General election · 15 October 2008
Presidential Debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York
Full transcript: The American Presidency Project (opens The American Presidency Project in a new tab)
Speaking turns
160
15,110 words transcribed
Candidates' share
92%
2 candidates
Moderators' share
8%
moderators, panellists, questioners
Crosstalk markers
1
0 turns end on a dash
The debate, turn by turn
Read left to right: each block is one turn, placed where it falls in the running word count and as wide as it is long.
Candidates Moderators, panellists, questioners Audience, recorded clips, unidentified
Share of words
A stand-in for talk time.
- Obama48.3%45 turns
- McCain43.4%60 turns
- Schieffer8.3%55 turns
How long each turn ran
Ticks are single turns; boxes span the middle half; the heavy bar is the median.
Every speaker
Show the full speaker table
| Speaker | Role | Turns | Words | Share | Median turn | Longest | Ends on a dash | Reading grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obama | Candidates | 45 | 7,296 | 48.3% | 110 | 471 | 0 | 8.6 |
| McCain | Candidates | 60 | 6,555 | 43.4% | 34 | 439 | 0 | 6.8 |
| Schieffer | Moderators, panellists and questioners | 55 | 1,259 | 8.3% | 5 | 241 | 0 | 4.0 |
As the 2025 scraper split it
The notebook's own Participants and Moderators fields, reproduced exactly by the TypeScript port.
- Participants
- No participants block in this transcript
- Moderators
- No moderators block in this transcript
- Listing date
- October 15, 2008