Why would you or why would you not?

I ask this because I keep hearing that people are for him because of "American sins against African Americans" or are doing so to prove are not racist.

Whats you reasoning?

Mine is that I'm not voting for Barak, because I cannot understand how his proposed policies would work, I do not see how he has governing experience needed, and I have not seen him put effort into his already elected position.

I'm not voting for Obama because I'm not a socialist.

I had been meaning to start a thread with a broader topic but this will suffice.

I would never vote for him. Of course I could not vote for a liberal but even if I was more moderate in my thought process I could not bring myself to vote for a person that seems to lack any coherent plan for the major issues facing us now. I mean he comes across as a blithering idiot on things such as taxes, energy, and defense. Of course he can pronounce Pakistan correctly but that doesn't help his standing with me in the least. If George W. Bush said half the nonsensical things Obama says he would be lambasted in the media. GWB stumbling over simple English is embarrassing enough but at least he comes across as understanding his own position. Obama can hardly formulate a position. He is very good at reading speeches but far worse than GWB at answering direct questions.

I'm not a big McCain fan but if he doesn't reach down and grab a pair in the debates (as far as I know he is only unable to reach up) and show Obama as the fool he is then I will be sorely disappointed.

He's an excellent public speaker, compared to other recent candidates. But...he just seems very full of ****. I will wait until I see some debates closer to the election but I currently don't like him.

But he's not. He is an excellent speech reader but when having to address people off the cuff he's one of the worst I've heard recently. At least if he's actually having to speak on an issue. If it's just platitudes then, yeah, he still does aiight (not exactly sure how Obama spells that).

As I believe Detty hinted at, he seems to be nothing but charisma with a lack of actual substance, but I guess we'll see.

That's exactly my impression of him. Like I said though, I'll wait until I can find out more about his stance on things as compared to mccain before I really make a decision. But on a first impression level, he bothers me.

I"m not voting for him because he's a politician therefore I have no reason to believe a single word he has ever said.

And the same goes for all the other candidates.

Yes. Alex Ross explains it perfectly....

Not voting for him either. Pretty much the same reason as everyone else in that he has no substance. Well, that and I have a conservative political standpoint, which puts most of his policies in exact opposite to what I would want.

Ditto

Where's the option for "eligible but refuse to vote.... again".

I'm not going to vote for a socialist, but I'm not going to vote for John McCain either.

No.

I really wanna vote for the big O, just to elect a black guy and get it over with.
But it's not the 90s and the stakes are higher so I have no choice but to vote for McCain.

I would like to see a change in Washington but I don't believe anyone can do it, let alone a freshman senator with radical left leanings, so I see him being another Jimmy Carter.

I'm voting for him because I like his stance on foreign policy, I believe that he actually has a chance of getting his healthcare plan through, the fact that he's got a better chance of getting Republicans to work with him than McCain with Democrats, doesn't follow the failed "trickle-down" economics plan that McCain seems to have flipped on and embraced, he'll actually survive a four-year term without suffering from a heart attack, he's not resorting to petty comparisons to brainless celebrities or open condescending mockeries, he can actually speak well, he can write well, he's pretty much the only Democrat I like, he opposes stupid gimmicks like the gas-free tax holiday, he supports PAYGO government budgeting, he has expressed a better understanding and use of technology than most people in U.S. government as a whole, and he opposed the Iraq War because he thought it was poorly planned and not because he didn't think Saddam was a threat.

Eh, I'm wavering between Obama and leaving it blank. I can't vote for McCain, who at most will make only a token attempt to correct the excesses of the Bush administration. The Libertarian Party's choice of Bob Barr just pisses me off. Both Nader and McKinney are too far left for me. Obama doesn't excite me that much, but he's in the right place on enough of the issues that matter to me right now that I'll consider voting for him.



Neither is he.

How do you figure?

Unless I've completely missed his plan to abolish the free market and help the workers seize control of the means of protection, the term socialist simply doesn't apply. He's liberal, certainly, but virtually all liberals in this country are still essentially free-market capitalists, and he's no different.

Progressive taxation and social programs do not a socialist make.

This.

The 2 party system makes a blank vote laughable. It's your right, but it's awful stupid. Voting in opposition is preferred to blank voters. McCain will be president with the kinds of attitudes in this thread. While Obama has said and done some hard to back things, he's by far less detrimental to our nation than McCain will be.

But apparently, some people have enjoyed the last 8 years.

Posts like these are why I hate political threads.

yep.

Seems like he's all about 'change!'..., but nobody can seem to put into words what exactly is going to be changed- and how..

This.

all those people who say hes all charisma no substance should take a look at his website. some of the issues go pretty in depth. i knew i was going to vote obama because of what i'd read and heard about him, but never really checked out his positions on issues past the "oh, he agrees with me on this" impression. after reading about his stances on individual issues, i'm even more for him.

even though i'm not sure where the funding for the programs is coming from, they seem like solid plans otherwise.

ps - i did the same for McCain and it made me hate him even more.

Most people have enjoyed the past 7.5 years. More people have moved up in income and the scum suckers at the bottom are paying less and getting more than ever before.



I think it is incremental. He certainly has proposed some of the most socialist agenda of any mainstream candidate I can think of. For example, he proposes a "windfall" profit tax on "big oil" to fund a $1000 tax credit for "working Americans". That's not just socialism but bribery!

Sounds solid to me!

'So I'm gonna buy a Ferrari and a mansion on the side of a mountain, right next to my private airfield with my Learjet.'

'Sounds great- but how are you going to pay for it?'

'Uhh...I dunno yet.'

you know what i mean. if the money is there the plans will work and actually improve things. if its not they wont. kind of obvious.

ant the $1000 tax credit is just like the economic stimulus deal. its UP TO 1000 per Family, and UP TO 500 per individual. its intention is to lessen the energy(read: gasoline) burden on people who drive to work every day.

that'd be a big help to me, i know. i spend a quarter of my monthly income on gasoline. 1/4. and i drive a moderately fuel efficient car. that $500 is gas for almost a quarter of the year. seriously big help.

also, i dont know where the government gets the funding for its programs NOW let alone how obama's will get done.

I'm failing to see why supporting a PAYGO candidate who supports expansion and creation of some government programs is worse than a candidate who wants to cut government revenue but either keep government spending where it is or increase it even more.

McCain offers the usual political rhetoric for cutting government spending without really giving any details. "Stop pork barrel spending", "reduce government spending", and "eliminate some programs" seem to be the core of his fiscal policy.

Obama, on the other hand, has at least outlined specific ways he'd improve government services through an adoption of technology, reinstitution of taxes that were cut by Bush, revocation of some subsidies, and other issue-specific financing options.

If you are concerned with energy costs, Obama should be the last person you'd vote for. He has openly stated that the only thing wrong with the current price of gasoline is how fast it got there. I guess he would have liked it more if we had higher prices for a longer period of time leading up to now. But you like his position because he says he will take money away from somebody else to give you a break. Will you like it when he is taking something away from you to give to someone else more deserving?

That led to higher revenue and a further shift of the tax burden to the rich? Obama, to his credit, has stated that he thinks taxes should be raised on the rich due to fairness even though it will reduce revenue. Oh, wait, isn't that socialist!

Fairness..? They already pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the 'middle class', let alone 'lower class'..

Bring it up with him, not me. I said "to his credit" because at least he admitted his motivation.

energy isnt my biggest concern. i just addressed the issue you used as an example. and yeah, so what if the money comes from the oil companies. if the tax credit is used for the indended purpose it will all come back to them eventually.

in all honesty, obama's education plan is what has me backing him most. i think education is the most overlooked issue in any election (even the election of the goddamned school board. every election its all "candidate A will spend less of taxpayers money on his/herself than candidate B did/will" and never "candidate A will introduce a plan to implement blah blah blah")

McCain's website has no real plan just vauge statements of "raising standards." and his idea of letting parents choose the schools is idiotic, because if the schools got equitable funding from the federal and state government rather than punishing schools for poor performance on standardized tests,by revoking funding, it wouldnt matter which school your kid went to.

obama on the other hand has a clear plan to make sure teachers are prepared for the classroom, wants to make technological literacy something taught in schools, is addressing the dropout problem and many others.

i feel this country would be a better place if our young people were educated better. every election i always promote and support the school levys. i dont care if my property taxes go up consequently. a vote against schools is a vote for stupid.

K-12 plan
College Affordability Plan

Ford- throwing more money at a problem doesn't always make it go away.

Your statement that if all schools were equally funded, that they would all be equal, is entirely false. The philosophy of the school/teachers plays a huge part.

I can't vote because I'll be away in college in a different area of where I registered at. However, I'm not well informed so I shouldn't vote either. Still, I would like to see the day when Obama suddenly says "****** please!" like one Massassian jokingly suggest.

I intensely dislike both canidates from both parties, but I have to pick the lesser of the two evils.

Sorry Obama.

And yeah, I am nto into socialism either so I third that.

I'm sort of confused as to why people would vote for the Republican party at this point.

We enjoy capitalism?

Out of the frying pan, into the fire?

And what, exactly, is wrong with socialism? Not pure socialism, but socialist aspects?

The lot of you seem to be against socialism without any real reason, other than you were educated by capitalist, McCarthyist parents or some other nonsense.