No matter the question, the answer is offshore drilling

McCain's gonna ride the offshore horse until it collapses under him.

Published September 27, 2008 11:02AM (EDT)

One thing is clear: John McCain wants to talk about offshore drilling. Doesn't matter what the question is, offshore drilling is part of the answer.

Lehrer asked a really good question: how will dealing with the financial crisis change how you govern? Both candidates refuse to acknowledge the truth of that question. But John McCain's answer is a spending freeze. Obama responds that a broad-based spending freeze is like using a hatchet, when what we need to use is a scalpel.

Fair enough, though subtlety is not necessary a debate winner.

Neither answer is satisfactory, but what I wonder is, do voters, right now, want to hear about how government should stop spending, or do they want to hear about how government is going to help them?


By Andrew Leonard

Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21.

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