artbyakm2183's Blog

Here's my short list, in alphabetical order:

Hillary Clinton
Pluses:
- Very clear vision for what she wants to do.
- Fair amount of experience (admittedly, as an observer) of the executive branch.
- Somewhat hawkish on defense.
- Likely to be as hard a worker as we've had in the job.
- Will appoint justices liberals will appreciate.
- Healthcare for everyone.

Minuses:
- Healthcare for everyone (it will be a system America very much comes to regret).
- Not hawkish enough on defense.
- Not the kind of personality that will unite the country.
- Will raise taxes, significantly and pull America back from free trade agreements.

John McCain
Pluses:
- Seems to understand the threat of radical Islam better than the others.
- Understands the stresses and demands on the military.
- The most likely of the 3 to keep government spending in check.
- Will appoint justices conservatives will appreciate.
- Middle of the road policies likely to unite the country, to some degree.

Minuses:
- He'll be 72 by the time he'd be sworn in.
- Has championed policies generally thought to be unconstitutional (McCain/Feingold).
- Not likely to expand government entitlements.
- Will continue America's free-trade agreements of the last 16 years (may hasten the loss of some jobs).

Barack Obama
Pluses:
- A personality that will go a long way to uniting the country.
- Strong character.
- Strong judgement (whether you agree with him or not) which is more important than experience.
- Not a, "Washington Insider."
- Seems to hire and appoint what he feels are the best peop

Both Parties' 2004 platforms are available online. There are also neutral sites outlining the candidates' positions.

I think it is only fair that anyone commenting be upfront about his/her political affiliations and preferences.

To wit, I supported Duncan Hunter and now I'm supporting Reagan's corpse. No one else left excites me. I will not presume to speak for the Democratic Party. With that said, from my perspective...

The Republican Party is made up of three basic groups: social and moral conservatives (Pro Life, Traditional marriage; strong sentencing of criminals, etc.); advocates of a strong military (national security); and those who believe that the economy is the primary concern of government.

This last group is further split into "supply-side, free market" Republicans and "balanced budget" Republicans. The first group believes that the government should essentially stay out of the way of the economy. They oppose heavy regulation and exorbitant taxation. The latter generally believe that government should be able to pay for itself, but they are not above government intervention in the economy.

Social programs should be limited to those unable to support themselves (the indigent, etc.).

Ronald Reagan was a supply sider (the term reflecting the theory that supply side of an economy drives the economy rather than the demand side).

Consumers strive to succeed when taxes are lower. Competition on the supply side is enhanced by the demand of individuals (rather than the demands of government) and the profit motive leads to advances in technology a

WOW! That is A LOT to take in! LOL
Bleechers: How does the "supplies" side effect individuals? Will this decrease prices of things? What is the trickle down effect of this?(ie Lower prices...pay cuts)
Buckely: How is heath care for everyone good and bad??
The war...I don't know what to think about that...I am somewhere between let them be, bring home our men and women...and stay to finish...what is your veiw on why it is better or worse that we are there?
Thanks guys for the info!

Nice blog so far and straight forward analysis by B_Buckley. Axe is also right, if you are wondering why B-Buckley thinks thse things you should probably look the issue up and decide for yourself.

One thing I will add though is that you can vote for pretty much anyone, not just the candidates included thusfar. You have the possibility of "writing in" a candidate. The problem with that is that if you do so, you'll have to be willing to live with the fact that chances are best that your write in candidate probably won't win. In that way, alot of the election process is about name recognition.

But it is still your vote. I too was going to vote for either Duncan Hunter or Fred Thompson. Both candidates withdrew from the race though. However, I could still write them in.

"oppinions and that and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee in some places!"

I keep on seeing or hearing people say this but I wanna know where these places are. Starbucks is up to at least $1.25 a cup now, and I doubt they would take my opnion into consideration :p

bleechers response was straight-forward also.

Hello!

If you haven't checked it out so far, you might visit the You Decide 2008 portion of our website. (A link is at the top of this page, in the upper right corner.)

I found the Candidate Matchmaker to be really helpful but also eye-opening.

Good luck in your quest for knowledge and thanks for doing the research.