Not necessarily, at least not at the level of the individual voter.
For instance, not touched on yet in is that many Americans oppose any type of universal single-payer health care plan. That could tip the balance in favor McCain for quite a few voters.
And true, that is but one issue. But if you count up your presonal pet political issues, and find that you agree with McCain on 55% of them … you’re likely to vote for McCain.
Huh? Obama isn’t proposing a universal single-payer health care plan, either (although I sorely wish he was).
:shrug:
You know … I had originally written “universal and/or single-payer health care plan”. But then I thought it might have been redundant.
In any case, right or wrong, Obama is associated with “universal health care” (or “socialized medicine” for the ardent). If Obama’s health care plan is more nuanced than that, the word is not out among the “conservatives in the street”.
EDIT: Obama’s positions per the Wiki page “Political positions of Barack Obama”:
Obama’s healthcare plan: link.
It’s neither universal nor single-payer. Spread the word.
Guns. Lots of single-issue people on this one. Even though McCain is only ranked a C+ by the NRA on gun rights, Obama ranks F. This is an issue I am very concerned about, but I’m willing to take my chances because McCain is fucking nuts and the Republicans have run the country into the ground.
I can think of many reasons that a reasonble voter would choose Senator Obama.
And I can think of many reasons a reasonable voter would choose Senator McCain.
Senator Obama will raise my taxes. He’s admitted that this is his plan. I am confident that he’ll get the chance to appoint at least one Supreme COurt justice, and I believe he’ll appoint a “Living Constitution” judge to the spot.
I don’t want my taxes raised. And I don’t want any more “Living Constitution” judges on the Supreme Court.
Before the Heller decision came down, Obama said that DC’s gun restrictions were reasonable. I don’t want a President who believes that a complete ban on all handguns is consistent with the Second Amendment.
Those are some of the reasons I could vote for McCain.
bordelond, in reply to your edit, Obama calls his plan universal because everyone will have access to health insurance. Others have criticized his plan as not being universal, though, because it does not require everyone to get health insurance. The only people who will be required to have coverage are children.
From your link:
Who are Obama & Biden intending to leave uninsured/uncovered if his plan is not universal?
EDIT: asked and answered in post #27 above. Thanks, C3.
Because India used its own reprocessing capability to produce plutonium for its nuclear weapons program, so Ford shut down the US’s commercial reprocessing?
Because it’s more expensive to reprocess than it is to dump it in the ground and buy new fuel.
I think the real question is why would an informed voted vote for McCain. For example, these points from glee (italics are from glee):
1. McCain (and Palin even more) is anti abortion.
Are they? McCain has said he doesn’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned because it would result in unsafe back-alley abortions. Only recently has he reversed this position. And who the hell knows what Palin thinks? She sure acts pro-life, but when given the opportunity by gotcha attack journalist Katic Couric, Palin refused to say that she thinks abortion should be illegal, only that she would counsel people to choose life, whatever the hell that means.
2. McCain has offered a woman the Vice Presidency.
And we’re all seeing what a well thought-out decision that was. Reasonable people don’t just want “a woman.”
3. McCain was a brave POW.
So was John Kerry.
4. The Republicans state they will lower taxes.
95% of Americans will be paying less under Obama.
5. The Republicans state they are strong on National Security.
And I say they did nothing to prevent the worst national security disaster this country has ever seen. Not to mention a foreign policy that in general tends to piss off the rest of the world. And an economic policy that is making us ever more beholden to foriegn creditors.
6. The Republicans ban gay marriage.
As do the Democrats. Palin conceeded their views were the same on the subject.
7. The Republicans state the Democrats are socialists.
They state a lot of things.
8. The Republicans state Obama is friends with terrorists.
Same.
9. Some voters don’t want a black man as President.
Can’t argue with that. Idiots are idiots.
10. Many voters stay with their chosen party (not analysing the issues).
Idiots are idiots.
Let me add this observation:
What distinguishes me from the OP, however, is that I recognize that a reasonable person could choose to support either candidate. I would never suggest that because you vote for one over the other, your support is not reasonable or based on some sort of invidious criteria.
The OP feels she’s right. Nothing wrong with that. She feels those on the other side are wrong. Nothing wrong with that, either.
But she goes much farther – she feels that the other side is completely lacking in reason; that no honest, reasonable person could possibly hold those opinions.
On the SDMB, she’s not in the minority. In the real world, she – thankfully – is.
No, he wasn’t.
So much for “informed,” eh?
:rolleyes:
Heh.
Many people respect McCain’s 50 years of service to the US. Never mind that he’s past his prime, he’s a patriot. The “Scars and Stripes*” thing.
*good book about POWs in Vietnam.
Whoops, I read that as veteran in my mind, instead of POW. My point is that Kerry fought bravely for this country as well, and the type of people glee is referring to didn’t seem to regard him too highly.
I will try to explain this to you guys - I have mostly kept my head out of the political threads, since I don’t see much “debate” going on…
I am an “independent” I suppose - very liberal socially, very conservative fiscally.
I am voting for John McCain.
On the positive side, I like the fact that he has publically denounced the massive waste of government. I like that he does seem to be coming from the middle on many things. I like that he seems to be a normal person, and that he is still in touch with regular people.
His history in the service and his experiences in Vietnam are just astounding to me. The unbelievable strength of character and pure force of will it must have taken to keep going in a prison camp automatically gives him a level of respect that I have not seen in a politician in my entire life.
I agree (mostly) with his economic policies, and love the idea of paring the government down to the bone. Iraq has become a huge, sticky mess, but I think he is correct when he (and many others) says that to quit RIGHT NOW is a bad idea. He has been very careful on social issues - I do not see him starting a big to-do over stem cell research like Bush did, for example - and I think that he is not particularly interested in pushing a Jesus agenda.
In short, in my view, I agree with 75% of his policies, he definitely has the experience and desire to lead, and I like his style. Also, Palin doesn’t bother me - in fact, I like her “Hey - fuck you!” style. Might not be the best thing in a leader, but I’ll take my chances that McCain will make it all 8 years. If the worst happens, and she’s installed in the White House, I trust that, through a combination of advisors and her own hard work, everything will be fine.
On the other side of my decision is my distrust of Obama.
I will start off by saying that I respect Obama. He seems to have come from a tough background, is very intelligent, and has loads of charisma. He also genuinely seems to care about people, and wants to help them.
However, I may many issues with an Obama presidency, the first being his lack of experience. I know many Obama supporters have been able to excuse this, but I cannot. He doesn’t have the chops - he has only been involved in Federal politics for a few years. For some, this may be a bonus, but because American politics is such a unique atmosphere, I have serious doubts about the ability of a relative newbie to walk in and be able to function at top speed.
Next, we have his unusual group of associates. The purpose of this thread is not to discuss these particulars, but let’s just say that a man who is associated with Ayers, Wright, ACORN and Rezko pings my radar. Outside of any specifics, I know that I could never work with people who have those opinions, and I don’t see how Obama could put up with that, unless he at least partially agrees with them. I live in NW Indiana, home of Gary, and for all intents and purposes, a part of Illinois. I am well aware of how Chicago politics work, and they are sleazy and dirty and rank. For better or worse, Obama is a product of that environment, and I am mistrustful of his sincerity.
But, most of all, I am completely opposed to his vision of what government should be. I do not want government involved, in any way, in health care, education, volunteerism, subsidies and all sorts of other things that Obama is for. That’s really the crux of it. For the record, I am not rich or close to it - I am from “Main Street” to use a stupid phrase from both campaigns. But, I still believe in the “American Dream” and I am working everyday toward it. I work my regular job, go to school, then work on an internet business in the evenings. Slowly but surely, I hope that I can grow that business. I see Obama as opposed to my interests in that regard - I may soon be a “small business” owner making over $250,000 in sales, and I will be forced to give some of that away. I may be forced to pay penalities for not providing good enough health insurance.
Obama’s economic policies fly in the face of every economic textbook I have ever read. A tax wedge is a tax wedge, and some of his policies have been shown to reduce jobs and economic growth. He is going to build up the government red tape to a unbelievable degree. He is going to take money from me, that I have earned, and give it to other people who are willing to take money that has been confiscated from unwilling donors. This disgusts me - I am all for charities, and donate much of my own time and property to them. But the redistribution of wealth is theft, and creates a disincentive to create new money and opportunities.
That’s about it - that’s my campaign position. One other thing to all of the Obama supporters out there, and I am not trying to be snarky:
Your unwillingness to ever discuss anything negative about Obama or positive about McCain rationally may just be your downfall. A true thinker is willing to see both sides and discuss all possibilities.
Sorry for the length, Hope I could help…
I’m very curious to see what tack Stoid et al use to discredit this post and the rationale behind it.
I can see how someone could reasonably vote for McCain in 2000. Someone who assumes that his current behavior is an abberation that will be put aside, and willing to gamble that he will survive his term (thereby mitigating his choice of an incompetent and ethically challenged running mate) might still vote for him.
Boil these reasons all down, and it becomes: “He’s not Obama.” I can’t help but notice there wasn’t a single reason praising McCain. I find that very telling.
If you ever want to get even a shred of your former credibility back, you might want to stop with the “SDMB is full of stupid libs” mantra.
Just sayin’