Not everyone agreed, but I thought the debate was boring because the real questions were, as usual, unasked. Here are the ones I'd like to hear next time.
1) How did the senseless Iraq war bankrupt our country and has this ever happened before in history?
Historians know that arms races and senseless wars bankrupted Athens, Rome, Spain, France and untold other empires that later fell apart. The French Revolution was partly the result of the bankruptcy of France under those two spendthrift kings, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Drained by an arms race with England, the French treasury was empty and the French kings were deep in debt. Unfortunately, a disastrous harvest made bread too expensive for all but aristocrats. Though Marie Antoinette did not say, Let 'em eat cake (brioche, technically) she lost her head anyway. No wonder the Bushies are moving battalions home from Iraq. They expect civil chaos after they try to steal the next election. I hope to be in Venice watching the water rise.
2) How many civilians died in Iraq? We hear a lot about the four thousand women and men who died wearing US uniforms. My heart goes out to them and their parents, children and spouses--but they were (mostly) volunteers. Of course this does not make their loss any less horrific, any less tragic, any less wasteful. But the dead Iraqi civilians volunteered for nothing. Many were children too young to volunteer for anything but flying kites or toddling about. Many were mothers who could not protect them. Many were fathers who had no secular divisions to fight, who were merchants or farmers or artisans or teachers. Why does nobody ever mention them? Their numbers are in the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions. Nobody counts. They are the unsung victims of our useless, treasury-draining war.
3) Why do we persevere in torturing people though it doesn't result in real information and makes us hated all over the world?
John McCain was tortured but appears to gave forgotten. When a country prates of democracy and "being the greatest in the world," it does not inspire confidence when we flout all our best traditions. We broke our rules of engagement, abandoned the Geneva Conventions. Is it a surprise nobody believes us any more?
4) How come nobody asks: What's the role of insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies in harming our health care?
We pay more for care than any other western country. The costs hurt our health, our businesses' global competitiveness and most of all our kids. Why is this the elephant in the room? Why do drug companies advertise that they will give you free pills--if you're destitute. Why don't they just charge fair prices? Why doesn't our government make them? Why do the insurance companies act like our de facto government?
5) WHY DOES NOBODY MENTION THE STOLEN ELECTIONS OF 2000 and 2004?
The Rovians are at it again--fixing touch screen machines, hacking into servers and the so-called mainstream media is not reporting it. Why are the Democrats not fighting back? The Repugnicans are slandering them with voter fraud. The best defense is an offense, they figure. Why does no one bring it up?
Are you listening, Tom Brokaw, Gwen Infill, Bob Schieffer, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson? Is anybody there?
6) And finally, what is the role of the mainstream media in keeping the truth from us?
Can media owned by Rupert Murdoch, General Electric and other war-mongers, tell us the truth about the war profiteers who are getting rich while we are getting poor? Why should they? Will Cheney blow the whistle on Halliburton?
I rest my case.
Because there's no way anyone can tell me that Cheney didn't get some kind of kick-back from Halliburton.
As far as I can tell everyone, EVERYONE simply assumes this to be true and shrugs.
It just doesn't seem ethical on any level to me.
1. History is for wimps and elitists.
2. Civilians don't count - er - we don't count civilians. (Too time consuming and who cares anyway?)
3. Real information? Information is what we say it is. And besides, it's fun to torture!\
4. Hey they pay OUR bills so they get to write all the bills. It's about supply and demand.
5. Look, we counted the votes that really count. And besides that's ancient history. Get over it!
6. With a few exceptions, "the mainstream media" has totally abandoned and abdicated any sense of responsiblity - which turns the entire Constitution on it's head. Besides, foxes are notoriously lousy at protecting and defending the chicken pen.
How about --
Why isn't mentioned by Obama that McCain denies that he was wrong about going into Iraq to begin with, when he says Barrack is denying he was wrong about the surge?
Why isn't pointed out that you can't use the exact same tactics in Afghanistan as you needed in Iraq?
Maybe these have been mentioned, but they need to hammered home.
Also, what you say about Iraq -- but, even more about how it is a major culprit for ideologue-heads to be decrying "an to American capitalism" -- and, how their campaign-cry is a myth.
Is this the end of American EXCEPTIONALISM, this idea that we are entitled to a quarter of the world as our personal ATM?
Are we ready to disavow the deception that we are a peaceful nation?
How does the United States of America become the country our founding fathers dreamed it might be, rather than just another Empire, destined to take it's place with the Romans, the French, the British, the Greeks, etc. etc.?
When will we Americans be honest with ourselves?
Alas, Pride goeth before the Fall.
Unfortunately, the answer would probably be, "The reason I ran for President was to bring back the values and pride in our country that were prevalent on main street when I was young. And by the way, when THAT ONE was palling around with terrorist, I was in prison camp becoming a hero."
What about Vietnam?
And as far as Ayres and Wright goes, what about Palin palling around with the AIG party, giving a video address to them just this September. They are all Timothy McVeigh types.
Another question of McCain: If you're a leader and in charge of your campaign, why have your surrogates and campaign staff, including your VP candidate, been allowed to get away with not so subdued racial slurs e.g., Barrack "Hussein" Obama when you have consistently said you're against that sort of thing?
I would ask another question: Why did congress vote to bail out banks when their constituents were against it? Could it have anything to do with the stuff on the phone tapes in Cheney's office safe?
In fact, what good are any any of these questions if people can't vote after hearing the answers.
I personally still not sold.
If you come to think of it, so far, it worked perfectly in favor of the neo-cons in power.
Won't interest rates have to rise to reflect the new underlying rate of inflation?
I suppose my question is: Given the focus on "the economy", to what degree will the candidates act to contain inflation (you know, rising prices, and thus rising interest rates), since no one wants to get out their WIN buttons ("Whip Inflation Now") from the 1970s.