Crisis in America: Who Will Serve Our Country Best

America is seeing the biggest economic crisis ever since the Depression broke out. The question of financial stability with a vulnerable economy is the concern of the Presidential debates and most Americans. According to the Wall Street Journal, America’s GDP will be lowered significantly within the next few months. Companies finding it harder to maintain their average work force, citizens searching desperately for work and struggling to pay their bills are all shaping the pave for the future president to be inaugurated in an "economy in the midst of recession". The big question is which senator will better handle America’s devastating economic crisis!

(De)Regulation: The Overpowering Theme in the Presidential Election

It seems that the most accurate way to grasp the stance of candidates McCain and Obama on all of the important issues facing the nation, is to consider their contrasting views on government regulation. Often we associate regulation by the government in economic terms, but Obama has successfully showed the country that he will provide the leadership needed to regulate and ensure all rights of citizens. He made this clear on Tuesday's town hall meeting when he stated, "That is a fundamental difference that I have with Senator McCain. He believes in deregulation in every circumstance. That's what we've been going through for the last eight years. It hasn't worked, and we need fundamental change." The truth in Obama's response resonnates in the ears of worried Americans. Joe Klein of Time Magazine, writes, "...the public — worried at the beginning of the campaign, terrified now — is ready for greater government support and regulation..." This sentiment can be applied across the board to healthcare, education, environment and the economy. Obama's bold promises to ensure change and improvement in all of these arenas is revealing a promising outlook at the polls.

Abandoning the Issues

Desperate times call for desperate measures and the McCain campaign is certainly entering desperate times. New polls in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada now show Barack Obama leading in all seven of these crucial states as election day approaches.

With just over three weeks remaining in the race for the presidency, and an economy that continues to spiral downward, the McCain campaign has decided that the only way they can win the election is through aggressive personal attacks on Obama. Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported on this shift in strategy and quoted a senior Republican strategist as saying "we're going to get a little tougher. We've got to question this guy's associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here." In the following few days, Sarah Palin began a series of harsh attacks tying Obama to former Weather Underground member William Ayers, and accusing Obama of "palling around with terrorists."

Although last night's debate was generally cordial, the McCain campaign came out swinging again this morning when Cindy McCain invoked the service of her two sons, "the day that Sen. Obama cast a vote to not to fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body let me tell you." This follows a statement she made yesterday calling Obama's campaign "the dirtiest campaign in American history."

Townhall Transcript Reveals the Inner Man

Sometimes you have to read something to appreciate the finer points. last night’s townhall rendezvous with senators obama and mccain was a little like that.

While it was obvious that both presidential candidates wanted to avoid making gaffes (basically they succeeded) they did manage to show viewers the differences in how they would handle the economic crisis.

What leaps out from the page if you read the transcript is the difference in how the candidates use pronouns.

McCain says “I.” Obama says “we.”

Get to the Point Candidates

One of the biggest complaints of the first presidential debate was that the candidates did not give enough specificity. Last night’s debate held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, proved to give audiences more of the same vague, political rhetoric that did not offer tangible solutions. Although the candidates met in a town hall format, which actually, according to Adam Nagourney of the NY Times, “produced an often stifled encounter,” they did not answer the audience’s questions with personal, specific answers, relying on the same “straightjacket of talking points” as Tom Curry, national affairs writer of MSNBC phrases it. Instead of addressing how their own plan would benefit the economy without putting burdening it with more tax cuts, lost profits, and sacrifices the American people would have to make, McCain and Obama pointed fingers at the other, talking of the other’s role in this current financial crisis. Both candidates offered very different explanations as to why America is in the state it’s in.
This debate does not appear to be momentous for either candidate as the public continues to favor Obama in his 4.9% lead in the national polls. However McCain and Obama need to step up and offer the country leadership, straight-forward answers, and clear plans if either of them is to restore confidence in the American public.

Debate Fails To Deliver Predicted Mudslinging

If viewers of tonight's debate were expecting the mudslinging and character-questioning battle of wits that sources said it could be, they probably ended up a bit disappointed. For the most part, the town hall style debates stayed away from personal attacks, and instead focused on the ever present financial crisis. However, this did not mean the two candidates appeared friendly. Along with trying to pin him down as a newcomer with little experience, at one point John McCain even referred to Senator Obama as "that one" without mentioning his name. Barack instead chose to associate his opponent with the current President, stating that the current financial situation is "a final verdict of the failed economic policies of the last eight years, promoted by President Bush and strongly supported by Sen. McCain."
Lately Democrat Barack Obama has been ahead in the polls, and results of a CNN poll taken right after the debate aired backed this up, stating that 54% of those reported believed Obama had won the debate, reaffirming the belief that debates do not create opinions, but instead shape existing ones.

The Gloves Are Off

It appears that tonight is the night when both candidates start swinging for a knockout. Although John McCain and Barack Obama started their campaigns with pledges to stick to the issues and avoid mudslinging, as the clock winds down, the attacks grow more viscous. As a New York Times article published yesterday states, "Mr. McCain made clear on Monday that he wanted to make the final month of the race a referendum on Mr. Obama’s character, background and leadership — a polite way of saying he intends to attack him on all fronts and create or reinforce doubts about him among as many voters as possible." His most recent jabs have included remarks about Obama's association with William Ayers and the pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. A speaker at a party event also "referred to the Democratic candidate as “Barack Hussein Obama.”"
However, the Obama campaign hasn't sat idly by and watched. They responded by releasing a thirteen minute video highlighting McCain's connection to the Keating Five scandal in 1980. With this rebuttal, Obama has reassured supporters that he has what it takes to fight back.
The recent, more aggressive strategies taken by both parties prove that at tonight's debate, both candidates will be on the offensive. However, the style of the debate may hamper what would otherwise be a more viscous rendezvous. Since the nominees will take questions directly from voters, they will have fewer chances to claw at each others' throats. Although Palin advised her running mate to "take the gloves off," McCain, along with Senator Obama, might have to wait a little longer.