Who are you voting for and why?

The reason for this thread is because there is so much mudslinging out there that it's unclear what the positive attributes of the candidates appeal to YOU. If it's someones policies, which ones? A candidate speaks to you? If it's because you're affiliated with a party, that's cool too. Let's just get down to where the cheese binds and look at this from a positive perspective.

No mudslinging please, dozens of other threads for that.

Why do you support who?

Edit to add: I'm talking about McCain and Obama. I know there's a huge Ron Paul crowd here but he's not on any ticket.

[edit on 12-6-2008 by intrepid]

Daisy Duke from the Dukes of hazard. LOL. She'll look good in a pant suit. Given the choices, and that's a BIG given I have no other perogative than to vote for Obama. I am non party partisan. I've voted republican but I lean towards democrat.
While most of the runners have been purposely generic and non bullseye on specific topics, Obama has yet to say something that deeply disturbs me. Most unlike Mr. McCain.
Another 100 yrs in Iraq. Won't rule out Cheney as administration official. 'Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran'.
He's more of the same let's iron hammer rule.
95% of all our problems can be solved with alternative energy and a revamped foreign policy. We've seen what the old guard has done to the country. I for one am willing to try a new guard.
Regards

reply to post by intrepid


If those are my only two choices

......man this is rough....*bites tongue*

I choose Obama

My reason is because regardless of reality - peoples perspective of "how bad things are" cannot get any worse

I would not want to hear, for another 4 years, about how bad things are

If obama is president, then EVERYONE has to shut up for a while, so that Barack has a chance to fix things

I think McCain is incompetant, and relies on the fact that he's a war prisoner, to bolster his position.
Saying "im qualified for president because im a POW" is like saying
"I like pizza because ice cream doesnt have bones!"

It doesnt make any sense.

Ultimately - im at a point now, where my only option is to give Obama his chance to prove his "change"
if he fails - oh well, things wont change, and will remain the same
if he suceeds though - things could get pretty interesting.

It would also put the Dem's up on the stand and in the spot light to do the things they've been saying they wanna do for so long

There are so many things that i disagree with from both candidates
that its very hard to choose.


So, after all my ranting, allow me to summarize

I'd vote Obama. Not because i think he's the best man for the job, but because i think he's the best choice, given the options.

I'm voting for Obama. He's not my ideal candidate, but he's a better choice than McCain in my view. I know he's going to raise taxes and talk to tyrants, but we've all seen how well not doing those things has worked. Besides, I just can't bring myself to trust McCain with the job. I'm sure he's a great guy, and I'd probably sit down and have a beer with the guy, but I don't want someone in office that I could see myself having a beer with. I know the kind of people I drink beer with. Gods help us if any of them were to be put in charge of the country. Also, and probably the most important part, even if Obama isn't offering the best changes, right now I'm pretty much thinking that any change is better than no change.

I had supported Ron Paul for a while, but when Obama made the nomination (which kind of surprised me), I started doing some research on him to see what kind of positions he holds and what kind of person he is. And I decided to vote for him instead.

Firstly, the most important issue to me is to get out of Iraq. Other issues I strongly agree with are:

He's against torture and the whole Culture of Fear
He is against secret surveillance and "enemy combatant" status of citizens
He wants to take care of the soldiers while they're there (by limiting their stay and providing better equipment) and when they return home (schooling and medical care)
He wants to restore habeas corpus
He TALKS about race, and wants racial equality. It's something we need to finally DO
He is pro-choice
He is "pretty" pro-gay rights (better than what we have now or can hope for with McCain)

I like that Obama is an inspiring and intelligent person and speaker. I like that he DOESN'T have a lot of experience as a politician. He's not as corrupt as a lot of them. I think we need someone "different" to challenge the status quo. We need someone to get us out of the mess we're in. To start turning this boat around. We need a leader. I feel he cares about the people unlike the administration that's in place now. And yes, I feel he offers some hope in these miserable times.

I strongly disagree with Obama on gun ownership and illegal immigration.

And I want to vote against McCain, because I don't want to go through a third Bush term and I don't think he's intelligent enough or sharp enough to do a good job.

How about you, Intrepid?

We can't vote libertarian? They are on a ticket.

If I have to choose between Obama and McCain, I would choose Obama. Primarily because he "claims" that he will look into any wrongdoing by the bush administration. I find his other policies to be frightening, but so are McCain's.

It really is shaping up to be a lose lose situation.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
How about you, Intrepid?

I am unable to vote being Canadian but I follow American politics quite closely. I do believe there is little choice given who really runs the States, big biz. Obama is my choice because there's a glimmer of hope that he isn't totally in the pocket of the MIC. If he can hold a detente and not get the "Bosses" too angry, some change may occur.

Originally posted by Karlhungis
We can't vote libertarian? They are on a ticket.

Nature of the beast. The big boys make the rules. Here in Canada we have 2 major parties and about 4 secondary ones. Aside from the NDP who have won a few provincial(State) elections, on the national scale, little impact.

I will vote for McCain because he has much more real world experience, he's not an Ivy League educated lawyer, his policies are moderate, he will keep U.S. forces in Iraq, he values a strong U.S. military presence in the ME, and he has shown far more willingness to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats on compromise solutions.

He is also not a racially divisive, which Obama is. Obama talks about racial unity and healing, but he repeatedly stereotypes people along the lines of race. In fact, I would go as far as saying that it is Obama, his wife, and their supporters who are obsessed with the race and want to make it a central focus of their campaign.

McCain is somebody who is middle of the road, and not one to alienate groups of people the way Obama has.

[edit on 14-6-2008 by Skyfloating]

Barack Obama.
Because nobody, to this date, has been able to convince me otherwise

because Obama represents something i want

"no more bush"

because Obama isnt perfect. Because Obama isnt McCain.

Because obama wants a bill of protection for consumers against the credit card companies.

Because of his voting record.


His "inexperience" as a US senator has no bearing on this election.

The conservatives will tell you that it does, they'll tell you that McCain si better because he has more experience.


But the same conservatives seem to not care that our current president never served a day on the US senate.

He ran for the house of rep's but lost.

He became governor of Text [url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40078/tsl-40078.html] In 1995, for 5 years, until 2000, when he became president.

Obama was a state senator in 1997, became a US senator in 2004, and remains so.

So in terms of conservative rules - Obama has more experience than Bush in terms of senate qualification to be POTUS.


Kinda funny how that works out


Barack Obama for POTUS.

Anyone else is just the same crap.

Definately I will vote for McCain.

Obama has proven that he will change his political policies to fit whatever is popular at the moment. The man has more waffles than a house of pancakes at this point.

Obama supports partial birth abortion. You can't spin your way out of that one - if the fetus can be born at that point and live on it's own, even though it's early, to kill it is outright murder.

Obama's energy policies are laughable because he promises to throw huge amounts of money into "more research". But he doesn't say where this money is coming from if he can't get congressional support to take it from big oil. At that point, I think we all know where it's coming from. Guard your wallets. The whole "inflate your tires, tune up your engines" comments show me he really doesn't have a clue as to the perspective of it all.

I do not agree with a Universal health care system for multiple reasons.

Obama is a socialist and a Marxist.

I still am very suspicious about Obama absorbing 20 years of racial, hate filled sermons under Jeremiah Wright.

Pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? No way!

Obama says he will not raise taxes for the middle class, but Democrats in office have a track record of doing just that.

Barack Obama, and I will list the reasons why:

-He will pull troops out of Iraq, a war that:

*was a lie to start with, there was no reason other than oil, and I dont believe we should allow Haliburton to benefit any more from this war, if we cant charge them, the least we can do is end their gains from the war.

*A war that will cost the tax payer a further $300 billion for the next 4 years, money this nation cannot afford any longer, this nation that is in a recession.

*A war where the Iraqis want us out, that their prime minister has repeatedly said they want a time table for withdrawal, where the republicans have turned their heads and have decided to lie and say that is not true, against Nouri al-Maliki's word.

*A war in which 60% of americans are opposed to and want a time table for withdrawal.

*An occupation of a middle eastern nation by US forces that further threatens the relationship and stability in that region.

*A pointless war where resources are wasted, where they can be better spenting getting Osama.

-I support Obama because I feel the Republican controlled whitehouse has lied to us, regardless of whether others want to add in afew libs, it was the republicans that decided to BS their way into this war and decided to lie to the american people.

-I support Obama because I have been a life long Democrat, that doesnt make me part of some "cult" however many here will use any excuse they can to mislead people. I have supported always supported a democrat for president with the brief acception of supporting Bushes war on terror, which turned out to be a flop. I was prepared to vote for Hillary Clinton, I was prepared to vote for Edwards, if it was Ron Paul against any other Democrat, I would have voted for the Democrat. The Republicans had their time in my opinion.

-McCains voting record is over 90% in line with Bushes, he is indeed McSame. He gave his soul to Bush the minute he wanted to become the nominee. His no maverick, he ended his individuality 5years ago and decided to kiss Bushes ass.

-With McCain Bush will get away, he will be excused the lies of this current administration will be forgotten under a McCain administration.

-Obama will bring in Historic changes to Washington and the way the world views America, whether his "just another politician" or corrupt, the word people find to be cool, he will push this nations race relations decades ahead. He may not solve race relations here, he may not be the best president in US history, but he will make history in this nation. the mere fact that he will be voted in will give many hope into what they can achieve. Same could be said for Hillary.

-Given the recession we're suffering here, thanks to Bush and his cronies, universal healthcare may not be possible this time around, but it is something I support, something all americans deserve in my opinion.

-He will end the religious fanatics rule in Washington, No more will the name of God be used to push ones own personal political agenda, which is against the constitution in anycase.

-We will get a chance to live under the democrats again, the chance for america to take a new direction in how this country is run, then after that the people can decide where to go.

[edit on 6-8-2008 by southern_Guardian]

John Mccain, not only have I been a fan since he was rumored to possibly be running with Kerry in 04, but because he is a doer not a talker. I respect this in any politician.

People often say McCain is the average republican out on the typical Neo-Con mission, but I beg to differ. McCain is bipartisan and has worked with democrats several times in the past. He also believes in a lot of the same values as me.

He knows how way around the system, maintains friendships with democrats and republicans alike and I think personally that's a MAJOR key to getting stuff done.

There's a lot out there about McCain, but nothing speaks more about him than his history and his history shows he's not the typical republican people claim him to be.

I must also add, that we are in times of war. This is one aspect Obama does not understand AT ALL! Obama knows no more about the military system than the average joe.

I don't know about you, but I want my family to be safe the next 8 years.

[edit on 8/6/2008 by AndrewTB]

Originally posted by sos37
Pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? No way!

Thank you for your opinion on Obama

it is nice to talk about things that people care about, instead of what the media gives us.

One thing however, the reason you gave that i outlined above "Pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? No way!"

Both candidates support that. Im not sure if you were aware, but McCain has repeatedly said he's for it. He even wants immigrants to be allowed to run for president.

Issues2000.org

its all there

As it's been stated this is a tough one.

Honestly, I'm undecided at this point. I don't vote party, I vote the man.

Part of me likes what Obama says and promises me, the other part of me likes some of McCains platform.

I just don't know.

If I had to give a direct answer, right now, I'd vote McCain. I reserve the right to change my mind on a day to day basis though

reply to post by elevatedone


If you dont mind me asking, elevated, what are a few reasons you'd choose mccain right now, instead of Obama?

I'll be voting for McCain. The first role of any president is, IMO, to protect the citizens of the United States. To that end, I simply trust McCain far more than I do Barack Obama. I believe he'll do a much, much better job handling the current situations in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but is also much more capable than Obama of handling any future crisis that might arise, particularly given the state of the world today. I am also very concerned that Obama's proposed cuts in future weapons programs and in the US nuclear arsenal will leave the US very vulnerable in the future.

I also align much more closely with McCain on economic and fiscal policy. In the vast majority of circumstances, I do not believe in punishing the achievers in society or in wealth redistribution. Both have more negative consequences than positive ones. In other words, I support low taxation and small government. We have neither right now, IMO. Granted, neither party supports this in practice, but at least McCain and the Republicans are willing to run on this platform. Maybe one of these days, they'll get a clue and actually implement it. Obama and the Dems? That'll never happen. Most of them appear to be in favor of something close to full socialism and that's unacceptable to me. I believe that Obama's tax policies, particularly doubling (more or less) the capital gains tax, will have a disastrous effect on business activity in the US at a time when we're already mired in a mild recession.

Social issues? Again, I align very closely with the Republican party. I'm a major supporter of the 2nd amendment, in particular. The litmus test for me on social issues is their stance on the AWB. McCain has consistently opposed it, which is the position I take on the issue. Obama wasn't in the Senate to vote for it at the time, but his record, particularly proposals to ban all semi-automatics, leads me to believe he'd take it even further. I also agree with his stances on most other social issues, which tend to be on the political right, but not too far.

Finally, there's the fact that an Obama presidency means that all three branches will be controlled by Democrats. Not just any Dems, but Pelosi and Reid. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Obama would simply be signing off on their socialist agenda as it comes through Congress.

This is just the quick version. I could go into more detail and I have more reasons for supporting McCain, but in summary, I agree with about 75-80% of his platform compared to perhaps 10-15% of Obama's. Could I change my mind? Yes, if McCain does something particularly bad, but in that case, I'd vote for Bob Barr. I will not vote for Obama or Ralph Nader under any circumstances. I simply have too many disagreements with them.

EDIT: I knew I was forgetting something, but another major issue for me is energy policy. Again, I support McCain's policy of expanding domestic oil drilling and other domestic energy resources including nuclear energy. Given that we have the largest coal reserves in the world, his clean coal research subsidies make a lot of sense (while I disagree vehemently with social spending, I generally support gov't spending on research and infrastructure improvements; we're simply far more efficient at the latter). I also believe that its much, much more likely we'll move forward with developing our oil shale reserves under McCain than Obama where, again, we have the largest reserves in the world.

Incidentally, this is the one area where most of my agreements with Obama occur. While I prefer McCain's strategy of using proven coal, oil and nuclear technology to bridge the gap until something better is developed for the long term, Obama's proposals aren't bad at all for a mid-century strategy. I simply believe they're potentially lacking in the short/intermediate term of 10-20 years.

[edit on 6-8-2008 by vor78]

reply to post by intrepid
To vote for Ron Paul you need to apply via your town hall for5 an absentee ballot which must be taken to the Polling Office on or before Novenber 4th,2008 on or before 4pm in your time zone.
It is a little more work but if you don't want these 2 Corporate Sponsored Candidates, therefore controlled by the main streamed media.
It is your vote, use it as you desire.

This is a serious election folks.


The reason? The Supreme court will change drastically in the next two terms.


Personally I want Obama to nominate them as I think he will pick people who are much more in touch with the American people as opposed to a parties desires.

Other than that I also feel that Obama is the Best PR man that we have had in ages.

If McCain wins, that's fine. I don't think hes Bush. And I don't think the world will cave in. However, if Obama wins, I think the world will start a brand new chapter. Thats right.... The World.

Signed, A hopeful citizen of Earth.