The two candidates, for the most part, repeated their previous campaign lines—although the townhall format made them both seem more natural and fluid, not unlike humans, and certainly more bearable as future commander in chiefs.
For the financial crisis, Sen. Obama tried to paint it as a culmination of eight years of bad policies and tie it to Sen. McCain.
“I believe this is a final verdict on the failed economic policies of the last eight years, strongly promoted by President Bush and supported by Sen. McCain that essentially said that we should strip away regulations, consumer protections, let the market run wild, and prosperity would rain down on all of us,” said Sen. Obama.
In response, Sen. McCain said he favored more regulation of Wall Street and refocused on energy independence, lowering taxes, and lowering spending.
“Now, I have a plan to fix this problem and it has got to do with energy independence. We've got to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't want us very—like us very much,” said Sen. McCain. “We have to keep Americans' taxes low. All Americans' taxes low. Let's not raise taxes on anybody today.”
On the question of who to potentially appoint as head of the Treasury should they be elected, both senators mentioned Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway who daringly invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs.
As for taxes, Sen. McCain promised doubling the tax exemption for children and giving $5,000 healthcare tax credits and attacked Sen. Obama for raising taxes on individuals and businesses making more than $200,000 a year.
“…let's create jobs and let's get our economy going again. And let's not raise anybody's taxes.,” said Sen. McCain.
“If you make less than a quarter of a million dollars a year, you will not see a single dime of your taxes go up,” said Sen. Obama. “If you make $200,000 a year or less, your taxes will go down.”
Sen. Obama countered by saying that CEO’s would benefit from Sen. McCain’s tax plan.
“He wants to give average Fortune 500 CEO an additional $700,000 in tax cuts. That is not fair. And it doesn't work,” said Sen. Obama.
