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Friday’s debate provided a powerful insight to the kind of president Sen. McCain would be. A few minutes into the debate, Sen. McCain was already dangerously overreaching and misguiding the public. He believes that he will change Washington. He began talking about accountability, conveniently forgetting the brazen lies he’s thus far spit out during his campaign.
While Sen. Obama wasn’t the undeniable force he could have been, he made his points clearly and succinctly, contrasting McCain’s rambling and disconnected answers. There are some other points Obama should have made.
McCain needs to be called out for refusing to address one of the most important national security issues facing the country – Pakistan. This issue was touched on briefly. “We’ve got to deal with Pakistan, because al-Qaida and the Taliban have safe havens in Pakistan,” said Sen. Obama.
McCain was unwilling to attack his friends in Pakistan. “I’m not prepared at this time to cut off aid to Pakistan, so I’m not prepared to threaten it,” he said. Later, he continued, “Now, the new president of Pakistan, Kardari (sic), has got his hands full. And this area on the border has not been governed since the days of Alexander the Great.” I guess when the going gets tough, the tough get a pass. While this kind of philosophy would make college a lot easier, I don’t think it’s the kind of thinking we want in the Oval Office.
McCain only mentioned Afghanistan briefly, and Obama had to poke him. Afghanistan should be a central topic of debate, but McCain called Iraq the “central battleground.” McCain is woefully under-concerned with our national security. Otherwise, he would be less concerned with the ridiculous yet serious conflict in Iraq and more concerned with the operations in Afghanistan. Under-funded troops are working hard to fulfill the original goals of this war.
McCain needs to be slammed on Veteran’s Affairs. Mentioning the “Hanoi Hilton” every two minutes is not enough to show you care about veterans. Obama needs to tell anybody who will listen about McCain’s shameful record of supporting his fellow veterans, including failing to support the new G.I. Bill, which would have given thousands of veterans the means to finish their college education.
Finally, McCain has been in congress since 1983 and has yet to affect significant change in the way Washington works. If he’s been unable to change much in the last 25 years, what’s to make us believe he can change much in the future?
Obama needs to expose McCain’s partisan voting record. Citing his 90 percent partisan voting record is not enough – find every time he’s voted against himself and plaster each issue onto billboards across America. If Obama wants to win, he needs to work harder on disproving McCain’s “maverick” image. Obama should explain how pissing off your co-workers does not make you a maverick, then segue into how McCain has failed to stand up to party leadership.
Barack Obama would be the president this country needs, but if he wants to be president he needs to show he has the hawkishness to pick apart McCain’s arguments. Most importantly, he needs to learn how to give McCain the public undressing he so richly deserves.
William P. Davis is a first-year journalism and violin performance student.
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