(CNN) –On the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama each take the stage to discuss service and civic engagement in a forum at Columbia University.
What do you think of their ideas? How does the role of service determine what kind of nation we live in? What does national service mean to you?
Along with CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley, CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider, CNN Political Analyst Roland Martin, and Republican strategist Bay Buchanan, thousands of you weighed in.
Click "comments" below for a look at the entire conversation.
From CNN Politics
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I thought this Forum was a great opportunity for both candidates to reflect back on a national tragedy and more importantly lay down a plan for dealing with another in the future.
He even knows the name of the French scholar! This guy is brilliant
obama;s change change change , bush bush bush, obama stop hiding behind a bush, and the only change abama is going to make is to change the name of the whitehouse, to the cribbbbbbbbb
Good idea, RM!
Maybe, just maybe, the better question would be to the candidates:
What have they DONE since September 11, 2007 aside from TALK and self-promote?
They're both a little thin in that area considering the influence they have.
I think there will be a new campaign on the issues from this point forward. The Silly Season is over...at least for Obama's camp. Watch and see...
Very nice Obama. Very nice.
you guys at cnn call yourselves the best political team on tv. start throwing inside and hard at all 4 of these candidates on where they stand on issues, including and especially sarah palin. you should all in the media be outraged at the sequester of palin by the mcain campaign. how can the american people put their lives and trust in a person to lead who doesnt have the stones or feel in her duty as a candidate to respond to their issues. where does she stand on poverty, crime, homelessness, abrtion, civil rights, infrasructure, health care, aids in the inner cities and the world. this is your job, this is what we americans expect of our news outlets. for gods sake you live here too right? this next pick affects you too right? stand up for america for once and not your corperate bosses. not to do so questions all of your patriotism and loyalty to this country and all that waych your station for info. ENOUGH!!!!!!!!
BAY– The point of this forum is to come together and talk about SERVING OUR COUNTRY. Who cares if votes change based on tonight?? Are you republicans that obsessed with the polls? What about Country First?
This forum is a waste of the candidates and my time. Barrack is doing well. Why are they not talking about the issues. It seems as if McCain is giving a stomp speech. Ombama is at lest trying ti inspire.
If you say so Paul.. but I see u r still watching it!
If you are going to moderate my Palin comments you should moderate them all including the very first post.
Shame on you CNN!
What about a "Fair Tax"?
When are we gonna stop arguing about more or less government and start talking about getting it to work.
BK...Well, we certainly can't afford the non-existence of any program except War which has been the norm under the last eight years of Republician rule: $8+ trillion dollars and counting? I'll take the programs of Obama anyday.
I think the reason he is doing better here it is more of a neutral setting. Saddleback were evangelical's wanting him to burst into flames.
What a great Interview we should do this everyday until the election
I wish the media as a whole would focus on the campaign issues and the policies these politicians intend to institute. There is so much focus on the rhetoric and "juicy" tidbits of these peoples lives, there is little substance given to their actual plans. I believe a persons past decisions give a good inclining as to how they will make decisions in the future but we need to look more closely at what they intend to do if elected. If the media would report on the issues that truly matter, we would all be more well informed voters.
I had a phone call. What did Obama say when asked whether he thought that Sara Palin's being a mayor is also important service?
Paul - You're still watching so I don't buy what you're saying!
Bay, we knew that already. You only care about votes however you can get them...What about the country, do you really care? Or just about your party winning?
Roland,
Would not mattered if the moderator asked them to commit to continuing a civil tone....
the If Obama said "I ate Pigs in the blanket for dinnner", then the McCains camp would say that was racist and Obama promised, then Obama's camp would say bla bla bla
it would be over before the weekend.
"it takes a village"
No bill, alot of america knows what a community organizer is. The question is, how does that give him experience to be PRESIDENT? That's great that he has done it, but if I'm not mistaken, Roland has family that are community organizers, are they qualified to be president??
I am 17 years old and this is the opportunity of a lifetime for anybody my age and a year older of course. Barack wants to pull in and work with the people that are going to shape this nation. We won't even need to be part of government anymore in order to make sure our voices are heard...Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani need to quit talking down on community organization, because it is truly what drives the ideas of American innovation all across the nation...- "Walking a straight line in a crooked world"- Barack Obama on his high school newspaper staff.
Could an effective analogy for Gov. Palin be an armchair quarterback? She has no federal or international relations experience to speak of yet she feels an effective strategy for dealing with former Soviet States is to admit them into NATO then defend them. The possibly of her running the country (McCain is quite old) would be akin to ESPN holding a lottery to see which lucky viewer may be the head coach on Superbowl Sunday.