pros and cons of Obama

Well, I'm sort of on the fence right now with the election. I will most likely vote for McCain at this point, but not with much gusto. In my opinion, he's only a marginally better option than Obama... but lately, Obama has been looking better to me. I'm just not ready to say he will get my vote, and I'm not sure I will be able to.

So I thought it would be good for me to put together a little pro/con list for Obama. Keep in mind, what I consider cons, some people consider pros, so this list is really specific to me. Let's start with the cons:

Cons:

1. Obama's tax plan.

- I'm not thrilled at the idea of a tax credit for 95% of Americans, 40% of which do not pay income tax at all. So it's really not a tax "cut" per se, but a refundable tax credit for everyone. That leans a little too much toward socialism for me: taxing the rich to give to the poor, even those who don't pay into the system anyway.

2. Obama's Healthcare plan.

- Sure, free healthcare sounds great. So does free car insurance, free life insurance, and free clothing. The healthcare system in this country is sick, but I don't think nationalizing it is the answer. I think that will only add to the sickness. Healthcare needs to be affordable, and to become affordable, it needs to be competitive. If we are actually able to afford healthcare and companies are able to compete for our business, I think that will help heal the healthcare system, even if it's just a little bit.

3. Obama's Iraq plan.

- Ok, no one wants to be in Iraq anymore. It's been pretty rough on the country. Obama's plan to have the troops out in 16 months is commendable, but only if it's safe to do so. But my real problem with the plan is that too much of his other proposals hinge on the success of his withdrawal plan. In other words, he plans to help fund his healthcare plan and tax credits with money that is currently going to fund the war. That's what scares me about his withdrawal plan. If it doesn't work out and we have to stay in Iraq but the tax credits and healthcare plans pass, then we're in trouble.

4. Obama's idea about the economic crisis.

- He keeps blaming Bush and therefore McCain for the current financial crisis, when everyone knows who's really to blame: EVERYONE! Democrats, Republicans, Wall Street, ambitious home buyers, etc. I don't like that he is willing to use the crisis to advance his campaign by making these statements.

5. Obama's experience.

- He only has one solid year in the Senate before beginning his candidacy. That's not quite enough in my opinion. I'm not sure how this got turned around. Why is it we can talk about how little experience Palin has but the same conversation doesn't even come up with Obama? Even Hillary doesn't think he has enough experience (at least that's what she said before he won the nomination).

Pros:

1. Obama is unifying.

- This is a big one for me. Obama is not nearly as polarizing a figure as McCain and definitely Palin. The public's opinion of Palin is either one of blind love or ruthless hatred. There's not much middle ground. I've heard friends say they would vote for her as president in a heart beat while others think she's a joke and will destroy the country. Obama is not nearly as polarizing, and that's something we need right now considering how polarized Washington is.

2. Obama is well spoken.

- Sad but true. This matters. He can articulate his thoughts well, whether they are his own or his parties'. When he talks, it sounds right. We're coming off a time when the current president struggles in this area... big time. I don't think we need anymore second hand embarassment everytime our president speaks.

3. Obama has Biden.

- At least there's some experience with Biben. But that's all I'll say.

I'm sure there's more pros, but that's all I got right now. I'll have to put some thought into all of this.