John McCain versus Barack Obama: An Ethic Battle

Assuming Senator Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination, one will see a variety of issues which both Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will argue. The War in Iraq, Poverty, Health care, Education, etc. (the usual) issues will still be argued, however the media and both senators will focus on the most important issue of their campaign: ethics.

One can determine this through arguments of John McCain’s attack on Senator Barack Obama for not accepting an earlier promise made by the two senators to only accept public financing during the general election. It is not certain whether or not Obama will accept only public financing if he is nominated to the race for the presidency, given his ability to fundraise heavily this quarter over his current opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton. And while Obama was able to fundraise over 140 million dollars, John McCain has only been able to fundraise 55 million dollars. Barack Obama may reconsider, which would cause an ethic’s issue.

On the other hand, the New York Times has reported a ‘scandal’ which states that Senator McCain might have had an affair with a female lobbyist. Even though the New York Times did not have reliable sources, nor has John McCain or the lobbyist said their relationship was romantic, it still raises questions which John McCain has to answer. The Democratic Party also filed a report with the Federal Election Commission which stated that Senator McCain had ‘broken the law’ when it came to spending and fundraising his campaign money. John McCain said he followed the rules. Joe Sandler, the General Counsel for the Democratic National Committee, even branded him a ‘liar’ in an email sent to Democratic supporters.

Both Barack Obama and John McCain believe in ethic reform in Washington, DC. Both believe lobbyists should not have such a large influence over Washington. Barack Obama’s message of ‘Change’ signifies the importance of his message to reform Washington to allow lobbyist’s limited power. John McCain believes the same, however both men have taken rewards from lobbyists, and both senators now oppose what they initially received.

When and if Barack Obama receives the nomination from the Democratic Party, one will observe that the Republicans Party and John McCain will attempt to attack Barack Obama on his message of ‘change’ including ethics. The Democratic Party and Barack Obama will attack John McCain on his question of lawfully fundraising and spending, and other ethics. This will be a long ‘ethic battle’.