@aimond... again : )

Obama would make statements that sound really nice like I know people need healthcare, and we need to make College cheaper... but how? I guess people eat that stuff up. I don't buy it at all, most democrat plays robin hood with the economy because it gets them votes. Most people who are well studied in economics (I consider myself that, that is what I studied in undegrad) are fiscal conservatives for a reason. McCain example if why he would cut Business taxes was great, it was simple and made it understandible. BO's defense was stupid and did not make sense, he went on about loopholes. Which he said he wants to get rid of, and raise taxes... Didn't McCain just get done explaining why that is retarded?

 You contradicted yourself. You said Japan and Germany stabilized because we gave them money, and then you said that you cannot give someone freedom.

What we are doing by staying in Iraq is giving them a chance to earn there freedom, they recently took control of Al Anbar, and iraqi soldiers are dying for their own freedom.

You are right, there are major cultural differences between my examples and the Middle East. And that is what people are getting upset about. They want results now, and it just won't happen.

You see, these people have been oppressed for thousands of years. The reason the other Theocracy's are fighting this so hard is because they know that freedom once it is let out of the box is an unstopable force. Once people begin to taste it, it become infectous. They are worried this would spread to the rest of the region and threaton their power. That is one of the reason they hate Israel( there are others I know)

look what is happening in China, they are gaining freedoms and they are just booming. Look what happened in the USSR. They were given a taste of freedom from Glasnost and Perestroka and it became a snowball that destroyed the Soviet Empire.

You see, when generations that have never seen oppression come along, they do not grasp the treasure that they have until it is gone. I am afraid we are giving it back to the gov, and this bailout is just another step. Decisions made in panic are usually bad.

Dictatorships are a product of instability, not the cause.

Japan and Germany were free and civilized in the first place. Hitler rose to power on the fact that in a time of severe economic distress he united his people and gave them a scapegoat. We didn't "give" Japan and Germany freedom. We learned from world war I that instead of punishing them for the war we should help them rebuild so that the same thing wouldn't happen all over again. Also I'm pretty sure we felt awful bad for the whole nuking Japan thing.

And yes, many Iraqis wanted to be rid of Saddam. But we need let them choose the direction they want to take their country in. Its NOT freedom for as long as we are sitting there telling them how to set up their government. Its not freedom as long as we are occupying the country. What the hell is your definition of freedom? Freedom is your ability to choose... without the aid or guidance of someone else. Unhindered by anyone else.

I will not allow you to play that card. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people around the world who want freedom. Attacking a nation to liberate its people, however, is not a justification for war. Our armed forces are meant to defend our nation. Also, the liberation of the Iraqi people was not one of the top-five reasons we went into Iraq. Not only was the War in Iraq an unlawful war, it was also a strategic mistake. 

So why Iraq? Why didn't the US do shit in Rwanda so many years ago? Why didn't it do shit in Darfur? Why doesn't it get involved in anything that's taking place in Africa at all? They were/are in a much worse situation than the Iraqis were back when we decided to "liberate" them. Where the great American Army to ensure freedom there? Oh wait, there's no oil involved, how could I forget.... Drop this freedom act, it's bullshit and anyone intelligent in the world sees through it.

You are obviously brainwashed and manipulated beyond repair by the GOP and their shit-shoveling down people's throats propaganda. I'm sure you are also one of those people that believed back in the day that cutting funding for the war would also be un-patriotic since it would be killing off the troops.

Just ask Franklin Roosevelt.

A poll of 486 uncommitted votes who watched the debate indicated that Obama won.

Specifically, 39% of the sample said that Obama won, 37% called it a tie, and only 24% said that McCain won.

BEFORE the debate, 36% of the sample said that they were leaning toward voting for Obama, 34% leaning toward McCain, and the rest not leaning in either direction.

AFTER the debate, 41% said that they were leaning toward Obama (a 5% increase), 29% leaning toward McCain (a 5% decrease), and the rest not leaning in either direction.

The poll also asked a lot of specific questions. Perhaps the most telling was that, after the debate, 79% of the sample said that Obama understood their needs and problems (an increase of 21% from before the debate), whereas only 41% said that McCain understood their needs and problems (an increase of only 5% from before the debate.

Frankly, it seems like a lot more people were influenced by the discussion of the economy--and Obama's plan to cut taxes for middle- and working-class people while also investing in health care and education--than by the discussion of foreign policy.

You can see the full poll results here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/2008Debate1.pdf

The problem Bigjon, is that republicans are not fiscally conservative any more. The last 4 presidents, one had a budget that made money. One, and it was a democrat. Regan had his reasons, we had the Soviets and finished off the cold war. But, what about Bush 1? What about the insane deficit that George W has racked up? What's fiscally conservative about this? Its not.

Now, Obama has said that he is going to raise taxes on the wealthy. The wealthy pay the most taxes, so this will get the most revenue. Second, show me some EMPERIC evidence that revenue goes up when taxes go down. This has to account for inflation. There is a point where this is true, but people are not going to invest less and spend less just because taxes go up some (unless it is very extreme). They will want to continue to make more money. If you live in the US, all your revenue is taxed in the US (even if you get it from other countries) so saying you invest somewhere else is not the answer. Plus, small business and corperations that keep jobs in the US will get tax brakes. And we all know that small business is one of the fundamental backbones to the economy. What is McCain going to do for small business?

Healthcare, well, thats a tough one. We are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Its shit now, and universal healthcare costs a ton. But, with the bail out, this is most likely the one to go.

Education. This to me is one of the most important issues. Everyone deserves an eduacation. The US used to be the numeber one place of inoovation, technology, science etc. This is not true anymore. Our education system is falling apart, teachers get paid crap (one of the most important jobs we have) and many students who could invent the next great thing fall through the cracks. Something has to be done. Obama will focus not only on educational infrastructure, but on one of the most important places: parents. Obama believes that the family is important for education. He wants to get them involved and educated as well. Maybe it will be helpful, maybe they will not listen. But what have republicans done? Well, you don't have money, tough. But we will give a voucher! All that does is make some schools much better, and the ones left behind fail. Hell, sometimes the kid can'[t even get to the better schools even with the voucher.

Obama said he can be budgetarily neutral and not spend more than the budget increases due to his plan. Bill Clinton was the last one that had a decent budget. The last 3 republicans did not. So, the republicans have zero credibility on this issue anymore. Why should I believe that it will change now?

Im not trying to be too harsh, but to say that these ideas are not deep and that they are not reality is wrong. People who work hard and make money should be rewarded. This is true, and they are rewarded with plenty. But, it is thier responsibility to watch out for those less fortunate too. This is where some of the failure comes in. We see what happens when it goes to far, we saw what happened on wall street. Letting them go on thier own causes disaster. Lastly, it is those less fortunate that have a responsibility to try and improve themselves as well. It is not a one way street.

I didn't like Obama's respone to the Geargia/Russia issue. McCainn was all over Georgia, Ukraine, getting into Nato, etc., and he went very in-depth on issues concerning various territories in the region and their relationship to on another.

Obama basically said "I agree" and moved on to talking about the economy. It makes it look as if he knows almost nothing about the issue.

Yes, ask FDR and then do the opposite of what he says. I agree with you on that point