Our opinion: Barack Obama for president
The Times-Reporter believes Democrat Barack Obama is the better candidate to lead the country out of these trying economic times and today gives its endorsement to him over opponent Republican John McCain.
Although we find neither candidate perfect, we believe Obama’s intellect, his youthfulness – he’s 47 – and his drive to succeed gives him the edge over McCain, who would begin his presidency at age 72 and whose backup is woefully underqualified for the job.
We believe McCain blundered horribly when he chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Weeks after being selected for the ticket, she still is being shielded from scrutiny. The self-affirmed “maverick” clearly was chosen to appeal to the conservative Republican base and to former supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Palin’s “Joe Sixpack” style does attract conservatives, but there is little evidence that Clinton supporters are overwhelmingly flocking to the McCain camp.
Bypassed in the vice presidential selection process (among others) was Ohioan Rob Portman, who served in Congress for 12 years and who most recently was director of the Office of Management and Budget. Portman would have appealed to the so-called conservative base as well as helped McCain capture the ever-so-important Ohio. In addition, Portman, 52, certainly would have eased Americans’ fears about No. 2 being “a heartbeat away.”
The reasoning behind McCain’s Palin decision, along with his stunt to suspend his campaign while he “fixed” the economy, gives us pause.
In the past, The Times-Reporter has shied from endorsing Democratic presidential candidates primarily because of their promises of additional entitlement programs that grow government rather than shrink it. But the last eight years have blurred the picture with Republicans spending as wildly as their counterparts across the aisle.
Given the events of the last month, we don’t see the next president immediately reworking health care or the tax system when he takes office Jan. 20.
His No. 1 job will be to provide leadership, to demand transparency in the financial system, including getting the necessary regulation in place, and to restore trust in government.
Then there’s a host of countries to worry about, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Georgia and others. And still on the table will be other key issues – the environment, energy, education, infrastructure and health care. And have we mentioned that our image abroad needs a little polishing?
We believe Barack Obama is the better of the two candidates and the one who can lead us through one of the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression. We urge T-R readers to cast their ballots for him and his running mate, Joe Biden, the senior U.S. senator from Delaware.
The election is Nov. 4, although Ohio voters can cast “no fault” absentee ballots now or vote at their respective boards of elections.
1 comments:
As the election draws closer to Nov 4, the American people will see the true results if Obama wins. There are just too many questions on his past, his vision of the future (EuroSocialist Government), spreading the wealth from those who are working for a living (Rich @ $42,000+) to those who would rather live under a welfare state, a medical system such as Canada. We just do not need to have Obama elected. We would have just more of the Democrat philosophy running our lives. Heaven forbid. With Obama’s, Biden’s and Democratic leadership’s rhetoric, or I should say, lack of we would be in a world of hurt.
Obama is promising legislation that would make it more difficult for workers to hold a private ballot vote in unionization drives, which critics say would lead to harassment and intimidation, has spurred a pitched battle between powerful labor unions supportive of Sen. Barack Obama and big business in the presidential campaign. Seen by the AFL-CIO as a way to boost union rolls by hundreds of thousands of new members, the hotly-contested bill has become this year's No. 1 election issue for organized labor. Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has promised union bosses that the Employee Free Choice Act will become law in 2009 if he wins the presidency in November.
Barack Obama was shaking hands the other day, which is a necessary thing for politicians. The question he got, though, was not typical. A man who described himself as a plumber by trade said Obama wants to tax him more Obama's response was typical: "It's not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure everybody behind you has a chance....just spread the wealth around." Sounds like a confirmation, if any is needed, that this man is glued to the redistribution of wealth. His running mate, Joe Biden, in his “Patriotic Comment” on paying taxes also confirmed it. Any doubts? I didn't think so. Anyway, I don't think many Americans in Obama's dreams even pay any taxes to begin with. 44% today, do not. Folks, more handouts are coming if he's elected. You can bet on it.
The print and news pundits have really become surrogates for the Obama campaign and should register as such. I have lost all faith in the majority of them. They need to become more fair and balanced in their reporting and coverage of the facts. I would love to see a more truthful analyst of Obama. There are too many unanswered question on him and his agenda. It is about time that the "True" facts on Obama’s past associations are exposed. Look... We need to continue the Ayers Obama connection however, his associations with ACORN, his campaign contributions, particularly foreign groups, Aslinksy, Rezko and Wright are just additional examples of issues which need to be addressed and exposed. The ACORN relationship, particularly, should be addressed. Socialized Medicine is something we do not need. Look at the number of Canadians who come to the states for medical attention. The same applies to Mexican citizens who cross the border for medical care. More importantly, look at the level of care in countries under socialized medicine compared to the USA. No comparison. As we get nearer to Nov 4, think hard on your choices. You've help make your country great, now vote to keep it the same Vote Wisely Nov 4th!
Post a Comment