I am about to tune in to the last of three presidential debates and I have to wonder what the point of it is. There is so much potential for great things to come from this election - which ever candidate comes out on top - and yet they spend hours rehearsing tired talking points when they could be really debating each other.
I realized around the time of the Democratic Convention this summer that this presidential election is really about the difference in the way Barack Obama sees the world and the way John McCain sees it. Barack Obama has this seemingly idealistic view of Americans as a people who are in 'this' together, who can fight for a change in their government and work together to make the United States a place that others look to for guidance again. John McCain is of the conservative idea that the government should step back and let Americans live without constant interference.
As a student of US History and a lover of politics, it seems to me that this is the most important question Americans can ask about their government. Should it provide for people, or should it employ a military to keep borders safe and let citizens fend for themselves?
Personally, I believe in Barack Obama's America. Americans need to come together to help each other in times of need. Progress means understanding that welfare is not a handout but the help that a government should give to its taxpayers when they fall on hard times, that health care needs to be available and cheap for every man, woman and child in this country, and that the only way a group of people can truly succeed and prosper is if they help each other up along the way.
I hope that in this debate, John McCain and Barack Obama will discuss the things that truly matter, will discuss this difference of philosophy with regards to the US government. I know that chances are, they will stick to their scripts (incidentally, the same script that has been followed for the last several elections) but Obama is always encouraging us to hope, and so I hold to the hope that these men will take a step up and have the debate Americans deserve to hear - a debate about the broader direction that this country will head in starting next January, and not a minute conversation about who gives more tax cuts to the middle class.
I really wish that they would talk about things that matter too, but in all honesty they are way too tethered to modern, scripted politics to do that. If you want to know how I feel, just look at my blog, Obama vs. John Adams. Its almost sad to watch the debates just to see how good the candidate's are at giving the statistically "right" answers and dodging questions that they can't really answer; and even though Barack says that he is going to change that, in the end he does the same exact thing as everyone else.