For Viewers It’s Economy, Economy, Economy: The Final Presidential Debate

As the economy continues to unwind, the final presidential debate is the candidates' last chance to sway a large audience. By looking at the planetary patterns, we can see what’s in store. Unlike the last two debates, the Moon is active. It is in mid-Taurus (9̊), making connections with Jupiter and Saturn. Each of these planets is in an Earth sign, and they form a grand trine. This is a stable and beneficial pattern. This suggests that the public (the Moon) is engaged and concerned about material things — the economy springs to mind, perhaps?

It’s the Economy, Stupid.
Viewers are desperate to hear about what the candidates’ will do about the economy. They want to know how much each candidate knows and will vote for the one who will reassure them the most convincingly. The chart screams out the importance of this issue, and it implies that the candidates will succeed in meeting their needs.

In this triangular configuration, the Moon represents the public, Saturn McCain (due to age, conservatism, and contacts to his chart), and Jupiter Obama (age and progressiveness). Because of the difficult contacts triggered in McCain’s chart, he has been inconsistent in describing a clear policy on the economy, and this will continue to be the case on Wednesday evening. He will make simple blustery pronouncements that sound like he has yet to convince himself.

Obama, on the other hand, will sound more self-assured and calm. However, his chart does not particularly connect with the Jupiter of the debate chart. Consequently, he may not be able to completely set aside people’s concerns with the resounding clarity that Jupiter can represent.

What Obama Will Do
To see what Obama will do, we have to consider the planetary icing to the cake. Connected to the Moon-Saturn-Jupiter grand trine is a very strong Mars in Scorpio. It is the capstone of a new pattern, called a kite. Mars occupies the “top” of the kite and so is the focal point. This is opposite the Moon, and it tells us that the public is angry and wants Something Done. Focal planet Mars is directly on Obama’s Neptune. This suggests that the pressure is most on him. People are looking for answers, and they’re pinning their hopes on him. For the public, it may be as if John McCain is a sideshow that is taking time away from Obama.

This configuration could also indicate a debate where there is more of an attack mentality. However, the main indicator of this, Moon opposing Mars, happens earlier in the day so its energy is dissipating. I think this symbolically indicates the people at McCain rallies who have been on the attack toward Obama; it suggests that this phenomenon might also be dissipating. Will McCain attack Obama directly? It is possible. His campaign may be preparing him to do so, but whether McCain will do it is another thing. McCain’s sense of decency does not square with this type of approach.

Obama has had to learn to deal with Neptune — he has worked long and hard on it over his lifetime. (See my post on his Sun-Neptune contact, “Obama, McCain, and the Great-Man Potential”.) Sun-Neptune is a sticky wicket. It can inspire or it can be vague or confusing. His book, Audacity of Hope, is about Sun-Neptune. Audacity = Sun; Hope = Neptune

It is clear to me that Obama has learned to deal very well with his Sun-Neptune, or he would not be where he is. He has learned to grind and grind the grist-mill of consciousness until he reaches the kernel of truth, but it is an art not a science and one he will be honing all his life. During the final debate, he may be the inspired and idealistic speaker that he can be. Or he could be still working on inner clarity and not shine out the way the audience wants him to. In a debate format, he doesn’t have the opportunity to build passion the way he does in a prepared speech. But if he has inner clarity, he will find a way to speak truthfully, confidently, and inspiringly. The audience will feel it. If he is not there yet, his statements will lack the punch that this clarity gives.

The state of the economy is an evolving situation. It is not possible to be truthful and confident that one has all the answers in this ever-changing scenario. So each candidate must tread the line between confident proclamations and more truthful vagueness if they are to convince the public.

Mercury and the Moderator
Mercury has been retrograde (traveling backward through the zodiac from our perspective) for the previous three debates. It returns to forward motion at 4:06 PM (Eastern Time) before the debate, but it is still barely moving. When a planet is stationary, it bathes us in its energy. We will be very aware of Mercurial processes: Are the candidates on message? What questions are being asked? Can we have some answers, please?

During the Mercury retrograde, a comment I heard frequently was that the questions were boring. Now that Mercury is moving forward, Bob Schieffer could be more direct as well with some direct questions and burning follow-ups. However, Mercury is in the placating sign of Libra and not well connected to the chart, so he may be weak on that score.

Who’s Going to Win the Debate?
There will be a lot of excitement about the debate, and the candidates are well aware of what the public wants to hear about. They will try to work in their economic message as much as possible. In some ways, the debate chart favors McCain. His connections to it suggest that he will finally give a good debate performance with clearer messages than before. However, he continues to have the same triggers that brought out his anger, avoidance of the questions, and lack of attunement to the problems we face. These contacts also suggest that McCain is going to try to throw game-changer comments, but they will not be successful.

Obama’s chart contacts are less problematic and suggest that he will be the winner, and the public will see it that way. He has Midheaven contacts both to his birth chart and in the debate chart. Midheaven connections put the person on top.

So, this debate is not going to be a game-changer, but it may convince many undecided voters to vote for Obama. He'll get a bump after the debate, and then his numbers will settle into a new, slightly higher margin over McCain. This could be a decisive debate for some people in swing states - enough to make the electoral map a little bluer.