Late Night Post-Debate Thoughts

McCain, unarguably, had to hit the ball out of the park tonight. Unfortunately, he did not and maybe that will cost him the election.

Economy:
The first 30 minutes of the debate focused on the poor state of the economy. The most important point that McCain needed to make tonight was to explain who was truly to blame for the country’s current economic problems. McCain did not do this adequately. He needed to show how Democrats in Congress and radical community groups forced lending agencies like Fannie Mac and Freddie Mae to extend bad housing loans to many who could not afford to be homeowners. Republicans are unjustly being blamed 2:1 for the current economic crisis. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media has completely failed to investigate/report this issue sufficiently and Democrats are blaming President Bush as always. McCain should have pegged this issue on Obama, who is linked to both of these groups: Dems in the House and Senate and the radical liberals at ACORN. McCain did mention that he and fellow Republicans warned of the potential for a sub-prime lending crisis a couple years back, which was entirely ignored by the democratic leadership in Congress. However, he did not drive this point home. It was not deregulation that caused this problem, as Obama continues to claim! It was just the opposite--government interference! McCain did touch on these points, but not to the degree that he needed to. I thought the gloves were coming off?

Tax Cuts:
Obama continued his campaign rhetoric that he will extend tax cuts to 95% of Americans. McCain should have jumped all over this! First of all, around 35% of American workers do not pay ANY income tax. How can Obama promise to cut taxes for people that do not pay anything to begin with? His “tax cuts” would literally be giving handouts to over 50% of the wage earners while at the same time raise taxes on the “rich.” This is nothing short of wealth redistribution. Gov. Palin called it such in the VP debate last week and McCain should have stressed this point as well.

I have made this point before but I will say it again, corporate taxes will hurt all Americans. Corporations must meet their profit margins. When their taxes are raised they will in turn raise the price of their product in order to ensure they continue making a profit. Raising the price of their product means the consumer (taxpayer) will have to pay more for necessary goods.

McCain pointed out that Obama had said he would consider not raising taxes if the economy was struggling. McCain went on to say that we need lower taxes across the board. I was glad McCain brought up this point but he did not deliver the knockout punch. By saying he would wait to raise taxes until the economy is healthy, Obama is essentially admitting that raising taxes is bad for the economy. McCain should have asked, “If you believe increasing taxes stimulates the economy, why not raise them during economic turmoil?”

Healthcare:
The most telling point during the discussion on healthcare was when the candidates were asked if healthcare is a privilege, right or responsibility. McCain said he thought it was a responsibility. Obama, on the other hand, thought healthcare was a right. I would expect no less from a Marxist like Obama. He thinks that every American has the right to healthcare and as president he would make sure the government provided it for you. Where does it say in the Constitution that as an American you have the right to healthcare? This is the same issue that caused the housing crisis—people thought they had a right to own their own home and, therefore, took out mortgages they could never afford to pay. This is a fundamental problem with liberal ideology; liberals believe they need what they want and are entitled to what they need.

Foreign relations:
Surprisingly, questions concerning foreign affairs took up nearly an hour of the debate. This was to McCain’s benefit, considering foreign affairs are his strong suit. Tonight, as usual, he spoke about this subject with great ease, due to his knowledge and experience. (I wish he had spoken of the economy in the same manner.) His answers were on message and succinct: “We will bring our troops home with victory” and “If you go in, you better not leave early.” When asked about the “Obama Doctrine,” Obama could only manage to reiterate his message that Bush was wrong and McCain would just be more of the same. Of course, Obama only spoke of “ending” the war in Iraq. Never does he or any other Democrat mention “winning” the war in Iraq. (I want to talk about this in length at a later time.) To his credit, McCain again pointed out that Obama said he would meet with the leader of Iran and other rogue nations “without precondition.”

The debate concluded with a rather ambiguous question: “What don’t you know and how will you learn it?” Predictably, Obama talked about how awful the last 8 years have been under McBush and how we need “change.” Equally predictable, McCain talked about putting the country first. He boasted of his experience and credentials, yet I thought he could have gone in a whole different direction with his response, especially considering he had the last word. McCain could have responded by saying that what he and the American people do not know is the true character of Obama. His dubious relations with Ayers, Rezko, Wright and others present many legitimate questions, which Obama has continually avoided. He purposefully conceals his radical liberalism by touting a shallow populist message. The only way to learn what we do not know about Obama is for him to be forthright and honest about his shameful associations and voting record. McCain could have concluded by saying that the American people can have confidence in knowing who John McCain is and that he can be trusted as our leader.

This debate failed to be McCain’s shining moment. Although he made some good points and held his own, he definitely did not take off the gloves as many were expecting. This was a prime opportunity to win by TKO and, unfortunately, anything short is likely to be viewed as an Obama victory.