Second Presidential Debate

In my view, Barack Obama won this second presidential debate on substance and his overall view toward what needs to be done in the difficult times through which we are going. This election will be my twelfth time to vote for a United States President, and I have never felt so positive about any of the others for whom I have voted.

Obama's intelligence, his ability to use facts, his farsighted thinking all came though in this debate even more than it does in his speeches. Yes, he goes uhm, he doesn't have every answer ready the second the question is asked, he thinks about his answers, his words, but that's the thing. He does think.

This man truly has the most promise in his character, his emotional capacity, the most intellectual ability to carry out his ideas of any of those many candidates when sometimes I have voted for the lesser of evils. Not this year. I know I won't agree with every approach he will take, maybe not all of his ideas, but, to me, it's crystal clear that he has the most ability to work through this extremely turbulent time in history-- of which I also have never seen the like.

That Obama even wants the leadership right now says a lot for his character. He could easily have waited and let things play out, picking up the pieces later, but he has come forward when the country most needs him. He has put himself out there and not at little risk.

As for McCain. I can't write about him at the debate. I saw Palin last week act civil at a debate and go out and try to incite violence against Obama. I watched at one of his appearances as McCain kind of smirked when someone called Obama a terrorist. Those two are trying to incite a terrible act by some twisted mind and nothing McCain could have done at this debate could make up for what he has tried to unleash.

I just hope the Secret Service is extra alert, and all of us who pray or send white light for protection need to do so for Barack Obama and his wife. There are troubled minds in this world, and this week it looked to me like two of them are running for the highest offices in this land. They would not themselves do a violent deed; but if someone incites it, they are part of the whirlwind that follows. I only hope McCain sees this himself and backs off from what he's been inciting, goes back to the issues that this country faces, but it does not look hopeful-- so people, who care, need to be sending out protection for Obama and his family.

Joe Klein wrote Embarracuda about how embarrassed the right should be over where the extremists like Sean Hannity have encouraged John McCain and Sarah Palin to descend. If John McCain had honor, he threw it away this week. How can he ever get it back?

Here's another on Palin; and if this suits you to think this woman might be our next president, you long ago probably stopped reading this blog: Washington Post's Dana Milbank on the pitbull unleashed.

Let's look at this Ayers connection which Palin has been spouting off about and which McCain hopes to use to turn the campaign around. Ayers was a terrorist in the Vietnam War era. Should he have done time in prison for his evil and misguided attempts to bring the Vietnam War to an end? Yes. Ayers still doesn't admit he did wrong. So even though he now lives as an exemplar citizen who teaches in a university and works on education issues, he's not a guy I'd want to know.

What does Ayers have to do with Barack Obama? Not much. Obama said he didn't know what Ayers did when he first met him as a college professor who had written books on education. Should he have researched him before he allowed a kick-off to his senate race to be in Ayers home? Not hard to say yes-- now. Obama has said blowing up buildings is bad. I would guess as president he will not blow any up.

Why is Ayers even an issue? Mainly to avoid talking about what is. Some of these people, who are cheering on Palin's divisive hate talk and McCain's sly innuendos, still are mad that we lost the Vietnam War. I would like them to understand something. It's over. We did not get out of Vietnam because of Ayers. It was because the war didn't make sense to enough people; but what the heck, golly gee, fear doesn't operate on logic.

If you look at people's connections with bad guys, you have McCain on G. Gordon Liddy's radio program. Or even worse, his connection to this: Why McCain's Time with Council of World Freedom Matters. Or McCain and Iran Contra.

When bringing up these fringe groups, how about Palin with the Alaskan Independence Party, to which she never was an actual member but her husband was, where as governor, she gave an address in 2008 praising them?

AIP is a group who favors Alaska's secession from the United States. Their originator died in a plastic's explosive sale gone bad. How innocent. Now coming from the Pacific Northwest where some also favor the idea of forming their own nation, I don't think the idea of secession is totally wacko, but what I do think is she claims she's a patriot! To whom? Did you know that group encourages their members to infiltrate the major parties to bring about their chance to cut themselves loose from the US. Not surprising they'd think that way with all their oil wealth, but back to the question: is it patriotic?

It's almost tragic what McCain has done to attain the presidency. He doesn't care about issues. He accuses Obama of doing what he himself has done (wanting to win at any cost). I guess when it's what is in your heart, it's what you see in the heart of others.

McCain and Palin hear their crowd's cheer when they say inflammatory things. They seem to be okay when their audiences accuse Obama of being a terrorist or yell kill him. Are they surprised that this is where their words lead? If they don't like it, they show no sign as they smirk and don't try to bring sanity to those in the crowds who have clearly gone into hatred. Those cheers are coming from their base. Will any of this work with Americans at large? I don't know, but I don't see how it can if voters stop to think at all.

We are facing a LOT of big issues but the character of the people we are voting for does matter! So while Sarah Palin wants us to worry that William Ayers was giving Barack Obama bomb making instructions instead of meeting at board meetings around the problems of education, while John McCain is only mildly amused when someone in his audience answers his question of who Obama is by yelling out terrorist, while that's going on, what about the real problems the country faces?

People, who say they don't know what Barack Obama would do about any of these issues, are the same ones who fear he's a secret terrorist, the same ones who think a vice presidential candidate, who brings up Ayers, based on an article in the New York Times she either didn't read, didn't understand, or assumed the crowd wouldn't know what it said, they are the ones who believe that woman is fit to be president. Why is she fit? Well she's a woman, isn't she? She's nasty and they mistake meanness for power.

In the debate John McCain said this is no time for on the job training. I guess except for his vice president who he doesn't feel is able to face a press conference as he, Obama or Biden can do. The sad part is the people who loudly applaud McCain and Palin are likely to be the most hard hit by what is coming.

Worth reading for what we might need to do and what's happening:

David Brooks: Testing Time.
Bob Herbert: A Fool's Paradise.

Yes, Obama won the debate, and it's because of his character, his steadfastness, his intelligence and because his ideas are more sound. If you don't already think so, I hope you will read some of the links above. And then think hard on what you want for this country.