Seems to be ...does McCain bring up Ayers or does he stick to econ?

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

I'll enter each question and responses in the comments here. Think I can update more quickly this way.

Tom Brokaw is telling us now (via PBS Newshour broadcast) from blue walls and a red carpet that he has selected the questions and each candidate has two minutes to respond to each question, with a one-minute follow-up.

LOL - Brokaw says while audience in house cannot respond, "those of you at home are not so restrained." No kidding!

Lisa Stone
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says Brokaw, in the 12 days since the debate.

Alan Schaeffer

With the economy in the downturn and citizens losing their jobs, what's the fastest fix?

Obama:

We're in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. A lot of you are worried about your jobs... I believe this is the final word on the failed policies of the last eight years which said that you should strip away regulation.

Step 1: Rescue package passed las week. We've got to make sure that works properly
- Oversight...
- No CEO golden parachutes...
- We just found out that AIG went on a $400,000 junket. The Treasury should demand that money back and those executives fired...
- The middle class needs a bailout
- Long-term we've got to fix our health care system that is putting such a burden on families

McCain: Alan, thank you for your question. You go to the heart of American's worries tonight. Americans are angry, upset and they're a little fearful. I've got a plan to fix this problem and it has to do with energy independence. We obviously have to end the spending spree that's going on in Washington. Do you know that... $500 BB of it we owe to China? I think that this problem has become so severe that we're going to have to do something about home values...as president of the u.s. I would order the secretary of the TReasury to buy out the bad loans and help people stay in those homes. Until we stabilize home values in American we're not going to stabilize the economy. Restore our

Lisa Stone
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Surfette

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McCain: Not you Tom.

Brokaw: For good reason.

McCain: Mentions Warren Buffett and Meg Whitman.

Obama: Warren (Buffett) would be a pretty good choice and I'm pleased to have his support. It's got to be someone who doesn't think it all starts at the top. The problem is that wages have flatlined. It's getting harder and harder to save. I want to provide a tax cut for 95 percent of Americans. Sen. McCain is right that we need to stabilize housing prices.

Brokaw: May I remind you that we need to stay within a minute or so.

Lisa Stone
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Surfette

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no really, I'm already bored.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

Wow they independents like McCain's views on Freddie and Fannie

They sure don't like Barack's view on F&F

McCain: Excellent question. . . one of the real catalysts, the match that lit this fire, is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sen. Obama and his friends and his cronies went out and made all these loans. A couple of us [Republicans went out said we've got to stop this. Meanwhile, they were getting all kinds of campaign contributions.

We're going to have to buy up these bad loans and save people like Alan.

Obama: Right now the credit markets are frozen up. Small businesses and lare businesses cannot get loans. They can't make payroll. They may have to shut their doors and lay people off. [Could affect many businesses]. I've got to correct a little of Sen. McCain's history, not surprisingly. The biggest problem was the deregulation of the system. Sen. McCain as recently as marchbragged about being a deregulator. I wrote to [paulson, bernanke] and said we have to regulate. Went to Wall St.

What Sen. McCain didn't mention is that he didn't write the campaign bill, it didn't pass, his campaign mgr worked for Fannie Mae.

This is not what you want to hear, politicians

Brokaw: Are you saying that the Amerian economy is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Obama: No. We need some leadership. We have a 20th centure regulatory system fr a 21st century market. But most importantly we are going to have tor try to help Americans stay in their homes.

McCain: I think it depends on what we do. If we act effectively. If we stabilize the housing market. If we get rid of the cronyism and special interests. My friend I'd like you to see the letter written about this crisis. Sen. Obama's name was not on that letter. (Praises Americans), they are the innocent bystanders.

Lisa Stone
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our money, when both parties got us into this crisis?

Obama: I understand your cynicism. You've been doing your part. Maybe you put off buying a new car, may be you didn't

There's a lot of blame to go awround. I think it's important to remember a little bit of history. When GBush cam into office, we had a surplus. Now we're in debt. Our national debt now it's nearly doubled.

We have had over th past eight years the biggest increase in spending in American history. Sen. McCain voted for four out of five of those budgets.

We have to reform healthcare.
We have to reform energy because we cannot keep borrowing from the Chinese.
I'm cutting more than I'm spending so it'll be a net spending cut. The question is whether we have priorities that'll work for you, rather than the leobbyists.

McCain: Theeresa thank you. I can see why you feel that cynicism and mistrust.

I have a clear record of bipartisanship. The situation today requires bipartisanship. Sen. Obama has never taken on his party's leadership. Let's take on our party's leadership. Here's what you'll fin: This is the most liberal, big-pending record in the Senate. I have fought against spending. Do you know Sen. Obama voted for every spending bill that I saw coming across in the United States Senate. Including $3 MM for an overhead projector in Chicago Ill. I think you need to look at my record and at his...for the kinds of reforms that get our econmy working again. I know how to get this economy working.

Lisa Stone
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McCain's back to his blinking again as he talks about earmarks. Is his blinking and Palin's winking all we're going to remember from these debates?  It's really excessive.

Sarah Granger, at Sairy

and now you can too

http://therecord.barackobama.com/?page_id=1465

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

As opposed to Palin...

(sorry to focus on semantics and not policy here, but I just feel like we've seen enough of this stuff already)

Sarah Granger, at Sairy

McCain: We are not going to be able to take care of retirees the same way today. ...We can work on nuclear power plants, create billions of new jobs. We need to have all the alternative fuels...we can take on this missionand we can overcome it. My friends some of this $700 billion ends up in the hands of terrorist organizations.

Obama: We're going to have to prioritize, just like a family has to prioritize. Energy we have to deal with today. You're paying $3.80 here in Nashville and it could go up. It's also bad for our national security. We've got to deal with that right away. Our goal should be in ten years' time we are free from foreign oil. Health care is priority #2. It's bad not only for families, but it's making our businesses challenged. I want to go line by line in the federal budget and cut programs that don't work. When Sen. McCain proposes a $300 BB tax cut that he's going to give to big businesses, we have got to ...

Lisa Stone
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Surfette

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to make to restore the american dream?

McCain: I'm going to ask Americans to understand that ther are programs that we have to eliminate.
- Defense spending. Saved tax payers (billions) of dollars
- Earmarks will be to be eliminated and will
- I'm gong to recommend an across-the-board spending freeze
- We can attack health care and energy at the same time. I'm not going to tell that person without health insurance, I'm sorry you're going to have to wait.

Obama: A lot of you remember the tragedy of 9/11 and where you were on that day and how all of the company was prepared to come together... Pres. Bush did some smart things at the outset but one fo the things that was missed. He said go out and shop. That wasn't the kind of leadership the American people were looking for. ...On energy, there's going to be a need to find more sources. Clean coal tech. Each and every one of us can start thinking about how can we help... how can you buy a fuel efficient car made right here, not in Japan and South Korea.

I think the young people of America are interested in how they can serve.

Lisa Stone
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Surfette

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bad habits of too much debt and too much spending, across all levels of govt?

Obama: It starts in Washington. We've got to show good habits. It means looking at the spending side and also the revenue side. Sen. McCain has been talking tough about earmarks, but that's only about $84 (b/m)illion of our budget. He's talking about giving CEOs a $700,000 tax cut. It's important for the president to set a tone that says all of us are going to contribute.

I disagree with McCain about the across the board tax cut -- that's an unfair burden.

McCain: He wants to raise taxes. My friends, the last president to raise taxes during tough economic times was Herbert Hoover.

The only bright spot is that 300,000 usinesses have been created. His tax programs will increase taxes on 52 percent of American businesses. I got some news Sen. Obama, the news is bad. I am not going to raise taxes on the middle class. Giving every American a refundable tax credit of $5,000 rather than (taxing) American small businesses.

Lisa Stone
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Surfette

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Medicine for a couple of months OR half of an echocardiagram OR a few visits to the doctor... 

 - OR -

We can have Obama's plan which means we get the same quality coverage Congress has.

Sarah Granger, at Sairy

SS and Medicare within two years after taking office?

Obama: We're going to have to take on entitlements. We're going to have to do it quikcly. We're not going to solve SS and Medicare unless we understand the rest of Sen. McCain, I think the straight talk express lost a wheel on that one...I want to provide a tax cut for 95 percent of Americans. If you make less than $250k a year, you will not see a single dime fo your taxes go up. If you make less than $200k a year, your taxes will go down. Most businesses make less than $250k. In contrast, Sen. McCain wants to give a $300bb tax cut to Wall Street. He wants to give the average CEO $700,000 tax cut. We have to ... fix this and then we will be able to fix SS and Medicare that is stable and solvent for all Americans, not just some.

McCain: Look, it's not that hard to fix SS. We know what the problems are. We 've got to sit at the table. We need to sit down like President Reagan. Medicanre is going to be tougher. My friends what we have to do is have a commission, get the smartest people in America. Then have the American people vote up or down. Back to this tax, it's about rhetoric and record. Sen. Obama has voted 94 times either to increase taxes or against tax cuts. Let's look at our record. I have fought higher taxes.

Lisa Stone
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Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of Politics & News.

jobs, Sen. McCain?

When we have an issue, that we may hand our children a damaged planet. ... What's the best way to fix it? Nuclear power...it's safe and it's clean. We can do it too. Clean up our climate...for hydrogen, battery powered cars.

Obama: This is one of the biggest challenges of our time. We can create five MM new jobs easily. It can be an engine the way that the computer was an engine of economic growth in the past decade. ...that's why we've got to make some investments....I favor nuclear power as one facet of our energy mix.

Lisa Stone
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Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of Politics & News.

to create a solution, or fund 100 garages a la Silicon Valley?

McCain: I think a pure research play is a good idea. Then we need to turn it over to the private sector.

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of Politics & News.

My fingers would hurt.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain