Who's the man Obama or MCcain?

[Kimber 0]

I'm not sure I'd be voting for McCain because Hillary didn't get the votes. I KNOW her track record to be pro-family and community.

I don't know Obama's track record, other than what I've seen in his campaign propaganda - and I'm not that impressed. I really don't like that he turned his back on his minister. He was a member of the church for 20 years! Then, when pressure is put on him, he backs away. Who's a member of something for 20 years and says that they weren't really that involved in it? I don't like that. Own up to it, don't back-peddle.

I KNOW he cannot possible bring the change he's promising without 1) raising taxes too high for me to afford, and 2) without the approval of the actual lawmakers - which is tough to get with everyone throwing their own agendas into the bill.

All politicians promise things they can't delivery.

I like McCain personally, and have for years. I've also liked Hillary for years. Obama's a new evil that I don't know well enough yet.

Like I said, it's a tough one, and will depend on the VP chosen - on both sides. Another one like Cheney? No thank you!

A new evil???!!! Is that sort of like Satan? You just said you don't know that man's politics but you know he is evil.

[bamboobabe 0]

Obamba!!!!

[Kimber 0]

A new evil???!!! Is that sort of like Satan? You just said you don't know that man's politics but you know he is evil.

The priest in our parish was accused, and later admitted, that he had been molesting boys for years. My grandfather, father and all of my siblings grew up in this parish. The minute we were made aware of this we left immediately. It is a little like an abused woman not leaving her husband because they've been married for 20 years. No way, life is too short.

[Froggi 4]

by eeww mccain I mean i dont like his views and he is going to screw up this country even worse than it is

[Froggi 4]

bamboo who is obamba LOL

[pearlygirl 1]

I agree, if we were all held responsible for our clergy the Catholic Church would no longer exist.

This is my new favorite quote of the day..... :frown:

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,281]

You wondered how Obama is going to raise the taxes in order to fund his proposed programs. He's said it over and over and has been very forthright about it. Which I think is commendable because he could definitely lose some votes in the process.

He is planning on cutting all the tax breaks for the wealthy - you know, the ones that the rebublicans have put in to effect since they've been in power. He's also planning to stop all the tax breaks for the corporations like the mega-wealthy oil companies.

Good grief, if you all are so rich that you need to worry about him making you pay your fair share, you definitely should stick to your guns and vote for McCain, because if you are wealthy, you've definitely been getting a ride while the republicans have been in power. We've managed to not just increase the number of BILLIONAIRES in tihs country, there are many, many more now than when Bush took office. For middle America, things have gotten worse and the rich have been getting richer. If that suits you, definitely vote Republican.

As for the Bush legacy... he promised to cut taxes and he ran on the idea of less government. Which is also something McCain talks about. The fact is that since Bush has been in office, we've had MORE government, not less. And the only real tax breaks have been in the form of refunds - whoo, hoo. What all did you buy with your big checks?

Well, as we were all reminded last month from the very mouth of GWB, he feels our pain at the pumps. He wanted to remind us of our Stimulus packages.

Obama, I will vote for you. Regardless of your running mate.

One more thing - if there are any women here who are pro-choice but undecided or decided to vote for McCain, or if you are for women's rights in any way shape or form -- PLEASE

do your homework.

Rant over/

Edited June 16, 2008 by LilMissDiva

[snowbird 2]

Raising taxes is better than bankrupting the country by spending money the government doesn't have. That pushes the burden onto our children.

by the way, the war is what is draining all of our funds. Stopping the war will free up a lot of money.

[ELENATION 0]

As for the Rev. Wright fiasco, that is laughable. Since when does a member of any congregation take the responsibility for things his minister says? It's only been since Obama ran for president. What a joke.

If someone here is from Chicago, then they must realize that the church in question is a very popular church where many very successful black Americans have gone to worship. No one is holding them to the standard of answering for Rev. Wright's comments.

Also, Obama never said that he was unaware of who Rev. Wright is. He said that he had never heard Rev. Wright make statements like those played over and over in the press. Those statements were blown up and taken out of context when he was speaking to the plight of black people in America. They were not made on a regular basis from the pulpit every Sunday. It is not insincere or surprising that Obama would back away from that kind of language. He had to back off. He had no choice. He was being crucified by the media and the Republicans (who are still beating it to death) for those clips of the Rev. Wright blasting the way blacks in America have been treated. No one can deny that black people have been treated badly in America. And if I were black, I'd be angry too.

First you say he's really Muslim. When that won't stick, you accuse him of endorsing his preacher's raw, hateful, angry remarks. Neither of those things should stick to Obama because they are not true.

Sorry BJ, I have to disagree, Wright's statements were definitely not blown out of proportion, they were as clear as Water, no one has to take responsability for what the minister of a church says, but when that minister is the minister of your own church, then in my opinion I think you should distance yourself from it if you don't agree with the minister's views that leads it, I suppose I'm speaking for myself, I know I would.... Obama saying that he never heard him saying anything negative is indeed laughable, I do live in Chicago and I know many people that have lived here their entire lives and they knew about this church and the minister's views, if you do a little bit of research on Wright, you can easily find plenty of information about his views and who he has supported for years, not just recently, his speeches, views and opinions were known for a long time, but came more to light now because Obama, in fact Oprah used to attend that church years ago and she stopped because of this very same issue, in fact, he did try to bash her at the time for not attending anymore, but the whole thing didn't get as big as it did with Obama, which I can understand since he is running for president, sure Wright has done some positive for the black community and Africa, but that doesn't automatically makes him a good guy, and as far as the church being popular, unfortunately there are plenty out there that do agree with Wright, it's sad, but they are out there, others opted to ignore his views even if they didn't agree with him because he was helping with other causes that interested them which is typical, maybe others were ignorant, but I believe that most knew what Wright was about and in my opinion that includes Obama, being the smart person that he is, very active in the community and in the church, I don't know how he could've missed it..I don't blame him for backing away, he had too , I agree with you on that, not because the media and the republicans were crucifying him, but because it was the right thing to do, his only choice if he is indeed the decent person that he claims to be, the media is mostly liberal, if this would've happened to a republican candidate, I do believe that would've been the end for him/her, actually I think Obama got a break and the whole thing went away pretty quick, I'm not a democrat and obviously am not going to vote for him and the Wright thing did not affect me, but I suppose if I was a democrat I would feel a little uncomfortable with the whole situation, but if you are ok with it, then that's all it matters, we all perceive words and people differently and that's ok, I don't believe he is a muslim now so that shouldn't stick and he has said many times that he does not agree with Wright's views on certain subjects, so that shouldn't stick to him either.

Being black and treated badly in America must be painful to a black person in ways that we can't even imagine being that neither of us are black but I'm sure we have a pretty good idea and yes it hurts, you bet I would be angry too, but even that does not excuse Wright's hateful speeches and does not make his views on certain things accurate and his way of expressing his anger, even if if he has valid reasons to be angry, is not positive, it's not going to solve any problems or improve the situation and it's extremely divisive and remember that Obama has emphasized so much on unifying, I for one am glad he stayed away from Wright and said it publicly, otherwise it would be worrisome.

Edited June 16, 2008 by ELENATION

[Gone4Now 4]

A new evil???!!! Is that sort of like Satan? You just said you don't know that man's politics but you know he is evil.

He's a politician. IMO they're all evil.

[BJean 16]

Elenation I definitely believe that you and I both are being influenced by our political beliefs on this issue. I am glad that you approve of him backing out of the church and away from Rev. Wright. Some people have said that his walking away from Wright was simply a political move and that it didn't mean anything.

As for my influences along the way, I lived through the race riots. I have known of lynchings of black men in the south at the hands of bigoted, hate-filled white men. I have been privy to information about the Ku Klux Klan and some of their hideous mob scenes that incite white against black... things like church bombings come to mind.

I have read papers written by college kids who are black and who have experienced a bucket load of hate and discrimination at the hands of their white teachers and classmates. It is shocking to realize what some white people are continuing to do to black Americans.

Perhaps you haven't been privy to all that. I am sure that many white people haven't been either and do not have a clue about what it means to be a black person in America. But most of us do know about the discrimination and bigotry. And yet amazingly, after knowing all this, some white people expect black people to just humbly bear it and not lash out in return. Not be angry. Not feel persecuted. They're expected to pretend it never happened, and that it is not happening even today. I don't believe that is very realistic or understanding. I think that is short-sided thinking.

[BJean 16]

P.S. I believe that the way for Americans to come together is for whites to understand what blacks have experienced at the hands of white people. By the same token, I believe that blacks need to understand that most young white people today do not feel threatened by black people and are not bigoted towards black people. Education, communication and understanding is the key. Also, we have to WANT to heal this open wound. Ignoring it will never make it better. Pretending the past never happened won't make it better. We need to acknowledge each others' misunderstandings and ignorance about each other. Get it out in the open and embrace each other as fellow human beings on this earth. Work together, not stay divided.

I believe it can happen. I believe that we have already improved things in this country, but it didn't happen because time heals wounds. It happened because we forced the issue. We became knowledgeable and we acknowledged our own shortcomings and each others' ignorance.

[ELENATION 0]

Elenation I definitely believe that you and I both are being influenced by our political beliefs on this issue. I am glad that you approve of him backing out of the church and away from Rev. Wright. Some people have said that his walking away from Wright was simply a political move and that it didn't mean anything.

As for my influences along the way, I lived through the race riots. I have known of lynchings of black men in the south at the hands of bigoted, hate-filled white men. I have been privy to information about the Ku Klux Klan and some of their hideous mob scenes that incite white against black... things like church bombings come to mind.

I have read papers written by college kids who are black and who have experienced a bucket load of hate and discrimination at the hands of their white teachers and classmates. It is shocking to realize what some white people are continuing to do to black Americans.

Perhaps you haven't been privy to all that. I am sure that many white people haven't been either and do not have a clue about what it means to be a black person in America. But most of us do know about the discrimination and bigotry. And yet amazingly, after knowing all this, some white people expect black people to just humbly bear it and not lash out in return. Not be angry. Not feel persecuted. They're expected to pretend it never happened, and that it is not happening even today. I don't believe that is very realistic or understanding. I think that is short-sided thinking.

Hi BJ, without a doubt I think he did the right thing, even if it was partially a political move which I can't be sure, but it was still the right thing to do and I appreciate the explanations and the fact that he publicly adressed it and made sure that he said that he didn't agree and cleared his position, I think that it had to be hard for him at the moment, but I think it did have meaning.

I think I've said it before, I'm cuban, came here when I was 14 years old, so I'm an immigrant and a minority, I know a little bit about prejudice, but I have not witnessed racism the way you have here in the US and believe me, I understand why those who have feel angry and they have the right to be angry and it's not about pretending that it never happened, but it's about starting to heal and moving forward though.. in fact that's what Obama has kept saying, that it's about unifying and moving forward and getting passed the color of the skin among other things, so when Wright came out with all that crap, well, that certainly didn't help Obama or anybody else for that matter, I agree that we both have been influenced by our political beliefs, I know I have, growing up in a communist country and going through the horrific experiences that I we went through definitely had an influence on on my political beliefs today.

Edited June 17, 2008 by ELENATION

[plain 12]

McCain. I liked him a little more since he doesn't want to drill in Anwar. The political pressure for him to endorse drilling is enormous, but he held his ground. I'm conservative, and will state for the record that more drilling is not the answer (listen up, republicans!). That's just putting a band-aid on the problem. If Obama puts forth an aggressive new policy on energy, he might sway me........but the same goes for McCain. I'm voting "energy" this election.

[BJean 16]

Looks like Americans are going to demand an aggressive new policy on energy. Things have been swept under the run for far too long. Washingtonians like to blame the people for enjoying their cars, but we haven't had any reasonable alternatives in most parts of the country. Have any of you seen the documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car"?