Thoughts on the Third Debate

October 16

Last night’s debate was a bit of a let down as I was hoping that Barack Obama would defend himself more vigorously. On the other hand, John McCain’s aggressive stance continues to disturb me. Was John Lewis wrong when he drew an analogy between what he saw and the prejudice of decades past?

Barack Obama did mention Sarah Palin’s “palling around with terrorists” remark as something that disturbed him. But while John McCain was asking Barack Obama to defend him against Lewis’ accusations, I think that it is reasonable for Barack Obama to ask John McCain to clearly state that he regrets the remarks Sarah Palin made.

At one point in the debate John McCain defended the audiences attending his and Sarah Palin’s rallies, stating that they are good people. This was a non-sequitur. Of course they are good people and good Americans. The fact is, however, that a number of them were behaving in disturbing ways. John McCain eventually put a stop to it but Sara Palin allowed it to continue, contributing to John Lewis’ concerns.

It seems to me that John McCain is grabbing at straws. While he goes on the attack about William Ayers, people who have done the research know that John McCain’s association with Charles Keating is a much bigger issue. It is documented that the two families went on family vacations together. Meanwhile, a bipartisan investigation of “troopergate” found that Sarah Palin’s actions violated Alaska’s state ethics laws.

News is everywhere and Americans can read it. My hope is that the rest of the presidential race will be about issues. We do not need the candidates to give us their spin on what we can research on our own.