View of debate from a libertarian

[Disclaimer: name is followed by my thoughts and/or brief summary of what they said, NOT WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SAID...though it would be funny to see McCain say 'good screw social security!']

9:07

Obama – wants to increase regulations, blames Bush and the Republicans for the economic down turn, even though it was Jimmy Carter and Willie Clinton’s sub prime mortgages.

McCain – wants to use gov funds to buy up bad mortgages…? Did I hear that wrong? I was making a playlist.

9:10

McCain – Good question on the bailout!…too bad, it was the same as the first. McCain’s taking credit for helping the bailout, bad deal since 65% of the people didn’t want it. Did bring up the subprime mortgages and say they tried to repeal it…don’t know if that’s true, but they should have done a lot more.

Obama – Talking about small businesses getting helped form the bailout…eh. Not so much Barry. While I see his point, the bailout is largely for Wall Street. Now HE is saying he tried to do something about the subprime mortgages.

NOW he’s saying (AGAIN) regulation is the answer. /sigh. Not really seeing any difference in these two.

9:18

GOOD QUESTION! How CAN we trust EITHER of the parties when THEY got us into this mess in the first place.

Obama – Yes. We did have a surplus when Bush came into office. Is it his fault that it went away? Not necesarily economists say. From subprime mortgages to just your average business cycle hitting a down.

McCain – Did fight to reduce earmarks. Obama HAS (to my reading) obtained somewhere around $800B in earmarks, and this is from Citizens Against Government Waste.

(the one minute discussion period is pretty hilarious because both are politicians. That’s almost not enough time for them to put their feet in their mouth)

McCain – Good, screw social security (sorry, he said something about ‘not being able to have the retirement for senior citizens we have today’). Just another bloated beaurocratic blah blah.

Obama – Didn’t answer the question, just like McCain. Talking about how tax cuts are bad.

9:27

McCain – Talking about eliminating programs! Wants to look at ‘every agency and department’ and begin to eliminate them. Talked up some of his credentials. Talking about eliminating some earmarks. Wants to cut spending, ‘spending freeze’ – wants to freeze programs outside of national defense, Veteran Affairs. Freeze increase on spending on others. THAT is a good idea, kudos for McCain. Now if he’d only actually do that after he was elected…

Obama – Another attempt to try and tie Bush to McCain, seems the overall strategy for the Obama campaign. Ok…missed the rest of it except Obama saying something about Washington. Sorry, was getting a beer from the fridge because if I don’t drink while watching this I’ll cry.

9:33

Obama – says we need to watch spending, but also revenue. Bringing up the tax cuts because he doesn’t quite understand them. I would really like to see a CEO get a tax cut of BILLIONS of dollars. I think he means the company. Teachers don’t make as much money, well duh. My girlfriend is a teacher and couldn’t run a Fortune 500 country. Doesn’t want to take a ‘hatchet’, but a ‘scalpel’ to the budget. Woo hoo.

McCain – Brought up Obama raising taxes. Ooooh bringing up secret we don’t know! Apparently it’s by raising taxes on 50% of America’s small businesses thanks to his higher taxes. McCain wants to make more tax cuts to middle class America. I’ll drink to that! Incentives for health care. Again, health care should not be a government thing.

Obama was pissed because he didn’t get to address that, you should have seen the look on his face. Oh well.

Obama – Wow. Said ‘in my first term as president.’ Are we serious? Ok, skips the question so he can go back to the question he wasn’t allowed to respond to. BECAUSE OF RULES HE AGREED UPON. I’m not even going to bother on writing it down since he’s being so ‘politiciany’. The personal Jesus of the liberals, the messiah, the agent of change! Yawn.

McCain – Said he’d answer the question. Talking about healthcare and social security, two issues I’m not the greatest at. Woah, McCain’s putting the full court press on Obama. Eh, medicare. Yet ANOTHER I’m not too good at. Attacking Obama’s record, I guess if I was expecting not to see politicians…I would be watching…something interesting. Eh. McCain’s ‘reforming’….well I don’t know. He was behind McCain-Feingold.

Wow. My roommate just agreed Obama came into the senate just to pursue the presidency. If that’s true how can you vote for the man?

9:43

McCain – Eh. Talking about environment, something the government has no idea about since they are the #1 cause of pollution. McCain’s mission, it seems, is to keep Obama on his toes, make him address McCain’s jabs instead of stating his own views. It seems to be working because he KEEPS taking the bait.

Obama – Talking about green energy being an economic investment like the computer. I doubt this. What’s good for the environment isn’t often profitable. Hm, it almost seemed like Obama was going to switch routes and switch strategies to ‘niceing’ up and coming off as the nice guy. Seemed he changed his mind and again was baited by McCain.

Brokaw wants them to stay in the one minute time limit, neither have been. However, Obama immediately got up and said ‘I”m just trying to follow John’ which wasn’t true because in the last question McCain only took a minute. Obama three….because he’s allowing himself to be baited!

McCain – ….missed it. More talk about energy.

Obama – Looks like a healthcare question, should be interesting since it’s Obama’s main platform beside anti-war (which I would argue is what won him the primary). Ok what he’s saying is kinda a lie because what I’ve seen before is he wants federal issurance. What he is saying is increasing incentives for the private sector. Talking about McCain stripping away regulations and increasing some kind of tax to help pay for the health care McCain wants.

9:52

McCain – I don’t think healthcare is John’s strong point and this is showing right about now. Talking about parents and small businesses being fined under Obama’s plan for not providing healthcare for kids, employees respectively. I don’t understand McCain’s tax credit myself, so I can’t comment on it. McCain keeps making okes but no one laughs – even when they are funny. I’m thinking they might have told the people not to laugh (no joke) or something. Whether or not it was partisian or not, I don’t know.

Obama – Thinks healthcare should be a right. Oooooh pulling out the ‘my mother died of cancer’ card. That’s kinda sick. (I realize I’m attacking Obama a bit more, but living with 2 Obamaphiles and being in a program with 14 of them takes its toll). Doesn’t want people to shop for their own insurance across state lines, thinks it’s a federal thing. Believes in regulation in almost every circumstance.

I think Obama is pretty frazzeled by McCain’s strategy. From a political stand point that’s pretty good. From a average joe watching TV it’s kind of not because it makes him seem negative. Luckily McCain seems friendly 3/4 times.

McCain - Uh oh. A defense/international question. This from man #1 of loving war (#2 being Obama). Oh no, talking about record and sending marines around the world. My buddy just got reactivated and he should be going no where. Not Iraq. Not Iran. Not Lebanon. It doesn’t matter if we can prevent genocide in Darfur, we’re NOT Team America. We’re not the world’s police.

Obama – Bringing up Iraq War, knew this would happen, I’m sure McCain did too. Obama’s entire political career seems made from his anti-war stance. It’s something I try not to thumb my nose out. Pointing out how much we spent in Iraq – $700B is the number he threw out. Hm. Sounds kinda like how much the war War on the Free Market they both have been waging. Except so far the price tag for that is $850B. Yep. And he brought up Darfur. FUCK Darfur. We don’t need to be using our combat troops anywhere except in our OWN DEFENSE.

10:03

Obama – “If ethnic clensing happens anywhere in the world we should go in there, stop things, police them just like Iraq. Especially Darfur. Blah, blah, blah, Darfur, genocide, no fly zone.” Ok I’m paraphrasing, but it’s pretty much what he’s saying. He doesn’t want Iraq, but he wants war in Darfur. NICE.

McCain – Trying to defend the Iraqi war. Talking about bringing home the troops with honor instead of defeat. Eh, true I guess but shouldn’t have even been there in the first place! Talking about Lebanon and how to temper decisions with where you should send troops. Talking about sending American blood being our most precious asset. Eh, pretty much takes the same pro-war stance as Obama but with a stronger stance on defense.

10:08

Obama – This ? is on whether or not we should go over Pakistani borders while chasing terrorists or should we respect their borders. Takes a good jab at McCain for the Iraq War again. Eh. He pretty much side stepped the question, kinda sucks because I was hoping to hear a real answer to that. Says we can’t coddle to a dictator…we will encourage democracy…ok, he side stepped the question.

McCain – Bringing up Teddy Roosevelt, different feelings about him. Says something about Obama wanting once to attack Pakistan, Obama looks PIIIIISSED. It may be a negative strategy, but it’s a strategy that keeps him on the ropes. Talking about our relations with Pakistan, good. We need to build relations with all nations, even nations with terrorists in their hills. Need to get support of people and work with them to use force.

Again Obama’s bitching about not being able to comment.

Obama – Talking about McCain wanting to bomb Iran. Well guess who else has threatened Iran Barry? Yoooooou! What’s the difference?

McCain is bitching about responding now….sigh.

McCain – …he uses the words ‘my friends’ too much. Waaaay too much. Oh snap! Brung up military career, who didn’t see that coming? I’m guessing that in the next answer, Obama will AGAIN bring up McCain’s previous comments, giving into his strategy. “Crocodile Hunter voice: Crikey let’s see what happens!”

10:16

Obama – talking about withdrawing from Iraq, good. Moving troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, also good.

McCain – Says most importantly we have to have the same strategy, but need same strategy we used with the surge in Afghanistan that we used in Iraq. Interesting argument. Obama says we need more people yet says the Iraqi surge wasn’t going to work.

10:18

Interesting, Russia question which deals with me because I have a close friend who is a Russian native

McCain – Dissing Putin for being KGB, eh. Yea. Oh, ok, that’s crap. Georgia was NOT RUSSIA’S FAULT. Georgia War was GEORGIA’S FAULT. Georgia ATTACKED a country Russia has treaties with. Russia defended. Russian peace keeping troops were fired upon. Russian troops go into Georgia. GOOD FOR THEM.

I swear it’s like football, they keep trying to force the other out of time or something.

Obama – Wants support to former USSR countries. (Ah! Spilled beer all over new shirt…anger ensues) Keeps talking about how we need to take political action with Russia. WRONG. We need to just leave Russia alone. For the love of God! Why do we need to start a NEW COLD WAR!?

Oh no, the question only calls for yes or no. Aaaand they won’t answer I’m betting. It was a question on whether Russia is ‘evil’ as the old USSR.

Obama – Short answer “Yes, but they don’t, but they might and they do but they don’t”

McCain – Turns it to needing to be Russian independent.

10:24

Question about whether we should help Israel

McCain – Thinks we should not wait for the UN Security Council. Good enough, screw the UN. But Israel doesn’t need us to help them in every little scrap they get into. Still playing the same strategy. (My liberal roommate went to screw around on YouTube, I wonder if that means his savior isn’t doing as well?) “Can’t allow a second Holocaust to take place.” Meh.

Obama – Unacceptable to let Iran gain nuclear power. Important to use all tools on table before war. Wants to tighten sanctions (WRONG!), pretty much do everything to turn them into a (more so) third world poor country. Thinks we should have talks with Iran. Good, we need to. Whether or not Obama would go through with it and not just hit the red button remains unseen.

LAST QUESTION! (Yay!) ‘What don’t you know and how will you learn it?’

Obama – tries to make a joke about his wife, the usual Disney sitcom kind. He wouldn’t be standing here unless this country gave him oppurtunity. I would say the debate is pretty much over. This is like a cookie cutter question. Obama’s talking about the food stamps his mom got, yet he still made it! Good for him. The American Dream has diminished, he says. We’re going bankrupt. Grades, will and drive to go to college but don’t have money. WRONG. I had the grades, the will, and NO money, still went to college. Extraordinary journey we call America! Why thank you, sounds like he should use that when he sends us to Iran.

McCain – Americans are hurting tonight like they haven’t in generations. Doesn’t know what unexpected will be. Brings up father ‘doing country’s business’ surprisingly doesn’t bring up that his father was head of navy.

END!

Ok. I learned a couple things coming out of tonights first (and possibly last) live debate on my blog. One and EASILY the most important for any bloggers: drinking beers while watching the debate is not easy. As soon as I typed End I threw the lap top off and just ran to the bathroom.

On a less disgusting note, I think McCain’s strategy of talking about his views, hitting Obama, then talking about his views again worked to his advantage. It forced Obama to address what was said and once or twice when he didn’t, McCain actually spoke up afterwards “Well what about XXXX?.” Diry, maybe. Politiciany, most definitely.

Who won? From a libertarian perspective: No one. They are both pro-war, statist bastards, both loving to see our economy in the hands of the government. Who won from a Joe Six Pack perspective? Hard to say, but in the end I’d give it to McCain. Though, he used the ‘my friends’ WAAAAY too much. He just seemd WAY more approachable. He’s loaded but he seemed more common. Obama seemed more like the rich guy eating at Damon’s (or Bob Evans or Applebees depending where you’re from) who is trying to fit in but ends up getting disgusted by something or another.

All in all….it’s a horrid day to believe in liberty OR change.

Because the candidates bring neither to the table.