So, the wife of a friend of mine wrote an entry on Facebook that prompted a lengthy response from me. The opening of her note:
"There are mountains of crabby patties walking around, shaking their heads at the other side and wondering how on earth they could be so ignorant as to like [insert candidate's name here]. So rather than rally around one candidate's message of change and another candidate's more-of-the-same bit, here's where I am right now. Open for debate. I'd LOVE to hear some of my intelligent friends' positions on this election outside of the bitter and foreboding blather via status messages about which candidate they don't want elected.
She went on to state various issues and why she wasn't a fan of Obama. She addressed each of the following issues: Health Care, Taxes & Economy, Foreign Policy, Energy, Leadership, Commander-in-Chief, VP picks, Faith, and Pro-Life/Pro-Choice.
Below is my response - thought I'd share it with the Dkos community:
Health Care: 47 million. That's the number of uninsured Americans. An esitmated 40% of those are children. Where as I don't support free healthcare for everyone, I do support Obama's view that large corporations take responsibility and not force their workers to work 1 hour per week less than the amount where the empolyer is responsib... Read Morele for providing health insurance (I'm looking at you Wal-Mart).
Taxes & Economy: He's not saying he'd increase the tax rate any more than it was prior to Bush's tax cuts. People don't like taxes, I get it. But do you like roads, schools, police, fire departments, libraries, universities, the armed forces, health care research? Bush's actions to cut taxes and increase spending which further plunges this country into it's largest deficit and debt ever is a ridiculous financial policy. And McCain wants to keep doing it. If you ran your finances the way Republicans have run the country's finances the last eight years, you'd have declared bankruptcy years ago. You want to know one of the reason's the dollar is so weak? It's because we owe so much to other countries and banks. Deficit spending doesn't work. It increases debt, devalues the dollar, and causes inflation. Taxes suck, but they are necessary to keep the country going.
Foreign Policy: Other countries aren't ruled by two year olds. They are ruled by people who may or may not have valid reasons for their viewpoints. Americans seem to think that their way is the only way to view the world; it's not. Currently, the world views us as an arrogant and stubborn nation who think we know best - kind of like a teenager. Define 'evil.' Yes, terrorists are evil. But I believe painting entire countries as 'evil' is using too broad of a brush. 90% of the populace in Iran just want to live their lives.
Energy: Offshore drilling won't help your bills this winter. Or next, or the year after. Industry experts admit that even if additional oil drilling is allowed (beyond the 67 million square miles they already own leases for are aren't drilling on yet) that planning, construction, and production of the new oil won't enter the system for 7-8 years... Read More - and that's an optimisitic estimate. "Drill here, drill now, pay less" is yet another bumpersticker phrase that has a tenuous link to reality. Alternative energy sources are what we need. People need to realize this is a 20+ year transitional phase we need to work on as a country. And think of the millions of US jobs that will be created in the process. Offshore drilling is a stop gap at best. It helps one group of people the most - oil companies. The politicians who are pushing for offshore drilling aren't doing it for you. They're doing it for their oil lobbyists and friends.
Leadership: Obama is exactly what this country needs right now. For eight years we've dealt with an 'ordinary' guy as the president. A guy who uses his gut to make decisions, not analytical thought. A guy who looks like a fool more often than a leader. A guy who shows his ignorance more than not. A guy who surrounds himself with like-minded people to reinforce everything he says. McCain is the same. Palin is worse - she's already shown her ignorance on mulitple occasions (Bush Doctrince, entitlements, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae). Obama surrounds himself with smart people and has already said he wants people who don't think the way he does in his Cabinet. He wants more than a token Republican - he's wants people to challenge him and provide alternate approaches. Rarely is anyone one person's thought and ideas spot on the first time. He shows a willingness to listen. He would also do wonders for the way the world looks at us. Right now, we're not winning anyone's support.
Commander-in-Chief: I don't think one candidate is more ready than the other here. Sure, McCain was a Navy pilot - but I once worked at a Macaroni Grill, doesn't mean that gave me tools I needed to run a corporate resturaunt business. Both candidates would have the same Joint Chiefs advising him on capabilities and threats - so it comes really c... Read Moreomes down to decision making. And the largest decision both men have made to this point in regards to their presidential run, their VP pick, is illustrative of their decision making process. McCain's rash decision making scares me; after weeks of vetting Romney, Huckabee, and others, with in two days he switches to an unknown and selects Palin after meeting her once. Obama, pressured to pick the 'obvious' choice in Clinton, makes sure he's making his decision for the right reasons, deosn't bow to the pressure, and makes a pick that addresses the situation properly.
VP picks: Biden has been a senator for 35 years. He's the Chairman on the Committee on Foreign Relations and also sits on the Committee of the Judiciary. He has extensive contacts with leaders throughout the world and most recently, was requested by President Saakashvili of Georgia to visit and help work through the conflict between Russia and G... Read Moreeorgia. Biden is one of the poorest (granted - that's a relative term) members of the Congress with a networth of less that $360,000. His wife is a school teacher who still works. He has a son being deployed to Iraq in October. Palin was mayor of a town of 7,000 less than three years ago and then mayor of a state with a lower population than Columbus, Ohio. She didn't have a passport until last year and has visited Kuwait and Germany (oh, and Ireland for less than an hour - her plane needed more fuel). As mayor of Wasilla, she hired a lobbying firm that secured $27 million in federal earmarks for her town of 7,000. As governer, she supported the "Bridge to Nowhere" earmark until it became politically unacceptable. Yet when the bridge was killed, she accepted the funds anyway. In 2008, Alaska received $300 per person in money earmarked for pet projects. Other states average $34/person. She has a son that just deployed to Iraq.
Faith: This has no business being a criteria for being the leader of the United States of America. Your faith is important and dear to you. And you can not claim to know that a politician's claimed faith is as strong as yours. Plenty have claimed to be devout Christians only to go against many of the stated beliefs of the faith. And your faith... Read More is different from many of your fellow countrypersons. I don't believe I should force my faith and beliefs on you, please do likewise back.
Pro-Life/Pro-Choice: Touchy subject. I believe in a woman's right to choose. That being said, I don't like the idea of abortion. But I don't believe the government has the right to tell a woman what to do with her body. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. If you are against abortion - fine, don't have one. That's a decision you can make based on your faith and family values. Nobody who is pro-choice will ever force anyone who is pro-life to have an abortion, so why should pro-life people get to dictate what pro-choice people do?
That's it. For those of you on Facebook, send me a friend invite if you like - my name is Ryan Kaelin (in Columbus, OH). Oh, and join the Dkos group there, too.