Many Say Final Debate Won't Matter

DENVER -- Wednesday's is the third and final debate in the 2008 presidential election.

Many people said the race is an important one, which is why they planned on tuning in, but in terms of picking a candidate, many said they've heard enough.

"You know we did watch the first two and we had pretty much made up our mind. We have our paper ballot on our counter so it's just a matter of filling it out and mailing it in now," said Debra Erickson.

Erickson and several others visiting Denver's 16th Street Mall Tuesday said their minds were made up but still said the debates were entertaining, particularly if one of the candidates slips up or behaves out of character.

"I want to see Barack Obama put a clown suit on McCain," said Larry Cowger.

Don't count on it, said Michael Berry, a political professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. There hasn't been a huge slipup or out-of-character performance from a candidate in decades, he said. Berry said expect more of the same, so in the end this debate won't sway most voters' minds.

"I don't think it will have any impact on the state or national elections," said Berry.

Early voting and mail in ballots aren't helping the situation either.

Many counties said they have received an unprecedented number of mail-in ballot requests. Arapahoe County said it sent out 190,000 mail-in ballots and have received 15,000 back already. In Weld County, 55 percent of the registered voters will vote by mail and 15 percent at early polling locations.

Regardless of its impact, the consensus was that the debate was worth watching just not worth enough to change their opinions.