Category — Politics

The New York Times had an excellent feature story a few days ago:
How Obama Came to Plan for ‘Surge’ in Afghanistan

The three-month review that led to the escalate-then-exit strategy is a case study in decision making in the Obama White House — intense, methodical, rigorous, earnest and at times deeply frustrating for nearly all involved. It was a virtual seminar in Afghanistan and Pakistan, led by a president described by one participant as something “between a college professor and a gentle cross-examiner.”

Mr. Obama peppered advisers with questions and showed an insatiable demand for information, taxing analysts who prepared three dozen intelligence reports for him and Pentagon staff members who churned out thousands of pages of documents.

The story features a carefully constructed recount of the deliberations that went into the final decision and strategy to surge in Afghanistan. Regardless of where you stand on the final decision, it’s a fascinating look into the intense debate that went on behind the scenes to make the most of a shitty situation.

Does anyone really believe that sitting around and arguing over this [via AP] is the most helpful use of time at the moment? Is threatening to ‘tattle’ on how your congressman votes what we need? Seriously people this is pissing me off.

I’m not too jazzed about the government continuing to increase the deficit but if that’s not the solution, I want to hear some other options and RIGHT FREAKING NOW! Just giving people a few hundred bucks or even a couple thousand isn’t going to solve this for the millions that are losing their jobs, or for the crumbling infrastructure, or for becoming less dependent on oil from the middle east. We need to invest in America, and we need to do it soon.

Sort it out and stop the kindergarten name calling. Let’s get this done!

That didn’t take long!

The White House website has been updated and includes a lot of great resources about the Obama agenda, his Administration, and general fun facts about the White House itself.

In the Briefing Room you’ll find a blog, as well as a place for press releases, executive orders, and proclamations.

[Seen on Daring Fireball]

It’s been nearly a week now and I’m still not sure I can believe it. I’m mostly at a loss for words but what an amazing time to be an American! There is much work to be done, but in an instance, many have taken pause to wonder what the US, and what we as a people, are capable of. Remarkable.

With polls opening in less than 48 hours I wanted to step back and summarize some of the latest developments in the campaigns and the key reasons I couldn’t more strongly urge you to support Barack Obama and Joe Biden this Tuesday. This post will be a bit long but it’s broken into bite sized chunks with links and video clips along the way.

We’ve learned a lot since my first post 8 weeks ago and the economic mess has reminded people that this election is about more than name calling and finger pointing. As the election nears an end we’ve learned more about our prospective leaders’ plans for the Country, we’ve heard them debate the pros and cons of each others plans, and plenty of 3rd parties and pundits have had the opportunity to chime in. So what do we know?

On Healthcare
The New England Journal of Medicine (quite a respected publication in the Medical field by the way) issued a scathing assessment of McCain’s health care plan entitled Primum Non Nocere — The McCain Plan for Health Insecurity.

Here’s an excerpt:

John McCain emerges not as a maverick or centrist but as a radical social conservative firmly in the grip of the ideology that animates the domestic policies of President George W. Bush. The central purpose of President Bush’s health policy, and John McCain’s, is to reduce the role of insurance and make Americans pay a larger part of their health care bills out of pocket. To attain their vision, Bush and McCain seem willing to take huge risks with the efficiency, equity, and stability of our health care system. Specifically, the McCain plan would profoundly threaten the current system of employer-sponsored insurance on which more than three fifths of Americans depend, increase reliance on unregulated individual insurance markets (which are notoriously inefficient), and leave the number of uninsured Americans virtually unchanged. Senator McCain’s plan does not demonstrate the kind of judgment needed in a potential commander in chief of our health care system.

On the Economy
From a variety of recent polls, most people seem to believe Obama would be better at handling the economic downturn than McCain (gallup poll) and it turns out, economists agree!

A study by The Economist magazine finds:

A survey of academic economists by The Economist finds the majority—at times by overwhelming margins—believe Mr Obama has the superior economic plan, a firmer grasp of economics and will appoint better economic advisers. The detailed responses are bad news for Mr McCain. Eighty per cent of respondents and no fewer than 71% of those who do not cleave to either main party say Mr Obama has a better grasp of economics. Even among Republicans Mr Obama has the edge: 46% versus 23% say Mr Obama has the better grasp of the subject. “I take McCain’s word on this one,” comments James Harrigan at the University of Virginia, a reference to Mr McCain’s infamous confession that he does not know as much about economics as he should.

Here’s Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, endorsing Obama and discussing the economy on Bloomberg:

On Taxes
It pains me to see this continually get distorted in the ads so here it is plain and simple.
Under Barack Obama’s tax plan, everyone making less than $200,000/year will get a tax cut. You won’t get a tax increase unless you make more than $250,000 (including small businesses). This is paid for by letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest American’s expire. John McCain on the other hand plans to give those making more than $250,000/year MORE tax CUTS… while the rest of us are left to struggle.

It just doesn’t make any sense and the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center agrees.

So McCain’s swipe at Obama’s tax plan was something other than straight talk. As a share of the economy, Obama’s plan would create an overall tax burden similar to the one that existed in Ronald Reagan’s time. It would not choke off job creation; rather, it would slow the growth of the deficit and soften inequality. But the really depressing thing is that McCain himself once knew that. He opposed the Bush tax cuts before he supported them, saying that they would deepen inequality. But now he touts a tax reduction that is larger and more radical than even President Bush proposed, and he slams his opponent for holding the view that he himself held until recently.

You can enter your particulars and calculate the different tax cuts you would receive under Obama or McCain’s plans here:
http://taxcut.barackobama.com/

Colin Powel
In other news, American statesman, Republican, and retired General, Colin Powell, endorsed Barack Obama on Meet the Press. Here’s a video synopsis.

During the interview Powell cites Obama’s leadership, intellect, and steadfastness in the face of difficulty. He debunks the Ayers and religious smears, and seriously questions McCain’s judgement.

Regarding Obama:

I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities — and you have to take that into account — as well as his substance — he has both style and substance, he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.

However, regarding Sarah Palin:

She’s a very distinguished woman, and she’s to be admired,” he said. “But at the same, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don’t believe she’s ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Sen. McCain made.

Palin Factor
We know what Colin Powell thinks but does anyone seriously believe Palin is ready to be President? If you do it probably doesn’t bother you that she doesn’t seem to understand the role of the VP, or what the first amendment is, or what newspapers she reads, or… damn… it makes my head spin! This is funny on Saturday Night Live but that’s about it people.

In the words of Matt Damon:

Women’s Rights
Speaking of Palin… just a reminder of the differences between the two campaigns on Women’s rights. This is perhaps the clearest set of differences between the two candidates.

Obama & Biden: Favor a woman’s right to choose and supports Roe v. Wade.
McCain & Palin: Against a woman’s right to chose. Palin has further said she’d oppose abortion in all cases, even if her daughter was raped. [Link]. Also, wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and would likely have the opportunity to do so if elected.
Reference: New York Times

Also, McCain has been rated a ‘D’ on Woman’s issues while Obama received a ‘B’ in a recent review of their positions and voting records.

Bringing People Together
Last but not least, Obama has brought more people together for a common purpose than ever before. Young, old, black, white, hispanic, asian, rich, poor, christian, jewish, republican, democrat, and everyone in between are coming together with the belief that we can get past the petty issues that have divided us and get on with making our Country the best it can possibly be. That’s the ‘Hope’ in this campaign. The reason over 3 million people have donated and millions more are volunteering or reaching out to their friends and family.

Thanks
If you have questions or take issue with any of these points, please let me know and I’m happy to discuss. While I couldn’t urge you more strongly to vote for Obama I’d rather you be informed and make up your own mind than blindly pull a lever on election day regardless of who it’s for.

And while we shouldn’t even have to discuss the following points, here are some additional items worth mentioning as well because they keep coming up in various circles:

• Obama is NOT Muslim (although as Colin Powel indicated, over 5 million America’s are in fact Muslims anyway so this shouldn’t be an issue either way).
• Obama IS patriotic, he DOES pledge allegiance, and he WAS NOT sworn into the Senate on the Qur’an.

If you’ve heard otherwise they are rumors and have been debunked by the nonpartisan FactCheck.org. Seriously. Read it.

Take Action Now: Step 1 – VOTE
Election Day is Tuesday November 4th and while the polls look ok, it’s not over until the votes are in and counted. We only get to do this every 4 years so there’s no time like the present.

You can find your polling place, driving directions, and hours of operation on the amazingly clever VoteForChange website. Bring a friend or neighbor to the polls. Call your family to get out the vote. Give someone a ride. Whatever you can do to help.



Take Action Now: Step 2 – VOLUNTEER
It’s not too late to make some calls, or stop by a field office to lend a hand. Visit the Action Center to get started right now.

That’s it folks! See you Tuesday!