Week #4, Blog $2

The top news story that Fox News is reporting at 11:45 this evening (9/26/08) is that Barack Obama and John McCain debated tonight. These candidates lit each other up on issues dealing with the economy, to the War in Iraq, to earmarks. John McCain noted that Barack Obama has the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate and that it is hard to reach across the aisle when that is your claim to fame. McCain also noted that in his first Senate term Barack Obama has almost sought and received $1 billion worth of earmarks. McCain also noted that Obama did not support the surge of troops into Iraq last year, a policy that obviously worked.

Obama did not take this criticism laying down. He chided McCain on his comment in 2003 that the war was going to be quick and easy. Obama noted that McCain likes to think that the war started in 2007 when the surge was taking place and the fruits of our labor were being seen. McCain voted to authorize the war in 2003 and he was wrong. Obama also said that how can McCain say that he will control spending when he has voted for almost every Bush budget during the last eight years.

The consensus was that leaders on Capital Hill are close to an agreement arranging a financial bailout for Wall-Street. They note that leaders are working together, despite party differences for the good of the American people.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer said the debate probably ended in a “draw,” but that it could help McCain recover from the turmoil of the past two days.
“I’d be surprised if McCain gets a jump in the polls as a result of this,” he said, but “it does end the drama of the McCain week.”

I think that this is an accurate statement (above). McCain and Obama both made good points and this first debate did end in a tie. The American people will have two more chances to pick their candidate before the general election. These candidates have to be careful about what they say in the campaign because they both have a voting record in the United States Senate that the media and the American people can study and investigate. Fox News did cover more of the jabs to Obama from McCain then vice-versa.