The gloves come off
TOWN HALL DEBATE | Candidates spar over taxes, foreign policy
Republican John McCain unrelentingly laid into Democrat Barack Obama in Tuesday's debate as though he were a man dropping in the polls -- which McCain is.
On nearly every question, McCain found a way to criticize Obama.
(AP)
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McCain accused his opponent of being naive and suggested Obama was planning surprise tax hikes on individuals and small businesses. And he challenged Obama to say how big a fine he would levy on small businesses that did not obtain health care for their employees or parents who did not purchase health insurance for their children.
As in the first debate two weeks ago, Obama had to play some defense, saying all but the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans would see tax cuts or no tax hikes under him; only the wealthiest few percent of all small businesses would see tax cuts; and small business owners would not be fined for failing to get health care policies for employees.
As Obama finished, McCain interjected, "before we leave that, did we hear the size of the fine?"
McCain was just as unrelenting on international affairs, making the same arguments he did in the first debate, perhaps more forcefully, that Obama was unprepared to be commander in chief.
"Sen. McCain suggests that, somehow, I'm green behind the ears, I'm just spouting off, and he's somber and responsible . . ." Obama started.
"Thank you very much," McCain interjected, smiling.
McCain accused Obama of talking too belligerently on foreign policy and telegraphing attack plans.
"Sen. McCain -- this is the guy who sang, 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran'; who called for the annihilation of North Korea," Obama countered. "That, I don't think, is an example of speaking softly. This is the person who -- we hadn't even finished Afghanistan -- when he said, 'Next up: Baghdad.' "
After McCain's aggressive performance in the first debate and his running mate's escalating attacks on Obama in the past week, which Obama matched with a new attack documentary against McCain, the smiles looked pretty forced Tuesday night. Obama and McCain walked onto the stage at Belmont University in Nashville, shook hands and patted each other on the upper arms simultaneously.
McCain immediately laid into Obama as a taxer, and Obama fired back at McCain as a champion of wealthy CEOs who wanted to give them and big businesses $300 billion in tax breaks.
Attendees at the town hall-style debate seemed most concerned about what government could do for them and how the recently passed $700 billion bailout/rescue plan would help them. Neither candidate could be all that encouraging.
Though McCain and Obama walked around the stage trying to engage with the audience, the tension seemed higher than at the first debate.
"Sen. Obama was wrong about Iraq and the surge," McCain said. "He was wrong about Russia when they committed aggression against Georgia, and in his short career, he does not understand our national security challenges. We don't have time for on-the-job training, my friends."
"Sen. McCain in the last debate and today again, suggested that I don't understand," Obama said. "It's true there are some things I don't understand -- how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9-11, while Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida are setting up base camps, safe havens, to train terrorists to attack us. That was Sen. McCain's judgment and it was the wrong judgment."