Obama and McCain RevealedPosted By Mike Strieber |
Rod Kaufman said:
Anybody else watch Obama and McCain on CNN today? They were individually interviewed by a pastor of the Lake Forest church in California with questions provided by Americans from across the country. Each candidate received identical questions and, in my opinion, the answers were indeed revealing.
First, let me say it was a pleasure to hear two candidates who could string two sentences together without embarrassing themselves, unlike our present anomaly. If you missed it, you can watch it again on Wednesday.
Second, questions and answers aside, it was clear to me the audience was definitely pro-McCain. Despite polite applause for Obama, McCain received a vigorous reception before answering a single question. The enthusiasm and infatuation of the audience with McCain was obvious and palpable. Again, this was evident before McCain was interviewed and before the audience heard McCain's answers. In my opinion, it's a harbinger of things to come.
Third, the questions dealt primarily with family values and faith-based perceptions of the country and the world. From the initial question and throughout the queries, McCain's responses were primarily militaristic in nature. For example, the initial question involved naming three people who would essentially have the most inspiration for the new president. McCain's response? General David Patreous! Oh please!, the question obviously meant who would the new president receive visionary inspiration from and not a tactical assimilation of battlefield conditions. Some of McCain's other responses? He would chase Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell. (And you guys thought Obama was whacky going into Pakistan?) Another question dealt with evil and does it exist? Obama's thoughtful response: yes it exists and it unfortunately occurs in our cities and obviously elsewhere in the world. McCain's response on the same question? Defeat it! Go after radical islamic extremists!
Turning to the economy, McCain's loony idea to stimulate it is to offer a $7000.00 tax deduction for every kid you have! Hasn't this guy ever heard of overpopulation?! Oh, and why we're at it, you'll also get a $5000.00 tax credit to stave off the cost of your health care premiums. Five grand these days will buy you your first few hours in a hospital. Better hope your tax credit covers your insurance premiums!
A woman's right to choice? What right? Classic (flip-flopped) McCain.
The audience ate it up. Like I told you, McCain's a done deal...
It's remarkable how opposite your assessment of it is than the vast majority of talking heads and the like... from pretty much every persuasion. Even MSNBC had glowing comments for McCain. While it appears the crowd favored McCain, I personally chose to listen to what each man said and base decisions on that as opposed to who was sitting in the audience. To me, both did pretty good, but clearly this was McCain's best showing to date. He was both sharp and articulate. For what it's worth, my dad is clearly an Obama guy and perhaps changed his mind last night. As far as the question you reference Rod....I believe it was more like who are the smartest top three people around you that you would go to for advice as president. Your comment on it suggesting McCain's first answer of Patreous was ignorant just shows how flippit the left is towards threats to our national security. As oppossed to what you suggested it was, here's an excerpt from the transcript that show's what the question really was...
"Who are the three wisest people you know in your life and who are you going to rely on heavily in your administration ?
There's no reference to "visionary inspiration" as you suggest. McCain's answer was appropriate; most commentary suggested Obama's was off the mark. Regardless of your view of it, we're in the midst of a war Rod, Patreus is clearly one of our finest general officers; I would hope any president would consult with him frequently, even Obama. I noticed you didn't quote Obama's answer....his wife!!! Imagine if Roosevelt, in the midst of WWII was asked that question and his answer was his wife. Once again, a common thread amongst the majority of analyst I saw (including MSNBC) thought this was Obama's worst answer of the night and will provide tons of fodder.
Like I said, I thought both did very well overall. It was an impressive showing by both. I thought the forum suited both. I certainly didn't see it like anything you described above.
