Taliban - Barack Obama - Sarah Palin

The debate ended a while back. The whole world will be weighing in through polls and the analysts will have their say. I think Senators Obama and McCain held their own. Although some may disagree, a number of key points Senator McCain raised during his comments which I disagree with.

Iraq is the defining issue right now. It has been trumped by the economy for sure. Many of the questions centered on it. However, the war in Iraq is draining American Resources. Senator McCain noted that "..we are winning in Iraq.." and that the Iraq surge principles should be applied to Afghanistan. First of, Senator McCain is absolutely wrong on the surge. He forgot to mention the local mercenaries and the ethnic cleansing that has occurred. No one seems to talk about it. I also think Senator McCain must realize that even Secretary Rice noted the long difficult road that Iraq has been in her remarks during an award ceremony for Ambassador Crocker and General Petraus. When General Petraus himself has noted that he won't declare victory in Iraq, I wonder why Senator McCain continues to push this fiction of "winning". As for applying the surge to Afghanistan, I commented on the thoughts by the Senior British Military Commander in Afghanistan earlier. Tom Brokaw did raise it with him. Senator McCain went back to his "stock" answer of applying the surge principles. Afghans, Iraqis and Westerners are dying every day. The dying and the suffering has to stop. There has to be a better way.

The other crucial issue that Senator McCain and Senator Obama talked about was healthcare. The question from Tom Brokaw was simple: Is it a privilege, a right or a responsibilty? Senator McCain's answer to that was simple: responsbility. He noted his program to help the middle class with a $ 5,000 refundable tax credit so that they can cross state lines to buy health insurance to promote "choice" and "competition". The problem is that he does not seem to realize that the amount does not even come close to healthcare coverage for the average family. In addition, what may end up happening is that employer-sponsored healthcare may end up going away under McCain-Palin's proposal. I was pleased to see that he acknowledged the fact that there has to be a way found to address the healthcare cost. As for Senator Obama, his answer was simple and to the point: It is a right. I thought his comments on the predicament of his mother was personal and powerful. I personally have had the same challenge at times. The challenge is how to pay for this, though. We'll see. There has to be a better way.

The choices are indeed stark. We have thirty days of excitemet. As America continues to be excited about the election season, the grim facts of life goes on. Markets are still dropping throughout the world. The UK is about to roll out a bank bailout plan. The European Union has annouced a community-wide minimum guarantee for savings. Iceland is seeking Russian help to bail its' economy. The Fed has stepped in to guarantee commercial paper. It all leads to one conclusion: We are in a recession. The National Bureau for Economic Research may disagree with me. But, when neighbors are losing their jobs and their homes, there is no denying it.

Things are indeed grim. The only way we will get out of this is to nationalize the banking system. The market system as we know it has failed. There has to be a better way.

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Taliban, Al Qaeda, The Presidential Election, Barack Obama, John McCain, Sarah Palin, U.S. Economy, U.S. Government

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