Obama, McCain face off in final presidential debate
Starting momentarily, from the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY will be the final presidential debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. The debate will be moderated by CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer. The debate is to be 90 minutes and focus on the economy and domestic issues.
Look for John McCain, in a last-ditch, desperate effort to take the fight to Obama on his terms. McCain has promised to bring up Obama's connection to Bill Ayers, so there may be some fireworks.
Tune into this thread for regular live updates of the debate, as the action happens.
6:00 pm Bob Schieffer is explaining the rules. He promises the opportunity for follow-up questions. Schieffer has just introduced the candidates ho have come out on stage to applause. First question is regarding the economic crisis, and Shieffer has reviewed their plans and asks why each candidates' plan is best. McCain answers first, thanking Hofstra and giving his regards to "our beloved Nancy Reagan". McCain talks about angry Americans, blames the problem on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says we need to reverse the decline of home ownership. McCain wants to take $300 billion of the $750 billion bailout and buy home mortgages so that people can stay in their homes. McCain says he wants t put homeowners first.
Obama is up next, thanking the hosts, his opponent, and the moderator. He says the bailout is an important first step. What we haven't yet seen is a rescue package for the middle class. Obama mentions he has proposed several things: focus on jobs (end tax breaks for companies that offshore jobs), help families right away (middle class tax cut for people making less than $200,000 and penalty free access to IRA's), help homeowners with their mortgages.
McCain follows up with lies about Obama's plans for small businesses and talks about his conversation with a plumber earlier in the week and said he ended the conversation with "spread the wealth around", as if Obama is a Communist. He didn't say Communist, but McCain was speaking with such disdain you could tell he wanted to.
Obama makes a good point about taxes that nobody likes to pay taxes, but we have to make appropriate investments in our country. McCain says we don't need to spread the wealth around. Why not when
6:12pm Next question is about the deficit. Won't programs you're proposing have to be postponed, trimmed or cancelled? Obama goes first saying that yes, adjustments will be necessary. He says he's been a strong proponent of pay as you go, and that with every dollar he's proposing to spend, he's also proposed a cut for programs that don't work. Obama wants to cut programs that don't work, and programs that we do need, should be made to work better. If we make investments now on preventative health care, it will save on Medicare and Medicaid. If we invest in our young people, they will drive the economy in the 21st Century.
McCain can't answer the question and goes back to homeownership and talks about Great Depression era programs that bought up home mortgages. Bob Schieffer tries to get McCain to answer the question and he pivots to nuclear energy, offshore drilling and the need for energy independence.
Finally, he starts answering the question. McCain would implement an across-the board spending freeze. McCain says he knows how to save on defense spending and how to cut programs, proposing to cut subsidies for ethanol and tariffs on sugar cane based ethanol from Brazil. McCain says he'd veto every earmark laden bill, and brings up the "overhead projector" earmark that Obama added to a spending bill again.
Obama points out, in his rebuttal, that earmark account for 1/2 of 1 percent of the total federal budget.
6:23pm In the first "Get Off My Lawn" moment of the debate, McCain gets angry and says to Obama "I'm not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush you should have run in 2004."
McCain also makes a goofy face when Obama points out that his claim about Obama raising taxes on people who make $42,000 a year was disputed by everyone, including Fox News who doesn't agree with Obama on most things.
6:27pm Next question is regarding leadership. Schieffer notes the tone of the campaign has turned nasty. Are each of you willing to say to each other's face what the campaigns and your surrogates have said about each other? McCain goes first. Says he wanted to do ten town hall meetings and that all this could have been different if they had done the town halls together. Says he regrets the tone of both campaigns and calls out Congressman John Lewis for his remarks earlier in the week. McCain says Obama didn't repudiate the remarks made by Lewis and his campaign will tell the truth (which is a lie). McCain claims Obama has spent more money on negative ads than any campaign in history. He's been given his opportunity to live up to his word, and he hasn't mentioned Bill Ayers.
Obama says we expect campaigns to be tough. He says 10 percent of McCain's ads are negative. Obama stays above the fray and says that he thinks the American people are less interested in "our hurt feelings" and more interested in the issues. Obama says he doesn't mind being attacked for 3 more weeks, but says that the American people deserve to have the campaigns talking about the issues, because we can't afford 4 more years of failed economic policies.
McCain follows up by noting that his Arizona Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. What does that have to do with anything?
6:34pm McCain still says he didn't hear Obama say anything repudiating Congressman Lewis. Obama defends Lews' concerns about the racist remarks made at Sarah Palin's rallies, notes that he issued a statement that he believed an unfair comparison was made, and that Congressman Lewis also issued a statement regretting that he may have gone a bit too far in his remarks.
McCain says he's proud of the people who come to his rallies. Says he's not going to stand for people who come to his rallies aren't anything less than the most patriotic people in the country. Says people at Obama rallies have yelled things too. McCain is sounding like a whining, sniveling brat.
6:37pm Enter Bill Ayers. Enter ACORN. McCain is leveling accusations that Obama is associating with terrorists and people who commit voter fraud. Obama responds that Ayers engaged in despicable acts with a domestic terrorist group. He notes that he served on a commission regarding education set up by Walter Annenberg, a friend of Ronald Reagan. Ayers isn't a part of Obama's campaign and won't advise Obama when he's in the White House. He notes his work with ACORN on the Motor Voter law in Illinois. Now he's listing people he does associate with, respectable experts in their fields.
McCain is dong his "Get Off My Lawn" routine again.
6:42pm Next question is why would the country be better off with your running mate as President, rather than his running mate?
Obama notes Biden's vast experience in foreign policy, that's he's never forgotten where he came from. Obama talks about Biden's work fighting for "the little guy". Obama says Biden shares his core values, and that they agree that we have to reprioritize and invest in the American people.
McCain says Americans know Sarah Palin is a role model to women and reformers all across America. He brings out the same stories of Palin taking on Frank Murkowski and the oil companies. No mention of abuse of power. He says she'll sweep out the cronyism. McCain says Palin understands and will be a great advocate for special needs children. He keeps saying he's proud of her. In the realm of the bizarre, he notes Todd Palin's tough guy status. I'm not sure, in light of the Branchflower Report, that Todd Palin's tough guy status is an asset to the McCain campaign.
Obama is asked if Palin has enough experience and responds by saying he'll leave it to the American people.
6:48pm Next question is on climate change. Give us a number of how much you believe we can reduce foreign oil imports during your first term?
McCain says we can eliminate our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and Venezuelan oil, but that we'll keep importing Canadian oil. He wants to build 45 nuclear power plants right away, and wants to store an reprocess spent nuclear fuel, which he says we'll do with "no problem" (I'd like to hear that plan).
Obama notes that realistically we can reduce our dependence within 10 years. He wants to expand domestic production by telling oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres they have leases for or lose them. Obama also wants to put resource in solar, wind, geothermal and biodiesel, and develop a highly fuel-efficient car that is manufactured in the U.S. Obama notes his support for free trade, but notes that future trade agreements must have enforceable labor and environmental standards, and mechanisms to stop China from manipulating its currency.
McCain follows up with a call for offshore drilling. He calls himself a "free trader" and wants worker retraining programs. McCain pitches the Colombia Free Trade agreement, despite Colombia's poor record of union busting [link to come via David Sirota], and harangues Obama for his lack of support for the agreement and tells him he ought to visit Colombia and learn what it's all about.
Obama counters noting an extensive record of labor leaders being targeted for assassination in Colombia, and that without adequate protections for workers he's not going to support it.
6:58pm Next question is on health care. Do you favor controlling costs over expanding coverage?
Obama says we have to do both, by investing in preventative care and cutting bureaucracy and overhead. He also mentions giving the uninsured access to the same health care plan that he and McCain have. In addition, Obama would negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
McCain says we need clinics, health care centers and put medical records online to save on costs. He wants to reward employees who get gym memberships, and give every American a $5000 tax credit to get any kind of health care plan they want.
7:05 pm Next question is on the right to choose. Can you nominate someone to the Supreme Court who disagrees with your position on Roe v. Wade?
McCain says Roe v. Wade was a bad decision, and that the issue should rest in the hands of the state, but says he'd never impose a litmus test. McCain says Obama "voted against Justice Breyer and Justice Roberts." If I'm not mistaken, Justice Breyer was appointed by President Clinton, when Barack Obama was in the Illinois State Senate.
Obama says he doesn't want to apply a strict litmus test. The most important qualification is the ability to provide fairness and justice to the American people. Obama believes Roe v. Wade was rightly decided. He notes abortion is a difficult issue, but that women in consultation with their families, doctors and religious counsel are in the best position to make these decisions. Obama says he will looks for judges who have outstanding judicial records, intellect and a real world perspective on the issues.
Obama is now hitting McCain on Lily Ledbetter and equal pay for equal work, which Obama voted for and McCain opposed in the Senate. Obama believes the court should have stood up for Ledbetter.
Obama notes that the issue divides us, but that there is some common ground, that we should educate our youth appropriately, provide options for adoption, and that nobody is "for abortion". Essentially, Obama was talking the "safe, legal and rare" mantra. McCain is mocking the definition of "health of the mother".
7:15pm Next question is on education. Schieffer notes that we spend more than other countries on education , but are behind them as far as achievement.
Obama says there has been a debate between more money and reform. Obama says we need both. We must invest in early childhood education, because every dollar we invest pays back in dividend. He wants to invest in an army of new teachers in math and science. College must be affordable. Obama has noted his proposed $4000 tuition credit for community service, Peace Corps service, or other forms of national service. Obama also calls on parents to be more responsible by turning off the television and instilling the thirst for knowledge in their kids.
McCain is calling for vouchers by pondering who wants to send their kid to a failed inner-city school He also wants to "send failed teachers to another line of work." McCain says charter schools are providing competition with public schools. "Throwing money at the problem isn't the answer." We need to support programs like Teach for America, and that military members should be allowed to go straight into the classroom after their service, without all of the credentialing requirements that are typical in the states.
Obama thinks it's important to have the federal government step up and pay for more of the mandates it places on local school districts. He notes that Bush's No Child Left Behind policy, forgot the money to fund the burden it placed on school districts. Obama notes his support for charter schools, agreeing with John McCain. He also notes that he agrees that bad teachers need to be removed from the classroom, after they've been given opportunity to improve.
McCain is touting vouchers again, noting the Washington, D.C. school system example. Since he's already touted his support for the racist rednecks at his running mate's rallies, it's no surprise that McCain supports vouchers which will create racially segregated schools.
7:27pm Time for closing remarks. McCain is still laughing and has a maniacal grin on his face over some joke he made on vouchers.
McCain goes first on the closing statement. Of course, he starts with "my friends" (does he have any left?) He's giving the "I'm a maverick/reformer who takes on my own party" speech. He says "we have to stop the spending that has mortgaged your kid's future." Never mind the war on Iraq and the dismantling of the economy by the Bush Administration and his key economic advisor Phil "Nation of Whiners" Gramm.
Obama talks about Washington's unwillingness to tackle the tough problems. "The biggest risk we can take now is to adopt the same policies and the same politics". Obama makes the argument for change, and talks about the American people and the decency and generosity he's seen on the campaign trail and better days that lie ahead. While McCain talks about all the bad things he perceives are going on, Barack Obama makes it about the American people and the hope for a better future.
Bob Schieffer closes with what his mama always said "Go vote. It will make you big and strong."
Stay tuned for some post debate commentary and analysis right here on The Advocate.
Look for John McCain, in a last-ditch, desperate effort to take the fight to Obama on his terms. McCain has promised to bring up Obama's connection to Bill Ayers, so there may be some fireworks.
Tune into this thread for regular live updates of the debate, as the action happens.
6:00 pm Bob Schieffer is explaining the rules. He promises the opportunity for follow-up questions. Schieffer has just introduced the candidates ho have come out on stage to applause. First question is regarding the economic crisis, and Shieffer has reviewed their plans and asks why each candidates' plan is best. McCain answers first, thanking Hofstra and giving his regards to "our beloved Nancy Reagan". McCain talks about angry Americans, blames the problem on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says we need to reverse the decline of home ownership. McCain wants to take $300 billion of the $750 billion bailout and buy home mortgages so that people can stay in their homes. McCain says he wants t put homeowners first.
Obama is up next, thanking the hosts, his opponent, and the moderator. He says the bailout is an important first step. What we haven't yet seen is a rescue package for the middle class. Obama mentions he has proposed several things: focus on jobs (end tax breaks for companies that offshore jobs), help families right away (middle class tax cut for people making less than $200,000 and penalty free access to IRA's), help homeowners with their mortgages.
McCain follows up with lies about Obama's plans for small businesses and talks about his conversation with a plumber earlier in the week and said he ended the conversation with "spread the wealth around", as if Obama is a Communist. He didn't say Communist, but McCain was speaking with such disdain you could tell he wanted to.
Obama makes a good point about taxes that nobody likes to pay taxes, but we have to make appropriate investments in our country. McCain says we don't need to spread the wealth around. Why not when
6:12pm Next question is about the deficit. Won't programs you're proposing have to be postponed, trimmed or cancelled? Obama goes first saying that yes, adjustments will be necessary. He says he's been a strong proponent of pay as you go, and that with every dollar he's proposing to spend, he's also proposed a cut for programs that don't work. Obama wants to cut programs that don't work, and programs that we do need, should be made to work better. If we make investments now on preventative health care, it will save on Medicare and Medicaid. If we invest in our young people, they will drive the economy in the 21st Century.
McCain can't answer the question and goes back to homeownership and talks about Great Depression era programs that bought up home mortgages. Bob Schieffer tries to get McCain to answer the question and he pivots to nuclear energy, offshore drilling and the need for energy independence.
Finally, he starts answering the question. McCain would implement an across-the board spending freeze. McCain says he knows how to save on defense spending and how to cut programs, proposing to cut subsidies for ethanol and tariffs on sugar cane based ethanol from Brazil. McCain says he'd veto every earmark laden bill, and brings up the "overhead projector" earmark that Obama added to a spending bill again.
Obama points out, in his rebuttal, that earmark account for 1/2 of 1 percent of the total federal budget.
6:23pm In the first "Get Off My Lawn" moment of the debate, McCain gets angry and says to Obama "I'm not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush you should have run in 2004."
McCain also makes a goofy face when Obama points out that his claim about Obama raising taxes on people who make $42,000 a year was disputed by everyone, including Fox News who doesn't agree with Obama on most things.
6:27pm Next question is regarding leadership. Schieffer notes the tone of the campaign has turned nasty. Are each of you willing to say to each other's face what the campaigns and your surrogates have said about each other? McCain goes first. Says he wanted to do ten town hall meetings and that all this could have been different if they had done the town halls together. Says he regrets the tone of both campaigns and calls out Congressman John Lewis for his remarks earlier in the week. McCain says Obama didn't repudiate the remarks made by Lewis and his campaign will tell the truth (which is a lie). McCain claims Obama has spent more money on negative ads than any campaign in history. He's been given his opportunity to live up to his word, and he hasn't mentioned Bill Ayers.
Obama says we expect campaigns to be tough. He says 10 percent of McCain's ads are negative. Obama stays above the fray and says that he thinks the American people are less interested in "our hurt feelings" and more interested in the issues. Obama says he doesn't mind being attacked for 3 more weeks, but says that the American people deserve to have the campaigns talking about the issues, because we can't afford 4 more years of failed economic policies.
McCain follows up by noting that his Arizona Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. What does that have to do with anything?
6:34pm McCain still says he didn't hear Obama say anything repudiating Congressman Lewis. Obama defends Lews' concerns about the racist remarks made at Sarah Palin's rallies, notes that he issued a statement that he believed an unfair comparison was made, and that Congressman Lewis also issued a statement regretting that he may have gone a bit too far in his remarks.
McCain says he's proud of the people who come to his rallies. Says he's not going to stand for people who come to his rallies aren't anything less than the most patriotic people in the country. Says people at Obama rallies have yelled things too. McCain is sounding like a whining, sniveling brat.
6:37pm Enter Bill Ayers. Enter ACORN. McCain is leveling accusations that Obama is associating with terrorists and people who commit voter fraud. Obama responds that Ayers engaged in despicable acts with a domestic terrorist group. He notes that he served on a commission regarding education set up by Walter Annenberg, a friend of Ronald Reagan. Ayers isn't a part of Obama's campaign and won't advise Obama when he's in the White House. He notes his work with ACORN on the Motor Voter law in Illinois. Now he's listing people he does associate with, respectable experts in their fields.
McCain is dong his "Get Off My Lawn" routine again.
6:42pm Next question is why would the country be better off with your running mate as President, rather than his running mate?
Obama notes Biden's vast experience in foreign policy, that's he's never forgotten where he came from. Obama talks about Biden's work fighting for "the little guy". Obama says Biden shares his core values, and that they agree that we have to reprioritize and invest in the American people.
McCain says Americans know Sarah Palin is a role model to women and reformers all across America. He brings out the same stories of Palin taking on Frank Murkowski and the oil companies. No mention of abuse of power. He says she'll sweep out the cronyism. McCain says Palin understands and will be a great advocate for special needs children. He keeps saying he's proud of her. In the realm of the bizarre, he notes Todd Palin's tough guy status. I'm not sure, in light of the Branchflower Report, that Todd Palin's tough guy status is an asset to the McCain campaign.
Obama is asked if Palin has enough experience and responds by saying he'll leave it to the American people.
6:48pm Next question is on climate change. Give us a number of how much you believe we can reduce foreign oil imports during your first term?
McCain says we can eliminate our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and Venezuelan oil, but that we'll keep importing Canadian oil. He wants to build 45 nuclear power plants right away, and wants to store an reprocess spent nuclear fuel, which he says we'll do with "no problem" (I'd like to hear that plan).
Obama notes that realistically we can reduce our dependence within 10 years. He wants to expand domestic production by telling oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres they have leases for or lose them. Obama also wants to put resource in solar, wind, geothermal and biodiesel, and develop a highly fuel-efficient car that is manufactured in the U.S. Obama notes his support for free trade, but notes that future trade agreements must have enforceable labor and environmental standards, and mechanisms to stop China from manipulating its currency.
McCain follows up with a call for offshore drilling. He calls himself a "free trader" and wants worker retraining programs. McCain pitches the Colombia Free Trade agreement, despite Colombia's poor record of union busting [link to come via David Sirota], and harangues Obama for his lack of support for the agreement and tells him he ought to visit Colombia and learn what it's all about.
Obama counters noting an extensive record of labor leaders being targeted for assassination in Colombia, and that without adequate protections for workers he's not going to support it.
6:58pm Next question is on health care. Do you favor controlling costs over expanding coverage?
Obama says we have to do both, by investing in preventative care and cutting bureaucracy and overhead. He also mentions giving the uninsured access to the same health care plan that he and McCain have. In addition, Obama would negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
McCain says we need clinics, health care centers and put medical records online to save on costs. He wants to reward employees who get gym memberships, and give every American a $5000 tax credit to get any kind of health care plan they want.
7:05 pm Next question is on the right to choose. Can you nominate someone to the Supreme Court who disagrees with your position on Roe v. Wade?
McCain says Roe v. Wade was a bad decision, and that the issue should rest in the hands of the state, but says he'd never impose a litmus test. McCain says Obama "voted against Justice Breyer and Justice Roberts." If I'm not mistaken, Justice Breyer was appointed by President Clinton, when Barack Obama was in the Illinois State Senate.
Obama says he doesn't want to apply a strict litmus test. The most important qualification is the ability to provide fairness and justice to the American people. Obama believes Roe v. Wade was rightly decided. He notes abortion is a difficult issue, but that women in consultation with their families, doctors and religious counsel are in the best position to make these decisions. Obama says he will looks for judges who have outstanding judicial records, intellect and a real world perspective on the issues.
Obama is now hitting McCain on Lily Ledbetter and equal pay for equal work, which Obama voted for and McCain opposed in the Senate. Obama believes the court should have stood up for Ledbetter.
Obama notes that the issue divides us, but that there is some common ground, that we should educate our youth appropriately, provide options for adoption, and that nobody is "for abortion". Essentially, Obama was talking the "safe, legal and rare" mantra. McCain is mocking the definition of "health of the mother".
7:15pm Next question is on education. Schieffer notes that we spend more than other countries on education , but are behind them as far as achievement.
Obama says there has been a debate between more money and reform. Obama says we need both. We must invest in early childhood education, because every dollar we invest pays back in dividend. He wants to invest in an army of new teachers in math and science. College must be affordable. Obama has noted his proposed $4000 tuition credit for community service, Peace Corps service, or other forms of national service. Obama also calls on parents to be more responsible by turning off the television and instilling the thirst for knowledge in their kids.
McCain is calling for vouchers by pondering who wants to send their kid to a failed inner-city school He also wants to "send failed teachers to another line of work." McCain says charter schools are providing competition with public schools. "Throwing money at the problem isn't the answer." We need to support programs like Teach for America, and that military members should be allowed to go straight into the classroom after their service, without all of the credentialing requirements that are typical in the states.
Obama thinks it's important to have the federal government step up and pay for more of the mandates it places on local school districts. He notes that Bush's No Child Left Behind policy, forgot the money to fund the burden it placed on school districts. Obama notes his support for charter schools, agreeing with John McCain. He also notes that he agrees that bad teachers need to be removed from the classroom, after they've been given opportunity to improve.
McCain is touting vouchers again, noting the Washington, D.C. school system example. Since he's already touted his support for the racist rednecks at his running mate's rallies, it's no surprise that McCain supports vouchers which will create racially segregated schools.
7:27pm Time for closing remarks. McCain is still laughing and has a maniacal grin on his face over some joke he made on vouchers.
McCain goes first on the closing statement. Of course, he starts with "my friends" (does he have any left?) He's giving the "I'm a maverick/reformer who takes on my own party" speech. He says "we have to stop the spending that has mortgaged your kid's future." Never mind the war on Iraq and the dismantling of the economy by the Bush Administration and his key economic advisor Phil "Nation of Whiners" Gramm.
Obama talks about Washington's unwillingness to tackle the tough problems. "The biggest risk we can take now is to adopt the same policies and the same politics". Obama makes the argument for change, and talks about the American people and the decency and generosity he's seen on the campaign trail and better days that lie ahead. While McCain talks about all the bad things he perceives are going on, Barack Obama makes it about the American people and the hope for a better future.
Bob Schieffer closes with what his mama always said "Go vote. It will make you big and strong."
Stay tuned for some post debate commentary and analysis right here on The Advocate.
# Posted by Ken Camp : 5:56 PM
Comments:
Bob Shieffer has dumped on the citizens by not requring McCain to respond to the questions.
Obama is the original snake oil vendor. He has packaged his message and is a great salesman of his poison brew. Drink it America and you won't even know what hit you. ladies if you want to wear a Burka, vote for Obama!
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