Barack Obama for President

The first question had to do with the current state of the economy as it stands and the plan to fix the current crisis.

Obama said that we have to move swiftly and wisely. That we need to protect taxpayers as we move forward. We need 4 things: 1. Oversight. 2. Taxpayers should get money back with gains. 3. None of the money will go to pad bank accounts or fund golden parachutes. 4. Help homeowners, who are part of the cause of this problem. However, the ultimate cause of the problem was 8 years of failed Bush policies that John McCain supported (including less regulation).

 

 

John McCain sees Republicans and Democrats working together and things one of the answers is reducing our reliance on foreign oil. Huh?

 

Are there fundamental differences between McCain’s and Obama’s approach to solving the problem when they become president.

 

McCain says that we need to get spending under control, I guess assuming that Obama is going to have “out of control spending”. He will veto pork spending and make people famous. How that is an answer to the current financial crisis is beyond me. He will also cut taxes too businesses because he believes it will create jobs. Of course, he ignores the possibility that a tax cut to businesses will be as likely (or more) to fund CEO bonuses and golden parachutes.

 

Obama agrees that there has been earmark abuse. He suspended earmark requests until it gets cleared up. Earmarks are 18 billion dollars. Senator McCain is proposing 300 billion dollars in tax cuts to the wealthiest corporations and individuals in our country. It would give a CEO a 700,000 dollar tax cut. Obama will build the country from bottom up and not from the top down. The bottom 95% will get a tax cut. This will help economic growth. And while he will have some new programs, he will pay for that spending by cutting other items in the budget.

 

Obama also says that while you have a higher tax rate, there are also more loopholes. McCain doesn’t want to close those loopholes while cutting taxes to businesses. Obama also attacked John McCain’s healthcare plan (in the same manner that I did).

 

Obama also brought up the typical tactic of Washington politics. Obama was against a tax cut for oil companies in a bill. He fought against it. That fight failed and he wound up voting for the main bill which happened to include the tax cut. McCain then attacked Obama for voting for the bill even though he fought against the provision. It is typical politics.

 

McCain incorrectly stated, in response to Obama’s comment on healthcare, that we would be handing our healthcare system over to the federal government which is an absolute lie! McCain wants families to make decisions about their healthcare. Under Obama’s plan, they can. I discuss that in my healthcare post here.

 

Much has been said about the lessons of Vietnam, what are the lessons of Iraq.

McCain said that you cannot have a failed strategy that will cause you to nearly lose a conflict. The war was mishandled. He also said that our troops will come home, and not in defeat. He keeps taking about defeat. Of course, I explain why McCain is wrong about “defeat” here.

 

Obama brought up that we should have not gone into Iraq in the first place. Not only did we not know how much it will cost, we didn’t know how much it would cost, we didn’t know how it would effect our global relationships, and we had not caught Osama bin Ladin and stopped Al Queada and our going into Iraq would be a distraction. I think Obama must read my blog!

 

McCain said he wouldn’t publicly state that he would send troops into Pakistan to go after Al Queda. He didn’t say he wouldn’t do it, he just said he wouldn’t state it publicly. How convinced are you? Obama stated that if Pakistan won’t act, then he would absolutely go after them. And people question if Obama will be strong with our military if need be?

 

What is the threat from Iran?

 

McCain states that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, it is a threat to Israel and to the region. He proposes a coalition of Democracies to impose significant sanctions on Iran because Russia has blocked meaningful action in the U.N.. So let me get this straight. McCain wont commit to going into Pakistan but he will commit to circumventing the U.N. to go against the desires of Russia? I am not saying that Russia should have a veto power on our actions by any means. However, I find it very hypocritical that McCain wont publicly say things that might anger Pakistan but he freely says things that obviously would upset Russia.

 

Obama believes that the republican guard of Iran is a terrorist organization. We cannot tolerate a nuclear Iran. It would threaten Israel (our stalwart ally) and create instability in the region. Obama does not see us taking meaningful action without Russia and other non Democratic trade partners of Iran.

 

The issue of preconditions before negotiations came up. McCain feels that such actions would “legitimize” these leaders that he disagrees with and their illegal behavior. Obama reserves the right as President to meet with anyone at anytime if he feels that it will keep America safe. Obama stated that meeting without preconditions does not mean we just invite them over to tea. But we need to keep all options on the table.

 

To me, keeping all options on the table is the best way to go. It doesn’t mean we have to go right to open discussions, but it means we can IF that is the best option out there. Why handcuff our foreign policy? It makes no sense.

 

How do you see the relationship with Russia?

 

Obama says that given the last weeks and months, our approach needs to be evaluated when it comes to Russia. Their actions in Georgia are unacceptable and unwarranted. We have to explain that Russia cannot be a 21^st century power while acting like a 20^th century dictatorship. We also need to work with Russia to deal with the issue of lose nuclear weapons. We cannot have a President that just peers into the eyes of the leader and peers at his soul.

 

McCain looked into Putin’s eyes and saw KGB. But there was not much disagreement between the two candidates.

What are the chances of another 9/11 type attack on US soil?

 

McCain believes that we are safer now than we were on 9/11 but that we are a long way from “safe”. But we have a long way to go. He supported the 9/11 commission in opposition to the President.

 

Obama says that we are safer in some ways. We have worked to secure targets and have increased airport security but we have a long way to go. We need to work on chemical plants, our ports, and our transit. The biggest threat is a terrorist with a suitcase nuke. However, we keep focusing on strictly missile defense. We need to increase funding on the former.

 

To solve the issue of terrorism, we need to deal with Al Queda, who is operating in 60 countries. He says the way we are perceived in the world is going to make a difference in our ability to get cooperation and eliminate terrorism. By rebuilding our respect, we will get help from other countries in solving the global problem of terrorism.

 

McCain keeps saying that if we “fail in Iraq” and the “consequences of defeat” that we will embolden Al Queda and that Barack Obama doesn’t understand that. What Senator McCain doesn’t understand is that Obama is aiming for victory in Iraq by helping them to defend themselves so we can leave.

 

The only thing that I wish Obama would have done differently tonight would have been to challenge McCain’s claims of “failure” and “defeat” in Iraq. Of course, as I typed this, Obama said “nobody is talking about losing this war”. So good!

 

How on earth can John McCain claim that Obama has made the wrong decision when on the issue of Iraq, Obama was one of the only ones who stood up like a leader and was dead on 100 percent correct?!?!?!

 

Now, who won this debate? I am not going to say that Barack Obama smacked it out the park. However, I think Obama made some very important attacks on McCain and did an excellent job. I have to say that Barack Obama won round 1.

 

In what seemed like that scene from Wayne’s World where they played hockey in the street and kept having to get out of the way of the cars, the status of the debate tonight is “GAME ON“.

See, McCain wanted everyone to believe that he was not being political by “suspending” his campaign. The reality is that the move was completely political. It was simply posturing and grandstanding and nobody really bought it for a second. So now McCain has to scurry to Mississippi and participate in the debate.

And wait, wasn’t it McCain who was critical of Obama for not doing “town hall” meetings? Good thing McCain is going tonight, or he might have risked looking like a hypocrite…. on yet another issue.

ElectionTaxes.com is a website that compares McCain’s tax plan to Obama’s and allows each voter to see an estimate of what their net taxes will be under each plan.

My net taxes are lower under Obama’s plan. So much for the claims of McCain and the Republican Party that Obama is going to tax us to economic ruin.

Ok, first and foremost is the economy. I am just absolutely amazed at the Republican hypocrisy here.In 2005 Bush and the Republicans took a “firm stand” on people  they felt abused the bankruptcy laws. Congress passed reform that would force more Chapter 13 bankruptcies by requiring a means test to see if one was eligible for a chapter 7 bankruptcy. The law would also allow creditors to appeal lost debts that would not have been allowed under the old Chapter 13 rules. Bush and the Republicans felt that more regulation was needed to protect these companies. So now fast forward to the current economic crisis. We have irresponsible companies making irresponsible decisions that threaten our economy. What is the Bush response? Well, if Bush and Republicans would be consistent, they would also be pushing for more regulation right? NOPE! They just hand money over to the companies making those bad decisions. McCain and Republicans have been yelling and screaming about deregulation as a solution for years. So are we to believe that leopards change their spots? Or are we to believe that John McCain is just changing what he says to the public in order to win? I choose the latter. While the Republicans push for stricter measures for individuals who declare bankruptcy, they support less strict regulation on companies and are willing to give them our tax dollars? It is sheer hypocrisy. If individuals need stricter regulations to try and keep them from making bad decisions and then using bankruptcy as a safety net, then shouldn’t companies run by those same individuals need stricter regulations as well?

And I am not for a second going to say that we should just allow our markets to collapse. However, when government steps in it should not just be with a wheelbarrow filled with cash (nearly a trillion dollars). Government should take over the payroll and human resources departments of these companies. They should reduce unneeded salaries, cut the strings on golden parachutes, prosecute those who get millions of dollars while driving their companies into the ground, and hire new decisions makers, chosen by a bipartisan panel of some sort, to fix where the company has gone wrong. And if the share of the average taxpayer of the bailout is going to be 7 thousand dollars, then perhaps those companies should help the taxpayers out by eliminating 7 thousand dollars on the debt of those taxpayers. Maybe not right away, but that should be where the repayment of the funds go, not back to the government so they can spend it on their pet projects, but back to the checking accounts of the men and women who bailed them out in the first place. Because that is what really happened, you and me are bailing them out and WE, not government, should see a return on OUR investment.

(Another thing I find ironic is that Republicans cry socialism all the time. However, the definition of socialism is basically government taking over the means of production. So didn’t Bush do that with AIG? People are calling it “corporate socialism” but in reality it is socialism at its purist form.)

Now, John McCain is wanting to play the part of “Superman” as he tries to “save the day” by “suspending his campaign” to return to Washington and try and tackle this mess. But the campaign isn’t really suspended now is it? Commercials are still running, Palin and his staff are still out there pushing the John McCain agenda, and all that has happened is that McCain is campaigning in

Washington D.C. instead of the rest of the country. And McCain, who supposedly was trying to take the politics out of this, has basically returned the politics to the mess. After the candidates come back to D.C., the “deal” stalled and the Republicans pulled out and have NOW suggested another “plan”. It does not seem that McCain has had any positive effect on these talks as of yet.John McCain wanted to postpone the debate. However, Barack Obama rightly commented that a President should be able to multitask and handle several things at once. This is exactly what Barack Obama needed to do! Framing debates to their point of view has been the Republican strategy (and advantage) for the last 8 years. What Barack Obama managed to do here is not only frame the argument around if the debate should be held to his own advantage, his statement is 100% correct. So he is doing the Republicans one better, not only is he framing the argument but he is doing so with the truth! If Barack Obama can continue to do that for the remaining time left in this election then he will have a much easier time winning.Finally, we need to talk about polling. Interesting polling results have come out showing Obama with near ties in several key states and turning several states that are thought to be “strong republican” as being closer contests than many anticipated.

Louisiana has Obama only down by 7%. How can that be? Perhaps some Republican apathy on the part of Republicans (who didn’t vote for McCain in the primary and who consider McCain to be too liberal for them) and a possible strong showing of likely Democratic voters (especially when a main part of the Democratic base in Louisiana will come out in support of Obama, perhaps stronger than they have for any other candidate). So that at least makes Louisiana interesting (even though I still really don’t expect him to take

Louisiana). However, the “likely voter” polls do not include new voters. And Barack Obama did a great job getting new voters registered and out to the primaries. That should be his strength in the general election and may cause many of the polls that come out closer to election day to underestimate Obama’s chances.I was initially concerned that Obama, by winning the states he “could not win in the general election” in order to win the primary, would be at a disadvantage. I have since come to the realization that Obama campaigned smart in the primary, that just means he will campaign smart in the general election as well. So before I was wrong, and I am very happy to admit it.

This is what Barack Obama said about the policies of the last 8 years. As I said he would, he knocked the ball out of the park. More great lines from the speech.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this

Yes we are!

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

That is one thing I have argued for years.

In fact, I found him saying many of the same things I have said that either describe what is wrong with our country, or describe what is right with it. That is why Obama will be getting my vote. He gets it, McCain for all his service to our country, does not.

And that is one other thing that needs to be brought up. Obama, Biden, the Clintons, and many other speakers made it a point to applaud McCain for his brave service to our country. Each and every time they did that, the crowd applauded as well. This speaks VOLUMES about the Democratic Party.

Who does McCain find solice in? Rove.  Will McCain and other speakers find something to applaud Obama for? Will the audience applaud? We shall see.

Joe Biden smacked the ball out of the park tonight with those statements! The McCain camp wants to make this war about foreign policy and Obama’s lack thereof. Well, after Biden explained how McCain has been wrong on foreign policy and Obama is right, I have no idea how McCain will be able to effectively make that claim about Obama again. I see that as a commercial for Barack Obama, Senator Biden standing up there repeating all the times where Barack Obama was right about foreign policy when John McCain was dead wrong. And if you told anyone that you could shorten anything Joe Biden said down to a 30 second commercial before this year, they would have put you in the loony bin!

But Joe Biden wasn’t all there was tonight. John Kerry had a great line about John McCain voting for things before he voted against them. Bill Clinton showed why he served as President giving us eight years of prosperity.  And after all the marvelous speakers that the Democratic Party has put up in front of the national audience, I fully expect Barack Obama to get up tomorrow and completely blow everyone away. I suspect that this will be the build up to one of the greatest speeches in American history. It will unify the party, attract independents, and be the launchpad for victory in November.

I was really impressed with what I saw tonight. First was Mark Warner who even though the MSNBC critics though he did a bad job, I really thought he sold the party well to independent voters who are looking for a candidate who speaks to them. We need to draw as many independent voters to cast their vote for Obama and Warner (a centrist) did so in a way that calmly and rationally made the case for Obama and against McCain. It was brilliant in its simplicity.

Then came Hillary. Wow, she was absolutely amazing tonight. She is just what the party needed in order to unify the party into one. When she asked if her voters came out just for her, or for the ideas she stood for, I nearly stood up and applauded her. And she had several great lines, by using the irony of Bush and McCain (twins in political terms) to the twin cities, she not only got a good laugh but made a great point about how McCain (the so called Maverick) is just another version of Bush.

But her No way, No How, No McCain comment was the one that stuck. It stuck so well that I needed to make a shirt. So here you go, the newest release in the lj4a.com t-shirt line.

Wear it with pride and in November, vote for Barack Obama and not John McCain.

I understand that people can be passionate about their candidates, and I am not suggesting that you stop being passionate. However, I have a couple questions.

Which candidate is more likely to fight for equal rights for women? McCain or Obama?

Which candidate is more likely to nominate supreme court justices that Hillary would have nominated? McCain or Obama?

Which candidate is more likely to provide for a common sense strategy to get us out of Iraq responsibly? McCain or Obama?

Which candidate is more likely to fight for universal health care? McCain or Obama?

Bottom line: Which candidate is more likely to support the ideals that Hillary Clinton supported in her candidacy? McCain or Obama.

I voted for Hillary in the primary as well. Now I am voting for Obama. And at the end of the day, if you really support the issues that Hillary Clinton supports, your only choice for President is Obama. If at the end of the day you choose McCain, how can  you say that you really supported what Hillary supported?  

Update: Seems Hillary is pretty much saying the same thing.

“Electing John McCain would be a mistake for our country,” she said. “Anyone who voted for me has so much more in common with Barack Obama.”

I only got to see a small part of the convention tonight but I was impressed with both the MSNBC coverage and with the speakers. First and foremost, regardless of what anyone thinks about Ted Kennedy, you have to be impressed with his recovery. I am also personally impressed with the passion that he has for making sure that all people get proper healthcare. He doesn’t have to do that. He has enough money and can afford it for himself and his family. So the fact that he wants to still make sure that others have it who are not as fortunate shows that he is pushing this issue for the right reasons.

I also liked Chris Matthews’ point on Obama and what Conservatives demand of minorities. Some Conservatives complain about minorities on welfare and how they need to lift themselves up and not rely on anyone else. Obama did just that and what is the Conservative response? They falsely attack him for being a Muslim! How absurd is that? It makes you question how sincere they are about wanting minorities to succeed and are just looking for an excuse to be racist.

Finally, Michelle Obama. Words cannot describe how well she did Monday night. She obviously loves her husband, loves her family, loves her country and would be a fabulous first lady.  And to see the faces of the black women in the audience was incredibly touching. As a white male I cannot possibly fathom what it must have been like to live as a black woman in our country, especially for the women who can remember back to the 1960’s and the racial injustices that they had to endure. This must be an amazing time for them. All I can do is do my best to help make sure that we never go back to that time again.

Even though it hasn’t come from the mouth of Barack Obama, it is being reported that Senator Biden is his choice for VP.

I like Senator Biden. I remember listening to him on C-Span at some town hall about the Iraq War. For 30 minutes he gave out a common sense solution to what needs to happen in Iraq. At that moment, I knew he wouldn’t be elected President because he (as many other people have said) was far too long winded for people to continue to pay attention. However, as VP I think he is an excellent choice. He will give more experience to the ticket and is someone that I believe many Democrats will get behind. I believe my Grandmother even volunteered for his campaign early in his political career.