Video: 'C-SPAN: Second 2008 Presidential Debate (Full Video)'

(Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 9:00-10:30 p.m. EDT; during the United States presidential election, 2008 campaign) — Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama debated for 90 minutes tonight before a nation in economic crisis, each promising anxious Americans that he had the better plan and vision to lead the country through what both men said was the most dire financial situation since the Great Depression.

The gravity of the moment and the somber setting — a town-hall-style meeting in front of 80 selected voters who, when not asking questions, watched in silence, not applauding or laughing — produced an often stifled encounter, largely absent of dramatic confrontations or the personal exchanges that dominated the campaign over the past several days.

McCain chose not to use the evening — the second of three scheduled debates — to attack Obama’s background or character. But in a moment that caught the attention of people in both parties, he appeared agitated in criticizing Obama for a Senate vote he cast, referring to his opponent only as “that one.”

Obama placed the blame for the financial crisis on deregulation and the lack of fiscal discipline under President George W. Bush, whom he repeatedly linked to McCain.

McCain, at every opportunity, presented his opponent as an advocate of spending and higher taxes, while presenting himself as pragmatic, willing to reach across the aisle and sometimes at odds with Bush.