First presidential debate 2008

Here are a few points that I think McCain could have jumped all over Obama on:

1. Obama described a $300 billion tax cut as giving away $300 billion. McCain should have immediately told the American public, "Listen to how this man thinks. When you keep more of your own money because I lower your tax rates, he considers that to be the federal government giving you money. Folks, it's NOT the government's money to give! The truth is, when he says he will "cut taxes" for 95% of you, he means that he will give you a tax rebate of $500 to $1000 dollars. And if you pay no taxes, then he will send you a check. Now THAT is giving away money. But not only does he have no intention of lowering your tax rates, he intends to raise them by eliminating the Bush tax cuts."

2. Obama said, "No soldier ever dies in vain." This is a convenient concept, but is a gross insult to the American soldier. McCain should have immediately pointed out that every reasonable person knows that to die in vain means to die in a losing cause. He could have pointed out that a lot of German and Japanese soldiers died in vain during WWII, because they not only failed to achieve the goals of their respective nations, but they harmed the people of their own countries in countless horrible ways. To die in vain means to die for nothing, to die in a losing cause. It does not imply that the fighting men are not heroes. The result of the war does not change the reality of individual heroism. There are often many heroes on the losing side of a battle.

3. Obama described North Korea's actions after Bush's "axis of evil" speech as being the result of Bush's characterization. McCain should have immediately pointed out that their actions in fact proved the accuracy of Bush's characterization. Bush didn't make North Korea evil, Kim Jong-il did.

4. Obama employed the classic either/or spending deception: We can either spend our money on education or the war. If we didn't have to spend it on the war, we could spend it on education. This is a total deception and McCain should have pointed it out. We are a wealthy nation. Why, we can spend $700 billion to bail out inept Wall Street managers while at the same time fighting a war. The other point McCain should have made is that education does not improve by spending more federal dollars. In fact, I elieve that the evidence is mounting that the more the federal government gets involved, the worse our schools are doing. This would have been a great time to advocate liminating the department of education and putting education back into the hands of the states and local governments where the founding fathers knew it should be.5. At one point Obama was talking about regaining our stature in the world. He tied this to giving more hand-outs to the citizenry. In other words, his concept is to impress the world by showing how much we do for our people, how well we take care of them, cradle to grave. McCain should have immediately pointed out that this is not what has made America the greatest nation in the history of the world. It was not that we generously redistribute the wealth to those in need. It was that we allow people to live in a free society where they can pursue their dreams and make their own prosperity. And because we are both prosperous and generous as a people, we have countless charitable organizations that may give a man a fish for a day or two, but ultimately expect that man to learn to fish all on his own.