McCain, Obama push hard on records, vision for nation

Speaking directly to undecided voters, Senator John McCain challenged rival Barack Obama last night in their second debate on his reform vision for the country, asserting that Obama's record belied his rhetoric on lowering taxes, reining in government spending, and imposing more regulation on the nation's financial system.

Obama answered by looking forward, casting himself as the candidate with the fresh ideas to restore fairness to the economy, help the middle class survive the financial crisis, and improve America's standing in the world.

Their distinct approaches framed a tense, but largely civil, 90-minute encounter as the two candidates took questions from voters - on the economic crisis, on healthcare, and on foreign policy - at an intimate, town hall-style event at Belmont University in Nashville. With Obama leading in a host of national and state polls, McCain came into the debate looking to change the dynamics of the race. There was no immediate indication he did.

McCain, who, over the past few weeks, has largely cast himself as an agent of change, switched course slightly to highlight his long record in Washington, promoting his bipartisan legislative efforts with Democrats such as Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, his willingness to challenge Republican Party orthodoxy, and his support for alternative energy. By contrast, he argued, Obama has little in his background to back up his rhetoric.

"I fought higher taxes. I have fought excess spending. I have fought to reform government," McCain said. "Let's look at our records, my friends, and then listen to my vision for the future of America."

But Obama, as he has done repeatedly on the campaign trail and, judging from the polls, effectively, argued forcefully that McCain's record was one of pushing for government deregulation. And it is the climate of deregulation in Washington, Obama argued, that has let the private sector "run wild," and now gravely threatens the global economy.

"You need somebody working for you, and you've got to have somebody in Washington who is thinking about the middle class and not just those who can afford to hire lobbyists," Obama said.

McCain, in turn, separated himself from the Bush administration in stark language, touting his stand against an energy bill "loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney."

The Arizona senator also suggested that President Bush had not done enough to help struggling homeowners, and said he would direct the next Treasury secretary to buy and refinance mortgages so that people can hang onto their homes.

"It's my proposal. It's not Senator Obama's proposal, and it's not President Bush's proposal," McCain said, acknowledging that it was "expensive" but necessary.

His campaign said the proposal would cost about $300 billion and could be paid for out of the $700 billion bailout package passed last week. Obama's campaign asserted that the bailout legislation already gives the Treasury such powers.

The biggest question going into last night's debate was whether McCain and Obama would carry their increasingly character-centered battle into prime time. While the debate had its fair share of pointed barbs, they were largely issue-based and not overly personal.

But the freewheeling format - the candidates were free to walk around the red-carpeted stage and engage voters - produced some awkward moments. McCain at one point, in calling attention to a vote Obama cast for an energy bill in the Senate, pointed at his colleague and referred to him as "that one."

Last night's debate included questions submitted by voters over the Internet. The sheer number of questions sent in - reportedly 6 million - signifies the unprecedented involvement and interest of voters in the presidential election. Moderator Tom Brokaw of NBC News selected a handful of online questions and also chose questioners from among 80 undecided voters sharing the stage with the candidates.

McCain and Obama are scheduled to meet for their third and final debate a week from tonight at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

Last night, McCain, repeating a common theme of his campaign, sought to underscore his experience in national security, accusing Obama of being too green to make the proper judgments. When and whether to use force abroad is "a question [that] can only be answered by someone with the knowledge and experience to know," McCain said, describing himself as someone with "a cool hand at the tiller."

"In his short career, he does not understand our national security challenges," McCain said of Obama.

Obama, clearly anticipating the attack, responded firmly by sharply attacking McCain's support for the Iraq war.

"It's true there are some things I don't understand," Obama said. "I don't understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11" while failing to capture Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

"That was Senator McCain's judgment, and it was the wrong judgment," Obama said.

The two candidates continued their sparring on Pakistan, with McCain accusing Obama of being naive in advocating a unilateral strike against terrorist leaders in Pakistan if the country could not or would not act itself. McCain said he subscribed to the Teddy Roosevelt philosophy - "speak softly and carry a big stick" - and said he would not launch such a strike in Pakistan without the government's support.

"Senator McCain suggests somehow I'm green behind the ears and spouting off, and he's somber and responsible," Obama shot back. "This is the guy who sang, 'bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,' who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don't think is an example of speaking softly.

"This is the person who, after we had - we hadn't even finished Afghanistan, where he said, 'Next up, Baghdad.' "

But it was the economy, which most voters say is their top concern as they evaluate the candidates, that defined the debate, with the stock market providing another grim backdrop: the Dow industrial average dropped 508 points yesterday, closing at its lowest point in five years.

Seizing on public disgust with corporate executives, Obama slammed McCain for a tax plan extending all of Bush's tax cuts that the Illinois senator said would benefit those who don't need more cash.

"He wants to give the average CEO an additional $700,000 in tax cuts. That's not fair, and it doesn't work," Obama said.

McCain retorted that Obama's plan to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 a year would damage small businesses and hinder employment.

"Nailing down Senator Obama's tax proposals is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall," McCain said.

Obama and McCain also diverged starkly on healthcare, with Obama calling it a "right," and McCain calling it a "responsibility." McCain worried aloud about "government mandates" - such as Obama's directive, in his plan, that parents provide coverage for their children - and said Obama's plan would institute a "fine" against those who don't comply.

When Obama didn't detail the "fine," McCain wandered theatrically across the stage, asking rhetorically, "Did we hear the size of the fine?"

Obama, seated and drinking a glass of water, paid no attention. McCain, Obama noted, voted against expansion of a landmark federal program that provides healthcare coverage to needy children.

In closing last night, both candidates summoned the past in pointing to the future.

Obama talked about the uniquely American experience that allowed him - the son of a single mother - to rise to his current position as the Democratic nominee.

"I was able to succeed in a way I could not have succeeded" elsewhere, Obama said. "And the question in this election is, are we going to pass on that same American dream to the next generation?"

McCain - without specifically mentioning his 5 1/2 years in a prison camp in Vietnam - reminded the audience that "I have spent my whole life serving this country."

"I'm asking the American people to give me another opportunity," he said.

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.