Hardball College Tour: Sen. John McCain

Don Kerns, Garden Grove, California — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:55:14 GMT

Hardball? Hardly! You let Sen. McCain off too easily. He once again stated that Barack Obama had "signed a piece of paper agreeing to accept public financing." Chris, you know better. When he bemoans $35 billion in earmarks, and talks about how it is the responsibility of government to safeguard our tax dollars, nothing was said about the cost of the war ($12 billion or so every month). Where does this money come from? It's not even counted as part of the budget, but continues as "special appropriations."

Hardball College Tour: Sen. John McCain

Ken Berry — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:02:16 GMT

Chris, Why did you not ask McCain any difficult questions? You allowed him to give platitudes and never asking him how he would attain these.
It was the most disappointing interview I have ever seen you do.

Hardball College Tour: Sen. John McCain

Lauren Grabowski, Villanova, Pa. — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:48:20 GMT

Having been there in person, I have to say that I was very impressed by Sen. McCain... He answered questioned posed to him with all due sincerity and seriousness. Furthermore, he did it with poise and humor, which enabled him to connect to us students. I don't regularly watch Hardball, so I don't know if the questioned were "softer" than usual, but I do believe that every question that was asked had relevence to the issues at hand, covering diverse topics from foreign policy and the Iraq War to domestic policy and the economy. It was undoubtedly a hour well spent that has helped me to clarify where I stand during this important election year.

Hardball College Tour: Sen. John McCain

Marian Moran Media, PA. — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:08:21 GMT

Senator McCain, I was there and so proud of your straight answers to difficult questions. When speaking of the military remind the public of the humantarian work of the Armed Forces. My son is a Naval aviator, graduate of Villanova NROTC and is deploying to the USNS Mercy has a heliocopter pilot to serve and bring medical care to nations in need of this assistance.

Hardball College Tour: Sen. John McCain

Nancy, Grand Rapids, Michigan — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:54:01 GMT

I thought that the Hardball College Tour with Senator McCain was an excellent forum for voters to get to know the Senator better. While debates are worthwhile, it’s much more valuable when a candidate can take the time to calmly answer questions and present himself (or herself) in a more in-depth – and less combative – manner in a more informal setting. And, unlike some of the other viewers, I thought that Chris’ questions were fine. Thank you to everyone involved!

I also appreciated the recent College Tour with Senator Obama and hope that Senator Clinton will also participate. I can’t imagine why she would not want a similar chance to present herself to the voters. An hour of free, prime-time, TV air time should be a “no-brainer” for a candidate involved in such a close and hard-fought contest, and it does not reflect well on her if she lets this (yet another) opportunity pass her by.

Finally, I’d like to comment on Chris’ question about why “pro-choice” voters are able to support “pro-life” McCain. Speaking as a pro-choice person, it seems to me that they can because it’s obviously something the Senator feels very strongly about, and is part of his core values. They can respect his position because they think it’s not just something he’s doing for political reasons. And, of course, no one is “pro-abortion”. They just disagree about who should control the decision. And while compromise is obviously less of an option than with most issues, it should still be possible to respect people who disagree with us.