Although I tend to shy away from discussing politics and religion because it usually leads to confrontation, I am stepping out on a limb today. I imagine that you will be able to guess how I am voting by the time you finish reading this.
Senator Obama is a well-spoken, well-educated man who is good at projecting an air of confidence and sophistication. However, having the ability to wistfully criticize what he thinks is wrong with America, in no way equates to being a great and experienced leader. I personally disagree with much of what the pied piper of hope and change stands for when it comes to leading our country. I find many of his policies wrong-headed and filled with empty rhetoric.
In debate #1, when asked what programs he would cut or abandon to offset the cost of the financial bailout, he listed about 5 more things he would fund. Does he not have an answer to the question? Did he not have the political courage to say what he would do? After all, if elected, he will have to face this issue in very short order. John McCain listed a couple of specific things he would do, to include the consideration of a spending freeze….something that Obama mocked as “using a hatchet where a scalpel might suffice”. If a scalpel would suffice, how could Obama continue with a straight face to claim that this is the greatest financial crisis since the great depression? If it is such a crisis, aren’t significant measures in order? Perhaps his approach of being “available by phone if they need him” suggests the type of leadership he would really bring to the Presidency in the face of a significant crisis. It seems to me that Obama’s actions and rhetoric is all over the map on this issue.
As far as accountability, Obama repeatedly singled out the Bush administration’s policies as the cause of the financial mess and then tried to tie John McCain to GWB (can you hear the Republicans guffaw?). In reality the problem was and is a bipartisan one (something that Bill Clinton has even pointed out as he fingered the Democratic led Congress as part of the problem). Where is the accountability, Senator Obama? What about Sen Dodd? What about Barney Frank, What about Chuck Schumer and others that you have allied yourself with? Why are you making this great financial crisis a partisan issue? Because you are that kind of politician. John McCain showed incredible restraint by not calling out the guilty in the debate, likely because he knew that he needs to try and unite the country…not divide it. To that end, Senator McCain talked about how he was encouraged by how both political parties were coming together to solve the problem. That is the sign of a leader….one who attempts to set partisan politics aside to change our dialogue and put our country first. How can Obama be the change candidate when he continues to politicize one of the biggest issues facing the country? How can he reach across the aisle and unite when, rather than try to unite and and fix the problem, he attempts to assign blame in a partisan way to advance his own political ambitions? That is not how you unite and lead a country. That is how you solidify your partisan base and continue the stoke the rancor that so many Americans are sick of. What about lifting yourself above partisan politics, Senator Obama? John McCain had it right when he said it is hard to reach across the aisle when you are so far to the left.
Senator Obama also reverted to the liberal playbook by invoking class warfare and saying John McCain wants tax breaks for the rich. In reality, there is a huge policy difference between liberal and conservative thinking when it comes to taxation, and it has nothing to do with class warfare. Bottom line, taxes are taxes…they are needed as a source of income to run our Government and pay for programs. However, taxes do not inherently stimulate the free market economy, no matter who pays them. Taxing companies and small business owners who create jobs and help expand our economy is wrong-headed thinking. Aside from making US companies less competitive in a global market, those taxes ultimately get paid by the middle class who then have less job opportunities and higher priced goods and services. It has been proven time and again that lower taxes for ALL actually helps grow the economy and increase overall tax revenue. This is not a class warfare issue….it is about a tax policy that helps stimulate the economy, not retard its growth. This is ever more important given the current financial crisis. This is yet another indication that Senator Obama does not get it….in the worst financial crisis of our times, he wants to increase taxes on the companies whose growth and expansion are needed to help spur economic growth.
On the opposite side of taxes is spending. Where is the spending constraint? Jim Lehrer asked Obama no less than 3 times to specify how the bailout would affect his priorities and to name specifically what he might have to cut. How did Senator Obama respond each time? By listing off more programs he would fund. I thought that Senator Obama was the supposed to be the authority on getting our economy turned around. Instead, I see a candidate who uses rhetoric to claim this is the worst economic crisis since the great depression, yet says he will be available by phone if he is needed to help and can’t list ONE single program he would cut to help limit spending in its aftermath. This is not leadership. I expect that many Americans who look at what his actions and statements have been on this issue will see right through the rhetoric to find an empty shell.