Now that the VP debate is over, McCain and Obama can stop worrying about their running mates at get ready for round two of a three round debate match. 

Obama increased his lead after their first meeting due to the debate itself and McCain’s now infamous “let’s postpone the debate” attempt. With McCain just recently pulling out of Michigan (effectively conceding the state) he will need to get in a few good jabs to gain ground. 

Here is what we can expect… 

McCain 

• McCain needs to come out swinging with what works. He will probably continue to try and hit Obama on foreign policy and wanting to end the Iraq war on a “timeline.” McCain has tried to position “timeline equals surrender” so I expect a few shots in that area. 

• He will try and stay away from the economy for the most part; especially about the bailout specifically. He had hoped postponing the campaign to solve the bailout would work in his favor – it did not. 

• McCain will go after Obama’s tax plans for big businesses. 

• He will try and focus on Obama’s liberal voting record as well as Obama’s record of party line voting. Be prepared for a few “Maverick” references at this point. 

• McCain will most likely take one shot at mentioning Palin (he did not mention her by name at all in the first debate). She held her own so he may go for some “it will be great to have fresh ideas in Washington” or something. Other than that, he will keep her, again, off the radar. 

• He will continue to hammer Obama’s level of experience and I would expect another “naïve” reference in their somewhere. 

• Look for McCain to look “less irritated” in this go around. He will look at Obama and be careful of not overreacting when Obama is speaking. 

 Obama 

• Obama, since he is leading, only needs to maintain. He will try and appear confident and decisive. The last debate should be his model. 

• Unlike McCain wanting to stay away from the bailout, Obama will want it on the table. 

• He will try and tie McCain to Bush as much as possible. 

• Obama will try and clarify the differences in Health Care between the two of them. Tough call because although they are different, it will be difficult to get the points across in such a short format. 

• Obama will be sure to mention that 95% of all people will have lower (or the same) taxes. *I expect this to be a clarification response to McCain’s saying Obama wants to raise taxes. 

• He will probably clarify his exit strategy from Iraq – ensuring people although he does want our troops out of Iraq; he wants to do it right (ie: not “surrender”). He will then want to direct efforts to Afghanistan.

Check here if you want to see the FACT CHECK from the first Debate…

With the first round of debates under their belts both John McCain and Barack Obama faired well. Initial post debate polls showed Obama with a slight edge (in winning the debate) but certainly not enough to say he had an outright victory. A couple key points/statements needed some fact checking… 

Question: Does McCain almost always agree with Bush? (As stated by Obama) 

Answer: According to Congressional Quarterly, Mccain has voted for Bush favored bills 90% of the time. He is among only six others with similar track records. (Obama voted with Bush 40% of the time and Joe Biden 54%) 

Question: Is Obama the most liberal U.S. Senator? (as stated by McCain) 

Answer: Although a fairly subjective statement it is fair to say he is more liberal than some other Democrats. The ADA gave Obama a 75 percent score in 2007, 95 in 2006, and 100 in 2005. The ACU gave him a lifetime score of 7.67 (far from being the “most liberal”). Consensus; Obama certainly is one of the most liberal. 

Question: Did McCain vote against deploying troops to Lebanon? (As stated by McCain). 

Answer: Not exactly. The Marines went into Lebanon in 1982. McCain went into Congress in 1983 – he was not part of the vote. What McCain did note for (in relation to Lebanon) was the War Powers Act. 

Question: McCain stated that Dwight Eisenhower wrote two letters on the eve of D-Day (one in the event of victory and the second being his resignation in the event of failure). Did he? 

Answer: There was no second letter and Eisenhower did not offer his resignation. The letter actually says, “The troops, the air and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.” 

Question: McCain said Obama would cut off money for troops in Iraq. (As stated by McCain).

Answer: Historically Obama’s record shows that he would not cut off money for troops. Obama has voted for troop financing with only one exception. In 2007 he voted against it since it did not contain any language for eventual troop withdrawal. Another bill had such language and Obama voted for it. 

All in all, neither candidate went “off the reservation” when it came to factual information - just some slight bending or not giving all the details. 

Chalk this up to people either being utterly stupid or simply not aware we have advanced beyond silent movies and Polaroid film. 

I have written before about the internet’s ability to spread misinformation and how it seems that we (in mass) accept anything in print to be fact. 

Case in point the Obama picture making its way around yesterday (again). Guess which one is real and which one is fake. Better yet, imagine how any 13-year-old with Photoshop can sway thousands of votes (not to mention manipulate people that think they are smart and well-informed).

Of course, this type of stuff doesn’t stop during the election. Seemingly well educated will believe anything on the internet from a Citgo Boycott to Bill Gates giving away millions of dollars. Oh well, here is this weeks Hocus Focus! 

Let’s see. Phone Upside down. 3:00am clock in the background. 

The real, but not terribly exciting, photo. Maybe if I publish at 3:00am that will help.

Still trying to get past all the crud regarding who has the larger flag on their plane or the latest “celebrity” videos and get to the real issues? Here are some cliff notes you can share with friends that may help you decide on the best choice for your vote… 

The Economy 

McCain – Would cut taxes on middle-class families by abolishing the Alternative Minimum Tax. Wants to decrease government spending. Wants to reform Social Security. 

Obama – Wants to help middle-class struggling with rising cost but stagnant pay. Wants to reform healthcare and education. Wants to renegotiate free trade agreements.

War in Iraq

McCain – Voted for the 2003 invasion. Believes we should remain in Iraq. Says withdrawal could trigger genocide in the region.

Obama – Opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. Wants phased removel of troops. Says there is “no military solution” in Iraq.

Iran

McCain – Would try to escalate economic sanctions. Won’t rule out military solution if necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.  

Obama – Would meet with Iranian leaders without preconditions. He says they may change behavior if they were given incentives. 

National Security

McCain – Has been a leading voice in efforts to prevent the CIA from resorting to “cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of prisoners.” 

Obama – He has criticized the Patriot Act, but voted to re-authorize it in 2006. 

Illegal Immigration 

McCain – Co-Sponsor of bill, which offered amnesty to illegal immigrants as well as tougher border controls. Says undocumented workers already in US should be given citizenship. 

Obama – Wants US-Mexico border to be better policed and impose stiffer penalties for employers that hire illegal immigrants. Believes that allowing illegal immigrants to gain citizenship is not amnesty if they pay a fine. 

Abortion Rights

McCain – Says that the 1973 Supreme Court ruling (Roe v Wade) should be overturned. Would appoint sympathetic new judges and aid state efforts to boost adoption. 

Obama – Says he trusts women to make their own choices in conjunction with their doctors or clergy. 

Ok, there are ten million emails going around regarding Obama’s plane and the relocation of the US Flag* versus John McCain’s plane not even having the US flag. Well, here you go. 

Obama’s plane was repainted once he was the last “man” standing in the Democratic race. The North American Airlines flag* was removed from the tail of the plane (which now sports Obama’s logo). The US flag remains next to the aircrafts call letters. 

McCain’s airplane (below) was not repainted nor does it have a large US Flag (there is one located just below the tail).

In the end, you get to choose which act of narcissism you like best. Paint your own logo on the plane or make your name really big?! 

*Godfather added: To further clarify…Obama’s plane is from North American Airlines. The logo (flag) that was on the tail was North American’s logo (not an actual US flag). Obama relocated (or retained) the US flag as mentioned above (adjacent to the plane’s registration number) and replaced NA’s logo on the tail with his own campaign logo.

Got something to say? Click “Comments” below…

Separated at Birth? 

Ok, now McCain is just getting weird. 

McCain’s camp will be releasing a new advertisement entitled “Celeb,” in which the ad compares Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The advertisement suggests Obama is little more than a widely recognized media concoction. 

The ad intercuts images of Obama’s Europe visit with video of 20-something pop stars. 

As far as I know, Obama doesn’t sing and although he does have fairly short hair which is reminiscent of Britney, not sure why McCain is going this far. But than again, this is politics – never let the truth get in the way of a good campaign slam.

Update: Here is the video and the response video from Paris Hilton.