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I like Obama because I think there are some major issues facing our country, specifically social security, health care, and income inequality. Anything done to confront these issues square on will be highly controversial and could have catastrophic consequences if they're wrong.
I dislike Obama because he's voiced some protectionist rhetoric--specifically repealing NAFTA and vowing to bring back manufacturing jobs and the like back to America. Both of those promises are just hot air, as Obama himself knows given his cadre of U of Chicago economists who are stalwart, classical free-market proponents. I'm also not confident Obama will address the issues he says he'll tackle successfully. Things aren't that bad right now, at least for me, and I'm more worried about the downside than the upside in this case.
I like McCain because he's competent and won't shoot any holes in the ship by firing in the dark. I think he will handle the economy better than Obama would in terms of maintaining and improving America's competitiveness and facilitating continued positive GDP growth, but I think we will continue to see a rise in wage inequality and still greater pressure on the average American. I expect he would have a presidency that would follow policies similar to Bush's, but that he would push for some political reform. Given the speed with which he circumvented his own campaign finance reform act (McCain/Feingold 2007) makes me wonder whether any reform will be just as superficial.
What I dislike about McCain is that he's shown himself all too willing do whatever is necessary to become president. I think that his choice of Palin was done more to strengthen his campaign strategy than it was to strengthen the fundamentals of his ticket. He has run relentless negative campaigns, circumvented his very own campaign finance reform laws, and vigorously pursued every possible advantage he can get. I realize he's running for President of the USA here and that tenacity is a commendable trait, but I question where he draws a line in the sand and says my integrity prevents me from going beyond this point--where do his morals stop him using the ends to justify any means?
Sorry if that's off topic--I just felt like there were a lot of very strong opinions being thrown around and wanted to share my opinion as a true neutral.
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Dont be afraid to change who you are for what you could become
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