Why I am not voting for Obama
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| 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.


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From The Spectator.Co.UK :
Hey, did you hear that a judge tossed the Berg lawsuit?
Well....this is the first time I've heard that....but anyway, WE have a national police force...Does that make us a fascist police state?
"What are you talking about?
Why did you completely disregard the MOST IMPORTANT part of my post??? The MOST important reason NOT to vote for Obama is the safety of this nation. There is no reason this country HAS to face a crisis of the magnitude that John F. Kennedy faced. We don't have to elect an inexperienced President who is viewed as weak. THIS is the MOST IMPORTANT issue that we face BY FAR. There isn't another issue which compares.
No matter what you tell your friends, when you go into the voting booth you are alone. The vote is private. Nobody has to know. Please think long and hard about the safety of this nation before voting to put the country into such a dangerous situation.
When Obama is there, he mostly votes "present". Most of the time he isn't even there. That's what we need - an inexperienced president who doesn't show up for work and when he does, he can't do his job because he can't seem to make up his mind.
John McCain has missed more votes THIS YEAR while running for president. I do not like that, but when he is there, he can at least MAKE UP HIS MIND. Also, he has been voting for 26 years so at least he has a record we can examine. The paper thin record of Obama's shows an indecisive man who votes with the extreme left wing every time he can muster up enough bravery to actually vote at all.
Before Obama decided to run for president, as a senator he was present for most of the votes but the majority of the time, his only vote was "present". This shows that he is incapable of making decisions. I live in Illinois and I can tell you that Obama is part of our "political machine" of big government and "pay for play" corrupt tactics. Our sales taxes are the highest in the nation. Our public schools are a disaster. Our murder rate is the one of the highest in the nation. The answer to everything in Illinois is "raise taxes." Meanwhile, no one is held accountable for the mismanagement of those tax dollars. Tax and spend is the motto of the machine running Illinois government. Everyday we hear about the huge deficit in Illinois. The result is that people are being laid off and
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