What are the three most important issues to you in the presidential election?

In My Humble Opinion
61

  1. Foreign affairs, diplomacy and terrorism: Iraq, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Israel’s security

  2. Rational health care policy

  3. Smaller more fiscally responsible government

Voting for Obama/Biden

62

Voting for McCain/Palin

  1. Peace - As in Peace Through Victory, not the kind of short-term strategy of denial and appeasement that allows aggressors to thrive and leads to a bigger and bloodier war. I prefer the FDR approach which has left Europe relatively peaceful for over 60 years, and the GWB approach which has kept us safe for almost seven years.

  2. Prosperity - As in smaller government. Smaller government leads to more jobs and more wealth. Everyone benefits but poor people benefit the most. Lets cut all taxes, especially capital gains taxes, which restricts investment and growth. And let’s get rid of pork barrel spending altogether.

  3. Strict constructionist judges. Let’s trust the elected representatives to make the laws and have the SCOTUS just as a final check and balance.

  4. Energy independence. Yes, we can drill our way out of this. But as McCain and Palin have said, that’s only part of the solution.

  5. Support for democracies. I’m overjoyed that we can now say there are two democracies in the middle east. Actually millions of Arabs are even happier than I am.

63

Excellent question, Sampiro. This is one of the most eye-opening threads I’ve read on the SDMB. Not necessarily in a good way, though.

64

Voting Obama, though in all honesty I would vote for any Democrat over any Republican.

  1. Social issues. This is the big one for me, and it should probably count as #1 through #5 or so on my list, based on its relative weight in my decision making process. I’m far, far to the left in this area, so: allowing gay marriage, ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, maintaining the right to choose, no censorship in libraries, and other pro-feminist and anti-bigot policies.

  2. Funnel more money into education, maintaining national infrastructure (roads, bridges, clean energy plants), maintaining national parks and green space, effective law enforcement (enough cops and such with the right equipment), and government safety net programs (Medicare, Social Security, Welfare, and implementing universal health care). I frankly don’t understand people who aren’t willing to pay more (of our really minimal) taxes in order for our elementary school children to have paper and pencils, or keep the roads maintained.

  3. Keep religion out of all government and government supported programs. No prayer in schools, no faith-based social programs, scrap all abstinence-only education, no intelligent design taught in science classes.

  4. Balance the freakin’ budget already.

  5. Free trade. Let the markets do what they’re there to do. Put laws in place to keep the businesses honest. Then eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade, and preferred trade statuses of other nations. Allow more flow of workers across our borders. End the special tax and law treatments of large corporations and small farms and obscure industries.

65

Ummm, no you’re not.

But probably the wrong forum to get into that.

66

  1. National Health Care

  2. More socially liberal justices

  3. Improved foreign relations

67

I can’t actually vote (just got my green card 2 weeks ago) but I’d probably vote 3rd party since Obama is actually too conservative for me.

  1. Separation of Church and State: This includes everything that goes along with minimizing religious influence and those issues where arguments are religious-based: gay marriage, stem cell research, science education (elimininating ID), keeping abortion legal, etc.

  2. Foreign Affairs: End the War on Terror, get out of Iraq and start improving our relations with the international community by working with other countries as opposed to the do whatever we want attitude.

  3. Universal Healthcare: I know the system is so screwed-up this is difficult to implement but there has to be a start.

  4. Improved Fiscal Responsibility: By implementing the first 3 could be a good start here: cease all funding for religious programs, minimize DOD funding, implement Universal Health Care

68

  1. Peace

  2. Power to the people

  3. Not shooting moose.

69

Yes, yes we are. But feel free to start a thread to rebut.

70

I agree with all 3 of these, although they wouldn’t exactly be my top 3. However, I’m flabbergasted that someone would list these 3 and be voting Republican. I think they fail miserably on all 3 counts.

My top 3:

  1. Repudiating the Bush Doctrine of foreign policy. No pre-emptive wars, no rendition programs, no torture, and no empty rhetoric about winning the War on Terror, since terror is a tactic (rather then an enemy) which will never be eliminated. Needless to say, part of this hope is that we end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, although I’m pretty pessimistic about either candidate actually fulfilling this desire (although I do think Obama is more likely to withdrawl).
  2. Revamp our energy policy. This, IMO, requires bold leadership, along the lines of Kennedy pledging us to get to the moon. I think part of this energy policy must include increasing domestic drilling for oil, but I think it also requires a concerted national effort to invest in new technologies and new options (wind, solar, nuclear, etc.) that needs both public and private cooperation. I also believe that this new paradigm will provide the impetus for the next boom for our economy.
  3. Increase civil liberties. I take a live and let live approach, so I don’t want the federal government talking about who should be able to marry, or censoring my choice of entertainment, or limiting my access to information and ideas, or restricting my autonomy on what I and my female counterparts choose to do with our bodies. Some choices people may make may be immoral or unwise, but it’s not the governments job to impart morality or wisdom to the populace. Educate the people on the consequnces of their options, and make their choices as safe as possible, but ultimately you have to trust them to do what is right for them.
71

Have done.

72

I’m a probable Obama voter. Living in NY, I am of the opinion that for the presidential election, my vote doesn’t particularly matter - this state’s electoral votes are bought and paid for, already, and going to the Democrats

  1. Kick the Bastards Out

  2. Kick the Bastards Out

  3. Kick the Bastards Out
    Not that I’m all that impressed with the Democrats, either - but that’s got at least as much to do with my views of local politics and how FUBARed NY state politics are.

I have some grave reservations with many of the positions that Barack Obama has put forth. None of them bother me enough to change my support away from him, yet.

Probably about the same time I did. :wink:

73

From the perspective of an American who has been abroad for a while:

  1. Civil rights and human rights must be preserved and, where they have been eroded, reinstated.

  2. It’s time for some fence-mending. The US needs its allies, and we need the US. Some crow may have to be eaten on both sides, but it has to be done.

  3. Affordable health care. For everybody.

For these reasons I am voting Obama. I don’t think he’s going to be ideal, particularly on #1, but he at least has the will to work on #2 and 3. McCain doesn’t.