Monday, October 20, 2008

Questions For The Undecided Voter

Congratulations on not being swayed by the endless political rallies, ads, media coverage and phone calls asking for your commitment to the Obama/Biden or the McCain/Palin ticket. You are running out of time to decide but before you do, here are a few questions that you might want to consider. If your answers are in the positive then you should vote for Barack Obama. However if you are unsure about the answers then John McCain deserves your vote.


The Economy: Despite all his mockery of McCain not being knowledgeable on the economy, Obama's background is anything but economic. As a lawyer, a law professor, a community organizer and Senator he has been even more removed from economic and financial affairs than John McCain. When all the rhetoric is peeled away, Obama's economic plan boils down to the redistribution of wealth which he himself admitted to Joe the plumber. One can also expect the deficit to balloon exponentially due to his massive spending programs.Do you agree with the policy that will drive the deficit through the roof and take your hard earned money and pass it out to people who can't cut it?


Military Policy: If Obama is elected, it will be the first time in history that America will elect a President who will preside over three wars (Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war on terror). Obama will also be a war time President who has not even the remotest experience with management or military strategy or war in general. In the one chance he had as an elected official, he showed his flawed judgement by declaring the surge a failure before it was even implemented. If he had been allowed to have his way, the troops would already be home by now, the surge would have never occurred and Iraq would be in a state of genocide and chaos. His logic is that we should not have been there in the first place. This is a backward facing view that the next President cannot afford to have.Do you trust a man who was never even a boy scout and has not even run a hot dog stand to manage three wars?


Taxes: Every chance he has had to vote for tax cuts or vote against tax increases, Obama has said no. The only tax cuts Obama has given are rhetorical. But now he promises to cut your taxes and that of 95% of Americans. He will also be running a welfare program in effect by giving tax rebate checks to people that do not pay any income taxes. You should also keep in mind that Bill Clinton ran on a platform of tax cuts but raised taxes once he got elected. It would simply be extremely irresponsible not to raise taxes to pay for the enormous spending programs the Democrats have in mind.

Do you have enough faith in Obama's word that he will not raise taxes even though the record of Democrats and Obama himself reflects the opposite?


Healthcare: Sen. Obama will have the government run the healthcare system for you. This is the government that cannot even secure the country's borders. Besides its ineffectiveness, imagine the experiences you will have at a government run health care facility (hint: think about your last visit to the DMV or the social security office).

Do you feel confident and hopeful about seeing a government appointed DMV style clerk for your healthcare needs?


Energy: It is not a stretch to state that Obama's experience with energy issues is limited to his experience at the local gas station. He voted for a disastrous energy bill and was also opposed to offshore drilling and nuclear power but now supports both. You would be right to assume that he shifted with the polls on energy issues just like he did on FISA and the Patriot Act.

Do you trust Obama to not change his mind and go back to his original views once he is elected?


Associations and Judgement: Obama has made his campaign about judgement being more important than experience. However the only people he has been closely associated for an extended period of time have turned out to be unsavory to say the least. He could not recognize or chose to ignore the characters of men like Rev. Wright, Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers. Associating with hate mongering pastors, shady political fixers and unrepentant terrorists would be non issues if Obama had a long record that would have helped Americans 'know' him. But he does not, so these are legitimate issues.

Do you feel safe and sure about Obama's judgement and ability to deal with rogue world leaders when he could not even correctly judge the characters of people he has known for years?


Leadership and Crisis Management: Barack Obama has never had to face (let alone lead people out of) a crisis and yet as President he will face the biggest challenges in the history of this country. His only real exposure to failure was losing a bid for the US House of Representatives! He has spent his career as a go along - get along politician with malleable convictions. No one has the faintest idea about how he will react to failure or resolve disputes or face a crisis situation.

Do you have enough proof or faith to be sure that he will not crack under pressure? What if he does?


The doubts about Obama's leadership ability are not only on the Republican side. Bill Clinton has said that electing Obama would be a roll of the dice. Joe Biden said that Obama will need on the job training. It is true that almost all Presidents have had 'on the job training' to an extent (it is the nature of the job) but Obama's learning curve will be extremely steep. It would be like hiring a gas station attendant to be the CEO of Exxon-Mobil.

You are undecided about Barack Obama because he has not closed the deal with you. There is plenty of doubt and uncertainity facing this country ranging from economic, foreign and military affairs.

Do you think it is wise to add to the uncertainty by electing a candidate whose leadership, crisis management and governing skills are a complete mystery?


John McCain is by no means perfect but at least you know where he will take the country and what his leadership and crisis management skills are like. You know about his convictions and his record of standing up for what he believes in no matter the political consequence. He has faced the toughest personal and political crises and come out on top.


That feeling in your gut which has kept you from supporting Obama (and that which has been falsely and unfairly attributed to closet racism) is actually a vital and reasonable recognition of the risks posed by an Obama presidency.

Don't ignore it.