Obama - Clinton debate: "Boy did they skirt the rifle issue!"

© ABC News

Democrat candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton faced each other for the last time before next Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary in a televised debate last night.

It's a bitter battle for the southern blue-collar state, which will mark the final stage in the struggle for the presidential nomination. Obama has outspent Clinton five to one on the Pennsylvania airwaves, possibly in an attempt to undo harmful comments he made about the state earlier this month. "They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he said at a San Francisco rally on April 6.

ABC News' report on the debate

© ABC News

"It was comforting to hear both candidates acknowledge the challenge presented by China and India's growing economies"

Sandra Miller farms livestock and organic vegetables in Cumberland country, Pennsylvania.

Obama was immediately pressed for his comments made earlier this month in regards to Pennsylvanians being "bitter" and that they "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment." As a native of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a member of one of the state's founding families, Obama is 100 percent on target.

Clinton's response was to point to her Pennsylvania roots, with her grandfather who worked all of his life in a ribbon mill and was able to send all his children to college. Well, the truth is that Pennsylvanians today, as well as many other Americans, are losing their blue-collar manufacturing jobs and can no longer afford higher education for their children.

Many lay blame on immigrant labourers, jobs sent outside of the United States, non-unionized companies and international trade agreements such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). The working middle class and small business owners are frustrated that they cannot afford health insurance for themselves and their families, yet free healthcare is freely provided for illegal immigrants.

It was comforting to hear both candidates acknowledge that the growing economies of China and India are straining the world oil markets and that in order to gain independence Americans need to invest in alternative energy and fuel efficient vehicles.

For the most part, disparity between the Democratic candidates was negligible, both agreeing on the major issues facing the U.S."

"Neither of the candidates inspired me to be the commander in chief of the armed forces"

Peter Loftus is a Vietnam war veteran and attorney from Scranton - the town where Clinton's father grew up. He considers himself a Republican supporter.

I think in the end Clinton won the debate. Obama didn't get his case across. But neither of the candidates inspired me to be the commander in chief of the armed forces. When it came to the issue of bearing arms - boy did they skirt that issue! Everywhere else they'd both been strongly against arms, but once they stepped into Pennsylvania - home to the largest contingent of the National Rifle Association - they just wouldn't address the issue.

For the comments Obama made [about guns and religion in the state], most people here took it with a grain of salt. We were not insulted. As for guns, we don't own them because we're bitter. Everyone owns one! It's got nothing to do with religion, it's because there is a lot of hunting here. And many people are religious because they're of Irish, Italian and Polish decent. I don't think it had an effect on Obama. What had an effect most in Pennsylvania was Clinton's out and out lie about getting shot at in Bosnia [see article]. You remember when you've been shot at!

People are divided between the two here. It's a predominantly Democratic area and the Republicans haven't won for years. But I think a lot of people might switch over this time. I've heard people on the street talking about McCain. And that will be a poignant statement for the democrats."