Miss. holds first presidential debate
Rick Pearson and Bob Secter
Issue date: 9/29/08 Section: Nation & World News
(MCT) - The nation's first presidential debate of this campaign was to have been a victory lap of sorts for Republican John McCain, coming after his bold and risky decision to step off the trail to grapple with the nation's economic crisis in Washington.
His campaign hoped he would show up in Oxford, Miss., as the catalyst who helped broker the deal to resolve the meltdown in the nation's economy. But there was no deal, and the would-be mediator in chief was compelled to debate Democrat Barack Obama after vowing not to do so until the crisis was over.
Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, neither candidate scored significantly or caused much damage to the other. Instead, the debate proceeded in a very sober, workmanlike and largely cordial manner, with Obama even occasionally agreeing with his rival and saying such things as,
"John is right." But the differences between the two were readily evident on issues ranging from federal spending to diplomacy with rogue nations.
Though McCain's stab at becoming the hero of the economic crisis blew up, some of the damage may have been mitigated by his solid debate performance, including his ability to sound a recurring theme that contrasted the Republican's long experience with Obama's relative lack of it.
He also jabbed repeatedly at Obama's requests for project funding for his home state of Illinois that the Republican said amounted to "nearly a million dollars a day for every day that he's been in the United States Senate."
"The first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It's completely out of control," said McCain, who has made his crusade against earmarks _ pork-barrel projects inserted into federal spending bills _ a frequent theme of his campaign.
While Obama has stopped seeking earmarks for his home state as a presidential contender, he also belittled McCain's sense of proportion in dealing with federal spending constraints. He noted the Republican was blasting earmarks that amounted to $18 billion in spending while pushing tax cuts that would provide $300 billion in savings to "some of the wealthiest corporations and individuals in the country."
His campaign hoped he would show up in Oxford, Miss., as the catalyst who helped broker the deal to resolve the meltdown in the nation's economy. But there was no deal, and the would-be mediator in chief was compelled to debate Democrat Barack Obama after vowing not to do so until the crisis was over.
Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, neither candidate scored significantly or caused much damage to the other. Instead, the debate proceeded in a very sober, workmanlike and largely cordial manner, with Obama even occasionally agreeing with his rival and saying such things as,
"John is right." But the differences between the two were readily evident on issues ranging from federal spending to diplomacy with rogue nations.
Though McCain's stab at becoming the hero of the economic crisis blew up, some of the damage may have been mitigated by his solid debate performance, including his ability to sound a recurring theme that contrasted the Republican's long experience with Obama's relative lack of it.
He also jabbed repeatedly at Obama's requests for project funding for his home state of Illinois that the Republican said amounted to "nearly a million dollars a day for every day that he's been in the United States Senate."
"The first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It's completely out of control," said McCain, who has made his crusade against earmarks _ pork-barrel projects inserted into federal spending bills _ a frequent theme of his campaign.
While Obama has stopped seeking earmarks for his home state as a presidential contender, he also belittled McCain's sense of proportion in dealing with federal spending constraints. He noted the Republican was blasting earmarks that amounted to $18 billion in spending while pushing tax cuts that would provide $300 billion in savings to "some of the wealthiest corporations and individuals in the country."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
jacksmith
posted 9/29/08 @ 10:20 AM CST
Bush, McCain can run. But they cant hide anymore.
What ever congress does to try and fix our stunning economic catastrophe needs to be done very carefully. (Continued…)
Steve M
posted 9/29/08 @ 4:38 PM CST
I drank every time McCain condescended to Obama, name-dropped, screwed up his facts, tried to lie about Obama's positions or mentioned someplace he's visited. (Continued…)
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