The debate I would like to see

September 5, 6:21 PMProgressive Politics ExaminerJay McDonough

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In John McCain's acceptance speech last night, he said the following:

"My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor."

Senator McCain also said this while campaigning last month:

"I just want to establish one fundamental fact with you," McCain told a group of voters in Belleville, Mich., this week. "If you want a president of the United States that's going to raise your taxes, I'm not your candidate. I'm not your candidate, Senator Obama is. I just want to make that very clear."

Now both statements are just flat out false.  And I won't deny Barack Obama has mischaracterized some of John McCain's policies.

Ezra Klein has a good idea. 

...here's the question I'd love to see John McCain asked: "Senator McCain, can you describe how Senator Obama's health care plan works?" And if he gets it wrong, I'd like to see the moderator correct him and ask what he thinks of the actual plan.

McCain certainly talks Obama's plan down plenty, and fair enough. But I'd bet good money, and a fair amount of it, that there's no way he could describe it. And I wouldn't mind seeing the same question put to Obama. The two of them should be forced to display some rudimentary understanding of what this debate is actually about, and if either can't, that should say a lot about the salvos that have been unleashed thus far. (Link)

It seems a reasonable expectation that each candidate should no their rivals positions.  It also seems reasonable any substantive debate would require the candidates to debate their actual positions and not the positions the campaigns have spun.