Should the first scheduled debate between presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain be delayed to hash out an emergency law to fix the economy? This is the critical question raised in an NBC article. McCain says “yes”. Obama says “no”. Who is more reasonable and who is playing politics?
According to Obama, “This is exactly the time that the American people need a debate”. So, what have we got here? Obama is saying that Americans need to be clear about who will implement a better economic policy.
How did McCain respond? “We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, every corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen”. Once again, McCain is talking about more mundane issues: savings, retirement, etc.
So, the stage is set with both Obama and McCain aiming to paint the opposition as out of touch. With Obama clamoring for the debate to go on as scheduled, McCain is sure to attack him as being “out of touch”. On the other hand, Obama is sure to make voters wonder: how can a guy with 4 houses (while the average person only has 1) be able to discuss concrete issues like he is? In this case, partisan politics surely is the most undesirable consequence, but legislation can't fix the economy overnight and won't be passed overnight. In other words, there is no quick fix.
