While my stances on most issues remain the same, I have come to the conclusion that Obamacare is a balanced approach working towards universalized health care without a massive expansion of government.In addition the Republican Party originally proposed it and that the regulations contained therein are both necessary and common sense and now that the Supreme Court has wisely ruled it to be a tax rather than an unconstitutional mandate I have little objection to it, excepting certain reservations about mandating insurance plans to cover birth control.
As to other economic issues I support Dodd-Frank banking reform and while I felt the stimulus plan to have been far too big that is past now. I don’t see Obama, Romney, or anyone else. being able to do much more regarding the economy other than staving off the fiscal cliff, reducing corporate taxes, and working towards reducing the deficit. Romney’s tax plan isn’t going to work and in the end he’ll go for the politically least controversial route of just adding to the deficit in the end IMO. While I don’t support a large part of Obama’s tax plan (such as ending the Bush tax cuts under current conditions), it is more amenable to modification and less likely to add to my deficit. Finally I find the Ryan Budget of severe cuts to everything while increasing military spending absurd. While excepting a Republican supermajority I don’t see the Ryan budget (especially parts like Medicaid getting gutted) coming into effect, I find such Congressional battles will just waste time and undermine the Republican Party’s future prospects.
On foreign policy I don’t see much difference between the Obama and a prospective Romney administration except that the latter be perhaps harsher in rhetoric. I think Obama has to a large extent fulfilled TR’s dictum of “Speak softly and carry a big stick” and I want it to stay that way. Regarding social issues I support a Dream Act and eventually a pathway to citizenship for most illegal immigrants in this country and I hope along with reducing the deficit, Obama pushes for this in his second term. Finally with regards to personal character, while both candidates have flip-flopped, Romney’s level and scale of flip-flopping is something I find almost unprecedented not to mention his seemingly complete unwillingness to show independence from the party base on any issue.
The two main points I’m reluctant to support Obama are because of entitlement reform and abortion. Regarding entitlement reform, however, I find it a less immediately pressing and a battle that can be fought another day. Having more time will give the country an opportunity to be educated on this issue and actually make a broad-based reform that would reduce benefits and raise the retirement age politically possible. Regarding abortion I just pray that the five conservatives and moderate/conservatives on the Supreme Court stay healthy and do not retire the next five years. While abortion is a major issue for me, I think preserving healthcare reform is the major issue in this election and by way of analogy I would have supported (the relatively) proslavery James K Polk in 1844 due to his support for expanding our country over the relatively anti-slavery candidates especially since none of the candidates would actually have succeedeed in abolishing or severely restricting slavery. Similar case here.