November 4th we vote for the 44th President of the USA. Hail to the Chief! January 20th we bring on board the 44th President - on my son's 4th birthday! I have my reservations about them both, but I have so many about McCain that I just don't think it's worth going into here. Over a beer, maybe. ;-) Barak, I think, has just one potential failing point - so get ready to get po'd at me about that!
So what do I agree with that Obama professes he will either attempt to or accomplish? Well, for one, he's pretty honest about not being able to get it all done. He's said it, and I believe him. It's not likely he's going to change the face of American international diplomacy in the next 4-8 years. Or our economy, or our energy usage. Even if he tried really, really hard. That sucks, but it's honest.
Next, I think he's on the right track w/health care. It's a tricky subject, and one that state's right'ers will fight tooth and, well, the rest of their bodies, I suppose, but National Health Care is really the wtg. There are just too many Americans w/out jobs, insurance, savings, trust funds, and rich aunties who will bail them out if they get sick, or even just need something like a tooth pulled. Did you know it cost $200 to get a tooth pulled? Forget about replacing that tooth, just getting it pulled will cost a weekly allotment of food other than pasta for 10 weeks!
Further, I agree with his wisdom about leaving women to care for and decide about their bodies. Their pregnancies, their fertility (or sterilization), these are not national issues. How we got that backasswards, I just can't fathom.
I think Obama has a pretty good idea of where we need to get to in our energy policies, and I think he's got a pretty good plan for how to get there. Incentives to both the companies and individuals to make and use energy efficient houses, cars, appliances, lights, and figuring out how to recycle more of our waste is really a long term plan that can't be put off any longer. Seriously!
They are pretty close in their immigration policies, but honestly, I think McCain's idea of making it harder for the illegal immigrants living here to subsist, including prohibiting them from being insured, is cruel and not going to get them to leave - it'll just fill up emergency rooms and will cost MORE than the insurance itself. So not smart, imho.
I think where I might fall off the wagon w/Obama (though McCain was not really a better 'choice') is his national economic plan. He's inheriting a godforsaken mess of a national economy, and I really don't 'get' his plan to whip it back into shape. I googled it, I listened to it, I read it. I just don't quite get it. It's maybe too far from the macro econ. I took 20 years ago, or my head is totally not economically organized, or maybe it makes no sense (to me, to others? I dunno). But like I said, McCain's policy isn't any better.
The US Government is currently spending 600,000,000,000$ on wars (but not veterans). That's a lot of 0's. We've got the Emelda Marcos of tanks over here, and a tank cost a pretty penny these days! But, seriously, to spend that much money on something that has no positive impact on the American people is like totally wasteful and disrespectful to the Americans who work hard and pay taxes. So Obama has a plan that will wean us off this expenditure, and like all good addicts we will need to make the adjustment slowly. Having a bit more tax money around than we are used to is likely to shake things up a bit (and let's be honest, we could spend that money paying down debt or putting it into mortgages or investing in alternative energy, but why not just blow it on goofy stuff, since it's extra anyway!). I DO think it's only fair to give the Iraqi and Afghan people a chance to realize that w/out our soldiers there, they CAN make their countries livable, so a slow return to 'normal' will benefit them, and give our soldiers a segue into a peaceful reality. Poor soldiers. :-(
Well, that's about it - I could spew on about McCain and Palin, but tbh I just am sick of them. I really really really hope Joe and Barak get the chance to make a dent in the issues and problems we are facing - my gratitude to them for their incredible energy and hard work!
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