Our National Debt

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of Sen. McCain and/or his tax plan.
Both of these candidates don't care about our national debt. The idea that cutting every earmark (except a $300 Mill reward for a new car battery) will matter/make a difference in our national budget is ridiculous. It is equally ridiculous to claim as Mr. Obama has, that he's layed out exactly how he'd pay for all of his new spending. Hogwash the both of them. Nothing they want to spend money on is going to happen unless they ignore our debt.
It is dishonorable to this country to not talk about our national debt and want to fix it. Fixing our national debt will take a great deal of things.
1) Shrinking our government. Specifically actually get rid of all the fraud in our programs. Anywhere from 50-90% of our government programs are twice as big as they need to be.
2) Do everything it takes, short of spending more government money, to get the economy back on track. We need to take even more advantage of free trade. Part of this would include lowering business taxes. It is nice for Mr. Obama to frame Mr. McCain's tax plan as "more tax breaks for big oil" but in reality it is tax breaks for all companies. Small, medium, and big.
The facts are the facts and the fact is our corporate tax rate is too high, we're the second highest in the world. Now Sen. Obama is right that because of loopholes our companies in fact do pay much less than the current 35% but if he truly wants to cut tax loopholes then he must lower the tax rate at the same time to spur growth. If he closes the tax loopholes and leaves the corporate tax rate the same or even increases it then we'll see a lot more jobs leave this country.
It isn't simply the loopholes/tax breaks that make U.S. companies go over sea's, it is also the corporate gains tax and corporate tax rate being higher than most of the world. The more our companies grow the more jobs get created and the more revenue for the country.
This article although a bit slanted anti-Obama makes a couple key points:

While governors are forced to acknowledge harsh fiscal reality, the presidential candidates continue to dodge it. During their first debate, Obama and McCain evaded repeated questions from moderator Jim Lehrer, who pressed both candidates on what they would give up, in terms of priorities, in light of the current fiscal crisis.
"There are a range of things that are probably going to have to be delayed," Obama said, without specifying. He said he still hopes to "invest in alternative energy, fix our healthcare system. . . make sure that college is affordable. . . and rebuild infrastructure." Meanwhile, Obama is also promising to roll back the Bush tax cuts.
McCain said he would cut spending and lower taxes. McCain also tossed out the general notion of a spending freeze on everything but defense, veteran affairs, and entitlement programs.
Both presidential candidates seem blissfully out of sync with the overall message of doom and gloom emanating from financial analysts.
From Massachusetts to the presidential campaign trail, citizens need less hope and hype and more honesty about what it takes to live within their means.