...in 2004. I came across some links of Obama in debate with Alan Keyes when they were both running for the US Senate seat in Illinois. Don't be put off by the fact that the debates are 4 years old - it's striking just how many of these issues are still very much on the table 4 years later, and the arguments have not changed a great deal in that time.
These are on Keyes' own site - believe it or not, he is running for President this cycle. I had hardly heard anything about this, presumably because he hasn't been trying that hard - perhaps he's going to do an end-run around everyone at the GOP convention.
These are interesting because we haven't really had a chance this cycle to see Obama debating with a Republican on issues that really divide the two parties. Keyes is a very good speaker - of course I don't agree with much of anything that he says, but he's well able to articulate Bush administration and Republican policies in general. Indeed, when he gets on to a bit of a rant (saying that government assistant programs are tantamount to socialism) it's actually a good thing because he's articulating what most core Republicans feel rather than editing himself for a national TV audience, and it gives Obama both the opportunity and the chore of articulating what democratic values and policies are about.
Ironically, Keyes is really funny on free trade, which he's against because he's an isolationist. Obama articulates a pro-trade position that takes all levels of society into account.
Another good thing here is that the moderators in the debates are not national figures and (obviously) the audience was only for Illinois, so there's much less grandstanding and silly format stuff taking up time. Instead there's a lot of hard, aggressive questions, yes/no rapid-fire questions, and so on. It's C-Span, rather than bu$ine$$ television, and so much better as a result. Indeed, it makes we wish all presidential debates were held on C-span by law - this is how it should be.
These are real bare knuckle arguments, with a tough moderator and tough arguments from Keyes - even if you don't like him, he's a smart and confident speaker. I don't know why the GOP hasn't parachuted him into a safe seat elsewhere, and maybe they will with all the Republicans retiring...without agreeing with him, I think he is largely sincere and would do them GOP good, and do the Democratic party good by being a good legislative opponent.
Each debate contains far more than the summaries below - these are just the 'headline' issues in each debate. There are SO MANY issues in each debate that are debated every day here on DU, where people complain they don't know Obama's real views are. Well, they're right here. For example, the last debate also touches on terrorism, trade, why Obama doesn't support gay marriage but supports LGBT equality and argues strongly for gay rights (he doesn't regard marriage in general as a civil right).
http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/play.php?video=6 ...on the war in Iraq, the 'axis of evil' and the economy
http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/play.php?video=7 ...on gun control, legislative experience, and abortion
http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/play.php?video=8 ...on trade, poverty and globalization
There are video links in multiple formats and transcripts as well. The videos are about an hour each. If you're interested, ple kick the thread so other people can see this, rather than having the thread sink and disappear while you're watching.
Edited because I messed up the order of the links and the topics.
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