Why I’m Voting for Obama

I think it’s interesting that the Democrats have not brought anything to the table in the past 8 years except that they were “not Bush”. They have been railing against Bush since he has been in office, and if you need to use the excuse that Republicans have turned negative to say you’re not going to vote for them, then that’s fine, but don’t kid yourself. They are not doing anything different than what the Democrats have done (John Kerry’s entire campaign) and will continue to do. I do agree with you that I would like McCain and Palin to focus on their plan for what they will try to do for the country, much more than attacking the other candidate, as I believe what they will do will be positive for this country, such as a focus on getting spending back under control, while keeping America strong. However, I have issue with your comments about Obama being better at talking with other countries. What in the world do you think that talking to Iran and other nations which have a history of terrorism and antagonism against the United States will do? If you think that suddenly they will push aside plans and nuclear ambitions, and become great friends, you’ve got to be kidding. The world is a dangerous place, and I’d rather have a few nations unhappy with the US, than to have another attack against us. I certainly don’t hate you, but I definitely disagree with your opinion on what’s important for our country moving forward.

Your analogy is flawed. You compare the speaches of Michelle Obama to Sarah Palin. Compare apples to apples. If you think Michelle Obama’s speech was positive, did you listen to Cindy McCain’s speech? It seems you already had a pre-convinced notion and that flawed your analogy and therefore anything based on that.

Mark: Ok, let’s compare apples to apples. If we compare vice presidential acceptance speeches, can you honestly say that Biden’s speech was anywhere near as hostile as Palin’s? I don’t think so. I agree that I should have compared speakers of the same nature, and yes, Cindy’s speech was not inappropriate in any way; however my point still stands. The Republican speakers, and the advertisements approved by John McCain focused on bashing the Democratic Party and Obama in ways that were simply disgusting. Did you see Giuliani’s speech? Can you say that that was appropriate?

Russ: I’m not kidding myself. Both Republican and Democratic parties have acted equally in congress. Both have turned the lights and mics off when the minority party at the time wished to speak. Both have accomplished little. I’m saying that the Bush presidency and political method has caused great pain for this country, and I feel that electing McCain would continue this agony. By no means is Obama even near perfect; however, I’m tired of scare tactics and fear controlling this country. Saying that terrorists are more likely to attack if you are not elected is disgusting, plain and simple. I know that Obama would not carry on the legacy of fear that Bush promoted, and I can almost assure you that McCain would. With regards to other countries; I believe that you are underestimating how negatively the Bush administration and the international policies that McCain supports have damaged out foreign relations. Not just a few countries dislike us anymore, many do. You ask why talking with enemy nations is important? Refusing to talk to other countries as some form of punishment to them is truly idiotic. Not talking to enemy countries gives them a reason to hate us. If we keep an open dialogue with unfriendly countries, there is a chance of improvement. If we refuse to talk to them, there is no chance of anything besides their continued hate for our country. Why do you think that many people hate western culture? Aside from those with severe religious beliefs, I would say that most people dislike western culture because they have never been exposed to it. It’s easy to hate something you don’t know or understand. Let’s take away any reason to hate us. We can start this by keeping open lines of communication with enemy countries. This isn’t pandering to them or admitting our weakness, it’s acting intelligently.

I don’t think that Giuliani’s speech was “bashing” Obama. The definition of bashing is: To criticize (another) harshly, accusatorially, and threateningly. Giuliani, by definition, did none of that. But if Obama as a State Senator casts his vote as “present” over 150 times, stating that fact is not bashing. Did he mock Obama for all those “present” votes? You bet he did. Why?, because an Executive is a decision-maker. Stand up for what you believe then defend your position either way. Voting “present” is the “easy way out”, “sitting on the fence”, whatever you want to call it.

You keep coming back to the Republicans scare tactics and fear. You look to be old enough to remember Sept. 11, 2001. I still believe that these terrorists would do it again, in a heartbeat, if they could. And if they had a nuke, they would use it. Is that fear? Or is it knowing your enemy and to the extremes they are willing to go to achieve their goals.

I agree with you on diplomacy and war should be the last resort as I think everyone agrees. But how long does one talk before taking action? For how long and how many UN sanctions did Iraq ignore? Now Iran. The problem is that some leaders of this world are NOT reasonable, not rational, and have a strangle hold on their people (talk about fear!) that they will take their nation to war to solidify their power.

But you seem to be under the assumption that talking can solve all problems. Even the schoolyard bully usually cannot be stopped unless an “adult” stops him/her or another student is willing to get his nose bloody to try to stop him.

Think about it.

But there is more. What about energy. And Obama doesn’t seem to want to do anything except tax the oil companies. Guess what, the oil companies will simply pass the tax onto the consumer (thats you and me). They didn’t get rich by being stupid.

You probably aren’t old enough to remember the “luxury tax” that Congress imposed probably 15 years ago. Tax the rich on their yachts, mink coats, diamonds, etc… Guess what happened? The rich didn’t buy any and all the middle class people that worked in the shipyard, or the jewelry store, or the coat factories lost their jobs!

“And I believe, ladies and gentlemen, when they gave up on Iraq, they had given up on America.
The Democratic leader — the Democratic leader of the Senate said, and I quote, “This war is lost.”
Well, well, if America lost, who won, Al Qaeda, bin Laden?”

This is a quote from Giuliani’s speech. This is the fear tactic that I’m speaking of. Giuliani directly equates that losing the war in Iraq means that Al Qaeda and bin Laden win. Think about this….. bin Laden and Al Qaeda have nothing to do with operations in Iraq. If we really wanted to “free the world from the evil terrorists,” then we’d be focusing on Afghanistan or Pakistan, not a country that had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with 9/11. Isn’t it convenient that bin Laden slipped through the hands of american troops? After all, if he’d been captured, Bush would have never been able to lie about his ties with Iraq, the ties that didn’t exist. Don’t fool yourself by thinking that we’re fighting for our freedom in Iraq. We were fighting for our freedom in Afghanistan, but we’ve long given up there.

On 9/11 I was sitting in an eighth grade classroom. I remember the teacher, time, and chair I was sitting in. I remember that my friend sitting next to me started to cry, because her father was a pilot, and she didn’t know where he was. I remember all of these things vividly. My point with this fear issue is this; Bush won his second election by convincing people that if he didn’t win, we’d be attacked again. This is what is disgusting to me. Do not mistake Iraq with fighting terrorism. We are just as much terrorists there as the foreign fighters that moved there to fight against us. To quote Stephen Fry, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Think about this.

You misunderstand my point about talking to foreign nations. I am not referring to diplomacy here. Diplomacy works sometimes, not all of the time. I think you’d agree with this. The same goes for military action. What I am suggesting is that we make an effort to reach out to enemy countries, not that we merely stick to diplomacy. If action is required, then by God take action; however, when we refuse to talk to enemy countries, we are only making ourselves look foolish.

Obama does favor alternative energy sources. The problem with McCain’s plan is that more drilling will result in apathy towards alternative fuels. As I’m sure you’ve seen, people will club a baby seal if it means that they can save a dollar a gallon on gas. I’m positive that if we allow more drilling and gas prices drop, alternative fuels will drop off of the radar. No one cares, as long as their gas is cheap.

I agree with you that taxing the rich is absurd. I’m for equal taxation across the board. We wouldn’t get this with McCain or Obama.

haha get a clue man