US Presidential Debate #3 - DOMESTIC and economic Policy

That's it then...it's all over! Except for the actual voting phase, of course. Last night's debate focused on Domestic and Economic Policy however (and I hinted at this in the title) it was changed to domestic policy as economic policy had already taken up half of the first debate. Thus, only one question at the very beginning related to the economy (there were others, in actual fact, but they were related to domestic issues so...).

Honestly, this was probably the best Presidential Debate of 2008. The candidates answered the questions and debated among themselves. In addition, the moderator was fantastic (for a change).

Both candidates had their moments with McCain clearly having made a complete recovery from the first debate and Obama continuing to be respectful to everyone in spite of any personal feelings he may have.

Who would make a better friend? I think John McCain would because he's charismatic on a personal level. Who would make a better colleague? That goes to Barack Obama who won't try to back stab you. McCain may get on your nerves as a colleague because of his temper whereas Obama is too distant to be a friend.

Alas, the question being asked is : Who would make a better President?

Let me take a step back first and ask : Who won the debate? Like Debate #2 I believe this ended in a relative draw. At times I would say that it was Obama's victory while at other it seemed to be McCain's so in the end, all things considered, it ended up being a draw.

Now, when you take the aggregate of all the debates we have a score of 3 - 2 in Obama's favour due to his slight victory over McCain in Debate #1. So my outward support goes to Obama/Biden 08.

Having said that, this election is unique as both men are good candidates and decent people. The USA won't go to hell if one is elected and not the other. It's just a matter of going in a different direction - but neither of them take the country backwards, in my opinion.

Obama winning risks putting the Democrats in control of all three sections of government (Congress, Senate and Presidency) which is not very healthy whereas a victory for McCain risks throwing away more funds in Iraq. However, a victory for Obama will result in a journey towards universal health care while a McCain presidency would guarantee the right to life in all stages of life.

In the end, it really is about taking a risk. After this blogpost, I won't have anything more to do with the election other than commenting on online forums, watching the news and finally, watching CNN as the electoral college results come in. For the US, however, it's a case of where the country will be taken in the next four years and it's fundamentally important to, first of all, vote and secondly be aware of the issues! Too often, people vote one way or the other because of an animal (Elephant or Donkey...really, who chose these animals? Especially the donkey...). For the democratic process to be successful, one needs to move beyond party affiliation and look at the candidates and where they stand on the issues.

Too confused? Rather not vote? Remember one thing : If you don't vote, you can't complain for the next four years. At. All. If you're eligible to participate in the democratic process but you don't then you're basically submitting to whatever the result is for the next four years, no arguments.

Darryl, from Malta - Online would vote, if he could.