Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Joe Who? McCain flashes New Gimmick, Obama Wins

Oh no, not another gimmick! Halfway through this debate, I was ready to call John McCain the winner but alas it was not too be. Somehow, he got side-tracked by his new gimmick of the day, "Joe the Plumber," the guy who said Obama scared him because if he bought the business that he has been working for all of these years, he would make over $250,000 a year which qualifies him for tax increases under Obama's plan and he felt he should be able to keep more of the money he will earn. Heck, Republicans think this and they keep the taxes low for those who make the most as usual. Obama proposes more tax cuts for the middle class instead, noble yes, doable? probably not.

Nevertheless, McCain did not seal the deal in the 2nd half, leaving Obama to make his declarations with relative calm and ease. Even the Fox News people are waxing philosophical on how Obama was unflappable, how he detailed his plans, how he spoke directly to the American people, how he said the middle class deserved a tax break, how he diffused the criticism of Bill Ayers, how McCain failed to trump him on the abortion issue...and so on.

I am not sure I expected much from this debate other than to hear more about the new economic plans that were unveiled this week. They were barely mentioned and definitely not answered; well, broadly I suppose but not specifically. McCain once again takes the cake for his sweeping "I know how to fix it" non-specific solutions to America's ailments which caused him to fail the 2nd half of the debate; Obama continued with specifics throughout and out-explained McCain on McCain's own policies. Oh Well.

If I go back to my response regarding debate #2 on Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 2nd Presidential Debate Leans Obama, I can basically write the same review so why re-invent the wheel. Obama won for the same reasons he won last time. Another thought is that McCain still thinks he can win with the same nastiness and shallow assessment that George Bush unleased on him in 2000. Well, George Bush used it again in 2004. It took a dose of economic reality for Americans to wake up to the truth of deceptive politics. They don't like it right now, so much. Of course, this does not mean that they can't be deceived again. It will all come around, again.

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