With Monday’s news that the bailout plan did not pass, all eyes turned back from Washington back to Wall Street as stocks plummeted to all time low since 1987. Supporters of the bill argue that passing it is necessary to avoid a total collapse of the economic system, “a calamity that would drag down not just Wall Street investment houses but possibly the savings…of millions of Americans…a lingering crisis in America could choke off business and consumer loans to a degree that could prompt bank failures in Europe and slow down the global economy” (Hulse). Those in favor of the bailout plan fear that if the bill does not pass, the economy will fail altogether, something that will affect the rest of the world’s economy. Lawmakers who voted for the bill say that those in opposition are only voting against the bill out of fear that if it does not save the economy, they will be help responsible. However, strong opinions like that of Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire, are hard to ignore. He recently said of the bailout plan, “If we don’t pass it, we shouldn’t be a Congress” (Hulse).
In the less than inspiring debate that took place on our campus last Friday night, the candidates spent twenty-five minutes talking around the issue of the bailout plan. I felt that neither Barack Obama nor John McCain gave a clear answer on the solution for America’s economic crisis. I also felt that Obama and McCain spent more time bickering or going back and forth on one small detail of an issue rather than presenting their policies and objections to their opponent’s policies as a whole. Even though moderator Jim Lehrer continuously asked the candidates about possible needed changes in their policies due to the instability of the economy, both “refused to point to any major adjustments they would need to make to their governing agendas — like scaling back promised tax reductions or spending programs — to accommodate what both men said could be very tough economic times for the next president” (Cooper). From an objective voter’s point of view, as well as my own view as an Obama supporter, I would have been much more satisfied with the debate had the candidates engaged each others on issues as opposed to the attacks both are guilty of.

Cooper, Michael, and Elisabeth Bumiller. “Candidates Clash on Economy and Iraq.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/us/politics/27debatecnd.html?scp=13&sq=d ebate&st=cse

Hulse, Carl, and David M. Herszenhorn. “House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205; Stocks Plunge.”