I believe that Barack Obama is the best choice between two poor choices this year. I voted for Barack Obama for many reasons. I do not believe John McCain has a firm enough grasp on the economy. I do not want Sarah Palin that close to the presidency. I want to repudiate the current direction the GOP is taking where the religious right is exerting an influence far disproportionate to its actual numbers. Barack Obama also offers the best opportunity to restore some of the most important ideals of America. He is the candidate I believe will stop the torture of enemy combatants. I believe he will release some of the power that has been concentrated in the executive branch over the last two years. I believe he will actually attempt diplomacy to solve world issues rather than preemptive strikes. I believe Barack Obama will work with both sides of the aisle in attempting to govern. There are other reasons if you still want me to keep going. Bottom line, there is no reason to be scared of an Obama presidency.
Thanks for the response. I guess I was missinformed, I thought his plan was to tax all profit on sale of your house, a change from what it currently is. And why do you think the windfall profit tax isn't a concern? Did he just bring that up b/c of their latest earnings release?
On Taxes: I wouldn't worry too much about the windfall tax's impact on Houston. Houston prospers when oil prospers, but it's not like there will be layoffs at Big Oil because the windfall tax is so expensive -- it'll only be levied when they make a bunch of money. More generally, his philosophy on taxes may be better or worse for the economy, but I don't think it'll have much more than an incremental affect. I can't imagine he'll crater our whole economy with a tweak of the tax system. On Associates: In politics, it's not true that where there is smoke there is fire. He has been associated with some real people who have done good and bad things. In the partisanship of the election cycle, the tendency is to polarize yourself and praise or blame a candidate for things you wouldn't think twice about if it was you. Not all of your friends are saints, and you don't necessarily approve of everything you do just because they are your friends. Otherwise: He won't be king. There will be a lot of smart people in his Cabinet, on the SC, in Congress (well, maybe not Congress), in the media, etc. that can advise, correct, and (if necessary) impeach him. It's not like we are at his mercy now. In any case, you'll need to find some way to cope. It'll be your reality for the next 8 years.
I'm not really scared, more or less just worried about it. Actually not much into politics at all, so coping with it won't be to hard, just worried about how it will effect the local economy. Some of the higher ups here at my company that I've talked with are really concerned about the windfall profit taxes. They lived through it back in 1980 and said it had a huge effect on cities that rellied heavily on oil and gas companies, like Houston.
"Barack Obama has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 96.0% of the time during the current Congress. " "Joseph Biden has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 96.7% of the time during the current Congress." "John McCain has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 88.1% of the time during the current Congress." Link
The difference is if McCain is elected he will owe it to the hardcore partisans in his party. I think Obama realizes that if he wins he doesn't owe it as much to the hardcore partisans. Clinton wouldn't have won this election. Obama will. He won't "owe" it to anyone like McCain would.
I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense to me. If Obama wins, he owes it to George W. Bush and the faltering economy. Obama hasn't shown a desire to cross party lines. In general, Democrats are less likely to cross party lines.
There is no doubt there. I'd rather have Hillary running against McCain for that reason, but I'm fine with an Obama presidency, and I'd be scared to death of a Hillary presidency.
