And although I already voted by mail two weeks ago, I have reservations about either candidate.
I honestly like both candidates. I've been saying this for the past year and have gotten strange looks from everyone. I voted for McCain as my new Senator in 2004 (having just arrived from New Jersey.) I respect Senator McCain for his military service and his "Straight Talk Express," although I don't think he's as straight-talking as he claims to be; he is heavily funded by the tobacco, oil and gas, insurance and nuclear power lobbyists. And I will never understand why he has been so opposed to solar power, when Arizona has so much sunshine and open space that could be used for large solar plants...
Obama is a breath of fresh air. He is smart and articulate. He can move an audience and bring grown men to cry. But he began his candidacy as a Liberal (scary) and turned more moderate as the months followed, certainly because of the heavy persuasion by his contributors.
But neither candidate tackled divisive issues this year. According to the Center for Arizona Policy, neither candidate replied to these survey questions:
Indicate whether you support (S) or oppose (O):
1. Allowing parents to use tax credits, vouchers, or education savings
accounts to enable children to attend any public, private, or home school.
2. Fully funding abstinence until marriage education programs under Title V.
3. Using human embryonic stem cells for research purposes.
4. Making the 2001 federal tax cuts permanent.
5. Bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq immediately.
6. Amending the United States Constitution to define marriage as the
union of one man and one woman.
7. Repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act which states marriage
is the union of one man and one woman and declares states do not have
to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
8. Prohibiting abortion except when it is necessary to prevent the death of the mother.
9. Adding “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” or “gender expression” to the protected
classes of race, religion, age, sex, and ancestry in antidiscrimination law.
10. Expanding federal “hate crime” laws to include “sexual orientation,”
“gender identity,” or “gender expression.”
11. Federal judges relying on laws of other countries when interpreting the
laws of the United States.
12. Replacing the current tax code with a flat tax or a national sales tax.
13. Covering every American in a federal government healthcare plan.
14. Signing onto the Kyoto Protocol to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
15. Allowing workers to invest social security taxes in a private account.
(http://www.votesmartaz.org/pdf/pm/VotersGuideEnglishGEFinalBWLowres.pdf)
although both candidates have stated their opinions on the above issues during their campaign.
Neither candidate cast a vote on the $700 billion bail-out for financial institutions last month. Obama's campaign was heavily funded by Hedge funds (65%). Neither one casted a vote on illegal immigration, either.
Pharmaceuticals, Physician Organizations this time around donated almost equally to either party; historically these are Republican-dominated areas.
Obama criticized McCain for taking lobbyist money. Obama raised 91% of his campaign money through Individual contributions totalling $579,178,033, and a mere $1280 from PAC contributions.
( http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638)McCain raised through individual contributions $195,927,301, which totalled 54% of all contributions. A mere $1,412,559 came from PAC contributions. That's not as large as Obama claims to be, but still larger than Obama's PAC fund.
(http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00006424)
Obama had contributors on his side the moment he declared his candicacy. And the money never stopped rolling in. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Obama's donators were as follows:
1
Retired
$40,053,318
2
Lawyers/Law Firms
$36,755,162
3
Education
$19,345,775
4
Securities & Investment
$12,653,140
5
Misc Business
$12,239,151
6
Business Services
$10,104,393
7
Health Professionals
$9,446,425
8
Real Estate
$8,678,676
9
TV/Movies/Music
$7,264,467
10
Computers/Internet
$7,251,335
11
Civil Servants/Public Officials
$6,949,758
12
Democratic/Liberal
$5,512,685
13
Printing & Publishing
$5,467,923
14
Misc Finance
$5,153,537
15
Other
$3,434,670
16
Hospitals/Nursing Homes
$3,304,156
17
Commercial Banks
$2,938,556
18
Non-Profit Institutions
$2,502,689
19
Construction Services
$2,329,996
20
Insurance
$1,847,501
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/indus.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638
And McCain's contributors were
1
Retired
$32,321,744
2
Lawyers/Law Firms
$9,662,840
3
Real Estate
$8,108,317
4
Securities & Investment
$7,961,526
5
Misc Business
$5,364,002
6
Health Professionals
$4,929,819
7
Misc Finance
$4,624,247
8
Republican/Conservative
$3,977,805
9
Business Services
$3,142,238
10
Commercial Banks
$2,185,869
11
Insurance
$2,156,892
12
Oil & Gas
$2,119,516
13
General Contractors
$1,902,869
14
Civil Servants/Public Officials
$1,863,948
15
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing
$1,656,803
16
Education
$1,646,670
17
Computers/Internet
$1,437,328
18
Construction Services
$1,125,171
19
Lobbyists
$1,102,583
20
Automotive
$1,039,147
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/indus.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00006424
I have always looked at the Center for Responsive Politics to see what candidate was paid by what industries. Both have been heavily funded, and the contributors tell me that the candidates will run administrations that reflect the wants of their contributors. GWB was heavily funded by the Oil and Gas Industries and look what we got: a poorly-managed war in the Middle East that tore our economy apart.
Despite what the right-wing talkshow pundits may say, Obama is not a "Marxist Socialist" as per Michael Savage. He's a shrewd politician. So is McCain. And that is why I don't see either candidate being so much better than the other. This great country will go through major change no matter who is elected tomorrow. The defining factor will be WHAT kind of change.
Tonight's discussion in the US Constitution class was mostly about the Electoral College. The instructor, who on the first day told us there are two things he does not talk about: his political affiliation or his stance on abortion. "I don't want to persuade my students" he said. That was smart, although it's pretty clear to me he favors Republicans because he's yet to say anything positive about any Democratic president. And I listen intently when people speak.
He mentioned a few things about this year's election. Again, he reminded us that he was not politically correct. We all listened. I respect this man for his knowledge, not his political affiliation (that he poorly hides).
"This election will be based on race. No matter what people say, those people who say they don't trust Obama don't trust him because he is black." He also added that the wide percentage of undecided voters will vote for McCain. Which could mean that McCain COULD still win enough electoral votes to win the presidency. But he still gave the office, by s small margin, to Obama. And that is where I agree with him.
He also said a few other interesting comments. Miami/Dade County, Los Angeles, New York have a high percentage of Jewish voters. Jewish people tend to be highly educated, active politically and very, very supportive of Israel. "There are only three things Jewish voters are interested in: Israel, Israel and Israel"
There are some toss-up states he is looking at. Florida could be another disaster (he blamed the 2000 disaster there on "the Democrats who were too cheap to buy good voting machines"). Pennsylvania could go Republican (although I told him I thought that PA would vote clearly Democrat because the current Governor, Ed Rendell, is a highly-popular governor in the two big PA cities.
I agreed with most he said. But I think Arizona and Indiana will vote Republican. I just can't see either state voting for Obama. McCain is Arizona's Homeboy and Hoosiers just aren't tolerant to change. Outside of Indianapolis and Lake County (my former home!), the state consists of hard-working, white farmers.
Three years ago, in 2005, the Iraq war was the #1 issue. Then it was social security and health care. Now it's the economy ("Stupid!"). Immigration didn't even make the top three issues during the campaign. Regardless of who wins, the new president will inherent a deepening recession (that won't peak for another year, the way it's going) with more job losses and belt tightening. No elixir will get rid of the economic crisis on 21 January.
Democrats are favored to gain seats in both the House and Senate. The Democrats control Congress by a small majority right now; gaining more seats could give them free power to pass any new laws they desire. I'm not comfortable with that, either. I like our Checks and Balances.
We will see. Either candidate will bring a much-needed change to this country. Either candidate will give America back its pride and respect in the world. Obama is very popular in Europe.
I survived eight years of the Bush administration, saw my own family suffer because of decisions the right-wing establishment pushed through on and know that never again will this great nation go through the dark years like we have had. Americans are survivors. The end is near.
And one good thing that came out of this political campaign were the great skits on Saturday Night Live, the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. I haven't enjoyed watching SNL since the early 1980s.
I will cry tears of relief no matter who wins, and on Wednesday morning I will get up before the sun rises, make my coffee, and go to work.
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