Sarah Palin

[Al Agnew]

Presidential Candidate Comparisons - Important Information for all voters

SIMPLE MATH:

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS

ISSUE

JOHN McCAIN

BARAK OBAMA

Favors new drilling offshore US

Yes

No

Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it

Yes

No

Served in the US Armed Forces

Yes

No

Amount of time served in the US Senate

22 YEARS

173 DAYS

Will institute a socialized national health care plan

No

Yes

Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy

No

Yes

Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately

No

Yes

Supports gun ownership rights

Yes

No

Supports homosexual marriage

No

Yes

Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase

No

Yes

Voted against making English the official language

No

Yes

Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals

No

Yes

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN

0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA

28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN

15% (no change)

OBAMA

39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN

(no changes)

Single making 30K - tax $4,500

Single making 50K - tax $12,500

Single making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 60K- tax $9,000

Married making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)

Single making 30K - tax $8,400

Single making 50K - tax $14,000

Single making 75K - tax $23,250

Married making 60K - tax $16,800

Married making 75K - tax $21,000

Married making 125K - tax $38,750

Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN

- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA

Restore the inheritance tax

Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA

New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

You can verify the above at the following web sites:

http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.html

http://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politic...s_on_taxes.html

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checke...s/barack_obama/

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checke...es/john_mccain/

_________________

Don't get in a fight with an old man. If he is to old to fight, he'll just kill you.

Okay, let's examine that stuff a little more closely.

Obama opposes off-shore drilling in principle but would consider allowing it if that is what it takes to get a comprehensive energy plan passed that stresses the development of alternative, sustainable energy sources. McCain was against it until the recent gasoline price increases, which convinced (wrongly) the majority of people in this country that more drilling would equal low gasoline prices. Which stance seems more intelligent?

Appointing judges...that's so subjective and simplistic it's laughable. Funny how whenever judges make a ruling that goes against what you want them to rule, they are legislating from the bench. Funny that our present Supreme Court, which now leans toward the conservative side, made a single ruling that conservatives didn't like, suddenly THEY were legislating from the bench, even though in the previous few rulings they had all garnered praise from conservatives for strictly following the Constitution. You might as well say what you're REALLY concerned about when it comes to the court...McCain will attempt to appoint judges that will overturn Roe v. Wade, Obama won't.

One served in the armed forces, the other didn't. That might make a difference in how they lead, might not. You might as well throw in McCain's POW experience, which certainly shows him to be courageous and deserves great respect, but I agee with whoever it was who said that it doesn't in itself qualify him to be President.

Time served in Senate. Hmm...it certainly points out the legislative experience or lack of same. But it's funny how, whenever somebody from the party you don't like served a long time in the Senate, it's a bad thing because they are part of the good ol' boy network, etc.

Socialized health care plan--"socialized" is another buzzword that means little or nothing...I bet most people couldn't even define it other than that it's bad. Study the specifics of both candidate's proposals, ask yourself which one will accomplish the most, and make an informed decision.

Abortion--like it or not, this isn't a black and white issue except to the fringes on both sides. If the vast majority of the people felt the same about it, it wouldn't be an issue. But as Lilley said, it's a deal maker to some. If you're very strongly anti-abortion, you'll vote for McCain, period.

Pulling troops out...Funny how our current President's ideas on the subject are starting to look a bit more like Obama's, and Obama's a bit more like McCain's. The realities of the situation, including the views of the current Iraqi government, are such that it's looking more and more like we've done about all we can in Iraq and even the "good" Iraqis are wanting us to start pulling out. The reality also is that we CAN'T pull out immediately (and even Obama didn't say immediately--he wouldn't and couldn't pull all the troops out the day after he took the oath of office).

(In my opinion, the reality also is that it's questionable just how long we can remain at anything like current levels in Iraq, on both a purely economic note and an armed forces note. The billions per day we're spending in Iraq simply cannot be kept up indefinitely withour raising the deficit so far through the roof our grandchildren will still be paying it off. And to put it bluntly, we're wearing our army out. I don't like to see us leave with Iraq still in its present state, but you just gotta wonder whether we CAN turn Iraq into a stable government that won't be an enemy in the near future.)

Gun ownership rights--a simple "no" adjacent to Obama is patently ridiculous. Obama came out in favor of the recent Supreme Court decision that did a lot to affirm the second amendment. While he sees a need for restrictions on guns in urban areas, he has said that such restrictions aren't needed in rural areas. Personally, I don't see what can really be done in urban areas to curtail the availability of firearms beyond what is already being done, without seriously affecting non-criminal gun owners. So I don't totally agree with Obama's viewpoint, but again, it's not as clear-cut and bad as "no".

Supports homosexual marriage--in some ways this is semantics. I admit I don't really know exactly what each candidate believes or how they have voted, and since this is an issue that is so far down the list of importance to me, I don't care how they voted. My own viewpoint is that it's neither productive nor desirable to allow gays to "marry" in the traditional sense, church sanctioned, etc. And no church should ever be required to "marry" them, although if a church wants to for purely symbolic purposes, they should be allowed to. But commited gay couples should be allowed to enjoy the civil privileges that marriage bestows on hetero couples, so some sort of secular union should be available to them. Just don't call it marriage.

Proposed programs will require a huge tax increase...not so simple. But see taxes below.

The last two, I don't know the validity of.

Taxes--I would refer you to the Snopes link from Okieflyfisher in the Obama born in Kenya? thread. Suffice it to say that there are some serious distortions in the figures listed for taxes, and that if you make less than something like 200 grand a year, Obama's plan WON'T raise your taxes.

[Al Agnew]

And I agree with Dano. You will not see me calling McCain anything but McCain if not Sen. McCain. You will have never seen me call President Bush anything but that, or occasionally just "Bush" for shorthand, even though I think his policies have been wrong many, many times and his prosecution of the war in Iraq has been incompetent at times. As candidates for President, McCain and Obama both deserve respect, and whichever one gets into office also deserves respect for the man and the office. You can vehemently disagree on policies and actions, but in my opinion the personal attacks on the President weakens the country.

And no, I too do not think Obama is the best thing since sliced bread. Nor do I think McCain would be the worst thing to happen. Truth is, Obama was not my first choice among Democrats, and McCain WAS my first choice among Republicans. It's just that on the issues that matter to me, the Democrats are closer to my views on more of them than the Republicans are, and I also don't like the way McCain has pandered to the strongly conservative base of his party since this election cycle started, when before he really was somewhat at odds with them and deserved his reputation as a maverick.

[Trav]

Wasn't Nafta a Clinton deal?

[bigredbirdfan]

And I agree with Dano. You will not see me calling McCain anything but McCain if not Sen. McCain. You will have never seen me call President Bush anything but that, or occasionally just "Bush" for shorthand, even though I think his policies have been wrong many, many times and his prosecution of the war in Iraq has been incompetent at times. As candidates for President, McCain and Obama both deserve respect, and whichever one gets into office also deserves respect for the man and the office. You can vehemently disagree on policies and actions, but in my opinion the personal attacks on the President weakens the country.

And no, I too do not think Obama is the best thing since sliced bread. Nor do I think McCain would be the worst thing to happen. Truth is, Obama was not my first choice among Democrats, and McCain WAS my first choice among Republicans. It's just that on the issues that matter to me, the Democrats are closer to my views on more of them than the Republicans are, and I also don't like the way McCain has pandered to the strongly conservative base of his party since this election cycle started, when before he really was somewhat at odds with them and deserved his reputation as a maverick.

Might I ask who was the first choice? To me it is clear that Obama is the least qualified canidate and I know the JFK history, but he was very conservative compared to Obama and I feel that John Edwards and the press did a very big diservice to Hillary and I belive Sarah Palin will pickup her very disinfranchised voters.

[Thom]

Trav who is this guy signing the nafta document ?

double click the picture and read the caption.

President GWBush pushed the nafta agreement until buchannan scared the pants off him in the 92 election. Clinton signed the final agreement with most republicans and democrats voting in favor ot the treaty.

A picture is worth a thousands words of misinformation

[twosets]

What I find very interesting is the idea that there are people who are undecided about this choice. Seems to me that if you are half way paying attention, you should be able to easily pick the candidate who fits your view of how our country should work. That fits all of the postings on this thread.

So therefore, this election is in the hands of those who have not been paying attention. Strange but true.

Also, even though I may disagree with your conclusions, this is America and I for one respect a well thought out opinion regardless of which side it is on. What bothers me is anyone on either side who engages in name calling. The lack of decency and respect for the office of President is a bad thing for our society and potentially dangerous for our country. One of these two is going to be our next president, and about half of us are not going to be happy about it.

There are plenty of subatanative issues to disagree about. What I also do not like is anyone who tries to dismiss a legitmate question as a personal attack. For example, I think that Obama should answer to his past associations with his minister and Aires, as well as to his past accomplishments. Likewise Mcain should be required to answer specific questions about his support for Bush's policies and about his record in the Senate. Why they could not do this in a town hall format is beyond me, I thought that the saddleback deal was a great forum to get to know these men.

George

.

[jdmidwest]

Wow, take a weekend off and look what happens. Good to see Phil and others involved in a political opinion on here, believe it or not, politics affect all of us even while we enjoy our pasttimes. We should all take a stand and VOTE for our beliefs and not just poke and hope.

Chief, what are Obama's credentials? I have dismissed him as a phoney and have not really researched him. I have not seen anything on him except he wants to change things.

Al, I vote for Gaylon too, good moral fortitude, but he is way too smart to run for Pres.

Remember, lets all have fun here....

[bigredbirdfan]

Wow, take a weekend off and look what happens. Good to see Phil and others involved in a political opinion on here, believe it or not, politics affect all of us even while we enjoy our pasttimes. We should all take a stand and VOTE for our beliefs and not just poke and hope.

Chief, what are Obama's credentials? I have dismissed him as a phoney and have not really researched him. I have not seen anything on him except he wants to change things.

Al, I vote for Gaylon too, good moral fortitude, but he is way too smart to run for Pres.

Remember, lets all have fun here....

What a wonderful idea. Place the burden of qualification/credential back in their court. Lets have more substance than better than the last eight years and that one word, oh yes change.

[Danoinark]

What I find very interesting is the idea that there are people who are undecided about this choice. Seems to me that if you are half way paying attention, you should be able to easily pick the candidate who fits your view of how our country should work. That fits all of the postings on this thread.

So therefore, this election is in the hands of those who have not been paying attention. Strange but true.

Also, even though I may disagree with your conclusions, this is America and I for one respect a well thought out opinion regardless of which side it is on. What bothers me is anyone on either side who engages in name calling. The lack of decency and respect for the office of President is a bad thing for our society and potentially dangerous for our country. One of these two is going to be our next president, and about half of us are not going to be happy about it.

There are plenty of subatanative issues to disagree about. What I also do not like is anyone who tries to dismiss a legitmate question as a personal attack. For example, I think that Obama should answer to his past associations with his minister and Aires, as well as to his past accomplishments. Likewise Mcain should be required to answer specific questions about his support for Bush's policies and about his record in the Senate. Why they could not do this in a town hall format is beyond me, I thought that the saddleback deal was a great forum to get to know these men.

George

.

George a great analysis. I am of the opinion that no matter who wins the presidency I intend to do as I have always done, respect the person as President and Commander in Chief, and respect the office as it deserves. We may disagree and we have the right to protest, but thank God we have that right as our forefathers intended.

Al, as to the issue of gay marriage, it just so happens that I read both candidates stand on the issue this afternoon. They are both against marriage in the traditional sense but both are for civil unions.

Like you its so far down on my priority list of important issues that I have no other thoughts on it.

[jdmidwest]

Dano, did you respect the man who about 10 years ago looked you straight in the eye and lied to you on Nationwide TV with his stearn face and pointing finger. Someone who currently makes millions on his memoirs and could not remember anything under oath during his time in office. He ruined the oath and honor of the highest office in the land and still rakes in millions giving speeches.

We have paid for our past by voting popular opinion instead of what the person's core values and ideas are. We need more candidates with good moral values and pure hearts instead of talk and lies. We need to think out any decisions in the future, don't just vote for the lesser of 2 evils. And we should never vote just because of party lines.