Spin City

So, debate #1 is over! It was a fairly rousing sparring match between two knowledgeable contenders on the economy and foreign policy. For those who didn't get a chance to view it, here's a video montage (yes!) put together by TIME magazine. The commentators and focus groups that I've heard on the matter don't seem to think last night was a game changer for either candidate, but flash polls appear to give Obama the advantage as far as performance.

Nevertheless, both camps are positively dizzy from the spin they've been putting on the debate. In my opinion, the Obama camp has a genuine charge to levy against McCain: in a time of economic uncertainty, he never once mentioned the middle-class...



The McCain campaign took a different approach to their spin.



Hmm, so you're saying that Barack Obama is going to vote McCain in November? More Kit Kat bar, please (give me a break)! Now, here's what burns my shorts about last night's debate, and previous debates, and politics in general. Somehow it is a grave, mortal sin to even acknowledge that your opponent or the other party is not the devil incarnate. God forbid that Obama show some level of bipartisanship in noting the areas where he and McCain do agree. What the McCain spinsters don't want the viewing public to realize is that after some of those statements Obama went on to point out where he and McCain differ in opinion (from the debate transcript).

On responsibility:

MCCAIN: ... But there's also the issue of responsibility... Somehow we've lost that accountability. I've been heavily criticized because I called for the resignation of the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We've got to start also holding people accountable, and we've got to reward people who succeed. But somehow in Washington today -- and I'm afraid on Wall Street -- greed is rewarded, excess is rewarded, and corruption -- or certainly failure to carry out our responsibility is rewarded. As president of the United States, people are going to be held accountable in my administration. And I promise you that that will happen.

LEHRER: Do you have something directly to say, Senator Obama, to Senator McCain about what he just said?

OBAMA: Well, I think Senator McCain's absolutely right that we need more responsibility, but we need it not just when there's a crisis. I mean, we've had years in which the reigning economic ideology has been what's good for Wall Street, but not what's good for Main Street. ... because, you know, 10 days ago, John said that the fundamentals of the economy are sound.

On earmarks:

MCCAIN: Well, the first thing we have to do is get spending under control in Washington. It's completely out of control. It's gone -- we have now presided over the largest increase in the size of government since the Great Society. We Republicans came to power to change government, and government changed us. And the -- the worst symptom on this disease is what my friend, Tom Coburn, calls earmarking as a gateway drug, because it's a gateway. It's a gateway to out-of-control spending and corruption. And we have former members of Congress now residing in federal prison because of the evils of this earmarking and pork-barrel spending...

LEHRER: Senator Obama, two minutes.

OBAMA: Well, Senator McCain is absolutely right that the earmarks process has been abused, which is why I suspended any requests for my home state, whether it was for senior centers or what have you, until we cleaned it up. And he's also right that oftentimes lobbyists and special interests are the ones that are introducing these kinds of requests, although that wasn't the case with me.

But let's be clear: Earmarks account for $18 billion in last year's budget. Senator McCain is proposing -- and this is a fundamental difference between us -- $300 billion in tax cuts to some of the wealthiest corporations and individuals in the country, $300 billion. Now, $18 billion is important; $300 billion is really important.

And on the corporate tax:

MCCAIN: Well -- well, let me give you an example of what Senator Obama finds objectionable, the business tax. Right now, the United States of American business pays the second-highest business taxes in the world, 35 percent. Ireland pays 11 percent. Now, if you're a business person, and you can locate any place in the world, then, obviously, if you go to the country where it's 11 percent tax versus 35 percent, you're going to be able to create jobs, increase your business, make more investment, et cetera...

LEHRER: Senator Obama, you have a question for Senator McCain on that?

OBAMA: Well, let me just make a couple of points.

LEHRER: All right.

OBAMA: My definition -- here's what I can tell the American people: 95 percent of you will get a tax cut. And if you make less than $250,000, less than a quarter-million dollars a year, then you will not see one dime's worth of tax increase. Now, John mentioned the fact that business taxes on paper are high in this country, and he's absolutely right. Here's the problem: There are so many loopholes that have been written into the tax code, oftentimes with support of Senator McCain, that we actually see our businesses pay effectively one of the lowest tax rates in the world.

Surprise, surprise. The McCain camp decided to be creative with their editing...again.