A Matter of Trust

I feel like Obama decisively won last night's presidential debate, but there was at least one exchange where McCain gave the better answer:

Sen. Obama, this is a question from you from Teresa Finch ...

Finch: How can we trust either of you with our money when both parties got -- got us into this global economic crisis?

Obama: Well, look, I understand your frustration and your cynicism, because while you've been carrying out your responsibilities -- most of the people here, you've got a family budget. If less money is coming in, you end up making cuts. Maybe you don't go out to dinner as much. Maybe you put off buying a new car.

That's not what happens in Washington. And you're right. There is a lot of blame to go around ...

The key is whether or not we've got priorities that are working for you as opposed to those who have been dictating the policy in Washington lately, and that's mostly lobbyists and special interests. We've got to put an end to that.

Brokaw: Sen. McCain?

McCain: Well, Theresa (ph), thank you. And I can see why you feel that cynicism and mistrust, because the system in Washington is broken. And I have been a consistent reformer ...

And now I suggest that maybe you go to some of these organizations that are the watchdogs of what we do, like the Citizens Against Government Waste or the National Taxpayers Union or these other organizations that watch us all the time.

Sure, his answer turned into another run of the mill criticism of Obama--but he came much closer to having the right idea. The correct answer to "Why should we trust either of you?" is "You shouldn't," followed by an explanation of how the president and legislators can be held accountable by ordinary citizens. I'm sure Obama, as a former community organizer, understands this process--but he missed an opportunity to demonstrate this last night.

Related: Watch the Executive Branch