McCain vs Obama, timeline 50 to 70 minutes

The subject has just shifted to Afghanistan. Here Sen. Obama has made his most “warlike” remarks and insisted on a thorough involvement. Sen. McCain clearly stated that he regrets the great mistake that was made in ignoring Afghanistan. The people in the room just gasped because his criticism was so strong of President Bush’s policy. They had not expected Sen. McCain to openly admit a serious mistake. The difference between them is only in how they would relate to Pakistan.

The two are now down to debating minutia of how to relate to Pakistan. Neither side appears to be making good points at this time. Sen. McCain is just telling stories about the mothers of slain soldiers that he has met. Interestingly enough, the interest line that is running at the bottom (from the focus groups) has just begun to dip. That is, people are no longer interested by “human interest” cute stories. Sen. Obama just slammed back with a thought that drove the interest line by both Democrats and Republican way up into positive number. He made the point that a President must not simply tell stories, but make strategic decisions about how troops are involved so they can justify the deaths.

The moderator has just moved the discussion into the topic of Iran and nuclear weapons. Sen. McCain has taken a very strong stand against Iran to the point of proposing severe economic sanctions, etc. Sen. Obama agrees on the tougher sanctions, but says that the sanctions will not work unless we involve countries such as Russia and China. He also advocates direct talks with Iran, and says that it is a mistake to not be willing to do so. Sen. McCain is bringing up the idea that we should not talk with people we consider heinous, unless certain preconditions are met. Sen. Obama spoke strongly to the idea that a President must be willing to meet with anyone if it is in the best interest of the USA, even if pre-conditions are not met. This does not mean that preparation is not done. But, it does mean, for Sen. Obama, that pre-conditions cannot be allowed to rule the President if, in his best judgment, it would be better to talk directly.