My wife was just watching the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon and pulled me over to watch the question asked by Lance Armstrong to both Presidential candidates. Each candidate had a quick 30 second video answer. I found the answers by both Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain just in line with what we have seen the past two weeks.
This is a great effort broadcast by all 3 major networks and lots of celebrities participating. I am in no way disparaging the efforts of the telethon or the participation of both candidates, but I used this as another opportunity to see which candidate is substance and which is fluff. I think I got my answer.
More below the fold...
These "transcripts" are by my own hand, so any errors are mine alone.
Lance's question was:
We will lose more than five hundred and sixty thousand Americans to cancer this year, fifteen hundred a day; that amounts to one American death every minute. What are three specific things you will do to help accelerate the fight against this disease?
John McCain's answer was first:
As president, I will lead the effort for stronger and more co-ordinated public and private research efforts. I've worked in the past to double NIH funding and will also work for greater focus on healthy living, early detection, and ensuring access to quality and affordable care for all Americans, especially those who are denied coverage because of a devastating disease like cancer.
This is a fight we must and will win as a nation.
I felt this was a pretty vague answer, full of generalities...and then when I listened several more times while I took the transcript I realized he never truly answered the question. "What are three specific things you will do...".
Barack Obama answer was next:
First, I will double cancer research funding.
Second, I will provide affordable health care for all Americans. As someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she laid in bed dying of cancer, I'll make certain those companies stop discrimminating against those who are sick. I'll push them to cover cancer screenings and provide treatment and preventative care.
Third, We'll modernize the health care system to reduce medical error, lower costs, and improve the quality of patient care.
It's time for a government that wages a war against cancer as aggressive as the war cancer wages against us.
As President, I will lead that fight.
First, he answered the question. Point 1, point 2, point 3. Are there still generalities? Of course, but he talked about his plans for the country and how they would help in the fight against cancer.
After we watched this portion, my wife paused the DVR and said, "You're telling me John McCain doesn't have any friends that have had to fight cancer? He didn't even put a personal touch on that at all. Barack even personalized it with the story about his mother's struggle."
I mentioned to her, she isn't quite the political junkie that I am, that McCain has had to deal with melanoma at least once. "Well then why didn't he personalize it at all? Disappointing."
She reinforced for me the difference between the two answers.
Now:
Which of these two candidates is an empty suit of oratory?
Which of these two candidates talks specifics and answers the question directly?
Which of these two candidates shows a personal impact and desire to solve this extremely difficult problem?
This again demonstrates to me that we have a great candidate in Barack Obama.