Even though the 2008 Presidential campaign has been going on for a couple years now, and the general election campaign has been going on for over a month, we still have little to no true political discourse.Obama's motto: John McCain = Bush III. That's it! Debate over. Rather than contest the issues, Obama would prefer to link McCain (inaccurately in many ways) to Bush, talk about hope and change, and have the public vote for someone whose positions on the issues they know very little about.
For all that Obama speaks of change, what new, innovative policies is he even proposing?
Windfall profits tax: yes, maybe if we re-institute the failed (led to decreased production and higher imports from the Middle East) 1970s-era tax on profits, "Big, Scary Oil" (which "controls" only 5% of world oil supplies) will increase investment, research and development, production, and lower prices! Or, better yet, the government can nationalize the industry and emulate the other areas of the world which are paragons of energy production efficiency (Russia, OPEC, Venezuela).
Higher income taxes: "The rich must pay their fair share!" Of course, in Obama's world, a rich person's fair share is twice as big as everybody else's. Sure, there are wealthy people who evade taxes, and they do so by exploiting needlessly complex tax loopholes which exist because of our abuse of using taxes to enact social engineering. Even so, the rich pay a greater share of the tax burden even than their share of the economic pie. What else is lost in this discussion? Lowering tax *rates* is about increasing incentives for businesses, entrepreneurs, workers, and investors to engage in productive activity, ie innovation, the creation of wealth, and the starting of new enterprises. Hike taxes, crush incentives, lose jobs, shutter businesses. Maybe that can be Obama's motto.
I could go on and on, whether about education policy, or health care policy, or judicial philosophy, or foreign policy. I don't want to get across the wrong message, though. This isn't about demonizing Obama. Not everything Obama says is nonsense. Isn't it a bit convenient when somebody makes the argument that one political party is always right while the other one is always wrong? What we need, though, is a debate not based on slander, false associations, and obfuscation. Bush-Carter '08!
3 comments:
Full disclosure: I am a total Obama supporter (Aaron - you already know that!)
To me, the current election is less about how much specific and wide-spread change the next President can and will implement. It's more about the kind of leader I want and the need to empower people to get involved and not just trust the "government" to handle things and do what's supposedly best.
Yes, we need dialogue. Yes, I get frustrated with people who label Obama as an empty suit or discount his ideas because they see him as "liberal".
Obama is not the Messiah. He does have people's attention and interest - lots of people. That is a clear change from what the vast majority of people in this country have been doing for the last 8 years (and longer) - leaving it up to the politicians.
To me the biggest change I hope Obama "implements" (and it will be up to individuals to follow-though on this) is to have regular people get involved, speak up, and learn what's really going on in our government. The policies and agendas that need to be set, need to come from the people - not the special interests or the ones with the most money. I think Obama has a better shot at getting people involved than any other candidate in a long time.
Lee P.
Hey Aaron,
I agree that Obama is not offering anything particularly different than past liberal candidates--higher taxes, more social spending, a less proactive defense policy. But like the cartoon says, McCain is essentially a Bush clone, with very minor differences (global warming? some social issues?). On the issues that matter, the economy and Iraq/war on terror, they're the same.
The question is really Reagan's old question: "are you better off than you were four [really eight] years ago?" For the majority of Americans the answer is no. So given a choice between continuing the current approach or trying something else, they're going to choose something else.
Dave
I disagree on two points. First of all, McCain is not just a slightly modified Bush clone. Bush's one major positive economic achievement over the past 8 years has been a reduction in marginal income tax rates. Aside from that, we still have an incredibly inefficient tax system, no major reform of any economic programs, and a ballooning federal budget.
I wouldn't say I'm all "jazzed" about McCain, but at least he is opposed to the massive increases in spending that we have seen.
Also, people don't just vote based on whether they are better off now than they were 4 years ago. No incumbent is running, even if Obama would like them to think that is the case. Here we have two different men, with two very different visions, and two different resumes. We'll see how the people decide.
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