Obama, McCain debate over economy, foreign policy

www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-08 09:08:21  

    WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) --

U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain centered their second debate on economy Tuesday night at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

    They also offered contrasting views on foreign policy issues.

    Republican McCain said that he knows how to handle foreign affairs and questioned Democratic Obama's judgment.

    "My judgment is something that I think I have a record to stand on," he said.

    McCain said the "challenge" facing a president considering using military force "is to know when to go in and when not."

    Obama questioned McCain's judgment in supporting the invasion of Iraq.

    "When Sen. McCain was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy -- we would be greeted as liberators. That was the wrong judgment," he said.

    Obama vowed to get Osama bin Laden and defeat al-Qaida.

    "We will kill bin Laden, we will crush al-Qaida," he said.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (front) speaks during the debate with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama at the Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University's Curb Event Center October 7, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. The debate is the second presidential debate of three. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    McCain responded in equally strong terms: "I'll get him. I know how to get him. But I am not going to telegraph my punches as Sen. Obama did."

    McCain and Obama seemed to agree that there were situations when the United States should be willing to use force to stop a humanitarian crisis, even when America was not directly threatened.

    Earlier, Obama said the country has a "moral commitment as well as an economic imperative" to address the health care problem.

    The Illinois senator said health care is a "crushing burden" for small businesses and is "breaking family budgets."

    Obama and McCain both proposed computerizing medical records to reduce costs and limit errors.

    McCain argued that Obama's plan included fines for small businesses that did not insure their employees, while his was based on "choice" rather than "mandates."

    Obama said health care was a "right," while McCain said it was a "responsibility."

    Obama's health care plan includes the creation of a national health insurance program for individuals who do not have employer-provided health care and who do not qualify for other existing federal programs. His plan does not mandate individual coverage for all Americans, but requires coverage for all children.

    McCain opposes federally mandated universal coverage. He believes competition will improve the quality of health insurance.

    McCain says he would reform the tax code to offer choices beyond employee-based health insurance coverage.

    Under the plan, all taxpayers would receive a direct refundable tax credit of 2,500 dollars for individuals and 5,000 dollars for families.

    During the first half of the debate, the candidates focused on their plans to fix the economy.

    McCain said that if he is elected president, he will order the Department of Treasury to buy up Americans' bad mortgages and renegotiate new loans that reflect their homes' diminished value in a bold effort to reverse his sagging fortunes after a month of dire economic news.

    The economic crisis has "become so severe that we're going to have to do something about home values," he said, offering up the name of Meg Whitman, the entrepreneurial former chief executive ofonline auction site eBay, as a good candidate for treasury secretary to steer the United States to safety.

    Obama responded by suggesting that super-investor Warren Buffett would be a good choice for treasury secretary.

    He outlined a follow-up to the economic bailout of Wall Street that would target small businesses and individual investors, calling for tax cuts for the middle class and aid to state and local governments to boost road-building and other infrastructure projects to create new jobs.

    Both candidates said they understood Americans' frustration with the government.

    But Obama blamed President George W. Bush for turning deficits he inherited into trillions of U.S. dollars of deficits, while McCain said Obama was at fault for not voting for budget cuts and tax breaks.

    Independent and undecided voters said the debate would give them the chance to hear from the candidates in an unscripted setting.

    And if the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll is any indication, what they wanted to hear them talk about was the economy, which 3 in 5 voters ranked as their top concern.

    In the debate, McCain said there was no alternative but to accept the need to cut spending on benefit programs.

    Obama disagreed with a spending freeze, saying everyday Americans could help avoid one by pitching in themselves.

    Energy policy illuminated some of the sharpest differences between the candidates.

    McCain called for an urgent ramp-up in U.S. drilling for oil, saying it was "vital so we can bridge the gap" until the United States can become energy-independent."

    While also calling for some increase in U.S. drilling, Obama warned that "we can't simply drill our way out of the problem" because doing so would aggravate global warming.

    Aides to both men signaled ahead of time that McCain would try to hit Obama hard, noting his slide in opinion surveys.

    Three weeks after the Wall Street crisis began, t he latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Obama leading by 6 points, 49percent to 43 percent, which equals his biggest margin of the campaign.

    Among independents, whom both campaigns see as the key to election, Obama has reversed a large McCain lead in just two weeks, going from 13 points down to 4 points ahead.

    This is the second debate between the two candidates.

    Their first debate took place on Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss., which Obama won according to polls.

    Tuesday's debate is the second in the series of three presidential debates, but the format is different from the other two events.

    It is set up like a town hall meeting, and the audience is made up of uncommitted voters.

 

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