Due to the scarcity of oil and the drastic rise in gas prices over the past few months, the energy crisis became a dominant issue in economics and science. Senator Obama offered several methods and solutions to be implemented to solve the energy crisis in order to help the nation. Presidential Candidate Obama of the Democratic Party plans to further fund federal research to discover innovative and cleaner sources of energy as well as alternative fuels and chemicals. The funds extend to 150 billion dollars spent during a period of 10 years. Technologies and equipment would be developed to reduce and capture greenhouse gases, and nuclear electric energy would be further developed and refined. To help enforce a cleaner environment in the US, Senator Obama plans to tax heavily pollution producing factories such as coal companies. McCain of the Republican Party, however, offers to scrap and reform the entire American energy economy to solve the crisis. Candidate Obama certainly has a clearer view to the energy solution.

Stem cell research and implementation already has a solid but controversial foundation developed by President Bush. The research may successfully lead to treatments for many chronic diseases and injuries, thus saving lives. According to Obama's response to Science Debate 2008, "Stem cell research holds the promise of improving our lives in at least three ways-by substituting normal cells for damaged cells to treat diabetes, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, heart failure and other disorders; by providing scientists with safe and convenient models of disease for drug development; and by helping to understand fundamental aspects of normal development and cell dysfunction." Obama strongly supports stem cell research and plans to lift the federal ban on embryonic research. McCain believes in placing firm restrictions upon the implementation and uses of stem cell research. Stem cell research will be further researched into and developed to improve healthcare once candidate Obama becomes president.

Further scientific developments and inventions are important scientific issues, and Congress has recognized the importance of scientific research, but spending restraints and budgets are issues over the upcoming years. As president, Obama will increase scientific research funding in order to address issues such as energy, healthcare, water, and national security. McCain plans to carefully utilize and restrict the funds available to scientific research.
Over the issues of the energy crisis, stem cell research, and scientific research, Obama has wide spread popular views and clear plans of action; Obama will change science significantly in the US. Senator Obama successfully addresses the scientific issues in the election and provides a guiding view on unresolved scientific challenges.

Nausea and Vomiting

Marijuana has some chemicals that can treat the nausea and vomiting that several cancer patients experience when treating their disease. This develops from the anticancer drugs and chemotherapeutic agents that are put into their body. The nausea and vomiting that marijuana treats has not been researched enough to find out its cause, it has been proven to work perfectly with very few flaws. Marijuana can be researched more to reveal more treatments for deadly diseases, and can help in lowering the death toll in not only America, but the rest of the world. If marijuana remains illegal, the tests that bring in more hidden facts about marijuana might decrease over time, and the dozens of possible cures to millions of diseases may never be found. Antiasthmatic drugs are prescription medicines that "treat and prevent asthma attacks." People with asthma sometimes smoke marijuana in order to recover from recent asthma attacks and to prevent future attacks. The use of marijuana as an antiasthmatic began in India, just like other therapeutical treatments to comment ailments. Should the US trust marijuana as a possible ingredient in new and more effective antiasthmatic drugs, the millions of people in the world that have asthma will be able to further prevent their unexpected attacks, and their lives will be prolonged.

Treating Effects of AIDS Treatments

"Three years ago, I lost 40 pounds due to AIDS wasting syndrome. I since regained that 40 pounds thanks to smoked marijuana," said Kiyoshi Kiromiya, an AIDs patient. Kiyoshi, like hundreds of other AIDs, has found that smoking marijuana helps gain lost wait from AIDS treatments. This is believed to be caused by delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, a compound that has already been made into a pill form. The difference between the pills and the actual smoked marijuana is that the patient has complete control over how much they smoke, unlike when they take the pills because the doctor decides how many they have to take at what time. Although a doctor may have a medical degree, a patient can actually feel what is going on in their body, and has a slight idea of how to treat it.

Addictiveness

A common argument that was brought up during the deciding of the illegality of marijuana was its addictiveness. One might say that marijuana is highly addictive like most other drugs and requires the help of a skilled and trained professional in order to break the addiction. This statement is merely a myth. Marijuana is a completely natural plant. Based on an online article about the real facts about marijuana, less than one percent of the American population smokes marijuana on a daily basis. A smaller minority than those who smoke marijuana on a daily basis actually gain a dependence on marijuana. Even those who smoke marijuana frequently can stop at ease. Those who actually experience a feeling of withdrawal after quitting the smoking of marijuana experience very minor symptoms.

Another video was released which critics say is intended to help John McCain to win the 44th presidential election against his opponent, Barack Obama. This video has deserved many controversial comments.

Obama is claimed to attend a radical Muslim school and he was taught Wahhabism (a fundamentalist form of Islam). In reality, Obama attended a Muslim elementary school, as according to him, he was unable to bear the expensive cost in an American school. This statement was clearly written in his second book entitled “The Audacity of Hope”. On page 274, he wrote that:

Without the money to go to the international school that most expatriate children attended, I went to local Indonesian schools and ran the streets with the children of farmers, servants, tailors, and clerks.

Some unknown e-mails claimed that Barack Obama attended a Muslim school for as long as 4 years. How true is this statement? In fact, Barack Obama only attended a Muslim school for 2 years, and later he attended a Roman Catholic school. He explained that he was neither taught Wahhabism nor any Islam related materials. In his autobiography entitled “Dreams from My Father” which was published in 1995, on page 142, Barack Obama wrote that:

In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Roman Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended.

It is said that Obama's father raised Barack Obama as a radical Muslim. How true is this fact again? With regards to this issue, Barack Obama described in his autobiography which was written in 1995 about both his biological father Barack Hussein Obama Sr. and his stepfather, Lolo Soetoro (a non-practicing Muslim) as both Muslim. Whether it is an agnostic or atheist is by choice. Though Barack Obama was raised as a Muslim, there're no firm evidences to support that he is a radical Muslim. Also, by the time his father married the younger Obama's mother, he was an atheist or agnostic, meaning that he was no longer practicing a Muslim practice in his life. Barack Obama once wrote:

For my mother, organized religion too often dressed up closed-mindedness in the grab of piety, cruelty and oppression in the cloak of righteousness.

This isn't to say that she provided me with no religious instruction. In her mind, a working knowledge of the world's great religions was a necessary part of any well-rounded education. In our household the Bible, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology. On Easter or Christmas Day, my mother might drag me to church, just as she dragged me to the Buddhist temple, the Chinese New Year celebration, the Shinto shrine, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites. But I was made to understand that such religious samplings required no sustained commitment on my part. Religion was an expression of human culture, she would explain, not its wellspring, just one of the many ways - and not necessary the best way - that man attempted to control the unknowable and understand the deeper truths about our lives.

In sum, my mother reviewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well.

A wicked e-mailed claimed Barack Obama as a Muslim. In fact, Barack Obama has been associated with the United Church of Christ since the mid-1980s. Barack Obama says that he attends the 11a.m. Sunday service at Trinity in the Brainerd neighborhood every week and his pastor, Wright, has become a close confidant. He is a Christian and he is rooted in the Christian tradition.

Some say Barack Obama converted himself to Christian to seek for a post of public office. But, this statement is not true. Barack Obama has become a member of the United Church of Christ since 1988, before he sought public office. That means his intention to be in Christ Jesus is not wholly aimed for seeking public office.

It is said that Barack Obama has benevolence towards radical Islam. However, this is not true again. Barack Obama once said: “You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings”. This statement further remarked that he won't tolerate with radical Islam, and he's more likely to give Osama bin Laden a kick. Therefore, there's no connection of the Obama's name with a terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden.

Barack Obama is said to have a middle name of “Hussein” and this is proved by many sources. But, even so, do you know how absurd and funky if people judge on other person's middle name. Do you know that George .W. Bush has a middle name of “Walker”? The “Walker” here refers to a devastatingly powerful armored combat vehicle, AT-AT Walker which Bush piloted while he was in the Galactic Empire's campaign in the Galactic Imperial Reserves on Endor. While piloting his AT-AT Walker, Bush fired on Endor civilians, which are called Ewoks. Up to now, Bush's involvement in the tragedy on Endor is sealed with mystery. Even a deceased victim came to Bush to seek for a justice. Press secretary Tony Snow asserted "The incident on the planet Endor is outside of United States jurisdiction. The Ewoks are not from the planet Earth and are therefore exempt from the Geneva Conventions." Bill Kristol came to the Bush's aid and said, "Look, I think that at the time, no one knew the Ewoks weren't a grave and gathering threat to national security."Kristol added, "I think in the end, history will show that George Bush did the right thing." And Bush was further defended by Bill O'Reilly, "Who are these Ewoks anyway? And can we trust them? They don't wear pants. Is that really the kind of example we want to set for our kids? The president was just protecting America, and your children."

Another claim hit Barack Obama is that he was willing to choose to study radical Islam as an adult in Indonesia. In fact, Barack Obama did attend a Muslim school in Jakarta in his age of 6 to 8. I think at these ages, he was under dilemma to have no choice to select which school he has to attend. Furthermore, Barack Obama emphasized that the school he attended did not teach radical Islam or Wahabbism. I know the Indonesian education system well. The school that Barack Obama attended in Indonesia is not really a religion-based school but just a government school with secular curriculum. Here, kids from different religions are mixed in one class and there is no obvious separation of male and female. And this is not a case in the radical Islamic school. The CNN in Jakarta, Indonesia and Washington, D.C. reported that the allegations that Barack Obama has attended a Madrassa to be baseless and untrue. The deputy headmaster of the Basuki school (in which Obama attended from 1969 to 1971), Hardi Priyono said, “This is a public school. We don't focus on religion. In our daily lives, we try to respect religion, but we don't give preferential treatment.” He further remarked, “It's not an Islamic school. There's a lot of Christians, Buddhists, also Confucian….So, that's a mixed school.”

When dealing with recent e-mails falsely claimed that Barack Obama is a Muslim, he said, “I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” while interviewing by Ted Olsen and Sarah Pulliam. Barack Obama has been constantly mentioning about the role of faith in politics in June 2006. Barack Obama emphasized his strong Jesus Christ beliefs to the media. During his election campaign, it was obvious that he has his head bowed in prayers and he insists that he will be guided by prayer when he's in his office. Barack Obama made clear of his position as a Christian by repeatedly said that he is a Christian who attends Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Barack Obama denied the three rumors on him that are circulated widely on the internet. The rumors claimed that he is a Muslim, he was sworn in to Congress on the Quran, and that he rejects to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Watch the video to know the explanation from Barack Obama.

Remark:

I personally think that people should never have narrow mind towards the elected 44th US President, Barack Obama. Is that a shame for people not a “Christian” (not on Obama case) to run the country? Religion doesn't have any close-relation to run a country, does it? Who's capable to rule the country, he or she will be selected for this IMPORTANT task. The Christians are not necessary be in white, it can be of any colors. These days, due to the influx of different cultures, “the White Christian” has been a past, no more fact emphases that the Christian must be white.

Regardless of who is elected for a president, it's a time for most Americans to demand for a change as 8 years Bush's administrations have brought more frustrations to Americans. Why do people still want to question about the eligibility of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States? It's time for a new government under Barack Obama to address people's needs and desires that have long been dreamed of on the land of America.

Personally, I don't matter Barack Obama's past, but the foremost thing is whether he's capable to bring a progress to America and at the same time, he is justice to every American, including those who're not of his races.

Any discussions on Barack Obama's past, background and school he attended during his childhood are pointless. As I think he's a Christian for many years, people shouldn't attack him with his previous background upon his victory in the recent election. I think his task, choice of career and his patriotism towards America matter much rather than anything else. I am sure that he's a right person to fill the vacancy of 44th president of America. Let us pray whole-heartedly for a unity, economic growth, political stable of the America, and no more controversy circulated around Barack Obama who I think is better than George W. Bush and John McCain. Place your belief and confidence towards your new elected president, Barack Obama but please don't be stirred by the wicked and unintentionally planned messages with the aims to see America in collapse.

Upon exciting about Obama's victory, I'm concerned about Barack Obama's personal security. He might become a focus for a radical Islam group to attack as he tried to convert from Islam to Christian. For them, any conversion to other religion is DEATH. So, America should have a strict protection towards this newly elected president while preparing to attack from any unexpected bombings and planned attacks. At this moment, CIA, and other security arm forces should be careful enough to protect America so that 911 event won't repeat in the United States.

As the polls would have us believe, the Democrat Barack Obama seems to have the majority in his hands. But all these polls do not guarantee him the November 4 victory just yet -- it could simply be the amalgamation of a scoop-obsessed media, of pollsters who haven't sampled enough, and of some poll respondents who just want to be politically correct.

On the other side of the fence, Republican John McCain seems all too poised at the losing end. These past few weeks, attention has gravitated front and center -- not to him, but to his vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin. If this was the campaign strategy they hatched two months ago, then it must have backfired with mixed results. Sure, they have our attention, but in the wrong corners -- Palin's wardrobe controversy? The viral web parodies that paint her as charming but ill-equipped? The exclusive news interviews that leave one more baffled about her than before? Palin could have been the fuel to McCain's nearly-doused fire, but aside from the celebrity she has brought, along came the damage that he desperately needs to control.

During the past two years of an exhaustive and extensive race to the presidency, these two men have been subjected to the most intense scrutiny that is albeit needed in order to elect the leader of the free world. Politics has always been a popularity contest, more so in this age of instant's and 24-hour news. Every sound bite and every gesture has been magnified for pundits and the masses to blog and talk about.McCain, the maverick senator from Arizona, has been a steady, dependable hand at the Republican arena since the 2000 election.

He then seemed to be the more liberal, more likeable candidate than George W. Bush was. He had the gallant experience in important policy issues, having held public office for more than 20 years, including championing a campaign finance reform act; an impressive stint at the Vietnam War; and he projected himself to be an outsider of the Grand Old Party establishment and showed to be open to bipartisanship -- which somehow led to the dissolution of his run in the 2000 GOP primaries. This year though, McCain is finally in the limelight, having overpowered pre-primary favorites such as Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. He could've pushed his agenda further and steamrolled his way to a favorable win, but what happened?

George W. Bush.

The Iraq war.

The financial crisis.

Sarah Palin.

McCain's own undoing.

Barack Obama.

It was a fatal combination of these that contributes to McCain's potential electorate demise.

W's Infamous Legacy

George W. Bush, who meekly endorsed McCain through video at the Republican National Convention, has silently relegated to the back seat in this campaign; the standard-bearer McCain salvaging in vain whatever was left of the GOP's credibility amidst its leader's failed presidency, amplified by the severe lashing it endured at the 2006 Congressional Elections. McCain has obviously distanced himself from W., seeking out voters who still believe in the conservative credo. This strategy may work well for others, but it comes across as an undiplomatic approach when viewed in a global sense -- that even if John McCain is your ally, you will be left to fend for yourself when he doesn't need you -- now, what does that present for international relations?

The war in Iraq has been a most unkind legacy the Bush presidency will bequeath to its predecessor. Borne out of greed, warmongering, sheer brashness -- and using the September 11, 2001 attacks as leverage to justify their cause, it has veered the attention of national security away to what should have been a winsome vanquishing to the real insurgents in Afghanistan. (How Al-Qaida came to be, is another matter.) Iraq, post-Saddam Hussein, is still and even more dangerous than before. The damage has been irreparable, thousands of lives have been lost, and there is still no end in sight.

McCain has only echoed Bush's foolhardy declaration that "We are winning the war" and will continue to keep the troops there, when in truth Americans have only been thrust into a quagmire that has risked them financially -- stretched taxpayers' hard-earned dollars in funding a war chest readily disposable and siphoned by Bush's defense-contractor compadres, but with no concrete results -- and internationally. Does this solidify the neoconservatives' cultivated image of the US as a Big Bully and The Only Rightful Superpower, notwithstanding Guantanamo Bay, the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, the subversive intent of the Patriot Act, the rampant disregard of moral and ethical standards?

More than that, the 44th president will be saddled with fixing an all-but-fallen economy. The US economy is at its most fragile stage today. The bourses have fallen sharply one week after the other, teetering into a depression to rival that of the post-1930's market crash, leaving ordinary citizens anxious whether this setback can be lifted at all. Every nation has felt its crippling effects, and governments have been struggling to soften the blows that the US crisis has consequentially deferred. This whole mess could have been avoided if the government wasn't too lax on big business -- like the levees that could've been strengthened before Hurricane Katrina blew New Orleans into a deluge.

Eight years of George W. Bush does not bide well for the United States. Its image within itself and across the world has only deteriorated since because of its pierced invincibility, complacency and resistance to yield to the nation's best and true interests.

A Campaign of Division

Since the official campaign for the presidency began, McCain has widely veered from his original positions on issues such as reproductive rights, the environment and immigration, to cater to narrow right-wing ideologues. He has only been too willing to risk his reputation to scour out votes, using antagonizing tactics and almost delusional self-aggrandizements. We know that elections are an avenue for all sorts of appealing platitudes and promises that may never happen at all, but can it bring out the worst in a man?

Returning to McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- this has been a provocative move. McCain surely have thought that since Obama has already chosen a man in the form of veteran Sen. Joseph Biden a week ago, he could take this opportunity to woo the disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters and pick a female to reignite the playing field. Before Palin, his campaign was almost going belly up. Since that proclamation, curiosity over the woman of the hour was but natural -- but upon closer inspection, the succeeding revelations suggest that Palin is a mismatch.

Reports that the VP selection process was recklessly dealt; the allegations and accusations that hound Palin's leadership record; her overwhelmingly conservative stance on her own gender's issues, science, religion and education; her short-sighted background on the issues that beset the country as witnessed through her uneasy responses in the nightly news interviews. Celebrity doesn't cut it, substance does. Watching her speak at campaign rallies, Palin exudes an appalling variety of close-minded thinking and adviser-coached applause prompts. A Vice President should be able to equal him/her capability to that of a President, in case the need arises for a succession -- but upon what we have seen, Palin doesn't seem to measure up. If she is unqualified, then it certainly reflects on the judgment of McCain.

Together with McCain, they have campaigned on a ticket of spite and estrangement, stirring up crowds with quasi-Bush "Either you're with us or against us" rhetoric. They have divided the nation into "the pro-America" / "real America" states, and the "others" with "that man". To call a state that votes for you as "pro-America", what would make of a state that doesn't? It conjures up insinuations that if you don't vote McCain-Palin, you're branded as unpatriotic and not putting your "Country First", which has been their campaign tag -- as if nobody thinks of their country's sake. They have taken the citizens as intellectually void -- using blatant discrimination, character assassination, antagonism, and shades of racism to fuel their last desperate stretch.

A Change Will Come

Barack Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois, is the one of the best that the Democratic Party has produced in a long time. His meteoric rise to the top can only be attributed to the fact that he is the living embodiment of the American Dream.

The 2004 Democratic National Convention introduced him to mainstream America and the whole world, and it brought much excitement about this new guy who's taken everyone's attention because of his identity, eloquence, intelligence, charisma and his stirring message of a unified America.

That obviously wasn't the last we've seen of Obama... the guy's got mission and ambition. Who would've known that in a span of four years that he would able to utilize his senate orientation to gear up on the biggest political stage, trumping the once shoo-in, Sen. Hillary Clinton and other more experienced colleagues?

The answer is hope. He was a fresh voice in the decrepit, dreary Washington landscape. Riding on a platform of change, he inspired sentiments of idealism and a renewed hope in the government not just among his supporters but also to the youth, the working-class people, the professionals, his fellow politicians, ordinary citizens within and outside of the country. His message is simple, powerful, and enduring.

Others may argue that Obama's all talk and no action, that he is too inexperienced to lead. Through the course of this campaign, he has showed incredible maturity in making his point without distorting it. He is willing to learn. He knows his subjects clearly and is wont to express his plans, which shone through in the three presidential debates. He acknowledges his limitations and ably compensates for them -- one major case would be the selection of Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, an expert on the area of foreign affairs. That itself is an example of how he makes important decisions -- well-thought out and for the long run, in contrast to McCain's Palin.

His stand on issues generally reflects what the United States needs in order to reform the government and the economy, and restore a common purpose -- the greater good of its citizens. He evinces an ability to repair frayed diplomatic relations and effect a more benevolent global opinion. And most especially, as what he has been doing, redeem optimism from apathy. Sometimes, all you really need is a dream, a vision, to get things going. No amount of credentials or experience can prepare a president, or predict what his term will be like. But Obama has the qualities, the confidence and the tenacity to become President. His victory can spell a real difference.

Where Did McCain Go Wrong?

Simple really, he didn’t pick a fight! He forgot where he came from. Obama is not the smooth talker the media makes him out to be. He can’t respond to a challenge without saying, “Now look”. McCain should have taken that away from him in the first debate. You want to screw someone up, just take away his or her verbal crutch. The man cannot say “I” e.g., I believe; I disagree. His retort is always abstract, never direct. Its like picking up a gamblers Tell, game over.

What Could McCain Have Done?

Pick a fight! The second time Obama said, “Now look” McCain should have jumped on him before he got another work out, “Now look at what Senator? There is nothing out there Senator. Nothing to look at! Just your empty promises and rhetoric. Stop telling the people to look at something that does not exist”.

Now it doesn’t mater what Obama comes back with or if the mediator asks him not to do that again, because Obama can’t use those words to start a sentence again. He will hesitate, weigh his words, and think too much. And if he should be so foolish - "There you go again" - Right Ronny!

When your turn comes again, don’t talk to the camera, go after him. This is not a podium at the school debate. You don’t have to play by school rules. Align him with his European heroes like France and Spain. “Senator, you would lead us down the path of the European Union. A system ripe with government corruption, waste and unemployment that is on the verge of collapse”. He either agrees or defends Europe. I wonder how he would make out with that?

Who Wins The Debate?

The guy who showed passion wins, of course. Do you remember what either candidate said in any of the three debates? You probably do not. Presidential debates rarely have substance anyway. They are just two guys parroting their practiced lines. Its just a, “my guy talks better than your guy”, thing.  You want to see a good debate – How about Bill Maher and Bill O’Reilly! You could sell tickets to that one. Come on, admit it, you’d love to see it! If you want a show, get a pro!

Ever since John Kennedy pulled Richard Nixon apart like a Thanksgiving Turkey in their famous debates we have insisted on a sequel (JFK was a pro). I don’t know about you but the rest have been disappointing.

Why Would McCain Win a Fight?

Because you don’t graduate from the Naval Academy, survive five years as a POW, be hungry, take a beating and not be able to win in a fight in the studio. I don’t know about you, but when the apocalypse comes I want a Fighter Pilot in my cave. You take the lawyer in yours. I've gotten drunk with a few of them and most have nothing to offer when the "Gloves are on the ice - Sarah knows what I mean!

I want someone who can stand alone in the darkness and not blink.

The second change is not as drastic of a change but more of a new idea. We hear the presidential candidates and the vice presidential candidates debate alone, but what if they were to have to debate together. If you look at many sports teams, the teams that have the best talent don't often win because the players don't work well together. Well what if the American public were to find out that Barrack Obama and Joe Biden can't work together. What if they had a debate together and they all of the sudden began to argue with each other. And the people found out that they can't do a debate with each other. Then how would they ever be able to run a country together. 

I only make these two recommendations so that they American public will be able to walk into the voting booth with a lot more certainty of what they are going to get, and maybe take away a few devastating surprises.

Listening to this made me start to reconsider the side of the fence I am courting.  While I was listening to John McCain talk about the rich getting richer and creating jobs for the working class I nearly got sick.  I have not in the last eight years seen the rich creating new jobs to help the working class. I have not seen the government doing anything more to help those less fortunate than the working class.

We know those who are fortunate enough to be in the million dollar plus a year businesses are not going to share that with us.  They pay wages to employees that are commensurate with the small business owner who can't afford to pay more. The millionaires tend to hold their money tighter in these periods of economic instability. They do this in order to prey on the losses of those that have to put sweat as well as capital into what they are losing.

I seriously have to say that looking at the smug look on John McCain's face as he listened to Senator Obama talk of taxing the rich made me really see what my national political party has turned too. I have been told for years that the Republican's were only for the rich but never saw it. Last night I saw it in the face of a candidate, my candidate of choice until now.

I do not think that Senator Obama nor John McCain will be able to help the economic situation we are faced with right now. I think it is going to take years to overcome. I will even go as far as to predict that we would have to have some pretty horrible candidates in the next election (2012) for either of these two candidates to be able to get elected a second term.

With that prediction made I will have to say that Senator McCain will have to do some very fast work in order to get me back on his side. I think that less than four weeks is not enough time to even try to reconcile the statements he has made regarding his plan for the economy and the survival of the working class.

Barack Obama needs to do nothing more than keep talking of increasing the taxes on the "upper class" and he is sure to persuade me to vote for him. Even though I feel neither candidate can help the economy I feel that Obama will cause me to keep more of my money than Senator McCain will.

I must also emphasize that my statements in no way reflect Sarah Palin. With a little more experience Sarah Palin is well poised to be the first woman President. Many Republicans and Democrat alike feel her lack of experience is bad. I feel that her strong points such as: taking on her party, being audacious enough to cut her own salary when elected mayor, and not changing her stance on issues she is strong about are key for a good leader. These are points all politicians should surely learn.

I dread election day this year because it will be the first time in a  very long time that I have had to go against my own beliefs and vote Democrat. I hate this for Sarah Palin because I really feel her beliefs are aligned with the core Republican party and with the citizens of the United States. 

Senator McCain, who needed to sparkle up his image, was solid in his debate performance, but did little to make up his current poll deficit.  Senator Obama finished the debate season steamrolling and appears ready for the last three weeks of the campaign before Election Day on November 4.

In my debate primer found here I stressed the need for John McCain, the long-time senator from Arizona,  to show us his heart and Barack Obama, the first term senator from Illinois, to speak with candor.  On this point, Mr. Obama clearly used his eloquence to his advantage while Mr. McCain lacked a bit in his ability to emote, both performances consistent with previous debates.  What does this mean for voters?  What you see is what you get.

I have created a debate matrix to rate each candidate.  Who won the debate in these key categories?

In showing heart:  Obama

In speaking with candor:  Obama

In reasonable explanations:  Obama

In generating surprises:  McCain

In giving details:  even

In dialogue effectiveness:  even

Obama's advantages were slight while McCain's one triumph was huge.  He generated multiple surprises that spiced up the stage.

"I am not President Bush."

"Why would you raise taxes on anyone?"

"Senator Obama, your argument is not very convincing."

"I'm surprised you didn't pay more attention to this example, Senator Obama."

There were half a dozen other direct strikes by Mr. McCain that were quite interesting.  However, Mr. Obama remained cool, calm, and collected.

If You are a Democrat

You feel that Senator Obama won all three debates and is in a good position heading towards the homestretch.  Obama didn't stumble and was compact in giving policy details.  His charismatic persona seals the deal.  Can Obama even mess this up with such an enormous lead?

If You are Republican

You feel pretty good about this debate especially Senator McCain's surprise elements, key aspects of his policy, and his ability to raise legitimate concerns in the perception of his opponent.  However, he hit singles and doubles when he needed home runs.  You are nervous and left wondering how you will be able to endure a Democratic president.  What more can McCain do?

If You are Independent or Undecided

You are still wondering whether or not you can trust Obama.  You like his composure but aren't sure about his associations with Ayers and ACORN.  You will wade through additional news on these predicaments and see if your gut tells you to vote for Obama.  You like McCain's toughness and honor and he feels much more dependable.  You just aren't sure about his age and Governor Palin's credentials to be president.  You trust him but wonder whether he can really win this election.

Additional Highlights

There was good dialogue on several issues.  Bob Schieffer, though he set as an expectation to require each candidate to answer each question, didn't hold them to the fire.  Nevertheless, the levels of exchange among the candidates were higher than in previous debates and viewers were able to make personal judgments based on these interactions.

Joe the Plumber was a huge topic of discussion.  Senator McCain used Joe as a middle class example in policy issues such as taxes and health care.  If you don't know Joe, watch his interaction with Senator Obama a few days ago in Ohio.

My Advice as We Approach November 4

1. Stay tuned for anything new out of Senator McCain.
2. Watch Senator Obama pour it on.
3. Be sure to vote.

Thanks for reading my 2008 election debate news!  It has been a joy to watch and report on the battle for the next president of the United States.