Obama and McCain Presidential Debate October 15th, 2008

Obama and McCain went head to head Wednesday night answering question regarding the horrible economic catastrophe and finally making statements about their specific plans.

I haven't yet subscribed to the Obama email letter, slapped his face on my bumper, yelled it out loud and proud but this debate set it in stone for me. He has my vote.
He won. And here's why:
+ Whereas McCain responded to every issue by pointing a finger at Obama (how he voted, how he's going to increase taxes, what he did wrong), Obama responded to the question by giving the viewers background. For example, in regards to the question about how the bailout was going to affect everyone, the senator gave a very careful, precise explanation of what exactly was going on. What were the mechanics of this billion dollar bailout and why was it proposed. He explained how it had happened, how these Wallstreet companies were handing out loans right and left and there was no regulations in place (as a result of a steady de-regulation process, as advocated by McCain) to stop them from doing this.

I think the most important fundamental difference about these two, though this may be seen as superficial rhetorical devices, are the fact that they made their points clear about the roles of government.

How are we going to fix the American economy?
McCain's answer (more or less): "We're Americans. We can solve these problems together."
Obama's answer: "This problem requires leadership from Washington."

We are the public. Yes, this is a democracy but the President is the person whom we should be able to trust to prevent and solve our problems before they become national catastrophes.
We trust that the leadership of this enlightened person, this member of society who feels strongly that our national policies should change and be reformed will make wise, ethically astute decisions on behalf of all of us.