More Voters Panel and CVB reaction to Tuesday’s presidential debate
October 8th, 2008 at 09:01am Chuck Sweeny
Here are more Voters Panel and one Community Viewpoints Board comments to Tuesday night’s debate between the presidential candidates B. Obama and J. McCain:
“I’m an Obama supporter but I was very surprised that McCain did not attack him harder. With polls turning against him, and this format his favorite, I expected McCain to turn up the heat on Sen. Obama and he really didn’t. I heard the same soundbites from McCain, a lot of empty platitudes without very many details and saw body language that seemed angry and frustrated. Sen. Obama looked presidential and I think he kept his cool much better than he did in the first debate, when McCain clearly landed some tough punches. Time is running out on Sen. McCain and he didn’t to take some chances in this debate to change the game. I don’t think he did that.” — Wester Wouri “Tonight’s debate goes to Sen. Barack Obama. Especially on the topics of the economy. Even on the topic of health care, I was able to relate to his message. Talking about his mother’s death from cancer was very powerful. On nearly every issue, Obama seemed to speak directly to the American people, showed more compassion and was more presidential.
“On the other hand, Sen. McCain’s campaign simply does not live up to the man. McCain’s story is one our children will read about in history class. Yet his campaign and his message seem to miss the mark. In this second debate he failed to mention the middle class again. McCain suggests he would appoint Treasury Secretary Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay, The day after the company fires 10% of their staff. Now wants the government to buy up homeowners mortgages. And he referred to Obama as “That One”. McCain is off message, erratic, and lakes the leadership this country needs in difficult times like these.” — Doug Burton
“Both candidates promoted excellent arguments for their positions and viewpoints, and often strongly delineated their differences. Obama was more forceful in foreign affairs and McCain more fully explained his economic positions. As a middle American, standing on the corner of Main and Elm streets, I was, however, somewhat disappointed in what I did not hear or receive from the two candidates from many of their responses. I wanted McCain and Obama to recognize that any reform and change must begin with me, and all the other average Americans, and that can only commence if they really took the time to fully understand what programs and policies we expect from our governments. Both spoke of what they were going to implement, institute, abolish or continue, but do they really understand my needs and feelings? I do not yet feel that connection, and I want to be included.
“Both candidates were ask to prioritize three important issues concerning health, entitlements, and energy, and their explanations were most convincing. One important concern and issue, and maybe the most important, was missing. How can we Americans be lifted up from our current stagnation and lethargy, and instilled with a sense of renewed patriotic vision and purpose?
“The candidates need to make the American citizens part of the solutions to our national problems, and not just the recipients of any reform or change. Tell us what we need to20sacrifice and to do in order to bring order and sanity to our present chaos and morass? Don’t be afraid to confront us with harsh realities and blunt facts.
“We need inspiration and honesty from the two candidates in the few remaining weeks before the presidential election. And that certainly would be prime examples of “reform and change”.
John Gustafson
“John McCain pointed out that Barack Obama will significantly raise income taxes and capital gains taxes in the midst of the most serious economic crisis we’ve faced in generations. Raising taxes on investment and on small businesses, as Barack Obama proposes, will stop the creation of new jobs and force businesses to let employees go. Barack Obama mentions that he would raise taxes on the big oil companies. But the only oil companies he could tax more heavily would be American oil companies. How can we decrease our dependence on foreign oil by punishing our own American oil producers? Clearly, McCain’s economic policies are more likely to pull us out of any impending recession. Obama’s proposals will prevent the economic recovery we all hope for and prevent energy independence.”
–Brian Maier (CVB)
Entry Filed under: debate reax
4 Comments Add your own
1. Effmuh | October 9th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
So I admit it, I’ve become quite the news and political news junkie. I’ve found myself reading news sites, articles, op-ed pieces, blogs, and other drivel from about 30 to 40 sources a day. I can’t get enough. I’ve been checking drudge more than I’ve been checking my own e-mail.
This election season has got me hooked. If I were a smarter man this affliction with an insatiable need for information could be preventing me from, I don’t know, curing cancer or something. Luckily I can still get work done while taking a minute to search out and read something every so often. That’s good, because I really think that I’m lucky to be employed here in the good-ole’ US of A these days and I need to keep productive if I’m going to pay off the mortgage and feed the family in the face of the oppressive(er) taxes that I’m going to have to pay in the next few years, and the oppressive(er) corporate tax that I’ll have to pay through increased prices that well meaning (face value) politicians levy on the producers in our economy, or as they’re called “evil corporations”.
I read this post with interest, because I do want to know what my fellow citizens are thinking about all of this. For the last few months, I’ve been travelling quite extensively around the country for work purposes and I’ve notices that hotel bars, or um, restaurants, have become like country cafe’s where people sit and talk politics.
That’s all that people are talking about, at least in the business-catering hotels that I’ve been staying at. The debates have been on the TVs, people might have well have been playing drinking games and taking shots whenever McCain used the saying “My friends”. I watched these debates and was only slightly bothered when the VP debate preempted watching my beloved cubbies.
What interested me with your post here is the fact that I thought that I might find something. There’s something conspicuously absent from the debate here this political season and the question needs to be asked, and met head on.
That question is: “What am I supposed to do as an individual American to do my part to fix this mess?”
I think that it’s an important question. We are all Americans, and if you’re anything like me, you’re terrified when you see headlines like the one on Drudge this morning that says “The USA will lose its superpower status” and “Aussies joke – and hope – that China can save capitalism”. Maybe terrified isn’t the word here, for me I would reclassify it as exasperation. Why? When JFK made his famous quote, you know, the one about asking not what your country could do for you, it was poignant. Why now are our present politicians BOTH talking about freaking socialism?? Do people really think that Obama is going to put more money in their wallets by raising taxes on corporations in a country with one of the top corporate tax rates? Do people think that McCain is going to stop the creeping communism by buying up home mortgages??
I have a headache over all of this. I think that the question should be: “Which candidate, and which political party (First two, third, or otherwise) is going to allow the individual to play their own part in taking the greatest nation in the world and keeping it that way?” I have to say that BOTH candidates gave answers to questions in the debate that made the hair on my neck stand on end. I want to know which candidate is going to get out of our way, spend responsibly, allow people to learn responsibility and not subservience, and cheer-lead Americans to BE Americans and LEAD the WORLD through HARD WORK and stalwart duty to ourselves and our neighbors. I do not want the government to help me. Sure, they provide fire protection, police protection, good roads, and what have you… but stay the heck out of my mortgage.
The first responsibility of every man, woman, and child in the USA is to take charge of themselves, the second is to take care of their family and loved ones, the third is to pull your own weight in society. The next, is to become informed, know what’s really going on, and not be a sheep. Freedom is hard, some people fail, and I want to be allowed to fail because if I’m not, then I’m not truly free.
Which candidate is going to get out of our collective way, give us our head and let the American Spirit lead the way to the bright future that we all could have if we all pulled our own weight??
2. POLFOE | October 9th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Neither one, if you vote for the selected candidates you will have accomplished nothing and will be one of the flock.
3. effmuh | October 9th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Yea, I know… that, and we’re in Illinois where our collective electoral votes are predetermined by the State of Chicago. It’s interesting to look at the political maps of Illinois and see that Illinois is red… except for the massive area of indigo blue near the lake.
I’d go libertarian… but they’ll never actually get elected and while I liked a lot of Ron Paul’s ideas (Yes, I know he’s not whatshisname their actual candidate) there are some that are out there even for me.
4. Effmuh | October 11th, 2008 at 8:03 am
On second thought, I’ll amend my above thought. I *would* think that we could get the libertarians strong enough to be the party of choice for conservatives… but I’m looking forward so much to Palin/Jindal 2012.
For those that are unfamiliar with Bobby Jindal, he’s the NeoCon that Louisiana put into the governor’s mansion. Good ole’ Red State Conservative. Did y’all happen to hear anyone in the media talk about the recent Cat 3 hurricane that hit there in any way like they talked about Katrina??
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed