Vol. 72/No. 41      October 20, 2008

The debate with Democratic senator Barack Obama and Republican senator John McCain took place on October 7. Their running mates, Sen. Joseph Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin respectively, met October 2.

In their debate McCain and his Democratic Party rival voiced their support for the government’s $700 billion bailout of Wall Street banks, which they both voted for. They each put forward different plans to shift more of the responsibility for health care onto individuals and families. It was clear from the debate as well that the two candidates intend to go after both Social Security and Medicare.

Obama blamed the economic crisis entirely on the Bush administration’s lifting of financial regulations and “letting the market run wild.” He failed to mention, however, that it was former president William Clinton who eliminated the key financial regulations, which postponed and exacerbated the current crisis. This includes lifting the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which established a legal separation between commercial banks and insurance companies, stock brokerages, and investment banks.

McCain blamed the crisis on greed and corruption in Washington and on Wall Street. He pledged to cut government costs and implement a spending freeze on everything but defense and Veteran’s Affairs. “We’ll just have to have across-the-board freeze,” he said.

The candidates jousted for who would be a stronger commander in chief to lead U.S. forces in a protracted “war against terror” in the Middle East. Both strongly advocated sending more forces to Afghanistan.

Both cited Iran as posing a major threat to U.S. interests in the Middle East as well as growing tensions with Russia.

Many of the same themes were presented at the October 2 vice presidential debate.

Biden made clear he does not hesitate to employ military force to advance U.S. interests around the world. He proudly reminded the audience that he was the first politician to propose sending troops to Bosnia.

Biden emphasized his role in drafting the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, also known as the Biden Crime Bill. It put 100,000 more cops on the street, increased sentences, funded special “drug courts,” and allocated funds to build more prisons and boot camps.

McCain’s campaign was boosted last month with Palin’s nomination as his running mate. She helps McCain secure a base of support among right-wing Republicans, many of whom had threatened not to back the Republican presidential candidate. McCain’s choice of a woman is aimed at competing with Obama over whose campaign more represents “change.” Following Palin’s nomination, the economy has continued to deteriorate and Obama’s lead has grown.

In the vice presidential debate, both candidates opposed legalizing same-sex marriage, while saying they would not eliminate recognition of joint-ownership of property and other legal rights of gay couples.

Palin has tried to portray herself as a Washington “outsider” who is closer to the working class. In her September 3 acceptance speech, Palin said she grew up with “the ones who do some of the hardest work in America … who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.”

Palin’s conservative views have earned her support from incipient fascist Patrick Buchanan. At the same time, statements and articles painting Palin as a backer of Buchanan’s presidential campaign proved false. While she attended a fund-raiser for Buchanan in 1999, she says she did not contribute. In 2000 she was an official for the Stephen Forbes campaign.  
 
 
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