I watched the debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain which took place at the University of Mississippi (Old Miss) tonight. I came away with a pretty ho hum feeling given the high tension that took place before the debate, it was really kind of a let down though I did feel Obama showed great composure and better grasp of the issues than McCain especially when it came to describing the path he wants to take in the future which would focus more attention on the needs here at home i.e. health care, children's issues, and emphasis on a pursuit of alternative energy sources, rather than an overemphasis abroad. Too bad Obama did not have a chance to expound further on that point as it would have sounded better than McCain's same old dogmatic take on world events and outworn ideas about what to do for the folks at home. Neither Obama or McCain talked about what would happen to ordinary people and what is happening to ordinary people as a result of our economic failures. Quite amazing given the fact so many domestic issues have been neglected for so long. The news analysts seem to think the debate was pretty much a draw with Obama winning on the "being a gentleman" front Obama was given points when he agreed with McCain, ",John you are right" and also got points in terms of having an in depth knowledge of foreign affairs but we already knew that, right?. If it is true that Barack Obama is really about change, endemic change in this country, change that would really help the poor, the working class, and the so called middle class that is failing, I didn't hear much on that score.
Obama is too worried about being called a liberal by someone like McCain yet alone a radical thinker which it appears he is not. FDR sounded like a far left radical back in his day. The economic times of his era made FDR into a real person. What kind of man will Obama become when he finally has to come to grips with what is going on in America today. Well, as they say "half a loaf is better than no loaf" and McCain is no loaf so I will stick with Obama and hope he rises to the occasion, better late than never and I think he will. Another way to look at it is these are different times than the dark days of the 30's. America has moved way to the right and now the prospect of the pendulum swinging left again is not even in the vernacular of the common person on the street or in the media. The best a few right wing Senators can get out is we are moving toward "big government" or when really pressed "I can't vote for this package meaning the bailout of corporate America. "It is Socialism and UnAmerican". Neither candidate seems to know where they stand on the bailout package though McCain said "sure' when asked if he would support it though it is not completed yet. Obama was not asked the same question. I think Obama should be with his own Party, and supportively behind the hard work that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd and others on the finance committee have worked on to this point. He should be urging his countrymen to support the package, the whole deal and the especially the part that helps out the little guy and that should be that. If it doesn't work, at least the Dems did their best to clean up the Republican mess and Obama would look stronger for having stood up to the naysayers and pessimists who are mainly on the other side and not in his own party. This is what he should have done somehow at the debate, stood up and over the shoulders of negative backward thinking John McCain. Obama did well in the debate but I must say deep down "I still ain't satisfied".
Sharon Raphael
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