Obama and McCain tie in the second debate

Both candidates emphasized the differences of their views towards the issues such as policy towards Russia, conflict with Iran and the war in Iraq.

Barack Obama accused McCain for his support of war in Iraq claiming that it was unwise to attack the country which had nothing to do with 9/11, he reminded of enormous costs associated and that this has caused the US to ignore the importance of bringing Al-Qaeda to justice in Afghanistan.

John McCain riposted “Obama would have brought our troops home in defeat. I’ll bring them home with victory and with honor and that is a fundamental difference.”

McCain pointed out Obama’s intention to intervene in Pakistan in the fight against militants on the border with Afghanistan, without the consent of Pakistani government – as previously announced. 

“Look, I — I want to be very clear about what I said. Nobody called for the invasion of Pakistan. Sen. McCain continues to repeat this.” Obama defended.

McCain quickly replied that it is unwise to publicly state such intentions. He continued saying “Teddy Roosevelt used to say walk softly — talk softly, but carry a big stick. Sen. Obama likes to talk loudly.”

No significant differences between two candidates were observed about their views towards Russia.

A significant chunk of the debate was about the economic issues in the US. McCain unexpectedly mentioned the redemption of the mortgage debts from debtors facing foreclosures in the amount of $300 billion, while Obama put emphasis on McCain’s support for George Bush Administration claiming it has lead to deregulation and the weakness of supervision over banks.

Quote “When George Bush came into office, we had surpluses. And now we have half-a-trillion-dollar deficit annually.” said Obama, while McCain counter attacked saying “Barack Obama wants to raise taxes. My friends, the last president to raise taxes during tough economic times was Herbert Hoover.”

Overall, critics claim the second debate resulted in a tie between two candidates and since Obama is leading in surveys the debate can be seen as defeat for McCain who really needed a definite victory in the outcome of the debate.

AO