The final presidential debate of the 2008 Election took place last night in Hempstead, N.Y. The domestic-policy-themed debate was maybe the most interesting of the three, since they’ve all been surprisingly dull.
What might have been ever more surprising was the fact that out of the 90 minute debate, less than 10 minutes was spent on energy policy. Granted we are in an economic crisis and that should take up most of the debate questioning, but during the debate Obama said that energy independence, “is the most important issue that our future economy is going to face.”
If that’s true, maybe it should have been discussed a little more.
Even during the scanty 10 minutes on energy policy, the candidates were sidetracked by each others’ positions on NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Both agreed it could take a minimum of 7 to 10 years before America would be free from the use of foreign oil, and that domestic oil production should be increased.
Most of the time McCain actually spent discussing energy policy was specific to increasing the number of nuclear power plants in America; Obama’s focus was on more domestically made fuel-efficient cars.
Bottom-line, neither went into enough depth on America’s energy policy problems and their solutions.
If case you missed the debate, it can be viewed in its entirety on The New York Times Web site or C-SPAN’s Web site.