2008 Woodie Awards
Putting country first while we hurt
Point-Counterpoint
Jeff Fish
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Opinion
After days of speculation as to whether or not the show would go on, the highly anticipated first presidential debate took place in Oxford, Miss. Uncertainty about the debate occurred when Senator John McCain abruptly suspended his campaign to focus on the economic rescue plan, and planned to postpone the debate if there was not enough progress on the bill.
Senator Obama said it was still important to debate, acting as if there would be no more debates and that McCain wanted to cancel and not postpone it. He preferred to stay on the sidelines telling Congress to call if they needed him. He said that injecting presidential politics would be a distraction, and that he and McCain weren't needed.
I have a message for Mr. Obama: You're a senator. This is a job that you're paid $160,000 dollars a year for. Presidential candidate is not an occupation. Obama reluctantly went to Washington after President Bush invited him, Sen. McCain and other congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House. The logic that he shouldn't become involved in an imperative bill because he is running for president just doesn't make sense to me.
Alas, the debate went on and appropriately focused on the economy for a large chunk. During this segment, McCain and Obama matched each other fairly evenly. Obama preached his misleading proposals for tax cuts convincingly while trying to link McCain to Bush. McCain talked a lot about spending, saying that he intended to cut all wasteful spending, and citing Sen. Obama's $932 million in earmark requests. Obama said he rejected earmarks, and McCain acknowledged this was true after he began running for President. Sen. McCain went into specifics about cutting and going through every department of the government, including the Defense Department, saying that we need fixed-contracts to prevent overspending.
The debate then moved to its intended topic, foreign policy. Sen. Obama impressively held his own against McCain's lucrative experience in the field, but found himself on the defensive most of the time. While Sen. McCain kept citing examples of his achievements and the many foreign visits, Obama tried to clarify some of his statements, like attacking Pakistan to capture Bin Laden, and his wrong stance on the surge.
An interesting statistic: Obama said I agree with John, or something to that effect, at least seven times, while conversely Sen. McCain said, Senator Obama doesn't understand, at least seven times. This contributes to McCain's leadership qualities, and Obama's newness to the political arena.
After the debate finished, Sen. McCain immediately hopped back on a plane to Washington. Obama continued his politics as usual with running mate Joe Biden at a campaign rally in North Carolina. By the way, no one mentioned Joe Biden's name in the financial rescue, and shouldn't he, as a senator, be there as well?
In all likelihood, the debate will probably not have a significant effect on the campaign, but John McCain definitely came across as more presidential.
Senator Obama said it was still important to debate, acting as if there would be no more debates and that McCain wanted to cancel and not postpone it. He preferred to stay on the sidelines telling Congress to call if they needed him. He said that injecting presidential politics would be a distraction, and that he and McCain weren't needed.
I have a message for Mr. Obama: You're a senator. This is a job that you're paid $160,000 dollars a year for. Presidential candidate is not an occupation. Obama reluctantly went to Washington after President Bush invited him, Sen. McCain and other congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House. The logic that he shouldn't become involved in an imperative bill because he is running for president just doesn't make sense to me.
Alas, the debate went on and appropriately focused on the economy for a large chunk. During this segment, McCain and Obama matched each other fairly evenly. Obama preached his misleading proposals for tax cuts convincingly while trying to link McCain to Bush. McCain talked a lot about spending, saying that he intended to cut all wasteful spending, and citing Sen. Obama's $932 million in earmark requests. Obama said he rejected earmarks, and McCain acknowledged this was true after he began running for President. Sen. McCain went into specifics about cutting and going through every department of the government, including the Defense Department, saying that we need fixed-contracts to prevent overspending.
The debate then moved to its intended topic, foreign policy. Sen. Obama impressively held his own against McCain's lucrative experience in the field, but found himself on the defensive most of the time. While Sen. McCain kept citing examples of his achievements and the many foreign visits, Obama tried to clarify some of his statements, like attacking Pakistan to capture Bin Laden, and his wrong stance on the surge.
An interesting statistic: Obama said I agree with John, or something to that effect, at least seven times, while conversely Sen. McCain said, Senator Obama doesn't understand, at least seven times. This contributes to McCain's leadership qualities, and Obama's newness to the political arena.
After the debate finished, Sen. McCain immediately hopped back on a plane to Washington. Obama continued his politics as usual with running mate Joe Biden at a campaign rally in North Carolina. By the way, no one mentioned Joe Biden's name in the financial rescue, and shouldn't he, as a senator, be there as well?
In all likelihood, the debate will probably not have a significant effect on the campaign, but John McCain definitely came across as more presidential.
Be the first to comment on this story