Campaign Funds and A Civilized Debate?
Last night’s Democratic Presidential Debate was a very tame affair compared to the fireworks we’ve seen repeatedly from both sides in the previous debates. Everything was all “nicey-nicey”, as if both candidates have been instructed by their campaign managers to keep it pleasant.
Each candidate emphasized their own health care plans, but Barack Obama concluded by saying their health care proposals are “95% similar”. Differences did show up in positions on Iraq and immigration, but mainly the candidates differed on whether the country is looking for experience on Day1 (Hillary Clinton) versus a vision for the future with Obama.
Both candidates saved their ammunition for attacking President Bush and John McCain, the Republican frontrunner, especially on McCain’s positions on Iraq and the economy. While both Clinton and Obama lumped all the Republican candidates into the “more of the same” category, McCain came under the most fire for his support of the war in Iraq and his flip flop on President Bush’s Tax cuts. While McCain initially opposed the cuts, he now wants to make them permanent. Obama highlighted this by stating, “Somewhere along the line, the Straight Talk Express lost some wheels.”
Speaking of the Straight Talk Express, the Washington Post had a weird story about a major loan that McCain obtained to keep his campaign going, that actually required that he take out a life insurance policy to repay the loan, just in case he didn’t live to finish the campaign. This follows stories in several papers about the fundraising by lobbyists that McCain has been able to obtain since his win in the South Carolina Republican Primary. With the criticisms and/or ridicule that Mitt Romney has taken for spending his own money to finance his campaign, it might be better to emphasize the lobbyist and PAC money invested in the other candidates.
Well, Super Tuesday is now only four days away. Wonder what exciting things will happen between now and then.
Tags: Barack Obama, Democratic Presidential debate, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Politics, President Bush, South Carolina Primary, Super Tuesday, war in IraqLeave a Reply
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