Undecided voters nationwide have been ridiculed and bullied by the pundits, mainstream media and party loyalists. They have been labeled indecisive and uninformed. After more than 16 months of presidential campaigning, how in the world could you be undecided in your choice for President?
You’re angry your government has not only failed but has lied to you. The policies were bad but the hypocrisy is worse. You have a right to demand change.
This election is fundamentally a referendum on the Bush presidency. George Bush’s unpopularity has crushed the Republican brand. Downstream US House and Senate Republican are scrambling to distance themselves from the disillusionment engendered by the Bush presidency.
It’s important to separate campaign strategies and tactics from likely actions once in power. We need not be reminded that Bush’s actions as President belied his pledges as candidate. Remember his now discredited slogan, compassionate conservative? What did we get instead? Everything has gotten bigger: government, spending, deficit, debt and depth of deception.
John McCain is a legitimate opponent of the status quo in Washington. Many top Republican insiders, including lobbyists and congressional staff, despise McCain because he has seldom played by their rules such as the primacy of party interests. True, the kind of change McCain would offer is an anathema to some. But he would disrupt the culture in Washington.
To his credit, Senator McCain has been courageous in challenging his party’s group think on issues such as climate change, immigration reform and torture. I have met Senator McCain on several occasions prior to the 2000 presidential campaign when he asked the right questions and truly walked the “straight-talk” walk. But he was wrong on the strategic question of whether to invade Iraq (so was Joe Biden, who has subsequently admitted his vote was a mistake) and has surrounded himself with advisers who were architects of the Bush Doctrine supporting preemptive military engagement. This does not portend well to repudiate an inherently flawed doctrine.
Barack Obama is a compelling candidate. He possesses an eloquence and dexterity McCain lacks. While he was never forced to vote on the Iraq war, I believe he will redirect foreign policy and begin the process to restore America’s strength as moral leader around the globe.
In the campaign, Senator Obama has demonstrated a better grasp than Senator McCain of key domestic challenges facing the US.
On energy policy, Senator Obama’s answers during the debates were sharper than McCain’s. Obama has called for greater government investments (over $150 billion) in cleaner energy technologies. If implemented intelligently, this is the right kind of government intervention even the most ardent free marketers could support – help spur the innovative breakthroughs that can be further developed and scaled by the private sector (the wrong kind is to restrict liberty, eavesdrop on Americans and suspend habeas corpus). Obama has hedged on nuclear power and expanding offshore drilling while McCain has been unwavering, at least lately, in support. Hedging on the nuclear issue is a shrewd move but I believe on an intellectual level he believes (as do I) that nuclear power has merit. McCain is wrong on drilling – this is not a solution to our energy challenges and Republican strategists miscalculated the political benefits in the November elections of waging a shrieking media campaign with the tag line “drill baby drill”.
On healthcare, no presidential candidate understands the healthcare challenges facing this county better than Hillary Clinton. Go ahead, Hillary-haters (which by the way include loads of Democrats), try to fight this point. But she is unmatched in her knowledge of the healthcare challenges facing our country. Senator Obama has taken a more modest position and pledged to tackle the issue of rising health care costs, a fundamental problem. Obama’s plan to invest in electronic health IT systems is on the right track, but not likely to cut costs dramatically. McCain’s proposed $5000 tax credit looks expedient and is far removed from confronting the important challenges in delivering quality healthcare services to Americans.
Sadly, strengthening America’s competitive posture vis-à-vis China, Europe and other countries has not been given substantive justice in the campaign. China is the main conundrum. America’s ability to innovate and create high-wage, high-skilled jobs is vital to creating wealth and sustaining our quality of life. Senator Obama and his team better understand this challenge. Whether there is the political will to implement education reform and tax policies to benefit innovators and entrepreneurs is not yet known.
Neither candidate has offered an understanding of the U.S.-Russia relationship, an important strategic issue for America. Both candidates, like nearly every presidential campaign for the last 28 years, have proposed little change in the conduct of our Middle East peace efforts, which is unsurprising given that it’s an explosive domestic political issue.
Don’t believe any candidate on taxes. Senator Obama has offered an extremely modest tax reduction for those earning less than $250,000 annually and there is a glimmer of hope that he will support more incentives, including capital gains tax reductions, to entrepreneurs and small business.
So, where does that leave you? A gut instinct on whether you believe McCain will be genuinely different than George Bush – a central theme of the Obama campaign.
Senator McCain is honorable and patriotic. He is a great American. The fact that he is polling twenty points above George Bush’s approval ratings is an accomplishment. But to be a genuine straight-talker, he should have repudiated the Bush Administration earlier. He was victimized by Bush’s dirty campaign tactics in 2000 and held hostage to his policies in the 2008 presidential campaign. A clean break with the President earlier in the campaign would have earned more respect from independents and moderate Democrats. His choice of the stridently social-conservative light-weight Sarah Palin, response to the financial crisis and propensity to make snap decisions lends to mistakes – and we’ve had enough of those for eight years. The margin for error is much smaller today. McCain is now beyond the margin for error.
Barack Obama is not America’s savior. But he is the better choice for President.
Under an Obama Administration, non-defense domestic spending will rise and I believe he will effectively prioritize. His philosophy on foreign policy is closer to where America needs to be. Robust and nuanced diplomacy will strengthen America in most of the world. American military intervention should be exercised strategically and carefully. Obama understands this better than McCain.
Government is clunky and inefficient. A government that makes no decision is better than one that makes bad decisions. Bush has made too many bad decisions and there is simply not enough evidence McCain will be much different. Government is not always the solution but we cannot afford more strategic mistakes.
I understand some voters’ indecision. Getting fed more slogans than substance is frustrating as our economy teeters and our military stretched.
Politics is for those who show up. Under either president, powerful special interest groups will remain. Money will remain the “mother’s milk” of politics. Government will still be inefficient – but it cannot be reckless. This is the major fear of a McCain presidency.
Voting always requires a certain leap of faith.
On November 4, put the past behind us and elect Barack Obama President of the United
