"What sacrifices will you ask every American to make to help restore the American dream?"
That was my favorite question in Tuesday's presidential debate. How can a country that's at war, trillions of dollars in debt and partly responsible for problems like global warming NOT be asking more of its citizens? It also gets to the philosophy of the candidates and how they would inspire the country if they became president. That's what I want. With all the bad news in the newspaper every day, I want to be inspired to act. And I want to feel like America is helping to make the world better, not worse. We need to be focusing on global warming and renewable energy, not spewing rhetoric like "drill baby drill" and "reduce our dependence on foreign oil," which miss the big picture.
That's why not only was that my favorite question, but also my favorite answer. The question seemed to be about sacrifices Americans can make to get the economy back on track. And sure enough, McCain talked about economic stuff -- cutting government programs and earmarks. That was a slick answer because it doesn't require you and I, the "Americans" in the question, to take action. And it surely didn't inspire.
When Obama spoke, I sat up and listened (literally, because I had been flopped on the ground tiredly watching the reairing of the debate at 11 p.m.). He said Bush missed an opportunity after 9/11 when he called on Americans to go out and shop. "That wasn't the kind of call to service that I think the American people were looking for." I agreed and thought it was noteworthy because you rarely hear politicians talk about that anymore. Then he used energy as an example of how Americans can make sacrifices for the greater good. "There is going to be the need for each and every one of us to start thinking about how we use energy." YES, that's it!!! Going green has become part of our culture but is action really happening? How many people have replaced their traditional lights bults with compact fluorescent light bulbs, shop with reusable grocery bags and drive hybrids or take the bus? And even if everyone did that, would it still be enough? I think people would do more and demand more from the auto and energy industries if they had a leader on the issue. Someone who says, "Each and every one of us can start thinking about, how can we save energy in our homes and our buildings?"
In all, I felt Obama's response was muddled. He threw out the same old call for increased oil production, clean coal and nuclear energy. OK, fine, he had to say that to win votes in key states and not seem too quote -- liberal. And he got specific only when it came to government action, like incentives for buying fuel-efficient cars. But I'm not completely cynical. I feel hopeful that if he's elected, he will bring attention to the real energy issue: global warming and what America, the world's biggest polluter, is going to do about it. I hope he will get more specific about the sacrifices Americans need to make and frame global warming as the most important issue of our generation. We need a call to action like Kennedy's resolve to get us to the moon.
After eight years of Bush, it's rare that I hear a politician echoing my thoughts and view of the world. Maybe that's what excited me the most. I feel like Obama gets it and isn't afraid to say so.
You can watch that part of the debate on the CNN website, by typing in "sacrifice" in the search field at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/07/video.transcript/index.html
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