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The debate format's the thing

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor October 7, 2008 02:53 PM


The opposing camps are both trying to use tonight's town hall-style debate to make a point.

Democrats are trying to raise the performance bar for Republican John McCain, pointing out that town halls -- where voters ask questions directly of candidates -- is his favored forum.

The Democratic National Committee this afternoon released a web video that features analysts praising how McCain does and the senator himself bragging about how much he likes them. "Since McCain is the undisputed champion of the town hall, anything less than a game-changing performance tonight would be major disappointment," the DNC said.

McCain's campaign, meanwhile, is using the town hall as part of a fund-raising appeal that criticizes Democrat Barack Obama for supposedly reneging on a series of town halls. McCain proposed them, but the two campaigns could never agree on the specifics.

"Tonight, John McCain and Senator Barack Obama will debate in a town hall together for the very first time. You'll have the opportunity to hear questions from everyday Americans and I know you'll see the sharp contrast between the liberal plan for America and the reform plan for America," McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, tells supporters in the money appeal.

"This summer, John McCain proposed a series of weekly joint town hall meetings with Senator Obama. But Senator Obama -- no stranger to saying one thing and doing another -- reversed his position and backed out. Simply put, the Obama-Biden Democrats' rhetoric doesn't match their record."

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Soon we have a TERRORIST in the White House with his finger on the Nuclear Button.Are we ready to be martyrs for ALLAH? SAY YES.

Posted by skmj October 7, 08 03:13 PM
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John McCain is used to force the election of Barack Obama.
Barack Obama forced you to pay for Wall Street's bailout.

Stop the extortion, blackmail, bribery, and division;
Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, and Cynthia McKinney.

"The two parties should be
almost identical, so that
the American people can
'throw the rascals out'
at any election without
leading to any profound or
extensive shifts in policy."
- Carol Quigley

Posted by sham debate October 7, 08 03:34 PM
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Do Seniors’ Deserve This?

While the cost of living has quadrupled, the group of people most negatively affected group in the society is the seniors, who are on fixed income. And some of us who had managed to invest in stocks and lived on interest income during the boom years in the mid to late 1980s have just witnessed the major evaporation of our life saving. We not only lost the interest income but the principle as well. Surprisingly, it does not appear that the down slope of our standard of living would soon improve. On Sunday, I could not believe listening to statements by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain's senior policy adviser that if elected, Senator McCain intends to reduce medicare and medicaid spending to offset tax cuts pay for his proposed health plan. He further elaborated by saying that the savings would come from eliminating or reforming payment policies to lower the overall cost of care. He will also increase medicare premiums for the wealthier seniors. The more I think about I get very distressed that the ills of this generation are being pushed to its seniors and future generations. It is not fair.

Posted by andy October 7, 08 08:56 PM
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