Posted on 10/08/2008 5:11:17 AM PDT by XR7
Neither presidential candidate was selling "morning in America." At times it seemed more like a competition to see who could paint the gloaming in the least unsettling hues.
Tuesday night's presidential debate was remarkable for the dourness of its mood...the frequently subdued demeanors of the candidates even as they tore into each other, which they did with somewhat less vigor and venom than expected, given how little time remains until Election Day, given how nasty the campaign had turned in recent days.
The debate — the second of three, and the only one to be conducted in a town-hall style — came on a day the stock market closed nearly 1,700 points lower than it had on the day of their first debate. Even then, Sen. Barack Obama already was talking of the country's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
The situation now looks gloomier still, with markets in other continents tumbling — with a world of hurt at hand. And the sort of can-do, feel-good, rah-rah exuberance that candidates sometimes bring to forums like Tuesday night's was in conspicuously short supply.
"I'm going to ask the American people to understand that there are some programs we're going to have to eliminate," Sen. John McCain said at one point, and he said it not as a defiant assertion of waste but as a rueful acceptance of reality.
Obama, referring to rising oil prices and limited oil supplies, said moments later, "There is going to be the need for each and every one of us to start thinking about how we use energy."
There were echoes — almost — of Jimmy Carter in that sentence. When was the last time a candidate vying for the highest office in the land summoned a memory of him rather than Ronald Reagan?
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
I think that the McCain camp is trying to “hold serve” until we get closer to Nov. 4, and then unleash whatever trump card they’ve got stashed away (whitey video, etc.)
Just my musings.........
Too bad McCain doesn't seem to be heeding it.
Last night did feel a little like ‘sundown at the not-okay corral’.
Then they have lost.
A huge chunk of voters vote absentee and an even larger percentage vote by mail - all well before Election Day.
Here.
This gives me a glimmer of hope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUuuh98PM4M
McCain was McCain, and that was the problem. He doesn't understand supply side economics. Obama's main idea was make the greedy rich pay, and McCain basically agrees with him on this, and said so. Because he has to, McCain pays lip service to tax cuts, but he's really all about hair shirt budget balancing, not ecomomic growth. He's Bob Dole, not Ronald Reagan.
In the Clinton vs Dole debates, voters saw Clinton likes me, has new ideas. Dole is old. This is a repeat.
I see one good in this. The worldwide asset deflation is far from over. Now Democrats, not Republicans will be in charge as it unfolds.
And they will saddle generations to come with unconstitutional burdens that will make the New Deal pale in comparison.
This is the key to why Obama will lead to the second great depression. Energy if the catalyst of productivity. Restrict the use of energy and you restrict productivity. Increases in productivity are what drive growth in the economy. Obama plans resticted energy use which will result in restricted productivity, recession and given our current economic situation, most likely depression.
I hope you're wrong but I fear you're right. Tax rates and trade deals can be undone, but a National Health (sic) Care system would never be undone.
Which is why brokejaw cherry picked the questions...no issues like guns, abortion, death penalty like would occur in normal town hall debates between pols..........all those issues make bho look bad and out of touch with mainstream USA.
I posted this in another debate thread. This would have been much more exciting if we had McCain debate Joe and Palin debate Obama. Why don’t we have a four-free-for all and be done with it and have Jerry Springer be the moderator.
I see a run on pitchforks, tar and feathers.
I like your optimism.
Here.
This gives me a glimmer of hope:
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