Tag: presidential debates

McCain vs Obama: Take 2 (Or Repeat of Last Debate?)

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To say that the debates this year have been entertaining and competetive would be the overstatement of the decade.  The first debate was like watching two undead zombies attack each other in slow motion.  It seemed that after heavily campaigning around the United States, the hustle and bustle flow finally caught up with them.  Neither of the candidates showed any flair and the debate, lead by PBS News Anchor Jim Lehrer, seemed to have ended in a reluctant draw.

If you remember last time, I really wanted McCain to come down on Obama with the fury of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Knowing everything we do about the Democrats in congress, Obama’s rise to power through the ranks of sleaze, and their hand in the economic crisis, it was time that the Republicans and conservatives alike, got angry… and vocally so.  We’re typically a quiet, restrained group, but when things get rough like they are now, I’d like to see some confrontation in the Senate, House and especially these debates.

Well, McCain said the gloves were coming off for this debate, but I have one question… when did he take the gloves off, and where exactly did he put them?  Did he replace them with something else, so that Obama wouldn’t feel the punches?  I don’t get it.  It looked like a snowball fight out there.  There were no hardball questions… just the same questions from last time, all over again.  Same questions equate to the same answers.  We really didn’t learn anything new this round.

I think we can attribute that fact to the moderator, Tom “Same Questions” Brokaw.  He had apparently received 10s, even 100s of thousands of questions from people online, as well as the people that were in the town hall, which was the format of this particular debate.  They wanted to try something different and have user submitted questions, picked by the moderator.  Of course, Mr. Brokaw, an Obama supporter by the way, decided that it would be very important to choose the questions best befitting the current situation in America… you know, the questions that had already been debated and discussed to some degree in debates, as well as throughout the campaign.  Yes, these were questions befitting the current situation that America is in, but the problem is that the viewers already knew the answer to these.

Were these questions asked to shield Obama from damning questions pertaining to the social issues that could damage his reputation?  Well, honestly?  I believe they were.  I believe that Tom Brokaw, having 100s of thousands of questions to choose from, could have easily picked more enticing, social questions.  He could have questioned Obama about his relationship to Bill Ayers and connection to ACORN.  He could have asked about abortion or immigration, though he decided to stick to the safe subjects and further Obama’s lead.

Anyway, without sounding too bitter about the results, I do think that this was another debacle of a debate.  Though I do believe that McCain came out a little stronger than Obama, there really wasn’t a clear winner.  Of course the polls were mixed, skewed, biased and otherwise, as per usual.  One thing that’s important to note, is that McCain finally came out with clear, concise responses, kind of dumbing down the answers to the questions so that they were easily understood by the audience.  I felt this was important, because Obama tends to like to talk in code a lot of the time, really hiding the truth behind his policies.

For instance, he’s says that he’ll give a tax break to 95% of Americans…  What, exactly, does that mean?  Well, first of all 1/3 of Americans don’t even pay taxes, so that leave about 62% of America actually getting a tax cut.  What does that mean for the 1/3?  They’ll most likely get a tax rebate.

What Obama plans on doing, is taxing business; that’s large AND small.  Any business making over $250k per year will be receive an increase in tax.  That’s most of small business America.  In fact, small businesses account for 99% of the employers in the United States; most of which, earn more than $250k.

These facts are what Obama is keeping from the public.  His cryptic politics are misleading and dissuade you from seeing the truth.  Higher taxes on businesses will mean lower levels of employment and a degradation of the economy.  The market will slow, businesses will be forced to pay lower salaries, unless they unload some employees and more.  Punishing the hard working and successful, while rewarding others and redistributing wealth, will be the beginning of the end.  Add this economic “plan” to all of the other socialistic plans of Obama, and you have a failing democracy.

Did that sound bitter?  Maybe…  If so, then I’m sorry.  I can’t help but feel that the people of this country are being lead astray and lied to.  They’ve fallen for this guy’s luster and appeal.  He’s sly, he can read a teleprompter pretty damn good and he’s got a Harvard education.  Unfortunately, he’s been educated by some of the most liberal and extreme minds on the planet.

After all is said and done, we’re nearing the end of the election season and the last debate is on Wednesday.  Three more weeks and the voting shall ensue; fraud or not, and we’ll find out who’s going to be the next President of the United States.  It’s an important election, due to the economy and the world affairs going on at the moment, as well as the potential extremism that may come into office.

Hopefully America can unite under one flag and decide on the right candidate to bring us a prosperous 4-8 years.  Probably four if it’s McCain, but hey, who knows?  You’re only as old as you feel, and he seems pretty young to me.  Here’s to Wednesday’s hopefully more entertaining (with new questions) debate. ;]

The Final 4 Have Arrived… With 3 To Go!

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Yep, it’s that time of year again, which happens every four years anyway. Presidential debate time! Last Friday was the beginning of the big three (plus 1 for the VP debate on Thursday), we’ve been waiting to see for so long… since King Obama thought it best not to have 10 throughout the campaigning period. One word: unprepared. Unprepared for debating… unprepared for handling tough questions and certainly and undeniably unprepared for running the Presidential office and this fabulous country.

So, we had our first deb… our first argu… our first. Ok, I have no idea what happened last Friday, because all I saw were two guys at separate podiums agreeing with each other and forgetting their lines. I was extremely disappointed when the racing gates were finally lifted and the bucking broncos were set free. Honestly, much bucking was not had and broncos… they were not. They both looked exhausted and that doesn’t bode well for McCain, since he’s already perceived as a man on his death bed. It also didn’t help that he made fun of himself, when he referenced his age-old pen.

Not much was said… and what was said had already been established. When it came to economic issues, McCain faltered. He had chance after chance to call Obama out and be on the attack, but never did. He seemed weak and like he was going to lose. Obama didn’t really do any better, since he was supposed to crush McCain in economics. He made some weak points and pretty much steered clear around the issue of the $700B bill that was to be voted on over the weekend (and didn’t happen until Monday of this week).

The issue of foreign policy and international relations allowed McCain to recover his footing. With the forgetting of a fallen soldier’s name, Obama was put to shame. Of course, McCain still missed some jumping points, where he could have pummeled Obama to the ground, but I suppose we’ll have to wait for the fireworks in the next debate.

I came out of this thinking that both candidates debated poorly. They both showed their weaknesses and they both failed to bring their emotions to the forefront, allowing us to see who they really are and to see what makes them heated. I’d love to see McCain get angry… to show America that he can and will be a strong leader. I want to see someone who believes in what they’re doing for their country. I don’t want to see a repeat of last Friday, where neither candidate looks prepared to be President nor look like they care to be there. I want to see McCain talking down to Obama, as if he were a child who doesn’t know any better… because that’s exactly what he is; a child. He’s an arrogant, ignorant, two-faced liberal, who shouldn’t be running for President, due to the fact that he’s only there as a liberal politic tactic.

Anyway… Palin vs. Biden is going to be on Thursday. Hopefully we’ll see some life come out of that one! Here’s a schedule of the upcoming Presidential debates. I hope you watch them and I hope you get to know who these candidates really are:

1. First Presidential Debate: (Result: TIE)
Date: September 26 “ Site: University of Mississippi “ Topic: Foreign Policy & National Security “ Moderator: Jim Lehrer “ Staging: Podium debate “ Answer Format: The debate will be broken into nine, 9-minute segments. The moderator will introduce a topic and allow each candidate 2 minutes to comment. After these initial answers, the moderator will facilitate an open discussion of the topic for the remaining 5 minutes, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment

2. Vice Presidential Debate
Date: October 2nd “ Site: Washington University (St. Louis) “ Moderator: Gwen Ifill “ Staging/Answer Format: Debate will consist of both foreign and domestic policy questions asked by the moderator. Format will be similar to the presidential debates.

3. Second Presidential Debate
Date: October 7 “ Site: Belmont University “ Moderator: Tom Brokaw “ Staging: Town Hall debate “ Format: The moderator will call on members of the audience (and draw questions from the internet). Each candidate will have 2 minutes to respond to each question. Following those initial answers, the moderator will invite the candidates to respond to the previous answers, for a total of 1 minute, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment. In the spirit of the Town Hall, all questions will come from the audience (or internet), and not the moderator.

4. Third Presidential Debate
Date: October 15 “ Site: Hofstra University “ Topic: Domestic and Economic Issues “ Moderator: Bob Schieffer “ Staging: Candidates will be seated at a table “ Answer Format: Same as First Presidential Debate “ Closing Statements: At the end of this debate (only) each candidate shall have the opportunity for a 90 second closing statement.