Thursday, October 09, 2008
Debate 2: The Log, part two
On October 7, the candidates for president faced off for a second time. After a couple of weeks of mudslinging, John McCain and Barrack Obama participated in a Town Hall style debate from Belmont University. Here is a log of the notes written down from one Valley voter during the debate.
PART TWO- International Relations
Question-How will America continue to be a peacemaker? McCain-The United States is the greatest force for good in history. The challenge is to get someone who knows when it is time to send in the troops. Obama is wrong on this.
Obama-One of the difficulties is Iraq. The war in Iraq has caused strain on soldiers and financial cost. No country in history has seen a decline in the economy and maintained military superiority.
Valley Voter-Obama and McCain are basically going through their same differences on Iraq and the question of whether or not we should have gone in the first place and also the merits of staying in Iraq.
Question- (from Brokaw) When would you justify the use of force?
Obama-We should intervene when we know we can make a difference. We need to work with allies and improve international standing.
McCain-If we had followed Obama’s advice on Iraq, we would have lost. That would have resulted in Al Qaeda establishing a base of operations and Iranian influence expanding. We must temper decisions to send in troops to when we have the ability to make a difference. Never again to a holocaust; never again to a Rwanda. But I will safeguard our troops. They are our most precious asset.
Valley Voter-McCain’s response seemed heartfelt and sincere, especially regarding his love for the troops. Obama makes good points on the importance of improving American standing in the world.
Question-Should we ignore international borders to attack terrorists, as we did in Cambodia?
Obama-We have a troubling situation in Pakistan. We must end the war in Iraq and put some more troops in Afghanistan. We must encourage democracy in Pakistan, and demand they go after Bin Laden and Al Qaeda in their border area. If we see them, and Pakistan will not do it, we must take them out.
McCain-We should not announce we will attack Pakistan. Our relations with Pakistan our critical due to the extremists’ use of the border area. We need the support of the people of Pakistan.
Obama-Nobody is calling for an invasion of Pakistan. If we get the opportunity to take out Bin Laden, we should. McCain is the one who sang “Bomb, Bomb Iran” and called for the annihilation of North Korea.
McCain-I was joking about Iran. Look, I know how to get Bin Laden. I will, I’ll do it, but I won’t telegraph my punches.
Valley Voter-The idea of sending a missile or assassins into an ally’s territory is obviously a serious matter. McCain seems to be overstating the reality of the situation. Furthermore, I believe if either of these men found out the location of Bin Laden, the full might and capabilities of the US Armed Forces would be unleashed upon him. He is our number one enemy, after all. I’m sure reasonable people in Pakistan should not be surprised that if they did not assist in his capture or destruction, the US would act without their help.
Question- (from Brokaw) The British commanders in Afghanistan have said we are failing, and suggested we install an acceptable dictatorship.
Obama-They are desperate for help. We must draw down troops in Iraq and shift to Afghanistan.
McCain-General Petraeus is there now. He will save us.
Valley Voter-Obama is certain Aghanistan is more important in the war on terror than Iraq is. McCain is, and has been, engaging in hero worship for some time now. Sure, Petraeus is a highly capable officer. However, McCain’s thoughts of military success shouldn’t be 100% based on the input of the General.
Question-How will we put pressure on Russia without starting a new cold war?
McCain-Ukraine must be supported. International pressure must be placed on Russia. They must understand aggression is intolerable.
Obama-The resurgence of Russia is a central issue for the next president. We must provide economic assistance to Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and other countries. We need to anticipate problems, rather than react to them afterwards.
Question- (from Brokaw) Is Russia the Evil Empire?
Obama-Depends on how we react to them.
McCain-Maybe. If I answer yes, it means we are back in the Cold War, and if I answer no, then it forgives recent Russian aggression. I think we can work with Russia. I don’t think the Cold War will return.
Valley Voter- I liked McCain’s answer of about the evil empire. He gave a good reason to dance around the issue. I worry about Obama’s (and probably even McCain’s, though he didn’t really mention it) ability to disburse economic aid in times of financial distress.
Question-On Nukes, Israel, and Iran…
McCain-We cannot wait for the UN Security Council to act against Iran’s nuclear program, as China and Russia will stand in our way in putting pressure on Iran. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, everyone in the region gets it.
Obama-Iranian nuclear possession means terrorist will get the weapons and there is a grave threat to Israel. We need to put economic sanctions on Iran. When we take to approach of not talking to people, we see the results. We must engage in dialogue.
Valley Voter-The candidates then engaged in the subtlety between participating in talks with Iranian officials “without condition”. I don’t know. Sounds like high level diplomatic tactics to me. I don’t see a problem with talking to someone you have a disagreement with. I know that not talking to them will not resolve differences. Both candidates are against the Iranian nuclear program, which is good. Obama seems to have more options at his disposal in dealing with Iran, due to McCain’s belief in no engagement.
To be continued…
PART TWO- International Relations
Question-How will America continue to be a peacemaker? McCain-The United States is the greatest force for good in history. The challenge is to get someone who knows when it is time to send in the troops. Obama is wrong on this.
Obama-One of the difficulties is Iraq. The war in Iraq has caused strain on soldiers and financial cost. No country in history has seen a decline in the economy and maintained military superiority.
Valley Voter-Obama and McCain are basically going through their same differences on Iraq and the question of whether or not we should have gone in the first place and also the merits of staying in Iraq.
Question- (from Brokaw) When would you justify the use of force?
Obama-We should intervene when we know we can make a difference. We need to work with allies and improve international standing.
McCain-If we had followed Obama’s advice on Iraq, we would have lost. That would have resulted in Al Qaeda establishing a base of operations and Iranian influence expanding. We must temper decisions to send in troops to when we have the ability to make a difference. Never again to a holocaust; never again to a Rwanda. But I will safeguard our troops. They are our most precious asset.
Valley Voter-McCain’s response seemed heartfelt and sincere, especially regarding his love for the troops. Obama makes good points on the importance of improving American standing in the world.
Question-Should we ignore international borders to attack terrorists, as we did in Cambodia?
Obama-We have a troubling situation in Pakistan. We must end the war in Iraq and put some more troops in Afghanistan. We must encourage democracy in Pakistan, and demand they go after Bin Laden and Al Qaeda in their border area. If we see them, and Pakistan will not do it, we must take them out.
McCain-We should not announce we will attack Pakistan. Our relations with Pakistan our critical due to the extremists’ use of the border area. We need the support of the people of Pakistan.
Obama-Nobody is calling for an invasion of Pakistan. If we get the opportunity to take out Bin Laden, we should. McCain is the one who sang “Bomb, Bomb Iran” and called for the annihilation of North Korea.
McCain-I was joking about Iran. Look, I know how to get Bin Laden. I will, I’ll do it, but I won’t telegraph my punches.
Valley Voter-The idea of sending a missile or assassins into an ally’s territory is obviously a serious matter. McCain seems to be overstating the reality of the situation. Furthermore, I believe if either of these men found out the location of Bin Laden, the full might and capabilities of the US Armed Forces would be unleashed upon him. He is our number one enemy, after all. I’m sure reasonable people in Pakistan should not be surprised that if they did not assist in his capture or destruction, the US would act without their help.
Question- (from Brokaw) The British commanders in Afghanistan have said we are failing, and suggested we install an acceptable dictatorship.
Obama-They are desperate for help. We must draw down troops in Iraq and shift to Afghanistan.
McCain-General Petraeus is there now. He will save us.
Valley Voter-Obama is certain Aghanistan is more important in the war on terror than Iraq is. McCain is, and has been, engaging in hero worship for some time now. Sure, Petraeus is a highly capable officer. However, McCain’s thoughts of military success shouldn’t be 100% based on the input of the General.
Question-How will we put pressure on Russia without starting a new cold war?
McCain-Ukraine must be supported. International pressure must be placed on Russia. They must understand aggression is intolerable.
Obama-The resurgence of Russia is a central issue for the next president. We must provide economic assistance to Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and other countries. We need to anticipate problems, rather than react to them afterwards.
Question- (from Brokaw) Is Russia the Evil Empire?
Obama-Depends on how we react to them.
McCain-Maybe. If I answer yes, it means we are back in the Cold War, and if I answer no, then it forgives recent Russian aggression. I think we can work with Russia. I don’t think the Cold War will return.
Valley Voter- I liked McCain’s answer of about the evil empire. He gave a good reason to dance around the issue. I worry about Obama’s (and probably even McCain’s, though he didn’t really mention it) ability to disburse economic aid in times of financial distress.
Question-On Nukes, Israel, and Iran…
McCain-We cannot wait for the UN Security Council to act against Iran’s nuclear program, as China and Russia will stand in our way in putting pressure on Iran. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, everyone in the region gets it.
Obama-Iranian nuclear possession means terrorist will get the weapons and there is a grave threat to Israel. We need to put economic sanctions on Iran. When we take to approach of not talking to people, we see the results. We must engage in dialogue.
Valley Voter-The candidates then engaged in the subtlety between participating in talks with Iranian officials “without condition”. I don’t know. Sounds like high level diplomatic tactics to me. I don’t see a problem with talking to someone you have a disagreement with. I know that not talking to them will not resolve differences. Both candidates are against the Iranian nuclear program, which is good. Obama seems to have more options at his disposal in dealing with Iran, due to McCain’s belief in no engagement.
To be continued…
Labels: Barrack Obama, Election 2008, John McCain, Tom Brokaw
