkeley.

Against the backdrop of the nation’s impending financial crisis, moderator Jim Lehrer opened the foreign policy-themed debate by asking a series of questions about the economy and the Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout.

McCain focused his economic arguments on government waste and greed, promising that as president he would veto all bills tainted with earmarks.

At one point, in response to a question on how he might cut back spending in the wake of the current financial crisis, McCain suggested he would consider a spending freeze on everything but defense, veteran’s affairs, and entitlement programs.

McCarthy, a law student and Obama supporter, was unconvinced. “I thought that McCain sounded very unsure during the economic portion of the debate. I thought he had an arguing strategy that is not very sympathetic to people.”

Obama countered by describing McCain’s economic plan as “using a hatchet where you need a scalpel” and said that “eliminating earmarks alone is not a recipe for how we are going to get the middle class back on track.”

“When you look at your tax policies that are directed primarily at those who are doing well, and you are neglecting people who are really struggling right now, I think that is a continuation of the last eight years, and we can’t afford another four,” Obama said.

Theater patrons seemed pleased that Lehrer chose to focus so much time – more than a third of the debate – on domestic policy issues. Nearly all felt Obama answered those questions more effectively than McCain.

“Foreign policy is important, but looking after people at home is even more important,” said Bill Higgins, 39, of Concord. “I think Obama wants to help guys like you and me, the little people, whereas all McCain is talking about it cutting taxes on big corporations.”

Leaving the theater, patrons were already discussing plans to come back on Oct. 2 to watch the vice-presidential debate between Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden. Most appeared motivated by the anticipation of how Palin would perform.

For Hari O’Connell, a UC Berkeley law student, expectations were unmistakable.

“I’m hoping to see dramatic humiliation of Sarah Palin,” he said.