Post by acrossthepond on Sept 27, 2008 19:52:02 GMT
Mind the fact that politics over here on this side of the pond may affect what goes on over on your side of the Atlantic Ocean but did any of you listen or watch the first Presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Hussein Obama (BHO)?
If you didn't you didn't miss much except the nervous tension which had BHO coming off more like the stuttering rendition of Porky Pig (with/without lipstick) whenever he tried to string words together in a sentence ..and.. his twitching upsettled mannerism when the camera panned out to catch both men on screen. To many, it was obvious BHO was out of his element without scripted questions, and the use of printed text or teleprompters.
Beyond that, Jim Lehrer (the moderator) and news entertainer on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) really didn't pose questions which American voters and viewers in other places in the World wanted to hear asked and how the two candidates responded to them -- no doubt out of fear of putting his favorite candidate in the contest (Obama) on the spot.
In the absence of a debate intended to be about Foreign Policy, here's a list of 15 Questions most viewers would have liked to heard presented and discussed:
1. When horrific war crimes or a humanitarian crisis occurs in another country, should the United States intervene – even if the United Nations refuses to approve? What would be your threshold for such a crisis to justify US military action?
2. Some experts contend that the US should address the security fears of Iran, Russia, North Korea, and China in order to prevent these countries from becoming threats to others. Do you agree with this approach?
3. What are the three most important steps to achieve American energy security?
4. Would you compel Americans to adopt standards on carbon emissions even if China and India do not take similar actions?
5. And why do you prefer a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases when that approach has not worked in Europe – whereas a carbon tax in Sweden did help lower greenhouse-gas emissions?
6. If US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan largely ends during your first term, how would you then change the American military based on your reading of its potential roles?
7. The international community has helped reduce extreme poverty by almost half a billion people since 1990. What would you do to reduce poverty in other countries, especially in Africa, in addition to what President Bush has already done?
8. Every president who has tried to solve the Palestinian question has failed. How would your approach be different?
9. Is it possible to greatly reduce illegal immigration from Mexico by helping improve the quality of life in that country? How would you do that?
10. Name three things the United Nations does well.
11. Does the US have a special role in the world as the guardian of international security and as the indispensable leader of the world community?
12. Both of you support Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO, making them allies. Are the American people ready to jeopardize their soldiers in defense of these countries if they are attacked?
13. What steps would you take to open foreign markets now closed to US goods, to allow export of products and services that the US does well?
14. Roughly what proportion of US resources should go toward helping and protecting other nations compared with the resources that are needed to build up America?
15. Twenty years ago, Islamic terrorism was a sleeper issue. Some people warned about it, but few paid much attention to it. Same thing for climate change. In your opinion, what is today's sleeper issue?
So if you missed the first U.S Presidential debate count yourself lucky, wasn't much to it. In fact with the liberal, progressive socialist American mainstream media running the show, it was politics as usual!
If you didn't you didn't miss much except the nervous tension which had BHO coming off more like the stuttering rendition of Porky Pig (with/without lipstick) whenever he tried to string words together in a sentence ..and.. his twitching upsettled mannerism when the camera panned out to catch both men on screen. To many, it was obvious BHO was out of his element without scripted questions, and the use of printed text or teleprompters.
Beyond that, Jim Lehrer (the moderator) and news entertainer on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) really didn't pose questions which American voters and viewers in other places in the World wanted to hear asked and how the two candidates responded to them -- no doubt out of fear of putting his favorite candidate in the contest (Obama) on the spot.
In the absence of a debate intended to be about Foreign Policy, here's a list of 15 Questions most viewers would have liked to heard presented and discussed:
1. When horrific war crimes or a humanitarian crisis occurs in another country, should the United States intervene – even if the United Nations refuses to approve? What would be your threshold for such a crisis to justify US military action?
2. Some experts contend that the US should address the security fears of Iran, Russia, North Korea, and China in order to prevent these countries from becoming threats to others. Do you agree with this approach?
3. What are the three most important steps to achieve American energy security?
4. Would you compel Americans to adopt standards on carbon emissions even if China and India do not take similar actions?
5. And why do you prefer a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases when that approach has not worked in Europe – whereas a carbon tax in Sweden did help lower greenhouse-gas emissions?
6. If US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan largely ends during your first term, how would you then change the American military based on your reading of its potential roles?
7. The international community has helped reduce extreme poverty by almost half a billion people since 1990. What would you do to reduce poverty in other countries, especially in Africa, in addition to what President Bush has already done?
8. Every president who has tried to solve the Palestinian question has failed. How would your approach be different?
9. Is it possible to greatly reduce illegal immigration from Mexico by helping improve the quality of life in that country? How would you do that?
10. Name three things the United Nations does well.
11. Does the US have a special role in the world as the guardian of international security and as the indispensable leader of the world community?
12. Both of you support Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO, making them allies. Are the American people ready to jeopardize their soldiers in defense of these countries if they are attacked?
13. What steps would you take to open foreign markets now closed to US goods, to allow export of products and services that the US does well?
14. Roughly what proportion of US resources should go toward helping and protecting other nations compared with the resources that are needed to build up America?
15. Twenty years ago, Islamic terrorism was a sleeper issue. Some people warned about it, but few paid much attention to it. Same thing for climate change. In your opinion, what is today's sleeper issue?
So if you missed the first U.S Presidential debate count yourself lucky, wasn't much to it. In fact with the liberal, progressive socialist American mainstream media running the show, it was politics as usual!