Obama vs. McCain - Round 3
Presidential candidates discuss economics, education and energy in final debate
Gregory Jones
Issue date: 11/10/08 Section: Presidential debate
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama discussed their positions on energy, education and health care during their debate on October 15.
This marked the last debate between these two candidates before the November 4 election. Obama was deemed the winner of the previous debate and has since held a small lead over McCain in the polls.
While American citizens are still trying to wrap their heads around the economic crisis, neither candidate went into elaborate detail about how they would handle the situation. The recovery plan is still in the production stages and as of now it is still President Bush's problem. Both candidates will need economic plans as the $700 billion bailout comes closer to a reality.
Bob Schieffer, of CBS News, led the debate and the night started with each candidate explaining their tax plans. Obama said he will "spread wealth" from the rich to the middle class. His plan is to provide tax relief for 95% of Americans. McCain wants to cut taxes for small businesses because he says that small business is what runs this country.
Schieffer asked the question, "Why would the U.S. be better off with Joe Biden as President or Sarah Palin as President?" Obama said that Biden would make a great President. "He fights for families," Obama said. McCain praised Palin as being a great role model for women. He said that she is a reformer, gives money back to the people and has opened energy sources for the U.S. as Governor of Alaska. Graham Tait, 21, a senior at SUNY Albany, said he thought that was a great question. "I enjoyed hearing their responses to that question. It was a question that was outside the box and one that most people probably don't care about but is important," Tait said.
The debate continued with the topic of energy. During the Nixon administration 17%-30% of U.S. oil was imported. Today, over 60% of our oil is imported. McCain said that he wants to create more nuclear power plants and continue to develop technology like clean coal. He said that within 7-10 years we could limit our dependence on the Middle East and Venezuela. Obama agreed that it would take 10 years to become independent on oil. Obama made some errors in his answer on energy, contradicting himself on drilling for oil. "We could drill and get more oil…we can't just drill," Obama said. Obama said he would put a focus on creating jobs in fields like fuel efficient cars and energy solutions like wind power.
This marked the last debate between these two candidates before the November 4 election. Obama was deemed the winner of the previous debate and has since held a small lead over McCain in the polls.
While American citizens are still trying to wrap their heads around the economic crisis, neither candidate went into elaborate detail about how they would handle the situation. The recovery plan is still in the production stages and as of now it is still President Bush's problem. Both candidates will need economic plans as the $700 billion bailout comes closer to a reality.
Bob Schieffer, of CBS News, led the debate and the night started with each candidate explaining their tax plans. Obama said he will "spread wealth" from the rich to the middle class. His plan is to provide tax relief for 95% of Americans. McCain wants to cut taxes for small businesses because he says that small business is what runs this country.
Schieffer asked the question, "Why would the U.S. be better off with Joe Biden as President or Sarah Palin as President?" Obama said that Biden would make a great President. "He fights for families," Obama said. McCain praised Palin as being a great role model for women. He said that she is a reformer, gives money back to the people and has opened energy sources for the U.S. as Governor of Alaska. Graham Tait, 21, a senior at SUNY Albany, said he thought that was a great question. "I enjoyed hearing their responses to that question. It was a question that was outside the box and one that most people probably don't care about but is important," Tait said.
The debate continued with the topic of energy. During the Nixon administration 17%-30% of U.S. oil was imported. Today, over 60% of our oil is imported. McCain said that he wants to create more nuclear power plants and continue to develop technology like clean coal. He said that within 7-10 years we could limit our dependence on the Middle East and Venezuela. Obama agreed that it would take 10 years to become independent on oil. Obama made some errors in his answer on energy, contradicting himself on drilling for oil. "We could drill and get more oil…we can't just drill," Obama said. Obama said he would put a focus on creating jobs in fields like fuel efficient cars and energy solutions like wind power.
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