2nd Presidential Debate

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/07/politics/2008debates/main4508400.shtml

John McCain appeared to be stuck between a rock and a hard place Tuesday night. He was not able to go negative on his own for fear of his reputation, yet he was also unable to introduce any radical new policies because he didn’t want to upset the conservatives or independents. As a result, he was unable to achieve an edge in the independent voters, and it will hurt him. Tuesday was one of McCain’s last chances to really impress undecided voters, and because of Obama’s current edge in the polls, a tie in the debate was not good enough. No one will change their minds because of this debate, and if McCain wants to have any hope come November, he will need to pull off something big. However, neither candidate started to talk about anything new, both Obama and McCain simply stuck to campaign rhetoric.

McCain’s campaign is at its wits end. They need to come up with a new strategy for winning in November, and it needs to help both McCain’s reputation, and his shot for the presidency. As Mr. Ververs points out, independents are unsatisfied with what they saw out of both candidates, and currently that helps Obama. Right now, McCain can’t stick to the same old Republican rhetoric; he needs to be visionary, yet wise, with his vision for America. Enacting an RPS might be a good idea. Or he could suggest that we send conditional aid to Pakistan, instead of blind money. He should try to move away from his deregulation stance, and slowly shift to more economic support. Or, perhaps, McCain could move back to why he is even in the running for president: because he’s a respected war-hero, because he’s a maverick, and because he stands for American values.

The debate would have been a great chance for McCain to introduce a new plan to the people of America. As Mr. Ververs points out, independents were very unsatisfied with what they saw. They were unsatisfied because they didn’t have to watch the debates to learn anything new about the candidates; it’s all stuff their campaigns have been saying all along. Mr. Ververs seems to think that McCain should have gone more negative. I disagree. It is better to run a positive, respectful campaign than to wallow in the mud and try to drag the other candidate down with you. It would also permanently tar McCain’s reputation, which is something he should try to avoid at all costs. As Mr. Ververs points out, McCain needs to show the American people they can trust him; going negative gives them nothing to trust him on.

The presidential elections decide who will be the most powerful man in the world for four years. It is in the hands of the American people to decide who they think will best lead the United States and keep it a powerful and respected nation.