Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The Presidential Debates That Aren’t



Earl Ofari Hutchinson


OK, we now know for the umpteenth time that Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will cut taxes, provide affordable health care to everyone, drill for more oil, expand nuclear power use, end global warming, rein in the Wall Street fast buck artists, take out Osama Bin Laden, and end the war in Iraq either by withdrawal or victory. And yes we know that both have had a tough family upbringing, and therefore they know what working people have to go through.

These themes have been rehashed and reworked so many times that we can recite them in our sleep. But what we don’t know and certainly haven’t heard in the debates is what Obama and McCain will do about failing urban public schools, the HIV-AIDS pandemic, their view of the death penalty, the drug crisis, how they’ll combat hate crimes, shore up crumbling and deteriorating urban transportation systems, and what type of judges they will appoint to the federal judiciary and to the Supreme Court.
The latter is especially crucial since there may be two possibly three high court vacancies during the first McCain or Obama White House term. We don’t know what they’ll do about these problems because the debate format, the questions and questioners, and even the internet queries play it close, predictable and safe. The result is that the only thing the 50 to 60 million viewers who have tuned into the two debates know what McCain and Obama have to say about these equally vital public policy concerns and problems can only be gleaned from canned snippets from their speeches on the campaign trail, or more likely by going to their campaign websites. For most, that’s not going to happen.

Even on the issues of health care, Iraq, and Iran that the debates have obsessed on, the response from Obama and McCain has been a disappointment, a disappointment that is in that neither has gone much past the canned lines that they have endlessly recited when asked their stance on them. But there were at least two or three moments during debate two when both contenders seemed poised to turn and face each other, take the gloves off, and directly challenge each other on their votes and positions on legislation on taxes, health care, Iraq, and Iran. For instance when McCain demanded that Obama come clean and tell what the penalties would be on small businesses with his health care plan. Or, when Obama charged that McCain voted against the Children Health Act. Or, when McCain implored Obama to admit that the surge in Iraq worked, and wanted to know why he still wouldn’t admit it. Or, when Obama claimed that McCain voted multiple times against alternative energy funding.
These were missed opportunities for the voters to really get the measure of each one beyond the stock pitches. In the three week countdown to E Day, November 4, my suspicion is that voters will still be in a fog regarding Obama and McCain’s stance on the “other” issues that have gotten only the barest of shrift. But then again there’s one more debate.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).

1 comment:

梁爵 said...

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酒店小姐去酒店上班都一定要出場接s嗎?最後整個人走針...只是為了買毒而賺錢!在此我們必須鄭重表示!!!
有吃藥吸毒習慣的人我們不收!!!酒店小姐上班通常會取什麼名字?入行後若發現有吃藥吸毒也一律下檔永不錄用!!我們雖然也要賺錢,但這種缺德錢,我們寧願不賺,因為我們並不想妳為了吃藥吸毒,毀了妳下半輩子。
每個人心中都有一個美好的夢想,只是有的人在這個殘酷的社會中...他們會把夢想放在內心最深處的地方,不再被提起...直至遺忘..當然有的人就會全力以赴去追求自己想要的夢想,畢竟只要自己行的正,何必在意外界的眼光,所有的成功人士都只會專注在自己的目標而有目標的人,才沒空理會那些甘願活在平凡的人許多年輕妹妹會來問我們八大好不好賺?我很老實回答好賺!非常好賺!
可以短期賺到妳希望的財富但是我會反問妳為什麼需要快速賺到這些錢呢?如果妳是因為家裡很需要錢
如果妳是為了實現自己想創業的夢,只要是正當理由,我們都非常願意幫妳協助妳,我們也會要妳設立一個期限。妳打算在八大圈待多久?因為我們有義務必須告訴妳正確的金錢觀念,畢竟我們這裡只是妳人生的一塊跳板,我們也會不時提醒妳!千萬不要覺得錢好賺,所以開始忘了開源節流,甚至當初努力奮鬥存錢的決心也忘了,我們只幫家裡真的有困難的年輕女孩或是有創業資金需求,有人生目標的女生,並且幫助她一段時間內賺到得她需要的錢!。