I sat and watched the US presidential debate #2 for the thrid time last night (I have a copy on my hard drive for reference).
This time, I decided to watch it from a US citizen’s perspective, in the past I have always looked upon the US candidates from a foreign perspective, with my interest focused solely on foriegn policy. I figure internal issues don’t effect me as directly and those are really YOUR issues to be concerned about.
But from these two perspectives, I see two completely different results.
a) From a foreign policy perspective, McCain scares me, as does his henchwoman Palin (eeew, she makes my skin crawl that one).
b) From a US perspective, I think McCain can implement his plan and Obama is all talk and no action.
Character, it is sorta relevant afterall.
McCain, I love this guy, what a great father figure and a patient, seeming, person. Patient seeming means he can be as short and curt as he needs to be, but doesn’t carry himself as such. There was something i just couldn’t pinpoint though, “Who does this guy remind me of?” then it came to me, body language and mannerisms, he’s Rich Little doing a George Burns impression! Once it came ot me, I couldn’t help but laugh while watching his high shouldered, elbows bent, wide motionless mouthed approach to his delivery. He’s a keeper for sure! Rich Little for president.
I find that he has dwelled on the “94 votes against” rebuttal issue a bit too much though, he should let that one die and retain his chracter credibility, everyoe knows who Obama is by now.
I think he has a far more realistic domestic policy approach, he shows himself as a man with experience. While I am sure that being in office is a VERY fast learning process and interns become veterans very quickly, I think he’s a natural for such a post, whereas Obama seems a little green. Being new isn’ ta bad thing, but whenever Obama is hit with a pressing question for rebuttal, he gets very anxious. YOu can always tell when he’ scaught off guard as his voice raises, though he deliberately tries to slow down, and he starts to stutter, look for words and sound insecure/unsure of himself. This indicates he’s either making it up, or wary that he needs to be hiding something.
McCain on the other hand, gets caught out and offers rhetoric replies but does so with style. He is cool as a cucumber, and seems to have become that way due to his time in the senate.
But, McCain does try to play on teh fence. He commented several times that he “reaches across” to the democrats and doesn’t seek to oppose their every word. He tried to instill his ‘middle ground’ (which I think America really needs) by making statements like, “even my own party doesn’t like me sometimes” (as he reaches across for democratic input).
But being the cynic i am, I find some question in that too. Sure he may ‘reach across’ but is that simply to ask for THEIR ideas or try to instill HIS ideas in THEM? Looked upon from a bullying viewpoint, it isn’t as pretty, though i think that is a bit far fetched too.
So as for an AMERICAN voting on Us policies, I am in favour of McCain. I ALMOST like his foreign policy but it is obvious that his views toward Iraq have been instilled in him by the wishes of his party and they don’t seem to reflect his personality, which I believe is quite genuine. He has a big chip on his shoulder and I think he is wary of redeploying troops to Afghanistan because he sees it as runnign in fear and doesn’ twant America to ‘look’ that way, which he said in a few more words himself.
Obama on the other hand, has a good view towards foreign policy. Get American soldiers back with ALLIED soldiers and in Afghanistan, where your true enemy still thrives, exists and plots against America. In fact if I was American that woul dbe a key concern too, terrorists are plotting against you and doing so with more freedom than citizens in Iraq have. (see ‘Heavy Metal in Iraq’ for more on that).
so when it all comes down to it, there are still two sides but I see them as clearly defined.
1) If you are an American that is focused on teh war in Iraq above all else, Obama is your best bet.
2) If you are focused on internal policy, federal budget and the economic crisis in teh USA, McCain stands out on his own (even with his crony Pailn at his side).
From an outside perspective, I’d still have to choose Obama but only because McCain fails to recognize the real state of affairs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Character? McCain all the way.
Foregn relations? I’d still go with McCain as he is closer to the age of his peers from other nations and should have a more natural dialigue with them.
I just wish McCain had more realistic views of Iraq, or was at least speaking his own mind and not simply parroting the words of his party. There is a clear difference in his tone between his thoughts and what he SHOULD be saying. Unfortunately what he SHOULD be saying interferes with what he wants to say and it indicates that he does toe the line of the party and does not always speak his mind.
With the sensitivity of the war, I am confident he’s been coached, whereas his internal policy is a no brainer and they leave him to tackle Obama with little coaching.
So there ya have it, I actually sided with Republicans, IF I was American and the war on terrorism wasn’t my key focus.
