I’m seeing a lot of Dopers who plan on voting for Obama. There’s also quite a few who don’t want Obama to win the Presidency.
Is there anyone here who plans on voting for McCain (as opposed to voting *against *Obama)?
If so, why? What, in your mind, makes him the best choice for you? I’m not trying to rev up a Pit thread- I’m actually very curious. Disclosure: I fully intend to vote for Obama, because I feel that his policies best match my wishlist for good government (plus, I approve of the way he’s apparently bringing a sense of dignity back to the office). I’m not voting for him because he’s not McCain, or because he’s a Democrat- I just like his policies (especially on technology and the war).
Is there anyone here who is planning on voting for McCain for reasons which aren’t “he’s not Obama” or “he’s not a Democrat”?
Followup question- did you vote for Bush in the last two elections?
I’m in Obama’s camp right now, but I could see myself going over to McCain under certain circumstances. I’m not a big fan of Obama’s economic plans, and although I want us out of Iraq yesterday, I have serious doubts if any president is going to be able to get us out of there soon.
Another consideration is the make-up of Congress. I don’t like one party rule whether it’s Pubs or Dems, and if looks like the Dems are going to sweep the Senate, I may want some balance in DC. Of course, I live in CA, so it probably doesn’t matter anyway…
BTW, had Huckabee been the nominee, I doubt I could have considered him at all.
Which raises a corollary issue: If you decide you prefer McCain overall, but Huckabee is his VP, would you still vote for McCain? Given his age and the possibility that he might not last for four years under the immense strain of the Presidency?
Yep. For the same reasons you stated for Obama. He fits my political preferences. But I guess that technically also falls under the ‘he’s not a democrat’ category.
I have a lot of respect for both Obama and McCain. Each has some policies I support and some that make me uncomfortable. Right now, I’m waiting to see who they pick for vice-presidential candidates. This will give insight into who they might appoint as judges, etc. Should I end up a McCain supporter I probably won’t make a big deal about it on SDMB.
Right now, the biggest negatives I see with McCain are his Iraq policy, and his self-admitted inexperience with the “Ecomony” (Drink Brawndo!), and many of his policies seem like “Bush 2.0” policies, and his advanced age is something else to be considered in the equation
the biggest negatives I see with Obama are his anti-second-amendment stance, and the vague worry he may have overpromised what he can do
I’m definitely on the fence, I’m an Independent with old-school Republican beliefs, however, I cannot rate the current administration with any grade lower than an F Minus Minus
this month, I’m leaning more towards Obama, but who knows, next month, I might like McCain, I don’t really like my choices as either is a compromise, at least I’ve got a while to think about it, to see if McCain appeals to me more
I’m supposed to like the Pubbies, Dammit!, they’re not making it easy
Depending on the Veep choices, that may sway me one way or the other, if Obama nominates Hillary for Veep, he will instantly lose my vote
I am a libertarian that is undecided. If Obama gets too far astray in his economic policies, that would be an instant deal killer for me and I assume for anyone other than a true liberal. I think he needs to leave economic policy alone in his campaign and tread carefully even if he is elected. The U.S. in general still does not like true liberals when it comes to economic policy. All he has to do is figure out a good Iraq exit strategy and he will be a hero. Any Supreme Court nominations need to be at least moderate as well. He runs the danger of what is called “Getting too big for his britches” and he needs to swear off of that. This isn’t Europe and a single POTIUS can’t ever change that. At least 40% of the population will be against him if he wins and radical changes will not be welcomed by most.
When it comes right down to it, the single most important issue to me is free trade, and Obama inspires nothing but fear in me on that point. McCain seems largely on track to me. I truly do fear that the world may be heading toward protectionist economic blocs which will ultimately cripple global development. No, it’s not going to happen in four or eight years, but I think Obama will lead us in that direction, and McCain will not.
Secondarily, I’m one of those people who is intensely distrustful of expansions of government programs and believes that they are hugely inefficient and nearly impossible to get rid of. The Iraq war was a hugely costly mistake, but it will pass and I believe it will pale in comparison to the waste generated over the next half century by the entitlement programs Obama will begin during his time in office. McCain isn’t perfect, but is acceptable in this regard.
Everything I have seen indicates to me that Obama is a decent person and truly believes he is doing what is best for the country. In that sense, I am not voting against him. He doesn’t make me angry, just a bit worried. Hell, on just about every social issue I agree with him. McCain is not a perfect candidate to me, but he is closely enough aligned with my views that I will be satisfied voting for him. I will not be holding my nose when I walk into the polling booth like I did 3.5 years ago. Am I voting for or against a candidate? Hard to say, the line is awfully blurry. I realize this rambling post would probably indicate the former (perhaps I should apologize for wasting the OP’s time…), but I think I will be happy enough with my decision.
Actually, you do — because the man you’ve chosen does not represent your views. He has put forward no plan to balance the budget or pay for his wealth subsidies. He has no compunction about continuing to spend billions of dollars a week on Iraq for at least the next four years. He wants to continue sapping the US military of its strength by opening even more fronts of conflict, like in Iran.
He has already opposed a GI bill that he himself benefited from, prefering instead to measure the worth of soldiers by their length of service. I cannot begin to describe how stupid that is. A soldier who is shot in the neck in his second week of duty in Iraq ought not to be subordinated to a military clerk who has spent six years shuffling paper at Fort Bragg.
You need to explain why you support McCain because you are a conservative, and he is a totem pole of eclectic ideologies.
I agree. McCain is not a conservative, and almost not a Republican. The only possible reason I can see for a conservative to support McCain is “at least he’s not Obama”.
