Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain take part in their third presidential debateat at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Wednesday.
In the final presidential debate that was deemed a must-win for John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate ran the tone of the debate, but it might not have been enough to bridge the 8-point gap he is facing in the polls, experts said.
“McCain really needed to have a game-changer moment in this debate to declare it a victory,” said MSU director of debate Greta Stahl. “I don’t think that he had that.”
Before a crowd that included Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Republican presidential candidate and Michigan native Mitt Romney, McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama sparred over solutions to the economic crisis and defended their spending plans.
McCain went on the offensive, accusing Obama of raising taxes during a time of economic woes.
“The whole premise behind Senator Obama’s plans are class warfare,” he said. “Why would you want to increase anybody’s taxes right now?”
Obama defended the plan, saying only those in the top 5 percent of income would see a tax increase.
MSU economics professor Paul Menchik said Obama did a better job of presenting his tax policy.
“One of the criticisms of the Bush tax cuts was that the disproportionate saving was at the top of the income distribution,” Menchik said.
“(Obama’s) tax policy is geared to improve after-tax income for the middle income people, while in the McCain approach, his tax cuts are for corporations.”
The candidates also differed on their educational plans, with McCain advocating schools of choice and Obama calling for education reform by raising teachers’ standards, as well as their pay.
He also said he would make college more affordable by offering tuition credits to students in exchange for community service.
“Throwing money at the problem is not the answer,” McCain replied.
McCain said he would support schools of choice and charter schools to increase competition, ultimately leading to a race for better performance among schools.
He did not address a plan to help students pay for college tuition.
Unlike past debates during which the candidates were reluctant to directly address one another, both Obama and McCain were more aggressive in posing questions and challenges directly to their opponent.
When asked about the strengths of his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain called her a reformer who will take on government corruption.
“It’s time we had that breath of fresh air coming into the nation’s capitol,” he said.
Both candidates committed to stop importing oil from the middle east within 10 years, but they disagreed on how to do it.
McCain said he would like to build 45 new nuclear power plants as well as using renewable energies. Obama advocated offshore drilling and renewable energy. He also addressed the plight of the auto industry, saying he would offer loan guarantees to auto makers to build fuel efficient cars.
“This is the most important issue that our future economy is going to face,” Obama said. “Nothing is more important than us no longer borrowing $700 billion or more from China and sending it to Saudi Arabia.”
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Viewers got what they had been waiting for, as the candidates outlined their stances on issues, instead of giving the vague answers seen in earlier debates.
McCain attacked Obama’s health care plan, saying it will lead to “health care bureaucracies” and fines for people who don’t get the health care plan he mandates.
Obama said McCain’s plan, which would offer a $5,000 tax credit for citizens to buy health care, would ultimately lead to extra costs for them.
“If you’ve got $5,000, and it’s going to cost you $12,000 (to buy health care), that’s a loss for you,” he said.
McCain and Obama both said their political views would not affect their Supreme Court decisions, but both hinted that they would nominate candidates who share their views on Roe v. Wade.
