Seriously? No one has a response to Monday’s McCain post? I was hoping to stir up some debate. It’s not too late.
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
No comments on my McCain post?
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008The case for McCain
Monday, October 27th, 2008As I promised a while back, here are my reasons for preferring McCain over Obama. Of course, I’d really prefer to be voting for Ron Paul.
Before I get into my specific reasons, let me tell you a little about my general political outlook. I like to say that I’m a pragmatic libertarian. I believe the government should play a much weaker role in our lives. I’m for personal responsibility. I’m also a big believer in pure, unadultered capitalism, with very few exceptions. If you’ve been paying attention to the Presidential race, then it should be obvious from just this paragraph who I prefer. Obama wants the government to play a bigger role in our lives. I don’t.
Government Spending and Taxation
I believe that the government should spend a lot loss money than it does. Neither party has done a good job reducing spending over the past several years, and I can’t say with any certainty that either of these candidates will either. However, with all the promises that Obama has made, I know for certain that he will not reduce government spending by any appreciable amount. McCain claims that he will, and I hope he follows through with it if elected.
The other side of the coin is taxation. I believe the government should tax us much less than they do now. I think ten percent is a good goal. While that goal will not be reached by either party anytime soon, I think McCain has the potential to take us closer to it, while Obama will take us further away.
I also take issue with Obama’s belief that the rich somehow owe society a large chunk of the money they have earned. It’s a popular belief these days, but it’s a very dangerous one. I refer to it as “Socialism lite.”
Health Care
Barack Obama believes that health care is a right. I don’t. It’s a popular sentiment, but as a libertarian I don’t believe that’s the government’s job. If I believed the government could do a good, efficient job of providing health care, I think I could get past my libertarian tendencies. Why should I believe that the government will handle health care more efficiently than say, Social Security, for instance?
Obama says he wants to open up the Federal employees health insurance program to all citizens. The reason health care for groups is generally cheaper than for individuals is because members of groups don’t self-select. People seeking to join the Federal employee health plan will tend to be sicker than the average person and the cost of the program will rise as a result. It’s simple economics, and Obama either doesn’t know this or chooses to ignore it. He’s a smart guy, so I tend to believe it’s the latter.
Obama also says insurance companies shouldn’t be able to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions. Unfortunately, in the real world, people that have pre-existing conditions cost more to care for. Ignoring that fact does not make it go away. Under Obama’s plan, the cost of my insurance would go up because I (a healthy person who has always had health insurance, even when it wasn’t convenient) will be treated the same as an unhealthy person who hasn’t been responsible enough to maintain health insurance.
For the record, I’m not a huge fan of McCain’s health care plan either, but it doesn’t scare me nearly as much as Obama’s.
Free Trade
Obama does not believe in free trade. I do, and I have a majority of economists on my side. Yes, free trade can be inconvenient at times, but in the end it is more efficient.
Gun Control
I do not believe in gun control, for both philosophical and pragmatic reasons. Obama wants stricter gun control, which is ineffective and possibly unconstitutional. There are already sufficient laws on the books to prohibit criminals from having guns. Anything further just takes guns out of the hands of lawful owners, leaving them defenseless against criminals.
Education
Obama is against vouchers. I see them as a simple and effective way to fix our poor excuse for an educational system.
Energy
McCain has proposed doing away with counterproductive subsidies on domestic ethanol and removing tariffs on cheap Brazilian ethanol. Obama has not because the corn lobby has him in their pocket.
Obama has also been non-commital on nuclear energy. If we were serious about getting off foreign oil, we’d be building nuclear power plants as fast as possible. It is highly efficient and safe.
Summary
McCain is far from perfect, but when I look at the issues, it’s obvious who my choice should be. That’s all I ask of you. Don’t vote for Obama because he’s “less like Bush.” If you vote for him, vote for him because you agree with him on the issues. You and I will disagree, but you will have my respect because you took the time and effort to have an opinion on the issues and find the candidate that most closely matches those opinions.
Please post comments, especially if you disagree with me. If you have a blog, write a post about why you’re voting for your candidate and post a link in the comments.
The real McCain?
Monday, October 20th, 2008I had seen clips of McCain and Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner last week on TV, but it’s hard to appreciate just how funny McCain was without seeing the whole thing. There are two videos below, first McCain, then Obama. Notice the crowd’s reaction. They thought McCain was funnier. And remember that the crowd is probably 98% Democrat. It should have been a tough crowd for him. Even Obama and Clinton were cracking up.
Obviously he can’t treat his campaign like a big joke, but if we’d seen more of this McCain he wouldn’t be as behind in the polls. McCain is a likable guy when he isn’t being “handled.” Unfortunately, when all is said and done, McCain will regret not being himself more during the campaign.
Obama was funny too, just not as funny as McCain.
The second debate
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008I watched the debate last night, though not as closely as I’ve watched the others. I thought it was basically a draw. People that agree with McCain still agree with him and likewise for Obama. The debates are, after all, really for the “undecideds.” A few observations:
- Tom Brokaw really thinks a lot of himself.
- Obama had a smug grin on his face throughout the debate. I imagine knowing you’re in the lead (and pulling away) a month before the election can do a lot for your confidence.
- Several people have commented on how Obama pronounces Pakistan. Does he say it that way in an attempt to sound better informed? It’s not the preferred American pronunciation, and I seriously doubt that’s how the Pakistanis pronounce it either.
- A draw is really a win for Obama. He is currently winning, so he can afford to put things on cruise control to some degree. McCain needs a “game changer” of some sort, and this debate didn’t do that for him. It didn’t even get close.
The Debate
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008I realize I’m a little late with this, but I wanted to put my thoughts on the debate out here.
I thought that McCain won the debate. I know that I’m biased in his favor, but I feel like I can be impartial when I have to. Apparently I’m wrong on one or the other. Most polls show that Obama won the debate. I felt that McCain held his own in the “financial” portion of the debate and clearly won the foreign policy portion of the debate.
I was particularly thrilled when McCain mentioned cutting ethanol subsidies. I had never heard him mention his position on that particular issue before. Do some research. Ethanol subsidies are stupid on several levels. He’s also right about nuclear energy. If we want to get off foreign oil, nuclear power plants are a no-brainer. Is it a perfect solution? No, but the technology is ready today and it’s far and away better than any other options we have.
I liked all the talk about cutting government spending. Both candidates claim they want to do it. Admittedly, neither party has been responsible when it comes to spending our (not to mention my children’s and grandchildren’s) tax dollars. However, I believe McCain when he says he wants to cut spending. Obama wants to provide health care for everyone, and there’s no way you can cut spending and do that.
Speaking of health care, I don’t want the government in charge of my health care, as Obama proposes. The government (and bureaucracies in general) get wrong way more than they get right, and I don’t want them messing with my health care. Fix social security and get back with me.
I liked the hard line that both candidates took on Russia. Obama agreed with McCain for the most part, but McCain seemed to know much more about the region and the situation. At times it seemed like McCain was schooling Obama and the audience in foreign policy. I know I learned some things, and I expect Obama did too.
A big deal was made of the fact that McCain got some of the details wrong in his story about Eisenhower. Ike’s second letter said nothing about resigning. It took responsibility for the failure of D-Day. Big deal.
I did think that McCain’s suggestion of freezing spending with the exception of veteran’s affairs, defense, and entitlement was stupid. It was obviously an off-the-cuff comment, and Obama rightfully pointed out that it was stupid.
It’ll be interesting to see how Palin does in the Vice-Presidential debate Thursday night. Some of her interviews haven’t looked so great recently.
2008 Presidential Debate in Oxford
Thursday, September 25th, 2008As I mentioned the other day, Oxford is hosting the first 2008 Presidential Debate. Luke and I went to campus on Monday to take some pictures around the Ford Center, where the debate will take place. The pictures should give you a decent idea of the work that went into hosting the debate. Here they are. Read the captions for more information about each picture.
The pictures aren’t that great for two reasons. First of all, I used my Fuji point and shoot instead of my Canon SLR. I did this primarily because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle Luke and the SLR on the walk to the Ford Center. Also, I was a little concerned the security guys might flip out if I pulled out the SLR. As it turns out, that fear was completely unfounded. There were only a couple of rent-a-cops around the Ford Center, and I saw other people with SLRs. Also, Luke wasn’t real thrilled about being strapped into his stroller. Now that he can walk he likes a little more freedom.
A large tent set up for the journalists covering the debate just east of the Ford Center.
I plan on going back up there in the next few days with my SLR. Hopefully they won’t move anything around until I have a chance to take more pictures. With a tripod and a little time, one could take some really nice pictures around twilight. They have some very interesting lighting on the exterior of the building after dark.
Earlier in the week, the was some concern over whether or not the debate would actually be held. The latest news I’ve heard is that the debate will definitely take place, but possibly without McCain. Early this evening one of the Memphis stations was reporting the McCain “advance team” had done a walk through of the Ford Center. Also, it was being reported that both parties had reached an understanding on the financial bailout. However, it turns out that’s not the case, so it’ll definitely be interesting to see if McCain shows up. If he doesn’t, a one man debate will be interesting as well.
A lot of Oxfordians, myself included, will be upset if the debate doesn’t proceed as planned, with two candidates.
Ron Paul endorses everyone but McCain and Obama
Monday, September 15th, 2008Several days ago I mentioned that McCain’s campaign was trying to arrange an endorsement from Ron Paul, the candidate I really wanted to vote for. It’s fair to say those efforts failed, as last week Dr. Paul endorsed Cynthia McKinney (Green) (really???), Bob Barr (Libertarian), Ralph Nader (Independent), and Chuck Baldwin (Constitution). Apparently all four agreed to a policy statement “balancing budgets, bring troops home, personal liberties and investigating the Federal Reserve” (full statement). He also expressed his frustration with the current two-party system.
For the record, I agree with Dr. Paul completely on three of the four issues in the statement. We differ somewhat on the war in Iraq. I agree the we shouldn’t have gone there in the first place, but now that we’ve messed things up, I think we have an obligation to fix them the best we can.
I also completely agree with Dr. Paul that our current two-party system is broken beyond repair. We need a better system. The current system doesn’t give “third-party candidates” a fair shot. As the election gets closer, I’ll have to decide whether to vote for McCain, the better of the two choices we’ve been given, or one of the third-party candidates as a “protest vote.” Mississippi will almost certainly go Republican without my vote, so I better start investigating Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin.
The Presidential election
Monday, September 8th, 2008I watched Palin’s and McCain’s speeches last week, just as I watched Biden’s and Obama’s the week before. I thought they did a good job. Yes, she might have been a little too sarcastic in places, but that’s how political races go these days, and the public doesn’t seem to mind. McCain has never been accused of being eloquent, but I was impressed with his speech.
This week several polls show McCain either tied with or ahead of Obama. However, this is likely a post-convention bump and will level out in the next couple of weeks. However, it’s likely once they do, McCain will still be ahead of where he was pre-convention.
The public seems to like Palin. I was beginning to question the pick after a few days of bad news on the Palin front, but she seems to have been the right pick, at least for now.
If you look at state-by-state polls and consider electoral votes (that is how we elect presidents) Obama still has a lead. CNN shows the count at 243-189 in Obama’s favor. You need 270 to win. They show Nevada, Colorado, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and New Hampshire still up in the air. McCain would need most of those to win.
So, it’s not looking great for McCain, but a lot can happen in two months.
Ron Paul getting some attention
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008I’m voting for John McCain in November, but I wish I could vote for Ron Paul. He’s the first presidential candidate that’s ever really gotten me excited. I don’t agree with him on every issue, but I agree with his overall theme of limited government. He seems to be in public office for the good of the people, not for himself. He’s an interesting guy. If you don’t know much about him, check out his Wikipedia article (link above).
Obviously he didn’t win the Republican primary, but this week he has been hosting the “Rally for the Republic” in Minneapolis at the same time the Republicans are having their convention across the river in St. Paul. Some of the media are calling it a “counter convention.” CNN has a good article about what’s been going on.
Apparently McCain’s people are talking to Dr. Paul about backing him. So far it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. I can’t blame Dr. Paul for not wanting to endorse McCain. There are definitely some wide gaps in where they stand on the issues.
However, in my mind there is no doubt which candidate is closer to Ron Paul on the issues, and it’s John McCain. I don’t see how a Ron Paul supporter could even consider voting for Obama.
Palin bikini photo photoshopped
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008Have you seen the photo of Sarah Palin holding a rifle in a stars and stripes bikini? It’s been making the rounds in the last few days. When I saw it I suspected it was fake, but couldn’t prove it. One of the photography blogs I read exposed the photoshop job. Of course, I could have just checked the ever-reliable Snopes.