Why I am not voting for Obama

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2008
Why I am not voting for Obama
52
Fri, 10-24-2008 - 9:19pm

http://www.studlife.com/forum/why_i_am_not_voting_for_obama


I am one of the few people on campus who does not have “Obama ’08” plastered all over my backpack. Shocking, I know. I am not a registered Democrat. If the election were today, I’d probably vote for John McCain. Here’s the real twist though—I’ve looked into the politics and still reached this conclusion.


As one of Barack Obama’s constituents, I’ve been rather disappointed with him. Call it selfish, but I remember Illinois electing a Senator and not a full-time presidential candidate. I know plenty of people in my state couldn’t care less, but there are many, like I, who are dissatisfied.


According to The Washington Post, Barack Obama has missed 294 votes in Senate. That is 45.8 percent of all the votes while he has been in Senate. While in the Illinois State Senate, he voted “present” nearly 130 times. This is our potential president, a man who has avoided making decisions his entire political career. I’m not sure about the rest of the electorate, but I have higher standards for the most powerful person in the United States. Yes, McCain has missed a large number of votes this cycle, but he has 20 years of voting records behind him. Obama was in senate for 143 DAYS before he began his campaign.


So what, pray tell, is Obama qualified for? He is charismatic. I’ll give him that. But the President is not a talking head; he is a decision-maker. Where does Obama stand? He campaigns on change, that’s all good and well, but when has he shown that?


Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem if people look into the issues, look into the facts and find that Obama is the candidate to hang their hat upon. My biggest problem is the large number of people who have not looked into those issues but have just joined the litany of voices. It is easy to get seduced into Obama’s rally cry of change, but the electorate needs to look at the facts and then make a decision. They shouldn’t just support Obama because it’s cool or they get a free T-shirt. Politics needs to extend beyond our limited university sphere.


In Eve Samborn’s column, “R.I.P. College Republicans” (Student Life, Sept. 19) she chastises the College Republicans for not being active on campus. Perhaps the reason the lone McCain and Bob Barr supporters have not made their voices heard is the same reason I don’t feel comfortable sharing my political views on campus or in class. There are many liberals on campus who are tolerant of everything and everyone EXCEPT the other side. If you don’t like Obama it’s because you are racist, intolerant and uneducated.


I’d like to think that’s not me, but that is how I am made to feel much of the time. This campus is resoundingly liberal and it is hard to challenge that. That being said, non-Democrats were involved in the voter registration. Just because it was a non-partisan event does not mean they are sitting back this election. It is hard to do much more on this campus without being attacked, but that’s tolerance for you.


While I agree that both tickets have their strengths and weaknesses, after looking into the politics and actions of both groups, I have to back McCain/Palin over Obama/Biden. In the intolerant atmosphere on this campus, this is not an easy stance.


We need to remember that opposing views strengthen our democracy and intolerance only weakens it. I am still keeping an open mind to all sides as we go into the debates. I hope everyone else will too, because that is what we owe our country.


That is how we get real change.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 8:34am

Hi Melanie230,

With respect, you really need to do some more research before you make up your mind. Every Presidential candidate who is a Senator has to miss a number of votes. But even by your unrealistic standard under which a Senator could never effectively run for President, McCain is much worse because he has missed many many many more votes in the Senate than Obama. Please confirm you'll be fair and true to your standards and not impose a double standard and you will not vote for John McCain. Thank you.

"McCain Leads! (In Missed Votes)
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) didn't find time in his busy campaign schedule Thursday to make it back to the Capitol for votes on money for Iraq and Afghanistan as well as new educational benefits for veterans that he opposes. After all, even though he has been quite outspoken on the new GI Bill and even pushed a competing bill of his own, he still has to, um, win the Republican nomination (isn't Ron Paul still running??). And, apparently, he had to campaign and raise money in that pivotal swing state, California.
McCain's absence helped cement his lead in one key category over his potential Democratic opponents and every other Senator -- missed votes.
Through last week, McCain had missed a nice, round 60.0 percent of Senate votes so far in the 110th Congress. After Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), who was absent for several months following a brain hemorrhage, comes Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who lay well behind McCain with 41.8 percent of votes missed."

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/mccain_leads_in_missed_votes.html

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-24-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 8:38am





Friday, October 24, 2008



HORSERACE


Death Threats Sent to Pollster



After releasing this morning’s numbers showing McCain ahead in Ohio and Florida, the Strategic Vision polling company received several death threats through the contact e-mail on the company’s web site.


David Johnson, the CEO of Strategic Vision, shared the messages with National Review Online.


One of the messages stated:



My goodness, your polls stinks. There are 3 polls that have Obama by double digits and only yours has Obama down. WOW!. How come your poll is the only one giving Palin high favor ratings? I think you nee dto be careful tonight when you get in your car and might want to check underneath your car. SCRAP YOUR IDIOTIC POLLS OR ELSE!


Another stated:



A poll that gave Sarah Palin and Barack Obama the same favorability rating is wrong off the bat. Be careful going outside tonight because you might not see tomorrow.


A third message stated:



Why would your presidential election poll results be so drastically different from every other reputable poll taken over the same time period? Are they that dumb or are you guys that smart? Smart guys wind up dead.


The company has contacted the FBI and appropriate authorities, Johnson said. There was, thankfully, nothing in the messages that indicated that the sender had actually sought out the location of the company or its employees. Johnson noted that while the messages came from different addresses, they all came within a short period of time, and that it was possible they were from the same person.


Johnson said he’s not fearful, but taking appropriate measures.


“It’s probably just a bunch of nut cases, but this is first time we’ve ever experienced something like this,” Johnson said. “It’s highly, highly unusual. We get messages in the vein of 'your numbers are wrong, the other guy's numbers are right' all the time. But this has never happened before.”



10/24 03:36 PM


iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 8:41am
I think the point was that McCain has been ACTUALLY voting for 26 years and people know where he stands. All they have to do is look at his record. When you look at Obama's record you see that he has trouble making up his mind, and can't even decide "yes" or "no" when he IS there. Obama is an unknown. He has a paper thin record. When he HAS voted, he has voted wit the extreme left wing 100% of the time. Little is known of him, but what IS known is pretty scary.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 8:46am
Opposing views are ALWAYS good! Opposing views required THOUGHT, which STRENGTHS. Would you prefer that the entire country were "Stepford wife" types who all agreed on everything? That is impossible, even in countries who have required that under threats of death and prison.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 8:50am
He also ran for the Senate with a promise of a "middle class tax cut". Sound familiar? He forgot all about that once he entered office and actually voted AGAINST all tax cuts, middle class or otherwise, and never (as promised) wrote or sponsored a bill that would cut taxes for the middle class.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 8:57am

"I think the point was that McCain has been ACTUALLY voting for 26 years and people know where he stands. "

Think what you want. If you want the truth, I suggest you reread the post and try to take off your partisan hat for a moment. (And yes, I admit it when I'm wrong by the way).

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-08-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 9:00am

Never heard of Strategic Visions polling - of course, that's not surprising.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 9:03am

There are many reasons not to vote for Obama, but for me, the most important reason BY FAR is the threat that Joe Biden warned us about last week. I have been concerned about this very thing from the moment Obama received the nomination because I lived through the NUCLEAR crisis we had under the last "brilliant young" president, John F. Kennedy.

Biden is correct. Our country will not have to face a crisis of this magnitude if there is an experienced, known, strong man serving as president. When a president is perceived as weak and inexperienced, that is when our country is in grave danger!

That is the MAIN reason I will NOT vote for Barack Obama. If by some miracle he does not win, then our country has been spared this crisis. I think he should run again in 10 to 20 years after he is known and experienced. That would be better for our country.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 9:12am

I re-read it as you suggested. It still said the same thing. McCain has led in missed votes THIS YEAR. As I stated, he has been voting for 26+ years and we know where he stands. Obama is an unknown. Since his U.S. Senate career began he as spent LESS TIME actually in the Senate than he has spent running for president.

I will take off my partisan hat and state that I think it's ridiculous that BOTH men are allowed to just not show up for work and have the nerve to ask for a promotion. The congress of the United States is the ONLY place I can think of that you can just not come to work and keep your job, benefits, etc. It is also the only place that I can think of, where, if you are hired to do a job (like vote to represent your constituents) and you actually show up, you don't have to even vote "yes" or "no". You can be indecisive and vote "present". Ridiculous.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2008
Sat, 10-25-2008 - 10:27am
Just for the record, that wasn't my letter.