The candidates on the issues

On healthcare: right or responsibility?

McCAIN: I think it’s a responsibility in this respect, in that we should have available and affordable healthcare to every American citizen, to every family member. And with the plan that -- that I have, that will do that. But government mandates I’m always a little nervous about. But it is certainly my responsibility.

It is certainly small-businesspeople and others, and they understand that responsibility. American citizens understand that. Employers understand that.

OBAMA: Well, I think it should be a right for every American. In a country as wealthy as ours, for us to have people who are going bankrupt because they can’t pay their medical bills -- for my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in the hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they’re saying that this may be a pre-existing condition and they don’t have to pay for her treatment, there’s something fundamentally wrong about that.

On pursuing al-Qaeda into Pakistan:

McCAIN: You know, my hero is a guy named Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt used to say walk softly -- talk softly, but carry a big stick. Sen. Obama likes to talk loudly. In fact, he said he wants to announce that he’s going to attack Pakistan. Remarkable.

You know, if you are a country and you’re trying to gain the support of another country, then you want to do everything you can that they would act in a cooperative fashion. When you announce that you’re going to launch an attack into another country, it’s pretty obvious that you have the effect that it had in Pakistan: It turns public opinion against us.

OBAMA: Look, I want to be very clear about what I said. Nobody called for the invasion of Pakistan. Sen. McCain continues to repeat this. What I said was the same thing that the audience here today heard me say, which is, if Pakistan is unable or unwilling to hunt down Bin Laden and take him out, then we should.

Now, Sen. McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I’m green behind the ears and, you know, I’m just spouting off, and he’s somber and responsible. Sen. McCain, this is the guy who sang, “Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,” who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don’t think is an example of “speaking softly.”

On sacrifices Americans must make:

McCAIN: I’m going to ask the American people to understand that there are some programs that we may have to eliminate. . . . I know a lot of them that aren’t working.

I first proposed a long time ago that we would have to examine every agency and every bureaucracy of government. And we’re going to have to eliminate those that aren’t working. I know a lot of them that aren’t working. . . .

So we’re going to have to tell the American people that spending is going to have to be cut in America. And I recommend a spending freeze that -- except for defense, Veterans Affairs and some other vital programs, we’ll just have to have across-the-board freeze.

OBAMA: I think the American people are hungry for the kind of leadership that is going to tackle these problems not just in government, but outside of government.

And let’s take the example of energy . . . each and every one of us can start thinking about how can we save energy in our homes, in our buildings. And one of the things I want to do is make sure that we’re providing incentives so that you can buy a fuel-efficient car that’s made right here in the United States of America, not in Japan or South Korea, making sure that you are able to weatherize your home or make your business more fuel efficient.

And that’s going to require effort from each and every one of us.

On tax plans:

McCAIN: Well, you know, nailing down Sen. Obama’s various tax proposals is like nailing Jell-O to the wall. There has been five or six of them, and if you wait long enough, there will probably be another one. But he wants to raise taxes. . . .

Sen. Obama’s secret that you don’t know is that his tax increases will increase taxes on 50% percent of small-business revenue. Small businesses across America will have to cut jobs and will have their taxes increase and won’t be able to hire because of Sen. Obama’s tax policies.

OBAMA: I want to provide a tax cut for 95% percent of Americans, 95% percent.

If you make less than a quarter of a million dollars a year, you will not see a single dime of your taxes go up. If you make $200,000 a year or less, your taxes will go down. . . . Only a few percent of small businesses make more than $250,000 a year. So the vast majority of small businesses would get a tax cut under my plan.

Now, in contrast, Sen. McCain wants to give a $300-billion tax cut, $200 billion of it to the largest corporations.