Readers comment post debate; I respond

Readers comments in part or whole in italics; my responses in plain

Ken in Dallas says - - -

To be President you must be prepared for the ultimate battle. I never got the sense that McCain was in it to win.

In "Patton", George C. Scott uttered the secret to victory ..."and if we are not successful, let no man come back alive."

You gotta want it.

And have a plan to win it. I get the feeling McCain is doing a lot of improvising. Some of that is necessary but there should be some things laid out from Day- 1. Such as you bring all the questions regarding Ayers, Rezko and Wright to the fore starting very early in the campaign.

Even if McCain really starts seriously bring them up now, he’ll look to many reasonable people to be doing it as a desperation measure.

He should have been doing it for many weeks and with no apology to anyone.
Many legitimate questions about Obama’s allies have not even been asked yet.
I’ve posted on some of them almost every day since March.

CKS - - -

I would agree with your assessment. McCain seems to be lost in the wilderness - grasping at something that he think will pull him out of the campaign fog into which he has wandered.

What he should have replied to the question concerning the sacrifices that Americans should be asked to make is that all Americans must tighten their belts. That means prioritizing and budgeting:

Paying the mortgage on time, more peanut butter and jelly and less steak.

Learn the art of cooking rather than relying solely on fast food.

Walking or car pooling.

Asking schools to consider a longer day and a four day school week so as to cut down on heating and fuel costs.

These would be augmented by cost cutting measures within the oval office….

There would be no limousines for anyone but the president and vice-president.

Everyone else can use the excellent Washington metro system. (What!!! Ask the Secretary of Transportation to ride the Metro? Next you’ll want him to fly coach. LOL - - JinC)

There will be other more substantive cuts as well but these would be ones that could and would be immediately made to show that we are all in this together.

I agree also with your comment about the mortgage situation. Why is it that the person who religiously pays their mortgage (the first bill I pay each month) would be penalized in favor of those who bought a home beyond their means and does not make that payment the priority?

Why, indeed?

Anon @ 7:52 - - -

It certainly wasn't a town forum. The moderator was awful and didn't control the debate properly. The candidates didn't answer the questions, they just spouted what has been said again and again.

McCain may have picked up some voters with the socialist idea of rescuing those bad mortgagees, and he certainly didn't lose any, so no doubt, he won the debate.

I doubt McCain will pick up many votes with his housing proposal. He’s more likely to lose votes from homeowners currently paying their mortgages (95+%) who are smart enough to realize what could go wrong with one more government entitlement.

McCain is clearly the best man for the job but he's a poor communicator therefore, the ignorant hordes are left to believe the press and therefore, Obama will most likely win the election.

McCain's only hope is that the racists (estimated at 30 percent of the democrat party)will pull it through for him. They will vote for anyone but a black man.

It would be a terrible thing for our country if race decided this election and I’m thinking of race as a decider both for the votes it may bring Obama as well as the votes it may cost him.

The role of race as a factor in drawing people into the Obama camp is one of the most important and underreported stories of this campaign.

Folks, I want to post and comment further on others of your comments, but I’m out of time now. Look for another post by late afternoon.

And "thank you" to each of you who’ve commented.

John