With less then one month to go before the election I am finally officially letting the world know where I stand this time around. Although I made my mind up a while ago, the last few weeks has really solidified my opinion and I feel ready to speak my mind on the subject.

I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat. Party affiliations are the weak minded and/or politicians. I think for myself.

Having said that here is why I am voting for Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States.

• Barack Obama energizes instead of demoralizesOf all of my complaints about John McCain, and you will see them below, arguably my biggest one is that he is negative and divisive. He rather alienate then bring people together. He rather use hate then a positive message.That’s not what we need.I’m sick and tired of the Karl Rove politics.It’s time for a positive message and that’s what Barack Obama brings. His acceptance speech at the Democratic convention was so positive and unifying that it actually had conservative Republicans praising it. He didn’t try to play just one side of the fence. He showed that there is a middle ground where most people can be happy. That’s why he filled an entire stadium with supporters. Because he inspires people. Not because he isn’t George Bush.
• Barack Obama’s policies make more senseAlthough the majority of this blog post focuses on what’s wrong with the John McCain/Sarah Palin ticket, Barack Obama’s policies are very definitely a strong reason why I am voting for him. I’m not voting for him because he’s the lesser of two evils. Most of his policies I agree with and I believe will be good for this country.There are too many policies to really go into depth here but to summarize what I like about his policies include:
  1. He’s pro technology (John McCain can’t even use email).
  2. He supports stem cell research.
  3. He’s pro choice.
  4. His energy plan is what we need. We need to get off of foreign oil and invest in renewable and alternative forms of energy.
  5. His Iraq plan makes sense
  6. We do need to sit down and talk with Iran and other countries we don’t get along with. Isolationism is not the right policy.
  7. The middle class does need tax cuts and the upper class needs tax hikes.

  I should point out I disagree with Barack Obama’s policy against gay marriage. I think anyone who loves each other should be allowed to marry. But since both candidates agree with each other on this it isn’t a means to differentiate them.

• John McCain isn’t the same John McCain from 8 years ago In 2000 when John McCain opposed George Bush in the Republican primary he truly was the maverick he claims to be. He was a straight talker and he was probably as far away from the Republican machine as you could get and still be a Republican in good standing. If that John McCain was running today I would be torn as to whom I would be voting for on November 4th.But that’s not the John McCain running for President today. The old John McCain thumbed his nose at the right wing conservatives and he welcome those of us in the middle of the spectrum. But once he realized he needed their support to be President suddenly he’s the ultra conservative he thinks they want him to be. He even made what may be a fatal choice in his Vice Presidental running mate by choosing someone who is extremely conservative in an effort to appease them (he failed which is quite ironic). He’s wavered or flat out flip flopped on a bunch of his policies in an effort to be more conservative. He’s even resorted to dirty tricks and negative campaigning. That’s not how the old John McCain would have done it.
• Sarah PalinShe is so bad it’s scary. Let’s set aside the fact that McCain hides her from the press and only let’s her do controlled interviews (when they don’t she falls on her face). Let’s forget the fact that under investigation in her own state which is never a good sign (especially when the Republican party is doing their best to stall the investigation which is usually a good indication of guilt). Let’s forget she is such a religious zealot that her policies are draconian (that is unless, of course, you like paying $1,000 for your own rape kit). The fact that she is so inexperienced, when combined with the fact that John McCain is one more heart attack away from the White House in the sky, means she could literally be just one heartbeat away from the Presidency. Of every possible running mate John McCain had to choose from he had to choose the one who was the most incapable of handling the Presidency.
• McCain is way too negative and dirty I recently saw a statistic that actually quantified what I’ve believed all along. Recently, over a two week, span 100% of John McCain’s ads were negative. Every single one. That was compared to Barack Obama’s 38%.Claiming Barack Obama pals around with terrorists is so blatantly false and negative that even to mention it is insulting to the American public. The fact that anyone even jumps on board with the concept is scary (and embarrassing to me as an American citizen). Having your campaign publicly announce they won’t run with that idea and then immediately do the opposite is just sleazy. Yes, this is politics, but this is pathetic.Negative campaigning and dirty tricks are reserved for those who have nothing positive to offer and best reflect the worst things about our country and political system. If John McCain was really about change:
  • He wouldn’t be using the same dirty tricks the Republican Party is famous for.
  • He would have kept his promise not to be negative or dirty. Being a dirty campaigner makes him just part of the political machine we all want to get away from.
• His policies suck John McCain’s health care plan is so horrible, it doesn’t even offer panax ginseng supplements. Taxing health care? It’s bad enough that so many people can’t get health care as it is, I want to vote for someone who will give me the opportunity of getting my psoriasis cream at a good price. But 20 million people, which could very possibly include me, would lose coverage because of this plan. And that $5,000 credit he likes to talk about is per family. So if you’re not a family, like me, you only get $2,500. Considering that health care for a family costs $12,000 per year (not sure how much individual health care is) I don’t see how that is supposed to do anything but screw over the lower and middle classes, so people end up just trying to keep as healthy as possible, trying to eat as healthy as they can or doing a little exercise with equipment as the balance disc URBNFIT that can be use at home. Deregulating health care, like John McCain wants to do, will cause the actual benefits you receive to decrease in value and coverage. How is that supposed to help?John McCain’s mortgage buyout he mentioned in the second debate is just a sad political ploy to trick voters into thinking they’re getting free money. But it’s nothing more then a sham. Let’s pretend the $700 billion bailout passed last week didn’t already have a provision for this (it does which makes his proposal redundant anyway) and look at the other problems it brings:
  • Where the heck are we going to get the $300 billion we will need to do that? Why $300 billion dollars? Because that’s how much it will cost to buy out every failed mortgage thus far. This doesn’t include new failures (they’re still happening) and reason #2…
  • It’s will cause a moral hazard. What do you think will happen when people like me who are paying their mortgage on time see people who aren’t paying their mortgage getting a better deal? We’re going to think, “why should I keep paying my mortgage when I can stop paying, keep the money, and then have my mortgage reduced and my payment lowered”? I could save myself tens of thousands of dollars and all I have to do is stop paying my mortgage. My life won’t be affected in any significant way other then a credit hit. But in my case my credit is strong enough, and my need for good credit low enough, that I could easily whether the hit I would take. To put it simply, that plan would blow up in his face (and in tax payers’ wallets).

  Cutting taxes for the rich only benefits the rich. The trickle down theory just doesn’t quite cut it for me. I don’t want the rich and big business to filter money through to me. I want it directly and I want as much of it as I can. Making the rich richer before I see a dime is not my idea of a good economic policy.

• We can’t have four more years of Bush To put it simply George Bush is arguably the worst President this country has ever had. Only the rich are better off then they were eight years ago (although after the recently stock market debacle that may not even be true anymore). Our country went from respected around the world to mistrusted and reviled. Our economy is in shambles. Our homes are worth less then we paid for them (a lot less). And basically we have nothing positive to show for his administration. I firmly believe that John McCain will continue the majority of Bush’s policies. That is completely unacceptable. On that premise alone I would vote for the Democratic candidate regardless if I even liked them or believed in their policies. Any alternative to the last eight Republican/Bush years is a welcome one.

Before anyone calls me naive, I’ve been around long enough to know politics is politics. I’ve also been around long enough to know it all starts at the top. Where this country stands right now is 100% a direct result of George Bush’s policies. The power of the Presidency is tremendous. I believe Barack Obama’s policies are better then John McCain’s. I don’t expect a miracle. I don’t expect the government to suddenly function efficiently and to actually do what’s best for the people. But with Barack Obama as President I believe we will be better off then with John McCain as President.