Originally written: October 7, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama drew sky high marks tonight on CNN's response radar calculated by undecided Ohio voters, while Sen. John McCain drew a dead heart beat for the majority of the debate. The debate itself was moderated by Tom Brokaw of NBC News and in my mind, it was a no-contest win for Barack Obama tonight and here's why.
For the majority of the night, the current economic crisis was hammered on where Barack Obama immediately pointed out that while we have these rescue plans in place, we have to make sure that they work. By means of work, they must ensure that the middle class is included in the plans, and that jobs are kept and more are created.
For Obama, it's not satisfying to only see the people at the top of the food chain be taken care of when they're not the one's suffering financially. He stressed vigorously tonight that the middle class must not be left behind in restoration plans of American Dream.
On the other hand, we have John McCain who described the American people as, "angry, upset, and fearful." Adding that it is his job to fix these problems, and it deals squarely on energy independence, so he remarked that America must use its own. While I'll give him his due for the right idea, McCain failed to give examples on how he would suffice this plan.
Deviating from the rescue plan, McCain said that he will not raise anymore taxes, in probably thinking that such an unjustified claim would create happiness for the American citizens. What McCain forgets to mention about his plan though is that he will continue to tax the middle class citizens, while no longer taxing the upper class. This has been an on-going practice by the Republicans throughout the years.
I also found it funny that John McCain mentioned that while the economic crisis first broke out, he suspended his campaign and headed down to Washington to resolve some issues. Well while he did suspend his campaign and as a result cancel his David Letterman appearance, he happened to take another interview on the way to Washington with CBS Evening News.
What picture does that paint on John McCain's priorities there?
If you're going to do one thing, do it, but don't say it and sidetrack yourself. We don't want to see another President do those mistakes like that of George W. Bush.
In keeping with economics, Barack Obama added that wages and incomes have flat lined for many Americans today. It's harder to save, and harder to retire, and that is not the America we have all come to know. The difference between he and John McCain is that Obama does have a priority and it is to save the United States from this social unrest and he will start that on day one as the President by promptly taking action of his rescue plans.
After some obvious setbacks in the debate, McCain decided to sing the song he knows best and that's patriotism. He boasted that, "American workers are the best in the world," adding that, "We got to give them a chance to do their job again. We can do it."
The image I get of John McCain here is that of an American cheerleader, but if you take the "cheer" away, then you'll see what we're looking for and that's a "leader" in Barack Obama. McCain continued to speak though, adding that the system in Washington is broken, and that he has taken on the special interest.
Just "look at my record and his," he said. "Look at our proposals, some of which that will keep people in jobs and get our economy going again," later differentiating himself by saying that the American government has to follow the same policies as his hero, Ronald Reagan. McCain would also go on to say what he and Joe Lieberman have done to improve the economy, and while this storytelling was occurring, the CNN radar response among males and females of undecided Ohio voters was flat lined below average.
Once it came time for Barack's response, it was not only an intelligent answer, but also a coherent one, something that McCain was lacking all night. Obama essentially said that the continued bragging of Ronald Reagan is that of a deceiving approach in gaining your votes.
Relying on fact, McCain is a deregulator. When he tried to regulate to Wall Street nothing happened. McCain even states that the regulating bill to Wall Street is his own bill, but truth be told it isn't. Obama said that the rescue plan is not the end of the process, it is only the beginning and he will make sure it succeeds and that homeowners will stay in their homes.
Barack Obama further mentioned that he is confident about the American economy, "but we need leadership." Later proclaiming that, "We still have the 20th century regulatory system in the 21st century, so we need to change that."
Lobbyists and special interests need to leave the scene as well, and Obama promises to drive them out by changing the culture in Washington. John McCain has been stating for years that he has been fending off those same people, but whether he did try or not he has failed at all attempts.
Moving along to health care, John McCain promised a change. His healthcare plans look to be the same old, same old. The realization for an American citizen in need of health treatment is that he or she more often than not cannot be attended to. This is because of the insurance companies who claim you have a history of this illness either directly or indirectly through your family tree. Those same insurance companies are still going to receive their paychecks and tax deductions by McCain for not aiding you. Well that just won't cut it for Barack Obama.
"As I travel across the country, the healthcare issue is brought up most because it's breaking family budgets," said Obama. "Your premiums have doubled over the last 8 years. I have said from the start that we have a moral commitment to do something about this," and, "if you have health care already, then you can keep the plan if you're satisfied with it."
Obama continued to add that, "We will work with your employers to lower the premiums." Concluding on his healthcare plans, Obama said that the American people will finally get a chance to enjoy the same kind of healthcare that is enjoyed by himself and John McCain, or any other politician for that matter.
Most importantly however, Obama stated that, "No one can be denied from pre-existing conditions."
That last line mentioned by Obama is one that hits close to home because his own mother died at the age of 53 from cancer. She could not be helped in a country as wealthy as America because she had to argue on her death bed with insurance companies when they were claiming that the cancer was stemming from pre-existing natures within the family. How ridiculous is that?
In my country Canada, our healthcare system helps you no matter what your medical history is, much less your family medical history.
What makes my blood boil even more about that is the fact that John McCain wants to continue those practices and furthermore tax your employer based health care. Business organizations in response have said that John McCain's plans will unravel a disaster within the healthcare situation that already suffers today. It's no wonder that some American's are escaping to Canada or Cuba just to get free healthcare on a condition they have, as evident in Michael Moore's "Sicko" documentary film released in 2007.
The truth cannot be spelled out any clearer here. John McCain would rather take your money instead of saving your life. Please don't claim the Russians to be evil, when implementing such healthcare plans like that in your own country is devilish, not to mention how distorting it is over his self-boasted patriotism.
In referring back to the economic crisis though, Barack Obama put it best that while the American people have been carrying out their responsibilities, Washington has not done their part. He also recounts how when Bush came into office, the United States were riding high on surpluses with former President Bill Clinton. Now however, almost 10 trillion dollars have been lost in debt. The fact of the matter is that this is the largest increase in national debt in American history.
To fix this, Obama has laid out some key factors. One being that you cannot essentially stop all spending, so he'll prioritize his spending. He'll have to start with health care, followed with producing energy because the United States cannot keep bombarding China for energy.
In keeping with the energy factor, America suffers huge losses in buying barrels of oil today. While straining for families, it is also bad for national security because places like Iran are benefiting from these high gas prices. So the programs that don't work with today's economy in relations to energy must be eliminated, and the ones that do work must be continued, but at a cheaper price and most importantly tax policies must work for you.
So Obama explained that with energy, there is going to be the need for energy conservation. With that, Obama stated that he will explore other ways to get gas which will include offshore drilling and clean coal technology. Moreover, the American people will eventually be able to buy a fuel efficient car in the future that's made in the USA, and not Japan or China. On the other hand, John McCain has not supported any movement towards producing fuel efficient cars even though he claims "change" will be brought by his administration in helping our economy and our climate.
To ensure that energy consumption is improved, Obama will mandate the creation of volunteer cores so that military troops and families are not the only ones doing the duties. The volunteers will be educating the uneducated on what and how they can join the movement that will save them money in the end. John McCain does not want to go through lengths of such a procedure because he still wants your money from energy consumption. Prime example would be John McCain voting 23 times against alternative fuels.
You will be seeing some savings in your bank accounts because Barack Obama wants to provide a tax cut for 95% of Americans, despite McCain's claims of Obama wanting to raise the taxation percent. In fact, it is McCain who wants to raise the taxes for middleclass citizens because he wants to give a 300 billion dollar tax cut to large corporations and CEO's of Wall Street. That is indeed not fair, and it will not work because in Obama's mind, the tax policies must work with the middleclass too.
Barack Obama predicts that he will create five million new jobs in America, just like the computer produced a surplus in the economy in the 1990's. If such a procedure is put in effect, then America would once again be on its way to surplus measures, but it's not just the talk that has to be accounted for, it's the proof that such measures will be taken and Obama certainly has all the evidence.
John McCain overall provided no evidence on his future plans as President tonight, hence my rare mentions of movement plans of his tonight. I can't say anything positive about the man because all he did was tell stories on why he believes he has the experience, why he thinks he has the knowledge, and why he admires Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan certainly does not represent the "change" America needs and wants. It's time to move past that old guard, and that includes moving past John McCain.
McCain later point out that Barack Obama is not someone the Americans need as the next President because, "there's no time for on the job training."
The comment I really disliked from John McCain though was when he referred to Barack Obama as, "that one," when trying to backtalk the energy plans put forth by Obama. I didn't make much of the fact that McCain made no eye contact with Obama in the first debate in my blog yesterday titled, "A Guilty McCain Tries To Change The Subject," but to refer to him as "that one" tonight just seemed very racial discriminate-like from my perspective. I again will not dive into that matter though because I think such a matter like that should not be an issue here in a setting like this, especially during a period like this when the economy is the most important factor. If McCain wants to continue these trends though, then I may just have to voice my views further on this.
Moving onto the War on Terror, the Iraqi's now have a 79 billion dollar surplus while the United States is spending 10 billion dollars a month in Iraq. This is money the United States cannot afford to lose. That money is in fact needed to put people back in jobs and boost the economy again. While these wrongs cannot be corrected under the Bush Administration, they unfortunately cannot be corrected under a McCain Administration either.
Barack Obama makes an obvious point that military forces should be refocused on Afghanistan. Citing the fact that Obama does not even understand why we are in Iraq, McCain says he will not leave that nation until we "win,"and that Obama would rather leave "in defeat."
Obama clarifies what he meant though when he said he did not understand. He says that he does not understand why they are there when Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are hiding in Afghanistan. "It was a bad judgment call by going to Iraq," said Barack Obama upon further clarifying his misunderstanding of going to Iraq.
Regarding the difficult situation with Pakistan, Obama said he would look to encourage democracy while also encouraging them to go after the terrorists in the Middle East. If Pakistan decides not to side with the United States though, Obama says, "we will do it ourselves and kill Bin Laden."
McCain went on to say how he knows how hard it is to send young Americans into battle. He also tried to say how tough talk was not the key to success, in referring to Obama's "killing" talk of Bin Laden. However, it was a failed attempt on McCain's behalf to belittle Obama, and even a failed attempt of quoting Obama. So McCain rambled off on saying how he would negotiate with Iran to side with America to prevent the nuclear weapons from spreading throughout the Middle East.
Barack Obama offered some clarification by adding that no one will call for an invasion of Pakistan, and again saying that if Pakistan is unable or unwilling to hunt down Bin Laden, "then we should."
"They are threatening to kill more Americans," said Obama, "while McCain is saying bomb, bomb, bomb Iran," and even, "called for an invasion of North Korea." This goes against McCain's earlier claims in the debate in wanting to gain Iran as an ally, just before this statement by Obama.
The United States was far from finishing up in Afghanistan but the Republicans pushed hard to invade Baghdad over greedy measures. What Barack Obama claims to be imperative is for the Iraqi government to take more responsibility of their own country, which will allocate Obama the leverage to withdraw American troops over time. This in turn will enable more troops to relocate to Afghanistan where they can complete the real mission there.
Topics including Russia, the new Cold War, and Georgia were also touched upon and for someone like John McCain who claims to be an expert on such subjects as these; he really failed to impress me tonight. He gave no substance to the matter and never sided to one position, ultimately saying not everyone would agree with him. Well that's politics McCain, and you have failed right there in living up to your job title as a politician. Barack Obama resembled being a veteran when touching upon these subjects and that was a surprising knockout win for Obama.
Besides the war, Barack Obama also undoubtedly hit McCain into the outfield when touching on subjects like healthcare, energy, and the economy. Fundamental change is what is needed, and that's the reason why Barack Obama says he is here to serve, and that's the reason why he is running for President of the United States. With John McCain, I get the sense that he is saying whatever he can just to win the election, and if he wins he'll revert to his personal agenda.
The difference between Barack Obama and John McCain is that while they say they're here to serve the American people, only one candidate has provided evidence of this claim. As a result, this makes the choice for voting between the two come Election Day a very easy one.
Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States of America.