A different kind of election thread

[albionmoonlight]

I am sure this will end badly, but let's try it anyway. The results may be interesting no matter how it turns out.

Basically, this thread is for people that have a clear favorite in the election between Obama and McCain. The trick is, you have to post something good about the guy you don't like and something bad about the guy you do like. And, try not to do an end-run around the point of this exercise by posting something like "What I dislike about McCain is how he is kind of like Obama in some ways." I mean, we have lots of other threads for that.

I'll start. I am planning to vote for Obama.

THING I DON'T LIKE ABOUT OBAMA:

I am not sure what the solution to providing health care in America is. But I am pretty sure that moving closer to 100% government provided health care is not the right direction. And I am even more sure that federal (as opposed to state) involvement in the process isn't really the right way to go. So, I don't think that I am a big fan of his policies in that regard.

THING I DO LIKE ABOUT McCAIN:

Because McCain was tortured himself, I doubt that he will treat torture with the same cavalier attitude as the current administration. Also, I think that it might be easier for a Republican to do the hard work of cleaning up the Bush/Cheney mess because it will be harder for the neocons to classify his actions as partisan since he is a Republican.

heh. that was actually harder than I thought. :-)

[kcchief19]

Interesting approach. I'll give it a go as someone who will vote for Obama in November:

THING I DON'T LIKE ABOUT OBAMA:
I fear that Obama is long on rhetoric and short on the ability to govern. While I generally agree with him in concept on many issues, I have a serious concern that he wants to take the country too far too fast and will jeopardize the very values he believes in for many years to come. As a strong believer in Democratic values, I have serious concerns that just as Clinton put health care reform in this country back decades by moving too far too fast in '93, I have concerns that sweeping changes proposed by Obama will completely erode the gains the Democrats have made and result in losing Congress in '10 and perhaps the presidency in '12. Simply put, I'm just not sure he's the guy.

THING I DO LIKE ABOUT McCAIN:
The man is grounded to and a strong advocate for science and secular governing. He has put environmental policy, education and space exploration high among his issues of importance, almost unheard of among his party. He hasn't been an election-year convert to global warming and has consistently opposed the current administration and his own party when efforts have been made to dismiss global warming as a work of fiction with no basis in fact. He also clearly adheres to a strong separation between church and state. I think that when it comes to religion, McCain and I are in lock step -- we both have our own strong moral and religious convictions, but we believe that it is personal and shouldn't be the foundation of governing.

[JPhillips]

THINGS I DON'T LIKE ABOUT OBAMA:

The windfall tax and now his strong support of Georgia as a NATO member.

THING I DO LIKE ABOUT McCAIN:

He's willing to compromise to get things done.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Things I don't like about McCain:
-- His positions on amnesty/immigration, the environment, campaign finance.
-- His willingness to compromise with the opposition on a wide range of issues (i.e. if I wanted a (D) I'd vote for one)
-- His history of becoming highly involved in an issue he clearly has little to no understanding of (specifically thinking of radio regulation/deregulation).
I don't know if I've ever heard a politician display a more complete misunderstanding of any subject as when I've heard McCain on this

Things I like about Obama:
-- His age & apparent health do not give reason to be overly concerned about his VP choice.
-- His position on abortion

[st.cronin]

Things I like about Obama: He's bright, and appears willing to change his mind/shift his perspective when required.

Things I don't like about McCain: I am a little nervous about the possibility of McCain having any input into economic policy.

[larrymcg421]

Things I don't like about Obama:

*Like others have said, the rhetoric is fine, but I'd like to see some more substance.
*I'm afraid he'll be too naive when it comes to the political game and won't be able to get much accomplished.
*I don't completely trust his advisors. Skipping the visit with the wounded troops (whatever the real reason) was stupid and whoever was responsible should be fired.

Things I like about McCain:

*His position on abortion.
*I respect his military service.

[King of New York]

Things I don't like about Obama:

- He appears to think that he can talk his way around any problem and persuade anybody to come around to his point of view; I am not sure that he is willing and able to do the necessary arm-twisting that enacting legislation requires, or to counterpunch when people take shots at him

Things that I like about McCain:
- Tough on Putin; throwing Russia out of the G8, or leaving the G8 if no one else is willing to stand up to Putin, seems long overdue
- Shows some understanding of the separation of Church and State
- Takes a realistic approach to immigration

[sachmo71]

Things I don't like about Obama:
-Inexperience is a huge negative
-Could be all flash, no fire
-Lack of bipartisan support could cause gridlock

Things I like about McCain:
-Works both sides of the asile well
-Years and years of experience
-Other than being a republican, he really is an attractive candidate to me.

[Big Fo]

What I like about McCain:

- He doesn't seem to be one of those nutso religious fundamentalists
- He seems more willing to hear both sides/compromise than many in government
- You have to respect his military service
- He can't be worse than GWB


What I don't like about Obama:

- Some of the stuff he has done lately I've disagreed with, like the proposed handout to people who have been paying too much for gas or whatever its called, that's a bit much IMO.
- The links with Hollywood and celebrity friends don't bug me at all, but if it cause some kind of backlash that hurts him in the election then it is a big negative. It may have just been Republican FUD but articles like that one about him and Clooney are bad news.
- I'm not worried about his lack of experience, but is he too nice? Politics are pretty nasty.

[Vegas Vic]

THING I DON”T LIKE ABOUT McCAIN:

I strongly disagree with his illegal immigration policy.

THING I LIKE ABOUT OBAMA

He is the most eloquent political speaker that I’ve heard in my lifetime.

[CamEdwards]

Thing I like about Obama- He's given me a wealth of things to talk about for the past few months (and hopefully a few more months to come).


Thing I don't like about McCain- I view him as a placeholder in the argument over where conservatism goes from here. He's not really one that the traditional conservatives embrace, and he's not really one that "progressive" Republicans hold dear either.

[ISiddiqui]

Thinks I like about Obama
- His speech on race showed a man who has listened to both sides and knows their concerns about an issue rather than pigeonholing them into stereotypes
- He seems to really think about his issues (well, I guess until recent pandering attempts, but that happens to every politician)
- He really is an inspiring speaker

What I don't like about McCain
- I dislike the pandering rightward shift he's done the last couple years. Sure it may have gotten him the nomination, but he seems to moved a bit away from the McCain I loved in 2000 and I'm not entirely sure which one he'll govern as
- He may be a bit too old for the job
- This "Obama is a celebrity" thing may have been funny originally (and it was), but he needs to stop now - it makes him look dumb

[flere-imsaho]

Thing(s) I don't like about Obama

*He has a tendency to get too wonky when responding to questions (off-the-cuff) when he could stand to be more circumspect. I think there's a certain arrogance there that he can talk his way out of a lot of stuff.

*FISA, and the fact that that was an example where he could have taken a tougher stand but instead took the easy route out. I recall the incident where Clinton shut down the federal government over a disagreement on the budget with the GOP Congress, and eventually forced them to capitulate by winning the PR war. I'm not sure I see Obama doing the same thing. Sometimes it's warranted.

*In the same vein, but if elected, I doubt he's going to pack the Supreme Court with younger, progressive judges in the way that Bush has packed it with younger, conservative judges. Clinton made exactly this mistake.

Thing(s) I like about McCain:

*I'm going to suspect that the flip-flopping of the past 8 years has been because someone convinced him he had to do & say these things to put himself in a place to win this election, and that if he's elected, he'll revert back to the basically pragmatic guy he was prior to 2008.

*If he cuts taxes, it's good for me personally. (This actually goes for most Republicans: given my tax bracket, voting Republican would be "voting in my interest" as it were).

*I doubt that a McCain Administration, that would likely consist of many people with real, actual military experience, would be so quick to ignore strategic & tactical advice from the military as the Bush Administration was.

[stevew]

Things I like about obama.

He's likely to at least start a debate about health care. While I'm not fond of socialized medicine, the current system is broken badly

He's likely to raise taxes on stuff like social security and Medicare. These programs are going to be trouble in the future if they.don't do so soon

He's not in favor of the federal fuel tax holiday AFAIK. If anything the taxes need to go up.

Right now he makes the most sense to vote for given my tax bracket.


His VP pick is likely to be the type of democrat I can tolerate

Things I don't like about McCain

Too old to realistically expect 8 years in office

He's divorced

Lots of questionable fiends in the past with the s&l thing

He's afraid to be himself....the conservative thing aint fooling anyone

Obama should be easy to beat on the issues but I doubt he will actually take advantage properly.

Drilling aint gonna solve the energy crisis

He's too hawkish for my taste.

He isn't likely to appoint the type of judges that bush did.

Too long in Washington.

[Pumpy Tudors]

What I like about my cousin Tanya:

Her scrotum is bigger than mine.

What I don't like about Gary Coleman:

His scrotum is bigger than mine.

[path12]

Thing I like about McCain

Has demonstrated the willingness to work across the aisle in the past.

Thing I don't like about Obama

While I think he is superb at articulating where he wants to go, he minimizes the difficulty in getting past intrenched interests to achieve these goals. I won't say it's naivety though, because anyone who cut their teeth in Chicago politics is neither waif nor gullible.

[panerd]

What I like about Obama

Incredible speaker.
Can proably restore a lot of credibility overseas.

What I like about McCain

Has been around and other countries like Russia won't try to call his bluff.
Outstanding service to this country.
Energy policy is more in line than Obama.

What I dislike about Barr

While he seems to have always had the same (and correct ) economic policies he has transformed his views on drugs and the war just to fir the Libertarian platform.
Was one of the big players in the Clinton impeachment. Libertarians talk about wasteful government, what a waste that whole episode was!

[ISiddiqui]

Oh, I forgot one thing I like about Obama:
- Willing to have a (somewhat) universal health care program. I preferred Hillary's plan, but Obama's is much better, IMO, than McCain's.

[Buccaneer]

Nice thread.

[Crim]

What I like about Obama:
* As mentioned numerous times already in this thread, a gifted and eloquent speaker and communicator. This could serve us well both on the world stage, and here at home galvanizing the American people in times of uncertainty.

What I dislike about McCain:
* I do not feel that John McCain speaks for me, nor for most people who are registered to vote. He's very liberal about economic and social issues, and is now playing catch-up to appeal to the Republican base.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Nice thread.

Don't chicken out!

[Warhammer]

What I like about Obama - His campaign speeches leave you wanting more and he has an idea for what he wants to see happen in America.

What I dislike about McCain - He is not running a campaign of why we should elect him, he is running a campaign of why we shouldn't elect Obama.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

What I dislike about McCain - He is not running a campaign of why we should elect him, he is running a campaign of why we shouldn't elect Obama.

I think McCain realizes this election is essentially a referendum on how comfortable the American people are with Barack Obama.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Don't chicken out!

Yeah, Bucc should have to do what panerd did

SI

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by samifan24

I think McCain realizes this election is essentially a referendum on how comfortable the American people are with Barack Obama.

I don't want my guy to say, "Vote for me, I'm not HIM!"

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I don't want my guy to say, "Vote for me, I'm not HIM!"

Neither do I but I think it comes with the territory sometimes.