Monday, September 8, 2008

The Bush legacy versus Obama

You want to talk about President Bush's popularity (or lack thereof) you try to make it an indictment on John McCain and the Republican party in general. The problem is that the entire congress is viewed similarly and the Democrats control both houses. While the President's aproval is between 1/4th and 1/3rd, congress, according to most polls, is even lower(in the teens). All three senators in this race (Obama, McCain, & Biden) are parts of it. So the stench of Congress is larger than the stench of the President.

The real point here is that running away from the Bush administration toward congress is not setting up change. The real point is to follow who more closely follows your political beliefs. While it is largely a popular election based on whose rhetoric makes them more popular for those who either sit on the fence on political issues or just vote purely on who is the more likable (or less unlikeable) among those running. Even if one has ideas that appeal to you (such as a quick end to the war), you have to consider how realistic those goals really are.

Will Barack Obama actually get us out of Iraq more quickly than John McCain? Can Obama furnish us with a workeable universal healthcare coverage that doesn't bankrupt employers that provide jobs or create a large bureacracy that taxes and spends with regards to either efficiency, access, or quality of healthcare?

All of these issues are open for debate. Then there are the values issues. Do you support Gay marriage, abortion without restriction, freedom from religion as opposed to freedom of religion. Clearly McCain and Obama stand differently on these issues. Even if you wanted to vote for a Democrat (for change), do you still want to vote for Barack Obama?

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