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Well, I've been slowly gathering my thoughts about this politics thing. And in the meantime, McCain chose his running mate. Which makes me even more sure about my vote. So, if you want to know what I'm thinking...
As you know, I'm for Obama. If you're wondering why... Well, my thoughts aren't as concise and neatly organized as Mrs Mosely was, but for whatever they're worth...
Actually, before we get started... I'm going to give everyone a pass for any individual stray remark. I can think of at least one doozy from everyone involved, just off the top of my head. Thing is, it's a long campaign. People get tired and stressed. And the cameras are rolling just about 24/7. You're going to make mistakes, and they're going to be recorded, and the content-starved 24-hour newsmedia is going to fill up all the airtime they can talking about it. Stupid and inevitable slip-ups get blown way out of proportion, and we've had quite enough of that already.
So, that said...
First thing to talk about is money.
See, the health care system in this country is screwed up. Everyone agrees on that. But did you know how bad it is? Insurance companies have way too much power. They're paying doctors at or even below cost for a lot of things. There are doctors who can no longer afford to practice because they don't take in enough from their patients' insurance companies to pay for the premiums for their own insurance.
If the doctors don't like it, well, they don't have to take insurance from that company. It means losing the patients who have that insurance (many of whom can't afford to see a doctor out of network), but what can you do? And the doctors can't negotiate because their hands are tied by the law. It's now illegal for them to "unionize," which means that they can't discuss anything about insurance payments with each other. Never mind working together to negotiate a fair price. Never mind coming to the table together. Two doctors, hanging out together over lunch, start talking about flu shots. Neither one can tell the other how much he or she gets reimbursed for vaccinating a patient. That would violate federal law. It's ridiculous.
And then there's all the stuff you, as a patient, already know. The rising cost of insurance. The endless paperwork. The roadblocks and "misfilings" and obscure language. The way the insurance companies dictate your health care - which doctors you can see, what procedures you can have, what medicines you can get. (Oh, you're free to go ahead and get it all anyway. Good luck finding a way to pay for it.)
And there's plenty more, too. But how did the system get so messed up? And what does this have to do with money and Obama's campaign? One word...
Lobbyists.
The president doesn't make the laws. He can only suggest them. And the law allows lobbyists to give congresspeople huge "gifts." So the insurance companies decide what they want the law to say. Sometimes, they literally write the laws. And then they have their lobbyists give these laws to the congresspeople along with, say, $100,000 each, and ask that they please vote them into law.
And those congresspeople need that money because running for office is expensive. Ads on TV, radio, newspaper, billboards. Campaign staff. Events. All sorts of little things that just keep adding up. And if you can't keep up with your opponent, you're in trouble.
Before you can fix health care, before you can get anything else done, you have to fix that. And a bunch of other things. You have to fix the system that makes the laws before you can really fix the laws. And that's been a big part of Obama's campaign platform. He doesn't take money from lobbyists. He's been involved with the process long enough to see what's wrong with it, but not long enough to become jaded by it. And he's talked a lot about cleaning things up. About getting rid of lobbyists and changing campaign finance and getting both parties to work together instead of throwing up partisan blockades. He owes his campaign to small private donors and masses of private volunteers and a huge grassroots movement. He owes it to The People, and he's responsible first and foremost to us.
While we're on the subject of money, I'll talk for a bit about taxes and government funds. Obama wants to "raise taxes." He knows that we need the money to pay for everything the government does and everything he wants it to do. Except... he's not really raising taxes. When Bush got into office, he did what Republicans have been doing since Regan. He gave huge tax breaks to the richest people. Didn't do much for the rest of us, but he gave himself and his friends a break. Most of the "raising" Obama wants to do is nothing more than letting those tax cuts expire. And maybe plugging some loopholes. So that the people who can afford it (the top 2% of earners, according to the analysis I've seen in several places) will actually pay their share. The rest of us will (according to those same sources) will pay fewer taxes under Obama's plan than we would under McCain's or Bush's.
That increase in revenue will allow us to have a shot at a balanced budget. Under Republican administrations (the guys who claim they want small government, but then spend hundreds of billions of dollars on the programs they want), our national debt has soared. Bush alone has raised our debt by trillions. Some of that money has been misappropriated from Social Security. Some of it has come from the large number of individuals who own US Savings Bonds. But an uncomfortable amount of it is owed to foreign powers and banks. A very large chunk of it is owed to China, a large communist country infamous for massive human rights violations (also one of the biggest purchasers of Sudanese oil - providing the money for genocide in Darfur), and a growing world power.
McCain would renew those tax cuts for the super-rich. He'd continue to spend billions every week on Iraq, let alone all his other proposals. And if he has a plan to do anything other than put us even further into debt, I haven't heard it.
And now a large part of his energy plan seems to involve drilling for more oil. It'll make some difference, yes, but it'll take years before we see any of it, and it's not likely to net us more than a trickle compared to our demand. But it does make for a handy rallying cry, I suppose.
Obama has reluctantly agreed to include some drilling in his plan, but the focus is much more on shifting to alternative energy sources. He wants to set aside a large chunk of funds specifically to research newer and better energy technologies.
And there's something else. Research. Experts.
McCain and his camp like to talk about experience, but experience isn't everything. And, really, I'm not sure what experience McCain has outside the Senate. I know he was a POW, and I respect that. I respect him for actually being a part of our country's armed forces. I respect that he survived what they did to him in the camps, and the fact that he came home to build a successful life for himself. But I don't think that counts as foreign policy experience. Even if it does, I'm not sure it counts as experience we want our commander in chief to have coloring his views and interactions.
Obama, though... he does something very interesting. He talks to experts. When he wants to come up with a sound financial plan, he doesn't just dream things up based on what makes sense to him and what he's seen or experienced himself. He doesn't just go by the party line, either. He hires people who have made it their life's work to learn about these things. And then he listens to them. To a degree that very few politicians these days will do. He doesn't just do what they say. He doesn't talk to just one of them, either. But he benefits from their knowledge, wisdom, and experience. He takes it in, considers it seriously, and then makes his own decisions. It's what I want from a leader, and I think it makes him richer in experience than McCain.
Then there's his stage presence. It's sad, in a way, but it's the age we live in. Cameras everywhere, rapid global communications. There are a lot of qualities a good president needs to have, but being able to speak well is one of them. To be the face our country shows the world. To have a voice we can trust and understand. To inspire people, to move them.
Obama can do that. McCain... has been less than impressive. I said I'd give him a pass on any individual remarks, but he's got a history of blurting out poorly-considered remarks. Of allowing his "straight talk express" to drive him off a cliff. When confronted by an unexpected question, he flounders. And even when giving a prepared speech... he lacks presence. I'm not fool enough to base my vote purely on who's the better speaker and who looks good for the cameras, but it's a factor, and it's a clear-cut one.
Of course, if you do want to talk about the issues... I'm skipping over quite a bit. The fact is, Obama's a liberal and so am I. I've looked over his policies on a wide variety of subjects, and I agree with most, if not all, of them. McCain's a conservative, and I disagree with a lot of what he proposes. I don't like his hawkishness, for one.
Actually, that's something else. If there's one thing McCain has spoken passionately about, it's his very rigid and deeply-held belief that Islamic extremism is "the transcendent evil of our times." That worries me. Actually, it reminds me a lot of Bush, who sees things in very simple black-and-white terms and very firmly believes that he's on a holy crusade to fix the world in certain ways. It's blinded him to problems and nuances and alternatives, and it's led him to take some very... bold steps. To go out of his way to make it happen, no matter what. I worry about what McCain would do, given the chance. And about what the rest of the world would think of us, choosing those ways for another four years. As globalization becomes ever more the reality, the fact that we're one country among many becomes that much more important to remember.
And then there's McCain's voting record. Voting with the Bush administration 95% of the time. And his more recent policy changes, moving more in line with the Republican party instead of playing up his "maverick" role as he did in 2000. Most tellingly, he's reversed his position on torture, coming out in favor of the techniques employed in Guantanimo. This from a man who spent years as a POW. And, too, he's gone from denouncing the more extreme evangelical leaders to embracing them - and accepting large amounts of support from them. Support which made a big difference in his primary campaign. It's politics as usual. And policies that have not served us well over the last 8 years. And it makes me wonder what he would really do once in office. Stick with the party line? Go back to his old maverick ways? Or something else entirely? Which promises would he keep?
Now he's picked his VP. I don't know much about her, but I'm not fond of what I know. Not just because she's a conservative and I'm a liberal. But... she's been the mayor of a small town, and then the governor of our most sparsely populated and remote state. Before the announcement, almost no one had heard of her. What does she bring to the ticket, other than the intriguing fact of her gender?
It didn't really bother me so much, at first. But then I was reminded of what should have been obvious... If they're elected and anything happens to McCain, she'd be the president. McCain seems to be doing relatively well. He has energy, he moves well. Better than I'm doing. But he is 72 years old and he has a history of skin cancer. I don't expect anything serious to happen to him in the next four years. I don't in any way wish it on him. But... it's possible. (And, too, the vice presidency has been a launching platform for a number of presidential campaigns.)
I have no trouble with the idea of a female president. I don't mind a lack of perceived experience when you have someone who has made it a quest to reform the system, who surrounds himself with experts and differing opinions, who has been a part of the federal government, who has been preparing for years to make it happen. But I am not so sure I am comfortable with the idea of Palin as president.
So there it is. I like Obama. I like his stance on the issues. I like the fact that he wants to change not just our policies, but the very system that puts them into action. I like the fact that he seeks expert advice and listens to it. I like the way he speaks. I like the fact that he's funded his campaign largely through small private donations and a grassroots effort which has broken a number of records.
OTOH, I don't like McCain. I don't like his take on the issues - whatever it truly is. I don't like his hawkishness. I don't like the way he speaks. I appreciate that he's said some nice and respectful things about Obama and his supporters, but I don't like the fact that he's allowed so much of his campaign to be negative. I worry about what he'd do as president. I worry that it'd be four more years of Republican policies and politics as usual. And I'm not sure what to make of his choice of VP.
That's my take, anyway.
As you know, I'm for Obama. If you're wondering why... Well, my thoughts aren't as concise and neatly organized as Mrs Mosely was, but for whatever they're worth...
Actually, before we get started... I'm going to give everyone a pass for any individual stray remark. I can think of at least one doozy from everyone involved, just off the top of my head. Thing is, it's a long campaign. People get tired and stressed. And the cameras are rolling just about 24/7. You're going to make mistakes, and they're going to be recorded, and the content-starved 24-hour newsmedia is going to fill up all the airtime they can talking about it. Stupid and inevitable slip-ups get blown way out of proportion, and we've had quite enough of that already.
So, that said...
First thing to talk about is money.
See, the health care system in this country is screwed up. Everyone agrees on that. But did you know how bad it is? Insurance companies have way too much power. They're paying doctors at or even below cost for a lot of things. There are doctors who can no longer afford to practice because they don't take in enough from their patients' insurance companies to pay for the premiums for their own insurance.
If the doctors don't like it, well, they don't have to take insurance from that company. It means losing the patients who have that insurance (many of whom can't afford to see a doctor out of network), but what can you do? And the doctors can't negotiate because their hands are tied by the law. It's now illegal for them to "unionize," which means that they can't discuss anything about insurance payments with each other. Never mind working together to negotiate a fair price. Never mind coming to the table together. Two doctors, hanging out together over lunch, start talking about flu shots. Neither one can tell the other how much he or she gets reimbursed for vaccinating a patient. That would violate federal law. It's ridiculous.
And then there's all the stuff you, as a patient, already know. The rising cost of insurance. The endless paperwork. The roadblocks and "misfilings" and obscure language. The way the insurance companies dictate your health care - which doctors you can see, what procedures you can have, what medicines you can get. (Oh, you're free to go ahead and get it all anyway. Good luck finding a way to pay for it.)
And there's plenty more, too. But how did the system get so messed up? And what does this have to do with money and Obama's campaign? One word...
Lobbyists.
The president doesn't make the laws. He can only suggest them. And the law allows lobbyists to give congresspeople huge "gifts." So the insurance companies decide what they want the law to say. Sometimes, they literally write the laws. And then they have their lobbyists give these laws to the congresspeople along with, say, $100,000 each, and ask that they please vote them into law.
And those congresspeople need that money because running for office is expensive. Ads on TV, radio, newspaper, billboards. Campaign staff. Events. All sorts of little things that just keep adding up. And if you can't keep up with your opponent, you're in trouble.
Before you can fix health care, before you can get anything else done, you have to fix that. And a bunch of other things. You have to fix the system that makes the laws before you can really fix the laws. And that's been a big part of Obama's campaign platform. He doesn't take money from lobbyists. He's been involved with the process long enough to see what's wrong with it, but not long enough to become jaded by it. And he's talked a lot about cleaning things up. About getting rid of lobbyists and changing campaign finance and getting both parties to work together instead of throwing up partisan blockades. He owes his campaign to small private donors and masses of private volunteers and a huge grassroots movement. He owes it to The People, and he's responsible first and foremost to us.
While we're on the subject of money, I'll talk for a bit about taxes and government funds. Obama wants to "raise taxes." He knows that we need the money to pay for everything the government does and everything he wants it to do. Except... he's not really raising taxes. When Bush got into office, he did what Republicans have been doing since Regan. He gave huge tax breaks to the richest people. Didn't do much for the rest of us, but he gave himself and his friends a break. Most of the "raising" Obama wants to do is nothing more than letting those tax cuts expire. And maybe plugging some loopholes. So that the people who can afford it (the top 2% of earners, according to the analysis I've seen in several places) will actually pay their share. The rest of us will (according to those same sources) will pay fewer taxes under Obama's plan than we would under McCain's or Bush's.
That increase in revenue will allow us to have a shot at a balanced budget. Under Republican administrations (the guys who claim they want small government, but then spend hundreds of billions of dollars on the programs they want), our national debt has soared. Bush alone has raised our debt by trillions. Some of that money has been misappropriated from Social Security. Some of it has come from the large number of individuals who own US Savings Bonds. But an uncomfortable amount of it is owed to foreign powers and banks. A very large chunk of it is owed to China, a large communist country infamous for massive human rights violations (also one of the biggest purchasers of Sudanese oil - providing the money for genocide in Darfur), and a growing world power.
McCain would renew those tax cuts for the super-rich. He'd continue to spend billions every week on Iraq, let alone all his other proposals. And if he has a plan to do anything other than put us even further into debt, I haven't heard it.
And now a large part of his energy plan seems to involve drilling for more oil. It'll make some difference, yes, but it'll take years before we see any of it, and it's not likely to net us more than a trickle compared to our demand. But it does make for a handy rallying cry, I suppose.
Obama has reluctantly agreed to include some drilling in his plan, but the focus is much more on shifting to alternative energy sources. He wants to set aside a large chunk of funds specifically to research newer and better energy technologies.
And there's something else. Research. Experts.
McCain and his camp like to talk about experience, but experience isn't everything. And, really, I'm not sure what experience McCain has outside the Senate. I know he was a POW, and I respect that. I respect him for actually being a part of our country's armed forces. I respect that he survived what they did to him in the camps, and the fact that he came home to build a successful life for himself. But I don't think that counts as foreign policy experience. Even if it does, I'm not sure it counts as experience we want our commander in chief to have coloring his views and interactions.
Obama, though... he does something very interesting. He talks to experts. When he wants to come up with a sound financial plan, he doesn't just dream things up based on what makes sense to him and what he's seen or experienced himself. He doesn't just go by the party line, either. He hires people who have made it their life's work to learn about these things. And then he listens to them. To a degree that very few politicians these days will do. He doesn't just do what they say. He doesn't talk to just one of them, either. But he benefits from their knowledge, wisdom, and experience. He takes it in, considers it seriously, and then makes his own decisions. It's what I want from a leader, and I think it makes him richer in experience than McCain.
Then there's his stage presence. It's sad, in a way, but it's the age we live in. Cameras everywhere, rapid global communications. There are a lot of qualities a good president needs to have, but being able to speak well is one of them. To be the face our country shows the world. To have a voice we can trust and understand. To inspire people, to move them.
Obama can do that. McCain... has been less than impressive. I said I'd give him a pass on any individual remarks, but he's got a history of blurting out poorly-considered remarks. Of allowing his "straight talk express" to drive him off a cliff. When confronted by an unexpected question, he flounders. And even when giving a prepared speech... he lacks presence. I'm not fool enough to base my vote purely on who's the better speaker and who looks good for the cameras, but it's a factor, and it's a clear-cut one.
Of course, if you do want to talk about the issues... I'm skipping over quite a bit. The fact is, Obama's a liberal and so am I. I've looked over his policies on a wide variety of subjects, and I agree with most, if not all, of them. McCain's a conservative, and I disagree with a lot of what he proposes. I don't like his hawkishness, for one.
Actually, that's something else. If there's one thing McCain has spoken passionately about, it's his very rigid and deeply-held belief that Islamic extremism is "the transcendent evil of our times." That worries me. Actually, it reminds me a lot of Bush, who sees things in very simple black-and-white terms and very firmly believes that he's on a holy crusade to fix the world in certain ways. It's blinded him to problems and nuances and alternatives, and it's led him to take some very... bold steps. To go out of his way to make it happen, no matter what. I worry about what McCain would do, given the chance. And about what the rest of the world would think of us, choosing those ways for another four years. As globalization becomes ever more the reality, the fact that we're one country among many becomes that much more important to remember.
And then there's McCain's voting record. Voting with the Bush administration 95% of the time. And his more recent policy changes, moving more in line with the Republican party instead of playing up his "maverick" role as he did in 2000. Most tellingly, he's reversed his position on torture, coming out in favor of the techniques employed in Guantanimo. This from a man who spent years as a POW. And, too, he's gone from denouncing the more extreme evangelical leaders to embracing them - and accepting large amounts of support from them. Support which made a big difference in his primary campaign. It's politics as usual. And policies that have not served us well over the last 8 years. And it makes me wonder what he would really do once in office. Stick with the party line? Go back to his old maverick ways? Or something else entirely? Which promises would he keep?
Now he's picked his VP. I don't know much about her, but I'm not fond of what I know. Not just because she's a conservative and I'm a liberal. But... she's been the mayor of a small town, and then the governor of our most sparsely populated and remote state. Before the announcement, almost no one had heard of her. What does she bring to the ticket, other than the intriguing fact of her gender?
It didn't really bother me so much, at first. But then I was reminded of what should have been obvious... If they're elected and anything happens to McCain, she'd be the president. McCain seems to be doing relatively well. He has energy, he moves well. Better than I'm doing. But he is 72 years old and he has a history of skin cancer. I don't expect anything serious to happen to him in the next four years. I don't in any way wish it on him. But... it's possible. (And, too, the vice presidency has been a launching platform for a number of presidential campaigns.)
I have no trouble with the idea of a female president. I don't mind a lack of perceived experience when you have someone who has made it a quest to reform the system, who surrounds himself with experts and differing opinions, who has been a part of the federal government, who has been preparing for years to make it happen. But I am not so sure I am comfortable with the idea of Palin as president.
So there it is. I like Obama. I like his stance on the issues. I like the fact that he wants to change not just our policies, but the very system that puts them into action. I like the fact that he seeks expert advice and listens to it. I like the way he speaks. I like the fact that he's funded his campaign largely through small private donations and a grassroots effort which has broken a number of records.
OTOH, I don't like McCain. I don't like his take on the issues - whatever it truly is. I don't like his hawkishness. I don't like the way he speaks. I appreciate that he's said some nice and respectful things about Obama and his supporters, but I don't like the fact that he's allowed so much of his campaign to be negative. I worry about what he'd do as president. I worry that it'd be four more years of Republican policies and politics as usual. And I'm not sure what to make of his choice of VP.
That's my take, anyway.