First debate filled with empty rhetoric
With the nation at war and in the depths of a fiscal crisis, many Americans hoped that the first presidential debate would reveal one of the candidates as wise, inspirational and worthy of the highest office in government. Disappointingly, neither candidate fit this description. What America witnessed instead was a petty, pathetic series of partisan rants of recycled rhetoric, accompanied by frequent blatant lies, exaggerated numbers, botched anecdotes and general misinformation presented by two men who seemed completely unfit for the office one of them will soon be occupying.
The nonsense started just a few days before the debate when Republican nominee Senator John McCain announced that he would not participate in the debate unless an agreement had been reached on President Bush's proposed bailout plan. Though McCain was certainly right that, as senators, he and rival Barack Obama (D-Ill.) belonged at the House vote and the negotiations that preceded it, by associating the debate and his campaign in general with the bipartisan efforts of Congress he politicized the bailout process. With the bailout efforts in ruins, McCain swiftly reversed course and announced that the debate would proceed as scheduled. The debate had been transformed from a competition between the ideas of rivals to a tool to fan the flames of partisanship.
Moderator Jim Lehrer was given the task of asking questions of the candidates on the subject of foreign policy, which included economics. The candidates set the tone with their responses to Lehrer's first question, their opinions on the bailout. Each candidate was permitted two minutes to speak on the subject. Neither did. Instead, each delivered a speech devoid of substance, criticizing the opposing party and telling the viewer nothing about their own views.
As the debate progressed, neither candidate felt the need to provide the American people with new information of any kind. They explained their positions not a bit more. They clarified nothing. They did however, lie, spin, and generally falsify their statements to such a level that a transcript of the debate could almost qualify as historical fiction. It was so blatant that they even accused each other of lying during the course of the debate. For example, McCain pointed out that Obama had once voted to increase taxes on people who made less than $42,000 a year. Obama claimed that was false. Inspection reveals that Obama, did, in fact vote to increase taxes on unmarried individuals who made less than $42,000 a year. McCain spun it, Obama lied about it, and the American public was forced to either take the word of their favorite candidate, or give up understanding the point. Neither candidate provided a clear explanation of what happened. Unfortunately, this exchange was not the exception, but the rule during the debate.
The nonsense started just a few days before the debate when Republican nominee Senator John McCain announced that he would not participate in the debate unless an agreement had been reached on President Bush's proposed bailout plan. Though McCain was certainly right that, as senators, he and rival Barack Obama (D-Ill.) belonged at the House vote and the negotiations that preceded it, by associating the debate and his campaign in general with the bipartisan efforts of Congress he politicized the bailout process. With the bailout efforts in ruins, McCain swiftly reversed course and announced that the debate would proceed as scheduled. The debate had been transformed from a competition between the ideas of rivals to a tool to fan the flames of partisanship.
Moderator Jim Lehrer was given the task of asking questions of the candidates on the subject of foreign policy, which included economics. The candidates set the tone with their responses to Lehrer's first question, their opinions on the bailout. Each candidate was permitted two minutes to speak on the subject. Neither did. Instead, each delivered a speech devoid of substance, criticizing the opposing party and telling the viewer nothing about their own views.
As the debate progressed, neither candidate felt the need to provide the American people with new information of any kind. They explained their positions not a bit more. They clarified nothing. They did however, lie, spin, and generally falsify their statements to such a level that a transcript of the debate could almost qualify as historical fiction. It was so blatant that they even accused each other of lying during the course of the debate. For example, McCain pointed out that Obama had once voted to increase taxes on people who made less than $42,000 a year. Obama claimed that was false. Inspection reveals that Obama, did, in fact vote to increase taxes on unmarried individuals who made less than $42,000 a year. McCain spun it, Obama lied about it, and the American public was forced to either take the word of their favorite candidate, or give up understanding the point. Neither candidate provided a clear explanation of what happened. Unfortunately, this exchange was not the exception, but the rule during the debate.
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