The Presidency of America's Maverick

[OSR stands with Israel]

VP Shortlist for both Senator McCain and Vice President Gore released

McCain's Shortlist:

Tom Ridge:



Strengths: Would nearly guarantee the critical state of Pennslyvania to McCain and help ticket further with moderates

Weaknesses: Could hurt ticket in  the South and other battlegrounds such as Missouri and Ohio due to depressing turnout of socially conservative voters

John Danforth:



Strengths: Would satisfy both conservative and moderate voters, would nearly guarantee the Missouri Bellweather to McCain and help a lot in states like Ohio and Arkansas as well

Weakness: Would not bring additional  enthusiasm to ticket

Fred Thompson:



Strengths: Would help ticket in important battleground states in the South especially Tennesse, would help energize conservative wing of party

Weakness: Could be too much of wildcard and could hurt ticket among moderates

Gore's Shortlist:

Dick Gephardt:



Strengths: Would help ticket in crucial battlegrounds in the Midwest especially in Missouri due to blue collar appeal

Weaknesses: Never won a state wide election before, and wouldnt bring much enthusiasm to ticket

John Kerry:



Strengths: Would help bring potential Nader voters into the fold which could help in many battlegrounds

Weaknesses: Would hurt ticket greatly in the South, and could turnoff moderates

Bob Graham:



Strengths: Would almost guarantee the crucial state of Florida for Gore and would help ticket greatly in the South and Border states

Weaknesses: Could cause liberal voters on fence to vote for Nader and would not help much in some Midwestern states either

[Tron1993]

Honestly if the ticket was McCain/Ridge v Gore/Gephardt, I would probably vote McCain

[OSR stands with Israel]

Honestly if the ticket was McCain/Ridge v Gore/Gephardt, I would probably vote McCain

Wasn’t Bob Graham even more conservative than Gephardt so why would you dislike a Gore/Gephardt ticket more than an Gore/Graham one

[darklordoftech]

John Kerry:



Strengths: Would help bring potential Nader voters into the fold which could help in many battlegrounds

Weaknesses: Would hurt ticket greatly in the South, and could turnoff moderates

Since when was Kerry that far to the left?

[OSR stands with Israel]

John Kerry:



Strengths: Would help bring potential Nader voters into the fold which could help in many battlegrounds

Weaknesses: Would hurt ticket greatly in the South, and could turnoff moderates

Since when was Kerry that far to the left?

Hes not ,but he is considered to be more appealing to potential nader voters than Gephardt or Graham would be

[UWS]

John Kerry:



Strengths: Would help bring potential Nader voters into the fold which could help in many battlegrounds

Weaknesses: Would hurt ticket greatly in the South, and could turnoff moderates

Since when was Kerry that far to the left?

Hes not ,but he is considered to be more appealing to potential nader voters than Gephardt or Graham would be

His positions go whichever way the wind blows.

[😥]

McCain/Ridge and Gore/Gephardt!

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: McCain Selects Former Missouri Senator John Danforth as his running mate:



Source: https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/25/politics/danforth-trump-gop-corruption/index.html

Woodruff: Now we will head to St Louis County where , Senator John McCain will officially name former Missouri senator John Danforth to be his running mate

McCain: Thank You. One of the most important decisions a presidential candidate can make is naming who their running mate will be as they could potentially be the next Vice President of this great nation. It is my great honor to name my good friend and distuinghed senator John Danforth to by my running mate and if everything goes well in November I am sure he will be an excellent Vice President. Now lets here from our next Vice President John Danforth

Danforth: I want to thank my good friend , Senator McCain for giving me the honor of being able to join him on the Repubican ticket this year and I look forward to working with him on this campaign and hopefully with him in the White House to make our nation a better place. Senator McCain is one of the most honest and decent men I know and will above all else put the people of this great nation first overall all other special interest groups when he governs this great nation which is why it is crucial that we must elect him as our 43rd President. Thank You again, may God Bless You and May God Bless America

[Left Wing]

Gore should write off Gephardt. Graham is probably his best bet in this scenario.

[OSR stands with Israel]

2000 RNC: Republicans unite behind McCain as odds of retaking the White House increase

Notable Speakers:



Former President George HW Bush - Speaks about need to rebuild our military and the need for the US to take on a more assertive role in the world

Texas Governor George W Bush - Talks about education and tax reform

General Colin Powell- Talked about McCain's military record, and about McCain's leadership skills in general

Pennslyvania Governor Tom Ridge- Talked about friendship with John McCain and need to to elect him

Former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson- Talked about need to pass campaign finance reform and about McCain long time crusade against corruption

Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson- Energized crowd with talking about need to restore federalist constitutional values and how McCain will help achieve that goal

Mississippi Speaker Trent Lott- Talked about need for Republicans to retain control of the senate

Speaker Dennis Hastart- Talke about need for Republicans to retain control of house

Larry King Interviews Former President George HW Bush at RNC:




King: President Bush, many people are surprised at the enthusiastic speech you gave for Senator McCain given the bitter primary between the Republican nominee and your son

Bush: Well both my son and I understand that nobody is entitled to the Presidency and the fact is Senator McCain ran an excellent campaign and was a deserving nominee. Also if you remember the primary between President Reagan and I in 1980 was even more heated than this and the fact is even if I wasnt chosen as his running mate I would have enthusiastically supported him for President just like I am doing for Senator McCain now

King: There are arguably bigger disagreements between Governor Bush and Senator McCain than there were between President Reagan and you though

Bush: Well the fact is Senator McCain is one of the most honorable men I know and will make an excellent President which is why I am supporting him.

Excerpts of John Danforth Speech accepting the Vice Presidential Nomination:



Source: https://www.c-span.org/person/?johndanforth

Danforth: Thank You, Thank You. It is a great honor to be nominated by this great party as its Vice Presidential Nominee and I accept your nomination(Applause). Many great Vice President such as Hannibal Hamlin , Charles Fairbanks and George HW Bush were members of this great party and it will be my hope that I can one day be as successful as they were in being vice president(Applause). It will be an honor to work with my great friend and our next President John McCain in making our nation a better place for our kids by fix our politics, reform our broken healthcare system,  and rebuilding our military(Applause).

8 years ago President Clinton and Vice President Gore ran on the promise to reform our broken healthcare system and 8 years later the Democrats are still campaigning on that issue. The same is true for when it comes to changing American politics for the better, and instead it is more broken today than it was 8 years ago while at the same time Senator McCain has worked with members of both parties throughout his career to address real important issues(Applauses) and he will do so as President(Applause). Senator McCain will restore the morale of our military by appointing people who have actually served in uniform to lead civilian national security post because the fact is nobody who knows the struggles of our men and women in uniform should be appointed to departments that would send our men and women to war(Applause). There is nobody I know who is more dedicated to serving our people than Senator McCain and that is why I am confident he will win this election and will be one of the best presidents we have ever had(Applause). Thank You May Go Bless You and May God Bless America.


Excerpts of John McCain's Speech accepting the Republican Nomination:



McCain: Thank You Thank You. It is a great honor to be nominated by this great part of Abraham Lincoln, Tedd Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan and I accept your nomination(Applause).  44 years ago another Arizona Senator stood before you to give his acceptance speech and while Senator Goldwater lost he helped planted the seeds that led to the Reagan Revolution of 1980, the Republican Revolution of 1994 and this November will lead to a full restoration of Unified Republican government in Washington(Standing Ovation) and with it we will finally be able to take power away from the lobbyists, the bloated bureaucracies and give it back to the people(Applause).

8 years ago Democrats promised to fix what they called our broken political system but the fact is politics is more broken today than it was then(Boos) and it was under President Clinton's watch we have seen this explosion in soft money ruining our politics and it will be my first priority as President to change that system and I intend to use the bully pulpit to get it done so we once again can have politicians from both sides of the isle listen to their voters instead of listen to their lobbyists(Boos). Once we do that we can finally also pass reforms to fix our broken healthcare system as the reason reform has not been able to happen is due to pro big government interest group as well as pro insurance companies and pro pharmaceuticals interest groups who oppose any type of reforms(Applause). We will also be able to pass tax reform which isnt filled of loopholes that lobbyists exploit while the middle class is left paying the bill(Applause). In the beginning of the 20th century Teddy Roosevelt took on all the powerful special interest groups of his day and won and we will win again(Applause).

Like Teddy Roosevelt, we also must rebuild our military forces and the first way we do that is by hiring people to lead the departments of state , defense and our national security council be people who served in uniform(Applause) as nobody knows better than them what our men and women uniform go through on a daily basis.  It is clear that the world is a better place when our nation stands for freedom all across the world and is a strong opposer of totalitarian regimes and our nation must once again stand up to tyrannical dictators all across the world as the fact is our nation has been the greatest beacon of liberty the world has ever known and must remain that(Standing ovation)

Thank You , May God Bless You and May God Bless America


McCain takes 13 point lead after successful RNC

Greenfield: While Polls in individual states may now show states like California and Illinois to be dead heats  and with Senator McCain ahead in many battlegrounds remember the DNC has not happened yet so the polls haven't taken into account the DNC convention bounce either. So the map right now while does factor in these state polls, we are still factoring in our own team's analysis about the race right now

Senator John McCain(R-AZ)/Former Senator John Danforth 282 50%
Vice President Al Gore(D-TN)/? 165 37%

[OSR stands with Israel]

Bush was up around 11 points in OTL after the 2000 RNC so the Dems did get a huge convention bounce in OTL and will here too

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Gore selects Florida Senator Bob Graham as his running mate



Source: https://www.c-span.org/video/?160775-4/florida-vote-recount-reaction

Woodruff: Now we will head to Miami, Florida where Vice President Al Gore will officially name Florida Senator Bob Graham to be his running mate

Gore: Thank You Thank You. It is now my high honor and privilege to name my friend Senator Bob Graham as my Vice Presidential Pick and join me on this ticket. As Governor , this great state for the first time in its history had its per capita income be higher than the national average, added 1.2 million new jobs to the state and also did a lot for Florida's environment as well. Then as senator he was served this state well , working with our administration to pass many important bills that made this nation a better place. So now lets here it from the next Vice President of the United States, Bob Graham.

Graham: I want to thank my good friend Vice President Al Gore of giving me the honor of being his running mate and look forward to campaigning with him in this election to make sure that we retain the White House in November and potentially help Democrats retain control of congress as well. As someone who has worked with Vice President Gore per the past 13 years , the first 5 as colleagues in the senate and the last 8 with working with the Vice President I can tell you he is one of the most hard working and dedicated men I know and if elected will do a great job as President. Thank You May God Bless You and May God Bless America

[OSR stands with Israel]

2000 DNC: Democrats meet in LA with high hopes of winning 3rd term

Notable Speakers:



President Bill Clinton: Talks about the accomplishments of the past 8 years and how Vice President Gore helped in creating those accomplishments

Former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradly: Talked about how Democratic Policies help poor and working class people better than the Republican policies do

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry: Talked about Vice President Gore's committal to environmental issues and also talked about need to keep social security in a lockbox

Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey: Talked about Vice President's Gore record on working bipartisan to get things done in Washington

Congressman Harold Ford: Talked about why Vice President Gore would be better for education than Senator McCan

Georgia Senator Max Cleland: Talked about need to continue foreign policy of Clinton-Gore years and also talked about Vice President Gore's committal to veterans issues

South Dakota Senator Tom Dashale: Talked about need to give control of the seante to the Democrats

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt- Talked about need to give control of the house back to the Democrats


Excerpts of Bob Graham speech accepting the Vice Presidential Nomination:



Source: https://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/03/mgrind.day.baddemweek/

Graham: Thank You, Thank You. It is a great honor to be nominated by it's great party of Jackson and FDR as its Vice Presidential candidate and I accept your nomination(Applause). Our party ever since it was founded by President Andrew Jackson has stood for the working people of this country and the past 8 years has only confirmed that. Our policies has brought millions of people out of poverty, created record job growth and now it is time we use our prosperity to address the issues facing us in this upcoming decade(Applause) and we can start by electing my great friend Al Gore as our next President(Applause)

We need to make sure social security remains solvent in the next generation that is why we must it in a lockbox, we must increase funding for our schools and expand healthcare and despite what Senator McCain says on the campaign trail he opposed every one of these policies when they came up to a vote in the past 8 years. Senator McCain is an honorable man and an American Hero but the fact is his record shows he is not as different from Newt Gingrich, and the Republican Establishment as he claims he is on policies and the fact is if he is elected we very likely will have Republican control of both houses of congress and with the exception of a few issues he has made it clear he would sign the bills they pass. If you want to elect someone who will fight for the working class, the environment and than we must elect Al Gore as our 43rd President. Thank You may God Bless You and May God Bless America


Excerpts of Al Gore's speech accepting the Democratic Nomination:



Gore: Thank You Thank You. It is a great honor to be nominated by this great party as its nominee for President and I accept your nomination(Applause). As I accept this nomination I know I will have major shoes to fill of great Presidents such as Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Harry Truman, JFK and Bill Clinton and I pledge to you and the people I i am elected I will work very hard to live up to their legacies(Applause).While we have done great work over the past 8 years the fact is the work to make our nation a better place doesnt stop now as we still have many problems to solve and we must address the issues. The prosperity that we built towards the last 8 years will help us solve the problems as we can use our surplus to make sure social security remains solvent, address environmental problems, reduce poverty and pay of our national debt(Applause).

The first thing we must do is we must put social security in a lockbox to make sure that we can keep the promises we made to many hard working families across the nation(Applause). While Senator McCain believes that money should be used in tax cuts we must use this moment to think about the long term success and just not the short term(Applause). We also must expand medicare to cover prescription drugs to make sure every senior can get the medicine they deserve and we also must reform our healthcare system overall to make sure every American can afford health insurance(Applause). We also must reform our education system as our kids our are future and our future success will be determined by how good our education system is today. That means we must increase pay for teachers and our schools(Applause), we must expand financial aid so more kids can afford to go to college and we must invest more in tech education so kids can have the skills of the future(Applause).

We also must protect our environment and that is we must address the issue of global warming and heed the warning of our scientists. We must start investing more in renewable energy and technology from today(Applause). We must ratify the Kyoto Protocol so we can get emission level below the year 1990 by 2010(Appluase) as that is the first step in helping us solve that problem. Yes I agree we need to get nations like China involved as well but we still need to lead by example just like we have done on so many other issues in the past(Applause). Thank You May God Bless You and May God Bless America

Gore narrows Gap to 3 points after successful DNC:

Senator John McCain(R-AZ)/Former Senator John Danforth(R-MO) 224 47%
Vice President Al Gore(D-TN)/Senator Bob Graham(D-FL) 213 44%

[OSR stands with Israel]

State of Race Before First Debate:

Senator John McCain(R-AZ)/Former Senator John Danforth(R-MO) 230 48%
Vice President Al Gore(D-TN)/Senator Bob Graham(D-FL) 213 45%


Woodruff: The race has remained remarkley stable since the convention with only New Mexico being the only swing state which we have been able to move into the lean category and with Georgia and Connecituct being moved to the Solid Category but other than that it seems like not much has changed since the conventions

Shaw: So Bill what do you think are some keys heading into the debates

Schnider: Well my belief is Vice President Gore must first try to make this election in some ways a continuity election as if the election is a referendum on the present state of the nation, Vice President Gore wins that election just like then Vice President Bush did in 1988. Now obviously there are a whole bunch of factors that will decide this election, but even if he is able to get more people to vote based on the referendum of the President state of the nation, he would increase his chance of winning.

Now on the other hand Senator McCain my belief is while yes he is a change candidate, change candidates like Ronald Reagan in 1980 and Bill Clinton in 1992 have to prove they can actually bring about change in a competent manner so he needs to use these debates to prove he can. If he does that then I think it would benefit the Senator.

King: My belief is though that it will be a mix and both candidates have to prove why they are better situated to preserve the current economic situation and bring upon change

Schnider: Yes of course that is also true but I think how Gore does on the change question in the debate and McCain does on preserving the status quo will probably be a wash so I think it will be more beneficial for Senator McCain to explain in detail why we need change and Vice President Gore to make this about a referendum on the present state of the union

[Left Wing]

Will Gore still sigh like crazy?

[Nightcore Nationalist]

Safe R New Hampshire?


How did NJ and DE vote IRL?  I know NJ was 52-46 in 2004, and DE was lean-bush during the 2000 campaign..

[OSR stands with Israel]

Safe R New Hampshire?


How did NJ and DE vote IRL?  I know NJ was 52-46 in 2004, and DE was lean-bush during the 2000 campaign..

NH was much closer than it was expected to be in September in OTL and with McCain being a better fit for the state than bush it’s pretty much considered assured .


I beleive NJ and DE while they did go Dem by double digits they were still not considered safe until like mid October.

[Roll Roons]

Safe R New Hampshire?


How did NJ and DE vote IRL?  I know NJ was 52-46 in 2004, and DE was lean-bush during the 2000 campaign..

Gore won Jersey by 15 and Delaware by 13. Though McCain is a much better fit for both than Bush. ITTL, Gore should still be favored in both, but the Republican Senate candidate in New Jersey that year was really great and only lost by three despite being outspent a ton by Corzine. McCain keeping it in single digits could very well get him over the finish line...

[OSR stands with Israel]

Safe R New Hampshire?


How did NJ and DE vote IRL?  I know NJ was 52-46 in 2004, and DE was lean-bush during the 2000 campaign..

Gore won Jersey by 15 and Delaware by 13. Though McCain is a much better fit for both than Bush. ITTL, Gore should still be favored in both, but the Republican Senate candidate in New Jersey that year was really great and only lost by three despite being outspent a ton by Corzine. McCain keeping it in single digits could very well get him over the finish line...

I think NJ and DE in 2000 are in some ways a classic example of the media overestimating the competitiveness of once battleground states

[OSR stands with Israel]

Battleground Senate and Gubernatorial Races:

Woodruff: Now lets look at some of the key senate races that could potentially flip this cycle. Remember for the Democrats to take control of the senate they will need to flip 5 senate seats no matter what the result in the Presidential race is as Republican Governor Jeb Bush will get to decide who fills Senator Graham seat if Vice President Gore were to win.

Greenfield: Yes and throughout the night we will be looking at what we call the Key Senate Race board in which there will be 12 key battlegrounds , eight   held by the Republican and four held by the Democrats. Now lets look at the 8 vulnerable Republican seats too


Vulnerable Republican Seats:

Deleware: Senator William Roth(R) vs Deleware Governor Tom Carper(D) - Lean Democratic Gain


Florida: Representative Bill McCollum(R) vs State Treasurer Bill Nelson(D)- Lean Democratic Gain

Michigan: Senator Spencer Abraham(R) vs Representative Debbie Stabenow(D) - Tossup

Minnesota: Senator Rod Grams(R) vs Former State Auditor Mark Dayton(D) - Tossup

Missouri: Senator John Ashcroft(R) vs Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan(D) - Tossup

Montana: Senator Conrad Burns(R) vs Mr. Brian Schweitzer(D) - Tossup

Pennsylvania: Senator Rick Santorum(R) vs Representative Ron Klink - Likely Republican Hold   

Washington: Senator Slade Gorton(R) vs Former Representative Maria Cantwell(D)- Lean Republican Hold

Greenfield: Now lets go look at the vulnerable Democratic Seats

Vulnerable Democratic Seats:

Nebraska: Governor Ben Nelson(D) vs State Attorney General Don Stenberg(R) - Tossup

Nevada: Attorney Edward M. Bernstein(D) vs Former Representative John Ensign -  Likely Republican Gain

New Jersey: Mr. Jon Corzine(D) vs Representative Bob Franks(R) - Tossup

Virginia: Senator Chuck Robb(D) vs Former Virginia Governor George Allen(R) - Lean Republican Gain


Greenfield: As you can see getting to a senate majority wont be easy as even if Democrats sweep all the states that lean too them as well as the tossups on the board well the Democats make a gain of 4 senate seats which would mean a tied senate and since a Republican Governor gets to pick Senator Graham's successor in this case , Republicans would still have control of the senate.

So in order for Democrats to take over the Senate , either Senator Robb or Representative Cantwell would need to pull of an upset. If not that then they would a pretty upset in Pennsylvania

Woodruff: Now lets look at some of the Gubernatorial races that could flip:

Battleground Gubernatorial Races:

Missouri: State Treasurer Bob Holden(D) vs Representative Jim Talent(R)- Tossup

Montana: Montana Lieutenant Governor Judy Martz(R) vs State Auditor Mark O'Keefe(D)- Tossup

West Virginia: Governor Cecil Underwood(R) vs Representative Bob Wise(D) - Lean Democratic Gain

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Isn't Pennsylvania vulnerable?
I know Ron Klink was a very lousy candidate, but he still lost by less than 7 points in real life.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Isn't Pennsylvania vulnerable?
I know Ron Klink was a very lousy candidate, but he still lost by less than 7 points in real life.

Added it to the list

[Roll Roons]

How about New York? Do Hillary and Rudy still run?

[OSR stands with Israel]

How about New York? Do Hillary and Rudy still run?

Hillary runs , but neither Rudy or Pataki run so NY is a safe state

[OSR stands with Israel]

Summary of First Presidential Debate:



Source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/23/media/jim-lehrer-pbs-newshour-obituary/index.html

Key Moment 1:

Lehrer: Senator McCain if elected what would be your plan to deal with our current budget surplus

McCain: My belief is first we need to use our budget surplus to reform medicare to make sure we can cover prescription drugs for seniors, return some of the money to the people in the form of tax cuts, and rebuild our military. Eight Years ago Presdent Clinton and Vice President Gore campaigned on getting medicare reform passed and the fact is 8 years later they are still talking about it. My belief is actions matter more than words and I intend to get medicare reform passed so we no longer have seniors having to choose between medicine and food

Gore: Well Senator McCain the reason we didnt get medicare reform passed was in large part due to Republicans blocking it in congress and that fact is Senator McCain you joined Republican leadership in blocking reform from passing. Second to answer your question Jim , it is critical that we use our present surplus to make sure more Americans can join in on the prosperity instead of squandering it and my priorities would be to safe guard Social Security so every American can retire, invest more in our education system to give our kids better opportunities and also make healthcare more affordable. While I respect Senator McCain a lot the fact is his proposal would not make best use of our surplus and instead we need to think more long term and use this rare opportunity to good use because we might not have an opportunity like this again

McCain: Well again the problem with Vice President Gore's solution is he believes that new government programs are the way to fix the current problems but he is wrong as many of the problems we have are due to the fact many of our programs are run inefficiently and that is what we need to fix not create new ones that will be run inefficiently.

Gore: Well the fact is the Republican solution is to give tax breaks to people who dont need it which I think is way more inefficient and while Senator McCain has pledged to be a different type of Republican, he caved on Taxes to Governor Bush and if a Republican congress passes a tax bill that gives tax breaks mainly to the wealthy the question is will he sign it into law

McCain: I will work with a Republican congress to pass a tax plan that would help the people and after negotiations  we will come to an agreement and I will sign it into law

Gore: Well looks like that answer is a yes

Important Moment 2:

Lehrer: Many polls have come out showing education reform to be a top 3 concern for most voters. So we will start with you Vice President Gore, if you are elected how would you reform the educational system

Gore: Well we have to do three things : First is reduce class sizes as studies have shown kids learn better when class sizes are smaller and too do that we must increase teacher pay so we can incentivize more Americans to go into the profession of teaching. Second we must focus on teaching kids the tools of the future such as computer literacy, and third we must make it easier for kids to go to college which is why I think we need to expand financial aid by increasing both merit and need based scholarships .

McCain: My belief is we need to work with states and local municipalities so we can help create and education policy that would one be used on a national level and second using block grants to help them implement policies that would work on a local level. Second we must increase school choice and that is why I am in support of giving parents of children who go to failing schools a voucher which they then can use to go the a private school for free.

Gore: My belief is we must focus on improving  our public schools by incentivizing the best and brightest to go in the field of teaching, not degrading its quality further by using education funding for private schools. Doing so will only make our educational system worse overall and undermine the equality of opportunity principle

McCain: The voucher would only be given to kids from failing schools, so the idea that it would reduce the quality of our public schools is just not true.


Important Moment 3:

Lehrer: Senator McCain , as you may know many times a president may have to deal with issues that weren't brought up on the campaign say a recession that happens during a presidency. So if you are elected how would you deal with a  potential recession

McCain: Well the first thing I would do is call a meeting with the Federal Reserve Chair, the Treasury Secretary , the commerce secretary and my economic team so we can get to the bottom of what is causing the recession and address the issue to stop it from becoming serious. Then to speeden up the recovery stage I would support giving businesses temporary tax credit which would be dependent on how many people they hire or rehire. This along with my tax plan which will make sure that individuals tax burden will be lower will help us come out of a recession quickly.

Gore: Well remember in 1997 when a financial crises in Asia seemed to have the potential of causing a world wide recession, we took action to make sure that a recession doesnt take place here, and guess what not only did we avoid a recession we had arguably some of the best boom years we ever had. So the first thing I would do is look to deal with a potential economic crisis in a similar way. If a recession though is unavoidable well then to get out of it quickly we would do a mix of middle class tax cuts along with other economic stimulus packages to quickly cause our economy to recover.

McCain: President Clinton and you campaigned on middle-class tax cuts in 1992 and still to this day we have not received it 8 years later so Mr. Vice President you shouldnt make promises you cant deliver.

Gore: The economic policies of the last 8 years created over 22 million jobs while the economic policies of the president you mainly praise Ronald Reagan created a little over 16 so its clear that our policies work better in dealing with a recession than your policies do.

McCain: The economic situation President Reagan and Clinton inherited were very different so the comparison really doesn't work

Gore: Both President Reagan and Clinton came into offices dealing with recession and our recovery created 6 million more jobs.

Lehrer: Moving on



Gore and McCain tie in the polls after debate:

Vice President Al Gore(D-TN)/Senator Bob Graham(D-FL) 219 47%
Senator John McCain(R-AZ)/Former Senator John Danforth(R-MO) 211 47%