Presidential Debate Recap

The first of several Presidential Debates held in Oxford, Mississippi was filled with strong words and bold opinions from both candidates. The debate nearly didn’t happen when John McCain suspended his campaign to combat the economic crisis, however he reinstated his participation. Many questions were posed by moderator Jim Lehrer, which are discussed in order below for those of you who missed the debate, or need a recap.

1. Where do you stand on the Financial Recovery Plan?

Obama began by saying we were going through “the worse financial crisis since the Great Depression.” Four points were proposed by Obama for the success of the $700 billion financial plan: First, he believed oversight was needed to monitor such a large amount of money. Also, that taxpayers had to get money back, and money couldn’t go to CEO bank accounts, and lastly, it had to help homeowners. McCain stated the magnitude of this crisis was epic, and that democrats and republicans absolutely had to work together to form a package quickly to help this problem. McCain believed this package was only “the end of the beginning,” and that much work, such as creating jobs, had to be done afterward.

Jim Lehrer then asked the candidates for a more direct response- if they would be voting in favor of the $700 billion package. Obama was reluctant to answer, stating “We haven’t seen the language yet.” McCain replied that “[he] sure hoped so.” However, he believed that the government needed to start taking accountability more seriously to prevent these crises from occurring in the future. Obama also stated that he thought McCain was “absolutely right” that we needed more accountability, but not just during a crisis.

2. Are there fundamental differences between the candidates economic plans?

McCain responded first, and he stated that he was absolutely disappointed in government spending, and stated that Obama would only increase that spending through earmarks and irrational programs. Obama agreed that the earmark process was extremely abused, and that lobbyists were too prevalent in government. He criticized McCain for proposing $300 billion dollars in tax cuts for big companies, compared to his plan to cut taxes for working-class families. McCain challenged Obama’s characterization of his financial plan, stating that he has fought against high taxes and wasteful government spending. At one point or another, both candidates said they believed earmark reform was vital.
3. As President, what funding would you give up to pay for the financial rescue plan?

The first response was Obama’s, and he stated that there were multiple things that he wouldn’t be able to do, but there were certain things he needed to do that he would, such as working for energy independence and investing in education. McCain stated that regardless of any plan, “we’ve got to cut spending.” He stated he would examine every single agency to get rid of costs that are “completely out of control.” When prompted for a more specific answer, Obama stated that he believed components of his energy plan would have to be postponed, but not abolished. He also agreed with McCain that spending had to be cut. McCain ended with stating a spending freeze was needed. Obama referred to this strategy as “using a hatchet when you need a scalpel,” and clearly disagreed.
4. What were the lessons of Iraq?

Senator Obama was quick to reply that he was, and remains, opposed to the Iraq War because of his concern that Afghanistan would be neglected. Obama pointed out that he believed Iraq was a 600 billion dollar mistake that we needed to learn to reform our strategy from. Senator McCain acknowledged that the initial strategy in Iraq was a failure, because after the initial success the war was poorly handled. He proposed and supported motions to send additional troops as a senator, and stated that we were currently winning in Iraq and violence was down. Obama replied to this comment, saying “You [McCain] like to pretend the war started in 2007.” He stated that McCain was ignoring what happened between 2003 and 2007, and that was a significant factor to Iraq’s lack of success.
5. Should more troops be sent to Afghanistan?

Without any hesitation, Obama firmly stated he believed more troops should be sent to Afghanistan. He was concerned about the security of troops currently there, and that an additional two to three brigades was needed. He also believed the Afghani government needed to be pressed with more responsibilities, and that Pakistan needed to be held accountable for contributing to terrorism as well; he was willing to use military force if needed.

As a response, McCain announced he regrets “washing [his] hands” of Afghanistan, and he opposed the strategy used by the Bush Administration. He was extremely critical of Obama’s aggression toward Pakistan, and stated he was not in any way prepared to take on Pakistan. First, he claimed, the support of the people of Pakistan was needed before any sort of attack was made against Pakistan, which he believed Obama was proposing an attack against Pakistan. Obama replied that McCain was twisting his words, and he was not proposing an attack against Pakistan, but we should be prepared for the incident if needed, and he believed McCain wasn’t.

McCain responded to that argument by bringing up his support of the Gulf War, intervention in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Somalia to prove otherwise. He said with his record, he refused to allow any troops to “come home in defeat and dishonor,” in Afghanistan or Iraq.

6. What is your reading of the threat from Iran?

McCain responded first, indicating that he was deeply concerned with the State of Israel if Iran were to obtain nuclear weapons. Specifically, he said “We can’t allow a second holocaust.” In order to combat Iran’s danger, McCain proposed forming a League of Democracies. The purpose of this league would be to propose sanctions against Iran, with the support of other democratic countries such as Britain, France and Germany. McCain did not believe involvement was needed from non-democratic countries such as China and Russia.

Obama’s response pointed out the fundamental difference between the two candidates, because he stated that he believed the support of Russia and China was absolutely vital because of their relationship with Iran. Obama, like McCain, was also concerned with the state of Israel, and proposed that if necessary an unconditioned meeting could be set up with Iran’s president. McCain was quick to disagree with this strategy, on the basis that talking with terrorist leaders legitimizes their beliefs- in this case the belief that Israel is a “stinking corpse” in the words of the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Obama determinedly replied to this that not talking to a country was not a punishment, and he also pointed out that one of McCain’s advisers also supported a meeting with no preconditions. McCain denies any of his advisers believe this.

7. How do you see US relationships with Russia?

The first response came from Obama, and he swiftly stated he thought Russia was a threat to the region, and that the Russian actions in Georgia were unacceptable. Obama believed that the US needs to help defend developing democracies from Russian influence. Obama also pointed out this must be done carefully, because the US cannot return to a Cold War stance with Russia. McCain responded, saying that Obama does not fully understand Russian aggression. McCain was not as concerned about a return to the cold war. In his own words: “I don’t believe we will go back to the Cold War. I’m sure that won’t happen. Both candidates did at some point in their response acknowledge they both agreed Russia was a threat.
8. What do you think the likelihood of another 9/11 attack is?

During the opening of his argument, McCain stated “We are a safer nation, but a long way from safe.” McCain praised the security advances made during the Bush Administration, but firmly said more security measures needed to be taken. McCain also pointed out the effect losing the Iraq war would have on our security, and said Obama failed to understand that. Obama began his argument by saying we were “safer in some ways,” much like McCain did. Obama said he believed our security was being jeopardized by the Iraq War. The fact that Al Quaeda now operates in 60 countries was used by Obama to show how the Iraq war damaged security much more than it helped.

Obama then went in another direction with his response, saying “We [The United States] are less respected than we were eight years ago,” because of the Iraq war among other things. While Obama agreed with McCain on his opposition to torturing suspected terrorists, he believed more policies needed to be reformed to reestablish the United States’ credibility. McCain then said he didn’t believe Obama understood what a great loss American credibility would suffer if the Iraq War was lost. Obama was quick to interject that McCain didn’t understand what the Iraq war had already lost.

One example Obama used to exemplify this point was the current trillion dollar debt the US has to China, and stated that no country in history could have economic decline and afford military strength. Obama used the lack of care veterans were receiving as an example of a lack of military funding. McCain discredited Obama’s argument, by stating “I honestly don’t believe Obama has the knowledge and experience” needed to handle foreign policy. To showcase his credentials, McCain pointed out that he had been involved in every major security issue for the last 20 years. To close his argument, McCain stated he “loved” veterans, and that they knew he would take care of them.