The questions thread!

[Willravel]

This thread is here to examine the questions asked of each of the presidential candidates. The format should be this:
1) Choose a question from one of the debates that was asked of Obama/McCain or both. Make it one you liked or that stuck out for you in some meaningful way.
2) Answer the question yourself! Give us your complete answer.
3) How does your answer compare to McCain's, Obama's, or both? Where did they go so horribly wrong? Were they pandering? Avoiding the quesiton? Or was it something else?

I'll get the ball rolling:
Question:

Originally Posted by Tom "Moderator Man" Brokaw

There are new economic realities out there that everyone in this hall and across this country understands that there are going to have to be some choices made. Health policies, energy policies, and entitlement reform, what are going to be your priorities in what order? Which of those will be your highest priority your first year in office and which will follow in sequence?

My Answer:
First, I'd like to thank.... nah, just kidding. Number one should be health, number two should be energy, and number three should be entitlement, which is not to say that each is important, but you have to prioritize.

Government can't do everything. Health should obviously come first because it's the foundation of everything. Without your health, you can't go to school or work, you can't worry about gas prices; it's always where the conversation about how to fix things should begin. Our current health care system is a failure and is getting worse. 1/6 of the country isn't covered at all, and many of those who are covered still aren't getting reasonable treatment. Prices of insurance and deductibles increase at many, many times the inflation rate. That's unacceptable. While I'm still exploring all available options, I currently believe that single-payer health care would help the most people and would finally take the exorbitant cost of health care off the collective shoulders of the country. Just as I favor a phased withdrawal from Iraq, I support a phased withdrawal from the current health care industry.

Energy is killing both our foreign policy and domestic economy, and I've had enough. It's time for change. It's past time for change. We should have been aggressively pursuing alternatives 50 years ago. It's time to stop talking and start acting; any alternative fuel that is more efficient than oil will go tax free as long as I'm in office. That means nuclear. That means solar. That means hydroelectric. That means geothermal. That means wind. I am opening bids for geothermal plants in Yellowstone. If we don't have a decent and reasonable offer in 6 months, the federal government will build one. Still, energy isn't as important as health. It never will be.

Entitlement reform requires that everyone finally admit that privatizing social security is stupid. We've seen that the market isn't some magical machine of hope and profit. Until we can finally come together and agree that the New Deal was right, we're going to be in the mud, and the next generation won't get to retire. Because this has become a useless partisan issue, and we've not made any headway since Clinton, it seems that this shows no signs of moving regardless of a president.

Comparison:
McCain got confused. Badly. He forgot the question as soon as it was asked. When Brokaw repeated the question, McCain said "they're all important" and launched on talking points. He didn't prioritize because he can't be separated from any of the issues, and he doesn't have the mind for debating any more.

Obama had a chance to watch McCain kinda crash and burn. When the question came over to him, he jumped right in to his ambitious "no middle eastern oil in 10 years" plan. I have to admit that he has my attention with it, and the obvious Kennedy reference (that Obama feels he needs to actually point out himself) warms my cockles, but Obama is suffering from generality syndrome. He won't get specific about how he wants to do this. It's good Obama knew the price of gas in Nashville, btw. He didn't actually answer the question, either though. He jumped into an attack on McCain. Don't get me wrong, I love a good McCain attack, but answer the damned question.

Alright, here we go!

[Derwood]

are we allowed rebuttals to the posts, or just answer the questions ourselves?

[jewels]

Q: Is healthcare a right, a privilege or a responsibility?

I think it's a responsibility that has yet to be taken seriously and should be the right of every human being.

McCain basically says "responsibility" and it should be affordable and he has a plan, but never has any specifics. Goes on to attack Obama's plan. No points for empty words.

Obama says "right" and goes on to explain why and gives a simple explanation of his plan, but then attacks McCain and refutes McCain's accusations. Nets about a point.

I win. I answered the question and didn't fling any bs. Ten points!

[Willravel]

Originally Posted by Derwood

are we allowed rebuttals to the posts, or just answer the questions ourselves?

We have myriad threads about the topics discussed at the debates, for example we have multiple threads on health care, energy, and even social security. This thread is about the election, more specifically the candidates. What would you do as a candidate, and how does that compare to the real candidates? That's what the thread is for.

If you want to respond to anything I posted, I'd be glad to elsewhere, though. Just quote, link and debate.