McCain swings harder, pulls off split decision; barely

First, I want to state that I do not think McCain won this debate more than I think Obama did not do what I had hoped in places he could have clearly won. He left false claims unanswered and did not fight back as hard as I wanted him to. McCain still came off as angry, cynical and instead of offering solutions, he attacked Obama on his policy and even his character. However, because of the lack of umph Obama fought back with, I am giving this debate to McCain.

Now, let's get the lies, half truths and misconceptions out of the way from FactCheck.

"McCain claimed the liberal group ACORN “is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history ... maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.” In fact, a Republican prosecutor said of the first and biggest ACORN fraud case: “[T]his scheme was not intended to permit illegal voting.” He said $8-an-hour workers turned in made-up voter registration forms rather than doing what ACORN paid them to do.

McCain said “Joe the plumber” faced “much higher taxes” under Obama’s tax plan and would pay a fine under Obama’s health care plan if he failed to provide coverage for his workers. But Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher would pay higher taxes only if the business he says he wants to buy puts his income over $200,000 a year, and his small business would be exempt from Obama’s requirement to provide coverage for workers.

Obama repeated a dubious claim that his health care plan will cut the average family’s premiums by $2,500 a year. Experts have found that figure to be overly optimistic.

McCain claimed that Obama’s real “object” is a government-run, single-payer health insurance system like those in Canada or England. The McCain campaign points to a quote from five years ago, when Obama told a labor gathering that he was “a proponent of a single-payer health care program.” But Obama has since qualified his enthusiasm for Canadian-style health care, and his current proposal is nothing like that.

Obama incorrectly claimed all of McCain’s ads had been “negative.” That was true for one recent week, but not over the entire campaign. And at times Obama has run a higher percentage of attack ads than McCain.
McCain described Colombia as the "largest agricultural importer of our products." Actually, Canada imports the most U.S. farm products, and Colombia is far down the list.

Obama strained to portray himself as willing to break ranks with fellow Democrats. His prime example was his vote for a bill that was supported by 18 Democrats and opposed by 26. Congressional Quarterly rates him as voting with his party 97 percent of the time since becoming a U.S. senator.

In the "lie" department it is a tie. Lies were not the issue in this debate...defending the truth was.

Round 1: The Economy

In the opening round of the debate McCain was clearly getting his rear handed to him. He started out calling the 2 mortgage giants that are linked to the crisis we are now in, "Fannie & Freddie Mae." As often as they have come up, you would think he'd remember something so important correctly. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is not that hard to remember. I'll chalk it up to him being tired and worn out from all the campaigning he's doing. He also had his eyes wide and bugged out for much of the debate. I do not believe this is because he was "crazy eyed" as some people do. I believe this was also attributed to lack of sleep and his need to show America he can keep going and that age doesn't affect his ability to stay awake.

Unfortunately, McCain's first topic was the Economic Crisis we are clearly in. The DOW had dropped another 700+ points the day of the debate and there was no way possible for McCain to win the economic debate, considering he voted for many of the policies put into place that caused the crisis. He tried to spin it in his favor, he came out swinging, but I feel he did nothing but hit Obama's gloves in the first round. Obama wins Round 1.

Round 2 - Joe the plumber:

Joe Wurzelbacher is a plumber in Ohio. Joe had an encounter with Barack Obama on buying a business that earned $250-$280,000 a year. McCain came out on top in this particular discussion because one thing was wasn't brought up; Joe doesn't make $250,000 a year. The business he buys will likely not pay him a salary of $250k/yr so Obama's plan truly is better for him starting off. However, when the business does begin earning enough to pay Joe $250,000 a year, the scale begins to grow wider between what he currently saves and what he would pay. Had Obama focused on that he would have won the exchange. As it stood, he did not.

The thing I didn't like categorized was that future Joe was a "normal, middle class" earner. If you're making $250,000 a year when the medium income in Ohio is $44,000, you are NOT an "average" middle class earner. That part was also lost in the discussion and lended to McCain winning the exchange.

It was after this that McCain said, "Yes. Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." The only problem I have with that is that he's voted for Bush's policies 90% of the time. So perhaps McCain isn't Bush...but you know what McCain is? He's 90% Bush and 90% Bush is too much Bush for me. Despite that, McCain wins Round 2.

Round 3 Negative Ad Campaigning:

The negative ads are another example of a great opportunity squandered by Mr. Obama. He could have won this debate quite easily with the proper defense. I think one thing everyone needs to realize is there is a difference between negative ads attacking someones policy and negative ads attacking someones character. John McCain clearly takes the low road on attacking Barack Obama's character instead of focusing on policy. Had Mr. Obama pointed out that 100% of his ads are attacking John McCain's POLICY instead of his CHARACTER, he would have easily won this exchange.

There was also an interesting moment where John McCain kept pushing for Obama to refute comments made by John Lewis. Mr. McCain lied when he stated that he refuted anything negative towards Obama every time it came up. Really? If that were the case, 83 IQ Sarah Palin, would have been refuted for her "Palling around with terrorists" comments that clearly had no merit. He never did any such thing...so there's a lie that wasn't included on factcheck. I think Obama could have easily won with this response, but he didn't make it so, in my mind, he lost this exchange as well. Thankfully, the polls are showing the American people don't take kindly to the negativity and anger of John McCain. McCain wins Round 3.

Round 4 - Education:

Finally the debate rolls around to something I care deeply about; education. I am an extreme proponent of education reform. We need to reform the programs we are currently spending money on and spend even more money on making sure every single American that wants to go to college gets to and money not be an issue. Education is the key to America being great again. We need to educate our children with diligence and the extreme prudence. However, we also need to educated PARENTS. We need programs at each school that forces parents to get more involved in the lives of their children. We need programs that encourage all students to WANT to go to college. Bottom line: Education, Education, Education.

I do not agree with vouchers as John McCain does. However, the way with which both senators brought forth their arguments warrants a tie in this department. They both laid out their plans for education and it's just a matter of the American people choosing which one they like. I, of course, like Obama's plan more. I want to reform what we have AND spend more money on education. If that means cutting the military, trimming the fat in pork barrel projects and going without some things for a little while, so be it. Round 4 was a tie.

Round 5 - Energy:

Unfortunately for my eyelids, Energy was no different than Education. Both candidates laid out their plans and did so in a decent fashion. While I was more impressed with Obama's 10 year plan, neither of them did anything to further enhance their stance to be better than the other's. I think both candidates will do well on Energy. However, Obama will do so with less environmental impact (i.e. less Drilling) and McCain could care less about the environmental impact of oil (i.e. Drill Baby, Drill). Even when it's obvious the oil companies could care less either, McCain still wants to suck our planet dry. But alas, my view is my view and for the sake of debating, Round 5 was a tie.



Round 6 - Supreme Court Justices:

As with the round on Education and Energy, I feel both candidates did well to bring their plan on Supreme Court nominations to light. I differ strongly with McCain on who he would choose and totally agree with Obama voting against John Roberts. I believe turning over Roe v. Wade would be the biggest mistake in American history. John McCain wants the government out of our lives but he wants Government to run our women's reproductive systems. You can't have it both ways John. Either way, this Round is yet another tie because both of them conveyed their ideas in a good fashion. It will just come down to what direction America is wanting to go. Round 6 was a tie.

Conclusion:

This debate was a bit better than the others. I enjoyed the format, I enjoyed the moderator and I enjoyed the extended time each was given to make their points or show their anger. I think Obama, once again, came off as distinguished, calm, cool, collected and McCain was, once again, angry, frustrated, haughty and overall a grumpy old man. Unfortunately, Obama did not attack back where he should and did not defend his positions with the urgency that was needed. Obama lost the debate more than McCain won it. McCain, in my opinion, seems very erratic and I'm not sure I'd want someone with anger management issues to run our economy, our military or our education system.

Stats: Obama won one round, McCain won 2 rounds and they tied 3 rounds. According to the score and comparatively in boxing, McCain eeked out a win with a split decision. Neither fighter was hurt but they both know they were in a battle.

Despite my opinion, the American people have decided who won the debate. While I think McCain won, it's apparent the American people disagree with me. In an interesting International development, it is also apparent that those who bet on Obama to win the election can now claim their winnings after this last debate.

I'm not counting my chickens. I have now moved any state with a 5% or less Obama lead to be McCain's state. Unless something major happens, McCain will win this election easily. I can only hope the swing heads in the left direction this time around.

Palin's Power Problem

Spotlight: Sarah Palin:

A special commision was put in charge of the "Abuse of Power" allegations against Sarah Palin. Now that we have the findings of a bipartisan report to pave the way on Sarah Palin's abuse of power, let's get serious.

First let's go over the charges made.

"The Palin family had a feud with Wooten prior to her becoming governor. They put together a list of 14 accusations which they took to the state police to investigate -- a list that ranged from the quite serious to the truly absurd. The state police did an investigation, decided that 5 of the charges had some merit and suspended Wooten for ten days -- a suspension later reduced to five days. The Palin's weren't satisfied but there wasn't much they could do.

When Palin became governor they went for another bite at the apple. Palin, her husband and several members of her staff began pressuring Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan -- a respected former Chief of the Anchorage police department -- to can Wooten. Monegan resisted, arguing that the official process regarding Wooten was closed. And there was nothing more that could be done. In fact, during one of the conversations in which Palin's husband Todd was putting on the squeeze, Monegan told Todd Palin, "You can't head hunt like this. What you need to do is back off, because if the trooper does make a mistake, and it is a terminable offense, it can look like political interference."

Eventually, Palin got fed up and fired Monegan from his job. (Palin claims, not credibly, that she fired Monegan over general differences in law enforcement priorities.) This is an important point. Wooten never got fired. To the best of my knowledge, he's is still on the job. The central bad act was firing the state's top police official because he refused to bend to political pressure from the governor and her family to fire a public employee against whom the governor was pursuing a vendetta -- whether the vendetta was justified or not.

After Monegan made his accusations, Palin insisted there was no truth whatsoever to his claims. Nonetheless, a bipartisan committee of the state legislature approved an investigation. In response, Palin asked the Attorney General to start his own investigation which many in the state interpreted as an effort to either keep tabs on or tamper with the legislature's investigation. Again, very questionable judgment in someone who aspires to be first in line to the presidency."

Now, after all that being said, Sarah Palin had to change her story because of the Attorney General turning up evidence that Palin's initial claims were false. Apparently quite a few staff members had raised concerns over Wooten's employment by Monegan. The real kicker is that the state actually has a recording. If you don't care to read about it, click HERE to listen to the actual MP3 audio.

The bottom line on "TrooperGate" is that we expect our elected officials to not take advantage of their power as a governing official. We expect them to uphold a code of Ethics and a general Morality that the majority of people share in this great country of ours. Sarah Palin did not. The currently available evidence now suggests that she 1) tried to have an ex-relative fired from his job for personal reasons, something that was clearly inappropriate, and perhaps illegal, though possibly understandable in human terms, 2) fired a state official for not himself acting inappropriately by firing the relative, 3) lied to the public about what happened and 4) continues to lie about what happened.

Why is it that all politicians won't come clean until the evidence forces them to do so? Bill Clinton did it, Nixon did it, Reagan never had to (Iran-Contra) because Ollie North took the fall for him. Yet Sarah Palin continues to lie about her involvement? Can we ever get the truth from these people? Do we really want someone with this obvious "lie to your face" mentality to be a heartbeat away from running our federal government?

But that's not all:

Yes there is more to Sarah's abuse of her status as Governor of Alaska. The Palin's two-story, four bedroom, four bath home on Lake Lucille is worth $552,000.

"Todd Palin built the house with friends who were contractors, he said in a recent television interview."

Why is this important? It's important because at the same time Todd was building the new Palin house, just down the street the Wasilla Sports Complex was under construction.

The real question now becomes "Who were those contractors that did a favor for the Palin's by building their house? Was it done because of sports complex contracts they provided? Wayne Barnett of the Village Voice asks the question.

Wayne Barrett reports that after the $12.5 million Wasilla Sports Complex was approved, the design contract went to architect Blase Burkhart, "son of Roy Burkhart, who is described as a "mentor" of Sarah Palin and was head of the Republican Party in Wasilla." Roy Burkhart was also a Palin campaign contributor. Then Palin appointed Blase Burkhart to the builder-selection committee, which gave the construction contract to "Howdie Inc., a residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent." Nugent was a Palin campaign contributor, also. Suprised? I'm not.

What happened next is what gets the juices flowing. Barnett:

"A list of subcontractors on the [sports complex] job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the state's leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other "pre-engineered components." In addition to being a sponsor of Todd Palin's snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home off Lake Lucille in 2002—at the same time that Palin was running for lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor—Spenard supplied the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla office. Spenard actually filed a notice "of its right to assert a lien" on the deed for the Palin property after contracting for labor and materials for the site. Spenard's name has popped up in the trial of Senator Stevens—it worked on the house that is at the center of the VECO scandal as well.

Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story, 3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with the help of contractors he described as "buddies." As mayor, Sarah Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the "buddies" were. The house was built very near the complex, on a site whose city purchase led to years of unsuccessful litigation and, now, $1.3 million in additional costs, with a law firm that's also donated to Palin collecting costly fees from the city.

Dorwin and Joanne Smith, the principals of complex subcontractor DJ Excavation & Development, have donated $7,100 to Palin and her allied candidate Charlie Fannon (Joanne is a Palin appointee on the state Board of Nursing). Sheldon Ewing, who owns another complex subcontractor, Weld Air, has donated $1,300, and PN&D, an engineering firm on the complex, has contributed $699.

Ewing was one of the few sports-complex contractors, aside from Spenard, willing to address the question of whether he worked on the house as well, but he had little to say: "I doubt that it occurred, but if it did indirectly, how would I know anyhow?" The odd timing of Palin's house construction—it was completed two months before she left City Hall and while she and Todd Palin were campaigning statewide for the first time—raises questions, especially considering its synergy with the complex."

Does any of this seem a little off to you? Large construction contracts are being handed out to campaign contributers at the same time Todd's "buddies," who just happen to be contractors, are helping Todd build the new Palin house. At the same time Sarah is making sure there will be no public record of building permits. To me, this is a very similar situation that Ted Stevens is currently in. The main difference is that Sarah, as Governor of Alaska, can hide things a bit easier.

Here is the interview with Todd Palin on Fox News (of course).



Conclusion:

To me all of this seems to point to a family with ethics issues. Do we really want someone who so easily takes handouts and abuses power as our next Vice President? I want someone with who is a positive thinker, tells the truth and speaks to me with honesty. Sarah Palin is not that person. I will leave you with 2 women from Alaska speaking about Gov. Palin.