Debates continue to disappoint observers

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/01/2009 9:56 AM

The fourth session of the presidential/vice presidential debates might not have a clear winner as observers are divided on who performed better. The following are the assessments of observers who followed the broadcast of the event.

Aleksius Jemadu, acting dean of Social and Political Sciences Faculty of the Pelita Harapan University in Karawaci, Banten, believes Prabowo clearly won Tuesday’s debate.

“Learning from his shortcomings in the first debate, Prabowo came up with a clear logic in presenting his vision and mission in improving the quality of life for Indonesians.

“He wants to convince his audience that the solutions to many of our problems are around us.”

Aleksius graded Prabowo a near perfect of 4.9 out of 5. Boediono and Wiranto tied at 3.5.

Boediono started with a simple story about a fisherman he met during his campaign trip.