It's Time

Alright it is time. I’ve been away from blogging for longer than I wanted, but so be it. I’ve been planning and thinking about what to say here, watching both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. While it would be false to say I was an undecided voter, I felt it important to listen to both parties before discussing the election. After watching way too many hours of TV it is time to express some thoughts here.

First, why the hell would McCain select Palin? This is a woman who has tried to ban books, force the termination of a former brother in law, hired consultants to bring more money per capita into her hometown and now Alaska then any other state, supports an abstinence policy for teens (that one really worked for her personally) and worked to reduce special education funding in Alaska (prior to the birth of her newest child). Well I’ve got to say if McCain is a man of change how can he rightly select a person who works as well with the lobbyists as Palin, I really don’t know. Anyway read more about her at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check and http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/01/1320417.aspx

Now on to the reality of the election, people vote for the President not the Vice-President, so the strange choice of Palin aside what is going on in this process. McCain has wanted to and will keep us in a war until there is “victory”. My first question is what is victory, I haven’t heard this defined. At my job when we have a project we clearly define how that will be measured, i.e. software will be developed and deployed by x date, save x amount of time and improve quality by x. If we meet these goals we have victory. How exactly do we define victory in Iraq? One of his goals is to get Al Qaeda out of Iraq; however, many reports indicate that Al Qaeda was not in Iraq until the US invasion, which brings us to the real question I have: Is this a war we should have ever started? My stance is since there were no weapons of mass destruction, no threat from Iraq on America and nothing but manufactured reasons to go into Iraq in the first place we probably should not be there in the first place. So let’s get out as quick as possible and focus on real issues.

It is the economy stupid as Bill Clinton was found of saying. Obama wants to raise taxes; McCain believes the economy is sound. Well looking at the credit crisis, unemployment (now over 6% and at a 5 year high) seems to me the economy isn’t sound (I won’t mention the budget deficit the current administration has created to help make the economy sound). Do I want my taxes increased? Hell no, and it seems like under Obama’s plans my direct taxes wouldn’t (yea I’ll see increased costs in goods because of corporate taxes) but that may not be true. In either case, government isn’t about the good of an individual (me) it is about the good of the nation, so if some tax increases help the nation balance the budget, improve job prospects, improve education etc. I’m all for it.

After watching the conventions it seems that the primary choices are a self-centric no taxes view versus a common good for all tax increases aren’t all bad and a choice on is the nation in need of military protection from (insert the nation here) or not? I believe Obama can clearly address the economic needs better than McCain (for he mentioned the economy which was barely a blip in the RNC) and as for protecting the nation, isn’t communication our first line of defense? Talk to our enemies and figure out the common ground. As Obama said in his acceptance speech:

"We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common efforts."

Barack Obama

We may not agree on everything, but we can and should try to find where we agree and move forward from there. Please think about these issues when voting, please vote, and please encourage your friends to vote.