A Mending Shift

a bird sings, not because if has an answer to give, but because it has a song to sing … this is my song

The Second 2008 Presidential Debate — Answer the Questions!

Was it just me or did the candidates not answer the questions they were asked?

They would give a one-sentence nod then quickly move onto their pre-planned spiel. I would hear a question from the undecided audience, think, “Ooooo, that’s a good question!” and lean closer to the TV with my ears inclined to listen to their answers, then whammo, a pre-packaged re-hash of what they’ve already said time and time again. UGH.

I guess it is too much of a risk to allow the candidates to venture off onto honest and uncharted waters. I know for me I am looking for some passionate, honest, straightforward conversation. But perhaps the problem lies in me. Perhaps I am naive in wanting such dialogue. Perhaps I am the only one who is bored and disheartened simply listening to week-old-re-hashed-politic-rhetoric-leftovers. Quite frankly, I was bored. There seemed to be no passion, you know?

I was really hoping for more to help me decide, but was left wanting.

I could not believe it when McCain referred to Obama (who was in the room) as “That One” as he nudged his head towards him.

Perhaps three-times a charm? I guess we’ll see.

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This entry was posted by on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 9:09 am and is filed under Politics, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About The Author

Jeromy Johnson
I live in Folsom, CA, with my wife, Jennifer, and three kids. I am surrounded by and cared for deeply by some great friends. Their love for me is truly a moonlit reflection of Papa's love, and for that, I am deeply blessed and grateful.

Comments

  • http://www.myspace.com/elizabeth2286 nyangel22

    You are absolutely right. I kept thinking why don’t they answer the questions that people are asking them. This morning my mom asked me who I thought won the debate, and I told her that neither had won because they didn’t answer any questions. It annoyed me so much that they did not listen to the questions, just rehashing what they said in the first debate.

  • http://mendingshift.wordpress.com Jeromy

    Yea, it got old fast. I always think that is an odd question, “Who won?”…it is SOO subjective.

  • Sampson

    I didn’t even think the questions were good! C’mon! Most of the questions were from Brokaw…questions that HE chose! It’s supposed to be an open forum…let the people there ask all the questions!

    In my opinion, both candidates are playing it too safe. They are afraid of getting down to the nitty-gritty of it.

    I did however think McCain’s idea of spending $300 Billion to give every American $5000 for personal insurance is ridiculous! Times are tough…does he really think that the average American who is struggling financially will use $5K to buy insurance??? No! They will use it to their mortgage or buy groceries, or pay the power bill. When times get tough, people will hope and pray and take the chances of not getting sick rather than spend money on something they *might* need.

    We need better solutions and neither candidate seems to be focused on those solutions.

  • http://mendingshift.wordpress.com Jeromy

    Everything seems so calculated, huh. The questions. The “answers”. I always thought debates were supposed to be raw and real.

    It was interesting how some viewed health care as an individual right of every human and some viewed it as individual’s responsibility. Quite honestly, I’m just happy when I have it from an employer.

  • http://tsdi.wordpress.com/ baddogmooney

    STILL can’t believe two debates have gone by and no talk of our immigration problems.

    I have one answer I would like to hear, “Let the banks go belly up.” They made bad investments and lost. Maybe they would actually learn from their mistakes. Maybe they would show this country there is still something called “responsibility for your actions.” Crazy. Person, buy a house you can afford. Bank, only lend to those who can afford the mortgage and charge the appropriate interest rate for the risk.

    If they can’t afford it, teach them how to manage their money better and save so they can experience something called deferred gratification.

    Sorry for the rant.

  • http://mendingshift.wordpress.com Jeromy

    Baddog, rants are always accepted here. I heard the other day that we don’t want to learn the lessons from this, just fix it and move on. Man, I would hate to be president for the next eight years…imagine inheriting this economy? and the war stuff?

    What scares me is what we are seeing in California…we are in a cash crisis…solution? Borrow more and get further in debt. My question is this. Where is all this magical Billions-and-Billions of dollars coming from?

  • http://tsdi.wordpress.com/ baddogmooney

    They print it and sell treasury bills and bonds. Problem is, will they be able to pay up when maturity time comes? I think a more effective solution starts at the bottom instead of the top. We need to be more responsible with our money, and with the credit that is thrown so easily at us. Basically right now people are emulating the example set by the leaders.

    In a crunch? Borrow money! I recently got a consolidation loan to deal with my credit cards (sorry Dave Ramsey). The lady says, “Doesn’t it feel good to have that all paid off?”

    I looked at her shocked. “I didn’t pay anything off, I just owe you now.”

  • http://www.kogmedia.com movie fan

    The candidates have a major difference in their leadership styles: McCain tends to say, “Follow me because the other guy can’t get it done” while Obama says, “Follow me because I can get it done.” Ideally, the candidates should say, “Follow me because i will help you get it done” … in any case, of the two of them Obama demonstrates a better leadership mentality

  • http://mendingshift.wordpress.com Jeromy

    My take is that McCain says, “Vote for me because if you don’t, that one will make your life miserable and destroy everything” while Obama says, “Vote for me because I will fix everything, including global warming, in only eight years”. I like what you said about helping us get it done…very insiteful.

  • http://tsdi.wordpress.com/ baddogmooney

    Yeah, it enforces the first few words of the US Constitution that are in a huge font reading, “We the people…”

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