Having difficulty figuring out who to vote for: McCain or Obama - Political Forum

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 03-19-2008, 02:27 PM

I used to be a hardcore Obama supporter. Obama was like a knight in shining armor to me. Everything I respect in a politician: intelligent, eloquent, a uniter, also given that I am multiracial and so is he, I saw myself in Obama. His inexperience is a drawback, but that seemed be outweighed by other factors.

The recent Rev. Wright split has taken the shine off of Obama's armor in my view, and I've been in favor of staying in Iraq for a while now. I'm now trying to decide who I should support based upon policy.

The two main issues are this:

The right economic policy (Obama's)

or

The right foreign policy (McCain's)

I am not sure which I should prioritize. The poor and working class of our country need healthcare, but the people in Iraq need us to stay. I am not sure which one is more morally correct to prioritize. I think most people on this forum do not support staying in Iraq, but I'll just throw this out there anyway. Which issue is more important: making sure we get it right in Iraq, or getting the poor of the US healthcare?

WEB

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edit Dilemma solved for the moment

I've decided to vote for Obama, barring any unforseen events.

Months ago, before this controversy broke out, I talked to a poor guy in Maine and several other people and maybe persuaded them to vote for Obama. I've already cast my lot in with them. If I changed my vote now, then I would have mislead those people. I owe it to them to vote for Obama.

So, if nothing really huge happens, I'm voting Obama.

tdallen22 · 03-19-2008, 03:04 PM

Before I can respond, I have to ask you, why you believe so strongly in staying in the war?

wes445 · 03-19-2008, 03:11 PM

Why do people think these two things are seperated. Can we afford this war? Can we afford to put off doing the social mending our society need, again, so we can do the heavy lifting in Iraq for the next decade or more. McCain and his party are all for Iraq and beyond. If rights have to be abandon, that is ok. Human services get cut, Oh that was just entitlements anyway. But a chance to empty the america coffers and going into deeper debt with China for wars and it's profiteers? well, hell yes in the name of security. The right foreign policy is the one that doesn't destory your economic policy.

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 03-19-2008, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdallen22

Before I can respond, I have to ask you, why you believe so strongly in staying in the war?

The civil war in Iraq is the responsibility of the United States. Who started their civil war? We did. Before we arrived, there was no civil war. We caused it. It is our responsibility to fix it.

Secondly, thousands will die if we leave. I was always under the impression that liberalism involved caring about the lives of innocent people.

Caltex · 03-19-2008, 03:35 PM

I'm neutral on the issue as I will not be voting for either, but I would say McCain is definitely preferable for one important reason: It keeps the branches of government divided.

Whenever one party consolidates power, all hell seems to break loose. Having a divided government forces compromise, and ensures that the government doesn't get out of control and waste like crazy. A perfect example would be Bush's first six years in office and zero vetoes. The same is true for Clinton, during his first two years in office he issued zero vetoes.

When the President does not restrain congress, spending gets out of control, and becomes very wasteful. When the Congress does not restrain the President, executive policy goes bad. When the President and congress are of opposite parties, they keep each other in line.

tdallen22 · 03-19-2008, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W.E.B. Du Bois

The civil war in Iraq is the responsibility of the United States. Who started their civil war? We did. Before we arrived, there was no civil war. We caused it. It is our responsibility to fix it.

Secondly, thousands will die if we leave. I was always under the impression that liberalism involved caring about the lives of innocent people.

Well, if we stay in Iraq, aren't many more American soldiers going to die in a war they should have never been in to begin with? Like many others, I have lost three family members in this war.

Furthermore, I don't see any liberalism when it comes to the genocide that is happening right now in Darfur. And there definitely wasn't any concern coming from our government when the same thing happened in Rwanda.

Barak Obama (D-IL) stated the following remarks at the Condoleezza Rice nomination hearing on January 18, 2005 :

• "I guess what I'm trying to figure out here -- and this is particular to military action and military incursions -- do we have a well thought through doctrine that we can present to the world that explains when we feel that military action is justified and when it is not? Apparently, it's not justified in Sudan, where there's a genocide taking place. It wasn't justified in Rwanda, despite, I think, a unanimity that that was one of the greatest tragedies that occurred in my lifetime. There are a number of circumstances in which we have felt that such incursions or nation-building are not appropriate, despite the evidence of great tyranny, and yet in Iraq and perhaps in Iran and perhaps in other circumstances we think it is."

I definitely won't be conder voting for Mc Cain because of his Foreign Policy.

tdallen22 · 03-19-2008, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdallen22

I definitely won't be conder voting for Mc Cain because of his Foreign Policy.

Sorry, I meant I won't consider voting for Mc Cain.

rsather139 · 03-19-2008, 03:51 PM

Well, I think fixing our economy and getting the country itself back in shape is much more important than Iraq. People need to be reminded of what it means to be an American, that is the people matter in politics and our elected officials are our servants, not the other way around.

Iraq can go to hell in a hand basket and the US can still be in a powerful position. The same cannot be said of the economy. That's why I'm still an Obama supporter.

tresha · 03-19-2008, 03:58 PM

Senator McCain is the first Republican to come along in a while that I would even consider voting for.
I truly like that he does not say things only because that's what Republicans have always said.

But between continuing the war in Iraq or helping the economy here at home, I'm gonna have to go with the economy.
Has it been before that we've been in a war and had the economy this bad?
I thought historically war time meant a better economy?
Anyway, while I don't wish to leave the Iraqi's to their own devices, I think America is past the point of needing the economy straightened out.

HartParr · 03-19-2008, 03:59 PM

W.E.B, I understand where you're at with this.

I'm just going to have to refer you to my post about old school entrenched politicians and how I REALLY DO believe Obama hasn't been diseased by the climate they all come from.

I plan on voting for Obama. Nothing at this point changes that.