Obama Slams McCain on Corp Tax Breaks. Wins 1st Debate.

[OhioChick]

Posted on 26 September 2008

It seemed John McCain spoke more than Barack Obama on the issues of foreign policy. It was clear to me that in the first few minutes McCain was not comfortable with discussions of the economic crisis, when Barack Obama seemed to shine with specific points that the $700b recovery needed to have in the language.

One of the scariest things McCain said concerning the economy was instituting a spending freeze with the exception of National Security and critical infrastructure programs. Undoubtedly one of the stupidest things I have ever heard in my life and clearly not thought out. That seemed to be a statement of sensationalism, and not of clear, concise policy. If the hope was to get applause for stopping the bleeding that is Washington spending he severely missed the point and I am sure every school administrator, public medical professional, and hwy road worker gasped.

On the critical issue of taxes and the differences in both candidates approach, McCain admitted that tax breaks as an incentive to keep businesses from taking jobs outside of the U.S. is critical and necessary to keep the American people working. We all know from first hand knowledge that that ideology and legislation has not worked and 8 years later, we have hundreds of billion dollar corporations that did not pay any federal tax between 1998 and 2005, yet hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S have gone to India and China. We have the proof, because you can’t call the customer service line of most American service companies, and actually talk to an American.

Obama fired back and agreed with McCain that we tax businesses in America at a rate of 35%, one of the highest in the world, but those businesses in fact, through the veritable cornucopia of loop holes in the tax code designed for big business, end up paying less than the average American citizen, yet profiting millions per quarter. That system is flawed and it’s screwing over the American people.

Once again Barack Obama stated that we need to grow the economy for the bottom up, and not form the top down, and that speaks volumes. If million dollar corporations don’t want to stay in America without million dollar tax breaks, then I say let them leave but keep the playing field fair, and there will be new businesses launched that will take their place.

McCain backed up his own short comings and proved once again that the policies of the past are still policies that he wants to enact when he is President. It is alarming to me that he does not realize that he is proposing the exact same thing that has been a characteristic of republican Presidents of the past that helps the top, and screws the people.

McCain also say’s he warned congress about Fannie and Freddie and corporate greed, yet his campaign manager works for a firm (still ) that has taken $30k a month from a struggling Freddie and Fannie for the last 5 years, to lobby for even less regulation in the mortgage industry.

Wealth does not trickle down in America. We are a greedy country. It didn’t when Regan was president, and it hasn’t in the last 8 years, but I will tell you what it has done. It has created a comfort level of greed with large American financial companies, whom with the blessing of the current administration through liberal tax codes, and de-regulation of consumer protection, to take as much money as possible and run leaving the American tax payer holding the bag and their employees hitting the streets.

Overall McCain may have scored a point or 2 on the war issues based on where we are now, but the core argument of judgment and who is better to lead comes to the original decision to support this war in the first place, and that is where Barack Obama stepped in and jabbed McCain hard and stepped back and let the old man ramble.

McCain never defended that mistake in judgment concerning the war, he only spoke on what to do now that the mistake has been made. That spoke volumes in the debate. What action to take now , although important, does not cover up the lapse in judgment to put our troops into battle fighting the wrong war, against the wrong enemy, looking for violations and weapons that did not exist.

In comparison to a heavy weight boxing match, Obama was quicker on his feet and steeped into McCain and scored multiple quick jabs, leaving the old man stumbling and rambling…grasping for his signature punch to score points. There was no flag waving, and children running in wheat fields tonight for McCain. Barack Obama stuck it to McCain and used his own words and actions against him with clear, and surgical skill and systematically picked apart the flaw in McCains same old rhetoric.

With his recent failing in the polls and the evident shortcomings of his Vice Presidential selection, McCain need to sway some independents to his side, and make a strong showing and prove that he is not one of the old republicans that we are used to. He did not do that tonight.

With the VP debate scheduled for next Thursday, it is doubtful that Sarah Palin against Joe Biden will do anything to help the McCain/Palin ticket in the polls. After the debate Democrats and Republicans from all over appeared on all the major news agencies with commentary on each of the candidates performance. Joe Biden was immediately on CNN.

Sarah Palin was nowhere to be found.

http://www.themansfieldherald.com/2008/09/obama-slams-mccain-on-corp-tax-breaks-wins-1st-debate/

[Cresent City Kid]

1. Well put

I couldn't have said it better. At worst, Barak Obama held his own, and left no attack unanswered. It's funny, I was thinking about the boxing match analogy while listening to them on NPR on the way home from work. Toe to toe is a goood description. To McCain's credit, he seemed sharper and more focused than in recent days (not hard to do), but Obama was equal as a debater, and has the obvious advantage of reality backing his arguments.

I've heard some of the pundits say Obama wasn't as aggressive. Clearly McCain was aggressive, but in each case, Obama was aggressive in his own defense, adding jabs of his own. Obama showed a grasp of the foriegn policy issues that McCain couldn't match on the economic questions.

I think McCain did a good job, and was no slouch of an opponent in the debate. Obama beat him at his best.