Dear America,
The second of three Presidential Debates was held October 7, 2008 at Belmont University here in the great city of Nashville, Tennessee and moderated by Tom Brokaw. The format of the debate was a bit different. This time, it was held in a town hall format where questions were chosen from the audience and from online. Also, the moderator asked some of his own questions as well. So, what did you think? Personally, I liked the format of the debate better than the others. I felt as if it gave the American people a chance to ask great questions and let the candidates know the issues that matter to us. My favorite question of the night came from online and asked the candidates “What don’t you know, and how are you going to learn it?” My second favorite question came from the audience and stated something along the lines of: How can we trust either of you with our money when both parties got us all into this? This is a legitimately good point and something I must admit that I wondered early in the election. But I put my cynicism aside and came to the conclusion that we will have to trust someone. In light of all of our country’s economic troubles, from my general conversations it seems like a lot of people are like bitter lovers in a new relationship who unconsciously view the new spouse in a negative light because of the last one’s mistakes. I understand that you have to know where you’ve been in order to know where you’re going, but we have enough negativity going on right now and don’t need to add cynicism to the list. I definitely can understand how one can feel this way, but we have to start with a clean slate and move on with the person who we feel can help us from here on out.
Overall, in my opinion McCain lost. He seemed so much more interested in referring to his track “record” and taking shots at Obama than making sure he thoroughly and thoughtfully answered the questions. He didn’t seem sincere at all and appeared to use his time answering the questions as opportunities to recite his speeches. That extremely selfish. Oh, and might I add he was very boring. In particular, his attacks on Obama are getting really old. While he was so busy making his speeches instead of answering the questions, he didn’t mention the middle class once. Obama stated after one of McCain’s responses that “the straight-talk Express lost a wheel.” I definitely agreed with that.
Of course the questions of most interest to me where those most pertinent to myself, my family, and my client population. A question was asked along the lines of: What sacrifices will you ask the American people to make to get us through these economic hard times? McCain responded by stating that he will eliminate earmarks and recommend a spending freeze across the board except for vital programs (which of course included the military). In Layman’s terms, he’s basically saying that we will continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq and keep adding to their surplus and our deficit while much needed programs (like those that serve the poor, low income, and middle class) continue to suffer from shrinking budgets with increasing needs. For instance, the state of Tennessee alone had to let go hundreds of employees due to a decrease in the state budget. Various agencies and programs had to figure out how they would continue to function effectively and efficiently and still meet the needs of their clients with a drastic decrease in employees. Is McCain proposing more of this madness? One of the things Obama said that he would do is to double the Peace Corp so that young people interested in serving can do so which would lessen the burden of other groups.
Another insightful question asked was whether each candidate felt that healthcare was a privilege, right, or responsibility. McCain stated that he felt as if it was a responsibility but was nervous about government mandates. Obama stated that he felt as if it was a right and that as rich as this country is this right should be available to everyone. He stated that the government should be involved in this issue because there is a need to crack down on insurance companies cheating their people or setting up in certain states due to that particular state’s lax regulation.
One thing I particular like about Obama is his ability to relate to the less fortunate, lower, and middle class. He stated that America gave him the opportunity to get a world class education made possible by scholarships even though he came from modest means with a low-income mother on Food Stamps. He stated that if our country keeps going at the rate we’re going, then we can’t expect to be able to pass those same opportunities on to our children if changes aren’t made. Without these opportunities, what would our country be? How would there ever be a chance for those who have nothing to one day have something if they aren’t given the opportunity to do so? McCain stated that we don’t know what will happen in the future, and that is definitely true. So in God we trust because only He knows.
Posts
