2008 Presidential Debate - 09/26/08 - Thoughts

In reviewing the debate, some things just didn't sit right with me. I don't think either candidate answered the question fully about the current economic issue. I think they both discussed future plans, though at this point, I feel that Obama has the better of the plans and actually describes them. I can say that I somewhat understand why they wouldn't give more details, though they would have been better off.

McCain definitely voiced his "past" involvement and experience and was quick to point out that he's "been" to this country or that country. I'm going to throw this out, but does that mean he's spending tax payers dollars to travel the world, basically for free? Of these various travels, what did he actually accomplish? Obama may not be a world traveler, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know what is going on.

During the debate, McCain consistently focused on the military. I'm definitely with him in regards to supporting the troops and taking care of the veterans if they are injured and after their service is complete, though I don't think he necessarily described it in that exact fashion. Why doesn't McCain want to have a foreseeable deadline for the war in Iraq? What is wrong with having a goal for completion? I was definitely with Obama in regards to finishing up what we should have done in the first place, hunt down Bin Laden and direct some of our focus on Pakistan and bringing down Al Qaeda. For some reason, Bush and McCain do NOT want to focus on Bin Laden. They may talk about him from time to time, but they certainly don't want to focus any efforts on catching him. Why is that? Also, what was McCain's holdup on the "surge" in Iraq? He kept commenting on Obama's "surprise" that it succeeded. We've basically been in Iraq for five plus long years, and only during the last two plus years we have made significant progress. I can see why Obama would have been surprised and its outcome was "beyond his wildest expectations". If we're doing so good in Iraq, why can't we NOW focus and redirecting our troops on capturing Bin Laden and putting a stop to Al Qaeda? Also, why can't Iraq be self-sustaining with their billions of dollars in oil surplus? Why are we still funding them? They have an army with plenty of trained troops, it's time that they start taking over the defense of their country.

Another thing that completely turned me off toward McCain is that he DIDN'T, not even once, look directly at Obama during the debate. He would only look at Jim Lehrer and kept turning his back on Obama. You would think as a military man that he would know that you NEVER turn your back on your opponent, not even once! I was very happy to see that Obama was trying to make this into a group debate and directly spoke to both McCain and Lehrer. I thought part of debating was to actually look and interact directly with your opponent. In body language, this shows fear and an unwillingness to acknowledge. Is this someone that should be running the country? I think that McCain does have experience, but as an advisor, Yes, as a leader, maybe not. I think McCain was trying to "relate" to the public, though I don't think it came across the way he was hoping that it would, in my opinion.

Another point that was brought up was Nuclear Energy. I don't think this would be good at all. First off, Nuclear Energy produces biohazardous waste materials. What would we do with them? It takes hundreds of years to dispose of, which isn't really a good time table at all. I think off-shore drilling should be considered, but not nearly as much as the alternative/renewable resources, which I feel that Obama seemed to focus on more. I noticed that neither one of them specifically mentioned T. Boone Picken's plan by name, though they did discuss some of his ideas. I think T. Boone needs to have a few more discussions with both of them!

All in all, I think we need to see more debates, but I feel that Obama definitely came out ahead in this one.

What is your opinion?