Presidential Debate: Round 2

Those still undecided will never be ready to vote - intelligently.

Thanks. Not exactly the same words, but your's pretty much explains my sentiment.

And They’re Off!
By Peter Suderman @ The Confabulum

Shorter Obama’s first answer:

Well, the middle class are hurting. So we should do… everything: Wall Street, health care, all that stuff. Just do. It. All. For the middle class. Did I mention that already?

Shorter McCain’s first answer:

Peace is good! So are reforms! Taxes and spending, not so much. And we’ll do a thing about houses! (Don’t worry if you don’t understand; McCain doesn’t grok it either)

2.24: There is a risk here that we may have to hear about health care. This being so I play the traditional foreigner's card of opting out of this. Is there any more boring subject - for furriners - than American health care? No, there is not.

2.28: What sacrifices will you ask every American to make? How about the lives of the fourth born? (Yeah, I'm the eldest and I have a kid brother and sister).

2.29: Woo! McCain returns to his "spending freeze" on everything except, like, 70% of the Federal budget. Also "We're Americans" so we can solve everything immediately. OK!

2.34: This is brutally dull. Can Sarah Palin come on in fishnets and do a proper half-time show?

2.35: Hmm, the ghost of Hoover! But which candidate looks like Hoover? And why is McCain adopting a voice more normally associated with reading a bed-time story to a two year old kid?

2.37: Why does Tom Brokaw say "we have another question from the internet" as though he meant "And another paedophile writes in to ask..."?

2.42: McCain keeps telling us that he's always been fighting for all these things. What do these things have in common? They are all unwon causes. When did McCain last win a victory worth winning? Vote for John McCain! He knows what it's like to lose!

2.45: Obama wants you to know he also owns a magic wand.

2.50: Oh ****. More health care. Time out.

John McCain, just now in the debate:

I am not in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy.

The Tax Policy Center, in a report last month:

The two candidates' tax plans would have sharply different distributional effects. Senator McCain's tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households. Many fewer households at the bottom of the income distribution would get tax cuts and those tax cuts would be small as a share of after-tax income.

In marked contrast, Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers. The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution, while taxpayers with the highest income would see their taxes rise significantly.

John McCain, just now LIED in the debate:

I am not in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy.

8:28 - What sacrfices will you ask of Americans? McCain: Cut some programs. It might hurt. But damn it, we have to do it. Freeze spending, except defense, VA, entitlements, and buying every house in America. We aren’t rifle shots. We’re Americans! We’ll work together to do things without prioritizing them.

8:59 - How does all the economic stress affect our ability to wage war? McCain: America is greatest force for good in history of universe forever. We shed our blood everywhere. The question of when to kill people needs to be left soldiers like me. Our wars are awesome because we’re a nation of good. Obama wrong about surge. Wrong about Russia and Georgia. He doesn’t know his ass from his elbow.

OK. This thing is either vacuous or completely infuriating. I give up-ish. This is inane. I hate politics.

9:03 - McCain doctrine and Obama doctrine for use of force in humanitarian situations: Obama: There might be moral issues at stake. Surely we should stop Holocaust. Rwanda. Standing idly by diminishes us. Basically, I have no principle. I leave it at the discretion of my evolved moral intuition.

9:08 - Should we respect Pakistani sovereignty? Obama: Basically, no. I will tear bin Laden’s throat out with my own teeth.