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McCain Obama Presidential Debate, October 7 2008
By Bill | October 7, 2008 | Email This Post
Hello all, and welcome to my liveblog summary of the debate between Barack Obama and John McCain from October 7, 2008. I missed their first encounter, so I’m looking forward to seeing this. I gotta believe that this is the ballgame for McCain; he’s dropping, and unless he does something dramatic tonight, it’s over. For Obama, this is his chance to put this thing away and cruise for the next month. We’ll see if McCain does anything desperate.
I admit I was much more interested in McCain until the Palin pick. Put me in the anti-Palin camp. Picking her really made me question McCain’s decision making. Plus I sort of feel like he’s sold out over the last few years to get the Republican nomination.
Here’s Tom Brokaw introducing the debate… Brokaw’s speech patterns are more soft and liquid forever. How long has it been since he was a regular figure on TV. He tells us the audience has promised to behave… good luck with that, Tom.
The candidates come out, McCain in a red tie that protrudes annoyingly below his buttoned jacket. Obama’s got on a lavender tie… what kind of Presidential candidate wears a freakin’ lavender tie?
Tom leads off, telling us that things have changed “and not for the better recently” opening it up for the first question, from someone who asks what the “fastest” solution is to our economic crisis. Obama is first up to answer, saying “we are in the worst financial crisis since the great depression” and everyone is worried, going on to call the problem “a final verdict” on the policies of the last eight years. He calls for “strong oversight” of the financial package that was passed last week, and making sure that execs of bailout companies not get golden parachutes, citing AIG spending $400k on an executive getaway. He also calls for helping states fund infrastructure projects. McCain says “Americans are angry, they’re upset” and “I have a plan to fix this problem.” He starts off by arguing for energy independence, so we don’t keep sending money to countries that hate us. He says we need “a package of reforms” and that “we have to do something about home values…. as President, I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to [buy up bad mortgage debt…. Is it expensive? Yes.” But believes that until we fix that, nothing else will work. Tom asks both who he will appoint to the Secretary of the Treasury… McCain, trying to buy time, says “not you, Tom” but the joke falls flat. He goes on to say it needs to be someone who inspires trust and confidence, suggesting Warren Buffett and Meg Whitman as possible names. (Meg? Really?) Obama agrees that Warren Buffet would be a great choice, but then goes off into talking about McCain’s recent statement that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” and calls for a middle class tax cut.
Point to: McCain. He came out and said clearly “I have a plan”… Obama wasted his time talking about the last eight years, McCain actually talked about doing something.
Other thoughts: Hang on to your has folks, this economy is going to be no fun at all.
Someone named Oliver Clark speaks up and asks what in the bailout package is actually going to help anyone out. McCain says it’s more like “rescue” than “bailout,” and that he suspended his campaign and went back to Washington to make sure the bill included protections for taxpayers. He goes on to say that a large part of the problem was the operation of Fannie May and Freddie Mac, saying we may not have even heard those names until this latest crisis - silly talk, who that pays attention at all hasn’t heard of them? - and then says that Obama and others are responsible for how they were run poorly, striking “the match that caused this forest fire” and that he has historically been against the way they operated. Obama says the fundamental problem is the increasing unavailability of credit, which is having an adverse effect on everybody. He offers to “correct Senator McCain on his history, not surprisingly” and says that McCain has historically been in favor of deregulation, and touts his own actions in trying to warn the world about the impending subprime mortgage collapse. (Him and everyone else who can do simple math.) Obama says that this is the beginning of the process, not the end, and the next President must help individual homeowners, not just bankers. Tom follows up by asking if he’s saying the economy is going to get much worse, to which Obama says “no,” but that a lot a work has to be done. McCain says whether or not the economy gets worse all depends on what we do, and says it all comes down to whether or not we can give American workers a chance.
Point to: McCain. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are Congress’ fault, not the Bush Administration.
A woman named Teresa Finch asks “how can we trust either of you with our money when both parties got us into this global economic crisis?” Obama understands her skepticism… “you’re right, there’s a lot of blame to go around” but that it’s important to remember “that when George Bush came into office, we had surpluses” but now we run large deficits, and that “Senator McCain voted for four out of those five budgets.” He goes on to say we must make healthcare more affordable, invest in energy, and make college more affordable, and says that he will also cut more from the budget than he will spend. McCain says “I see why you feel that cynicism and mistrust, because the system in Washington is broken, and I have been a consistent reformer,” citing his history working with politians from both parties. “Senator Obama has never taken on the leaders of his party on a single issue” and says that Obama has the most liberal, big-spending record in the US Senate.
Point to: neither. The implication of the questioner was right, both parties’ hands have blood on them.
Tom asks what the biggest priority is between healthcare, energy, and entitlement reform. McCain says you can work on all three at once, but that we can’t promise future retirees the same deal that current retirees get. He says we need nuclear power, clean coal, tidal, etc. He also says healthcare is important, but that all three are national security requirements, and that we have to do them all at once, but we can do them all at once. Obama, on the other hand, says we have to prioritize. He mentions energy first, saying that it’s not just a budgetry problem but a national security problem, calling for us to be free of mideast oil in ten years. Healthcare is Obama’s priority #2, because it’s making our businesses less competitive in the world market. He names education as issue #3. Education wasn’t on Tom’s list… is Obama dodging the entitlement question?
Point to: Obama. We have to prioritize, and energy should be #1.
McCain gets the first Internet question: “what sacrifices will you ask everyAmerican to make?”He says that he’ll ask the American people to understand we’ll have to eliminate some programs that aren’t working. He mentions waste in defense spending as an example, again citing his role in the air force tanker funding bill. Okay, I’m sick of the freakin’ tanker story. He goes on to say he’ll impose a spending freeze across the board, except for a few programs like defense and veterans affairs. He mentions another favorite theme, eliminating earmarks. Obama asks us to recall the spirit of 9/11, and how we were willing to come together to make America a better place, and how George Bush wasted the moment by merely telling the Americna people to “go out and shop” rather than offering a higher calling. He would ask Americans to save energy, and he would like to double the Peace Corps. He goes on to call McCain’s blanket spending freeze an unfair sharing of the burden. McCain says that the last President to increase spending during an economic crisis was Herbert Hoover.
Point to: neither. They’re both partially right: McCain with freeze everything; what government program doesn’t spend too much money? But it’s important to our national psyche for us to think big, and Obama gets that.
The next Internet question is about entitlements, and Tom asks them both if they would give Congress a deadline to fix social security and medicare. Obama says that he can’t promise it will be done in two years, but he hopes that it can be done in his first term. Obama turns the conversation to taxes, saying that if you make $200,000 a year or less, your taxes will go down under his plan, while McCain wants to give tax cuts to the wealthy. McCain says “it’s not that hard to fix social security” but it requires willingness to make tough decisions. Medicare is “going to be a little tougher, because we’re talking about difficult and tough issues” and he calls for a commission to figure out the fix. McCain then slams Obama on the tax question, saying again that Obama will raise taxes.
Point: Obama. McCain offered no specifics at all… if it’s not hard to fix social security, tell us how.
Ingrid Jackson asks what McCain would do in the first two years to make Congress act as fast on the environmental crisis as they did on the economic crisis. McCain says that he’s historically disagreed with the Bush administration on climate change, and that the best way to solve the problem is nuclear power which is “safe, clean, and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs.” Obama says that this problem is one of the biggest challenges of our times, but also an opportunity. He says that by creating a new energy economy we can create five million new jobs, and start a revolution akin to that started by the computer. Obama favors nuclear power, but only as one component of our new energy policy. Obama says that McCain has voted against alternative fuels 23 times. Tom asks if we should fund a “Manhattan-like” project to solve the energy problem, or if we should fund a hundred thousand garage operations. McCain says that government involvement is important in the beginning, but that at some point the projects should be turned over to the private sector. He goes on to cite a Bush/Cheney energy bill that Obama supported but that he opposed.
Point: Neither one answered the question. I question Obama’s suggestion that clean energy will create five million jobs, as opposed to just transferring them from traditional energy sectors.
Lindsey Trella asks if healthcare should be treated as a commodity. Obama says that “we have a moral commitment as well as an economic imperitive” to do something about health care. His plan would let you keep the coverage you currently have if you like it, and your cost will go down because he will help fund it through your employers and look for efficiencies in the current system, but if you don’t have coverage you will be able to purchase it by entering a pool with all the other uncovered people. He criticizes McCain’s plan for giving you money with one hand and then taking it back with the other. McCain says that we need to put health records online (Am I the only one who hates that idea? I don’t want my records online) but criticizes Obama for suggesting that we fine people without coverage. McCain says he will give everyone a five thousand dollar tax credit, and let you shop for health care across state lines (imagine that, a Republican blurring the lines between states) and that because of that health care would be more affordable. He says that the problem is increasing choice, not establishing mandates. Tom: is healthcare in America a priviledge, a right, or a responsibility. McCain calls it a responsibility, saying that it’s the responsibility of business and government to make it available. (I heard this question differently, as in “is it your responsibility to provide for your own health care.”) Obama calls it a right, and goes on to detail his plan again. Obama says that the problem with McCain’s state-free plan is that insurance companies will set up shop in the state with the fewest requirements.
Point: Obama. He made a much better case for his plan than did McCain. But I don’t think either plan will really fix anything… health care will continue to be too expensive and a complete hassle from the first sneeze to the last pill.
The next questioner asks about the relationship between the economy in our role in the world as a peacemaker. McCain calls America the greatest force for good in the history of the world, but the trick is to know when we can benefit the outcome of a crisis and when we can’t. McCain says that question can only be answered by someone with experience, and he believes that his record is better than Obama’s: “we don’t have the time for on the job training.” Obama says “McCain says I don’t understand; there are some things I don’t understand” … like why we invaded Iraq when the real enemy was in Afghanistan. “There has never been a nation in the history of the world that saw it’s economy decline” and maintained its military superiority. Tom seeks to establish the “Obama Doctrine” and the “McCain Doctrine” for intervening in humanitarian concerns. Obama says that we may not always have national security concerns, but we might have moral concerns, asking if we could have stopped the holocaust, who among us would not have done it? If we can do some good “and we stand idly by, that diminishes us” but that there’s so much cruelty in the world, we can’t do everything, suggesting that we engage the international community for help. McCain brings up Iraq, saying that if we had gotten out according to Obama’s schedule, it would have been a disaster. “Obama would have brought our troops home in defeat, I will bring them home in victory and honor.” He says we must do what we can to stop genocide, but that the coarse requires a steady hand at the tiller.
Point: McCain, but only slightly. I give him the edge because Obama was the first to bring up the UN.
Katie Ham asks if the US should not pursue terrorists into Pakistan… Obama: “We have a difficult situation in Pakistan” and believes that part of the reason is that we got distracted by the war in Iraq, and says that Afghanistan remains the central front on the war on terrorism. He says that we must change our policy in Pakistan, and that we can no longer “coddle” dictators. He wants to expand our non-military aid to Pakistan and insist that they do more, but that if we had Osama bin Laden in our sights, we must “kill” him. McCain says that his hero is Teddy Roosevelt, who said “talk softly and carry a big stick,” but that Obama “talks loudly.” He says that our relations with Pakistan are critical, and we must get their support, particularly of the people.
Point: Obama. I love me some Teddy Roosevelt, but quoting him is no way for McCain to fight off the age problem. Pakistan has never been our friend, and never will be. I suppose we have to pay them lip service, but if there are terrorists to be killed it’s up to us to do it.
Tom asks about statements this week that “we cannot win” in Afghanistan… Obama says that we are going to have to withdraw our troops from Iraq in a responsible way, and send “some additional troops” to Afghanistan because “our bases are now targets” for more aggressive Taliban attacks. McCain says that General Petraeus has assumed a new position that will allow him to set the tone for the war in Afghanistan, which he says will help.
Point: neither. On Obama’s side, when have our bases not been targets? As for McCain, I’m sick of him talking about Petraeus as if he’s the second coming of Sun Tzu. I’m sure he’s fantastic, but c’mon.
A question on Russian aggression: McCain says his analysis of Putin consists of three letters: K-G-B, and that the Russians must understand that their recent actions are not acceptable, and we will use our leverage, along with our allies, to alter their behavior, hopefully without restarting the cold war. Obama says he largely agrees with Senator McCain, but that we can’t just provide moral support, we must help them rebuild their economies. We’ve also got to see around the corners, and anticipate these problems ahead of time.
Point: neither. Putin’s a bad guy. My question for Obama, though, is how can we possibly talk about helping other countries fix their economies when ours is tanking so badly.
Tom asks “do you believe that Russian under Vladimir Putin is an evil empire?” and asks for a yes or no answer. Both candidates fail to provide the one word answer… both basically say we have to be careful.
Terry Shirley asks if the candidates would defend Israel if attacked by Iran, or if we would wait for approval from the UN? McCain says that of course we would not wait for UN approval, and that a nuclear Iran is a threat to the entire middle east, and criticizes Obama for offering to meet with the Iranian leadership. McCain instead suggests sanctions, but that “we can never allow a second holocaust to take place.” Obama: “We can never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon” and promises “to never take military options off the table” and that we’ll never “provide veto power” to the UN, but the best thing to do is not to get in the position to have to make those choices. He says that it’s important that we have direct talks not just with our friends, but with our enemies. “It may not work… but we have a better chance at better outcomes.”
Point: neither
Peggy from Amherst, HN asks “what don’t you know, and how will you learn it?” Obama: the challenges we’re going to face are immense, and we don’t know what we all are. But he does know that he wouldn’t be standing there if this country hadn’t given him the opportunity. McCain says that “what I don’t know is what all of us don’t know, and that’s what’s going to happen both here and abroad…. what I don’t know is what the unexpected will be.”
Point: Neither
Kind of an anticlamactic ending… I’d like some closing statements. Overall winner? Obama. Two reasons: he had a very slight win in tonight’s debate, but on the larger stage he’s a complete winner. McCain had to do something dramatic tonight to have a chance of pulling the election out, and he didn’t come up with anything. All Obama had to do was not insult George Washington or something equally stupid, and he got away without doing it.
Topics: Politics |