The Town Hall Presidential Debate

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

The second presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McBush just ended. I missed the first one because I was television-challenged at the time, so this event was a special treat for me.

The question that captured my attention and most clearly delineated the philosophical differences between the candidates was posed by the moderator, Tom Brokow, when he asked if health care in America was a privilege, a right, or a responsibility. McBush spoke first, stating definitively that it was a responsibility. Yes, Senator, but how can you fault our fellow citizens for not taking care of their own health care in this sucking economy? Not all of us own seven or eight homes and a fleet of cars - some of us can't stretch our budget past the weekly groceries, if that far. Barack Obama spoke for me and millions of others when he said that health care, in one of the richest nations in the world, was a right. Damned right, it is! The fact that people are suffering without access to medical care in the United States of America in the twenty-first century is a national disgrace! If we can afford to pound Iraq back into the stone age, then, by God, we cannot afford to sit on our hands while our fellow citizens die of medical neglect!

This particular format, the town hall, where the candidates got to move around while they answered questions, was reportedly McBush's favorite venue, but, oh my, it certainly highlighted his age. Two words, John: Preparation H! I felt for you as you squeezed you butt cheeks together and scooted around that stage like an ancient, wind-up penguin!

Barack Obama on the other hand was suave and debonair with a smile that radiated confidence and limitless hope. One had only to listen to his well reasoned answers to have an expectation that our long national nightmare is nearly at an end.