John McCain: I won’t raise your taxes, my friend.

Barack Obama: I will kill Bin Laden.

So went round two of the presidential debate Tuesday as Republican candidate Sen. John McCain squared off against Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama. As candidates grappled in Nashville, Tenn., to gain ground in their opponent’s mainstay territories, The Times hosted its own debate panel to gauge Gainesville residents’ reactions to the debate.

The 11-person panel was comprised of two undecided voters, six Obama supporters and three McCain supporters. A Gainesville State College professor joined a Gainesville State College student in the undecided electorate; an attorney, another Gainesville State College professor and four students were the Obama supporters; while a Hall County school teacher, an attorney and a small business owner were the McCain supporters.

Five panelists declared Obama the winner of the debate, three said McCain came out on top and three others, including the two undecided voters, called it a tie.

Before moderator Tom Brokaw opened the debate, all 11 panelists said priority No. 1 for the debate was to hear clear answers from candidates about what they will do to redirect the economy in their presidency.

McCain supporters cited fault with Obama’s tax cuts for what the candidate said would positively affect 95 percent of Americans who earn less than $250,000 a year. Republican panelists said increasing taxes for the remaining 5 percent would result in a negative effect on small businesses.

The undecided professor said McCain’s plan to fix the economy contradicts conservative philosophy. McCain said he planned to not raise taxes and simultaneously ask the Treasury to purchase homes facing foreclosure.

Obama insisted that initiating alternative energy industries would create 5 million new jobs for Americans and would help to put the economy back on track.

Health care and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan proved to be the other hot-button issues for our panelists.

As polls suggest Obama is pulling ahead, nearly all local panelists agreed there was no clear winner Tuesday. They compared Obama to an academic lecturer and said McCain’s delivery was crisper in the town-hall debate style, a forum he’s often adopted on his own campaign trail.

The undecided participants said after the debate that their votes were still up for grabs.

The final presidential debate is set for Oct. 15 in Hempstead, N.Y.