OBAMA’S PRINCIPLED STANCE ON GENOCIDE PREVENTION ECHOES IN DEBATE II

armradio.am
09.10.2008 12:05

Sen. Barack Obama, who emerged the clear victor in Tuesday’s second
Presidential Debate, reiterated his principled stance on Genocide
prevention around the world in response to a question from moderator
Tom Brokaw.

Tom Brokaw asked the candidates what their "doctrine" would be "in
situations where there’s a humanitarian crisis, but it does not affect
our national security," such as "the Congo, where 4.5 million people
have died since 1998," or Rwanda or Somalia.

Obama responded by saying that in such cases, "we have moral issues at
stake," adding that of course the US must act to stop genocide. "When
genocide is happening, when ethnic cleansing is happening and we stand
idly by, that diminishes us," said Obama adding that US intervention
must be coordinated with allies around regions.

With Sen. Obama expanding his lead in national and battleground state
polls, as well as electoral map projections, the conventional wisdom
has been that Senator McCain needed a game-changing performance in
the second Presidential Debate of 2008 to save his campaign.

According to snap polls released immediately after the debate,
Senator McCain did almost nothing to improve his standing in the eyes
of voters.

The second Presidential debate was conducted in a town-hall format
which is generally seen as Senator McCain’s strength. Once again,
Senator Obama was able to overcome an inherent disadvantage and
demonstrate to the American people his ability to lead this nation.

"Armenian-American voters, along with voters across the country,
witnessed a stunning performance by Senator Obama tonight," stated
Jeff Marootian, Political Director of Armenians for Obama. "For the
past 3 days, Senator McCain’s campaign has engaged in some of the
most vile and underhanded character attacks in American political
history. In the face of that storm, Senator Obama maintained his
composure and refused to engage in smear tactics, instead focusing
on the issues and explaining to America what his plans are for the
economy and healthcare," continued Marootian.

Questions during the debate ranged from the economy, healthcare,
foreign policy, energy policy, and taxes. The debate also offered
voters the opportunity to ask the questions themselves, rather than
the moderator, Tom Brokaw of NBC News.

Areen Ibranossian, Chairman of Armenians for Obama, commented on the
debate as well. "What’s interesting to me about these debates is the
style, temperament, and worldviews of the candidates. Senator John
McCain continues to demonstrate he is more comfortable attacking and
demeaning Senator Obama then he is in explaining what his plans for
America are," commented Ibranossian.