Bunny Domination

It is blatantly clear that I support Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States. I consider myself to be extremely liberal with respect to societal issues, but I am moderate when the focus is on economics. I do not vote with any party and consider myself an independent. Since running for President, Barack Obama has generated a huge interest in politics, especially among the younger generation, but why? See below as to why Barack Obama is giving the world hope.

Table of Contents

Corporate Persuasion
Background
State of the Nation
Experience
Miscellaneous

Corporate Persuasion
Americans typically discredit corporate persuasion and consider it unimportant, but contrary to popular belief it is the greatest factor which signals that the barrage of promises are at least slightly legitimate. Parties argue over the most obscure of personality traits, from “flip flopper” to military records, in order to suggest that when the time comes our candidate will defend his/her word and keep us as their top priority. However, the top priority of a campaign, corporation, researcher, club, or presidency is the supporters or those supplying the money.

What is your top priority?
Your kids, whom depend on you and your income. But kids and family set aside, it surely would be your job/career and the basis of your survival, money.

Barack Obama has not accepted money from lobbyists. Meaning he is supported by everyday contributions from Americans who want him to be president. As of now, he has over 1.5 million donors to his campaign. The opposition cites opensecrets.com as a resource to track campaign donations, but the site does not differentiate between individuals and the corporation. As previously indicated on his Hillary Clinton’s website, Obama accepts “money from employees of firms that lobby” and is advised by lobbyists. This is an extreme technicality. First and foremost, the larger part of the American population works for companies which lobby in Washington. Meaning, if you work for Dell, Boeing, Verizon, AT&T, Wal-Mart, Time Warner, McDonald’s, or a couple hundred of other companies, then hold back your support because you are now a special interest group. Secondly, any adviser who was a lobbyist has terminated registration, which is required by the Obama campaign. Then, to top it off, the conservative press criticizes Obama for accepting endorsements from anybody connected to lobbyists, such as governor Jim Hodges. Senator Obama is no Mother Teresa, but he has made an effective effort to keep himself as “transparent” as possible to the public. An ideal any American should stand behind, unless they support the same objectives as the corporations that control the country now.

On the other hand, we have John McCain, who surrounds himself with current registered lobbyists. The Washington Post has labeled him the anti-lobbyist, advised by lobbyist. As with Obama or McCain, campaign advising by current or past lobbyists is not anything to fear, unless the candidate or congressperson is being negatively influenced, or otherwise making decisions against the interest of the American public. There are two particular instances with John McCain which definitely sets him apart from Barack Obama:

1. The vote opposing the amendment of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was intended to prevent immunity to the telecommunications companies for assisting with the warrantless wiretaps permitted by the act. Several lawsuits have been made against Verizon, Comcast, and Sprint for warrantless surveillance on everyday Americans. Immunity prevents the courts from determining if the corporations offended the rights of these citizens. (more) (more)
   
   Did I mention that Rick Davis, the campaign manager to John McCain, earned $2.85 million dollars between 1998 and 2005 from telecom companies? No, but while I am on the subject I should also mention Charlie Black and Wayne Berman of McCain’s campaign team who profited from the same industry.
2. The assistance of outsourcing jobs to Airbus* by arguing that the United States Air Force contract should not consider government subsidies. This in effect gave Airbus an advantage over the American based company Boeing, which argued they “could not possibly compete against a company subsidized by a foreign government.” Airbus could only make a low bid due to subsidies give to them by the government, but since the Air Force was not considering the subsidies it was seen as a genuine low bid. Apparently, since subsidies were not to be considered than Airbus would have to bid higher and it would “block Airbus from submitting a competitive bid.” Unfortunately the free market does not work according to McCain Theory, but in the end it worked out well for the three Airbus lobbyists which are part of McCain’s campaign. The $35 billion dollar contract would have “supported 44,000 new and existing jobs at Boeing,” versus the 25,000 offered to Americans by Airbus. (more) (more)
   
   *Lockheed was included apart of the deal, but they are an American company
   

These two instances alone prove that support provided by the lobbyists to McCain influences the decisions which will run this country. In other words, McCain is not considering Americans as his top priority. These stories actually disgust me and it saddens me that hardworking men and women have been betrayed by their “representative.”

UPDATE: John McCain is trying to purge his lobbyist advisers. It seems like a reactive move to stop Barack Obama from being considered the common man’s candidate.

Background
Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Not that this of particular important to me, but he is a Christian, not a Muslim. And Senator Obama, despite similar sounding names, is not related to Osama bin Laden and he has never harbored, aided, or welcomed terrorists. On a funny note, Barack Obama is a distant cousin of Vice President Dick Cheney. After his mother remarried, his family moved to Indonesia in 1967 (age 6) and he lived there for four years. Due to Barack Obama’s ethnicity, Americans believe he is a foreigner. This not only incorrect, but impossible because Barack would not be eligible for presidency if he were a foreigner, for only American citizens can become President of the United States. Again though, this a terrible question of the nominee’s citizenship and should never be used to measure the capacities of the individuals.

After Senator Obama graduated from high school, he went to college in California and eventually ended up graduating from Harvard in the national scholar society of magna cum laude. Since then, he has served six years on the Illinois Senate, three years as an United States Senator, a community organizer, a university lecturer, and a lawyer. During the years (1996-2002) when Obama was a senator and a associate attorney, he served as an attorney when the Illinois Senate was out of session.

Other points of interest regarding his background:

• Barack met his wife of fourteen years, Michelle Robinson, while pursuing a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School.
• A majority of income for the Obama family is a result of book sales from Audacity of Hope and Dreams from my Father. His 2007 tax returns indicate the household income was $4.2 million dollars; book sales accounted for $3.9 million dollars (92.8% of total income). “He reported paying $1,396,772 [33% of total income] in federal taxes and making charitable contributions totaling $240,370.” (more)

John McCain was born on August 29, 1936 on Coco Solo Naval Air Station in Panama. John McCain, like Obama, is a Christian. As a child he moved around quite a bit considering he attended 20 different schools, due to his father being in the military. McCain settled in Virgina where he, as a freshman, attended Episcopal High School and graduated in 1954. During high school he wrestled and later took up boxing at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.

After the academy and requesting being put into combat, McCain was put into action in Vietnam flying A-4 Skyhawks. On a bombing mission McCain was shot down and broke both his arms and one leg. After being captured he was tortured and imprisoned in a solitary confinement for several years. Eventually the torture got to a “point of suicide” and was put on suicide watch. Shortly after he signed a letter which read: “I am a black criminal and I have performed the deeds of an air pirate. I almost died and the Vietnamese people saved my life, thanks to the doctors.” McCain “would never forgive himself.” I respect McCain for the commitment and loyalty Senator McCain devoted to his country, but I believe he should forgive himself, for it is completely understandable given the circumstances. Which is why it amazes me that “direct criticism of the Bush Administration has softened” from McCain considering that until recently he was one of the greatest opponents to torture and mistreatment of prisoners. Certainly there are periods in time when a result may justify a means, but no where in law should we legitimatize the use of torture. Furthermore, John McCain called the Supreme Court’s decision to enforce Habeas Corpus at Guantánamo Bay “one of the worst decisions in history” because they are not American citizens. With all the talk from McCain of preventing inhuman treatment of prisoners, it would be expected that indefinite holding of prisoners without due process be one of the criteria.

In March 1973 John McCain returned from five and a half years of imprisonment and began physical therapy. After more than a year of rehabilitation, he was quick to become a commanding officer of a training squadron. During the time of being a commanding officer, he began to have an affair on his current wife. After divorcing Carol Shepp, marrying Cindy Hensley (daughter of Hensley and Company founder), and determining he would not be promoted to full admiral; McCain retired from the Navy to seek a position in Congress. In 1986, John McCain was elected to be a United States Senator for Arizona and he has continued in this position ever since. In 2000, he unsuccessfully ran against George Walker Bush to become the Republican nominee.

• John McCain received the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal for his service in the Navy.
• James McCain (his son) served in Iraq as a Marine until February 2008.

UPDATE: John McCain lied in “Worth the Fighting For,” a memoir, about the timing of marrying Cindy Hensley because he was still married to Carol McCain.

State of the Nation
The time has come in American history where a person will be proud to be under command of an individual who is capable of accurately addressing American problems. A longstanding problem for the common person is: politicians do not understand the problem. For example, misaddressing the problem is creating treatment centers for teenage drug use instead of educating children to prevent it. A politician can promise a better life for citizens, but they will be unsuccessful unless they correctly address the problem. And no, I am not referring to wedge issues, such as, civil rights for gays or abortion issues. If Little Albert has been morally stricken by some organization to vote entirely based on wedge issues, then there is no debate and the ballot is either red or blue to them. I am referring to the economy and health issues, the core problems of the nation. The candidate needs to a) know the source of the problem or b) seek expert advise. The President of the United States must be well informed about the condition of the country.

Barack Obama took a lot of criticism for calling Pennsylvanians bitter. While bitter was the wrong word choice because it seems to characterizes the citizens of Pennsylvania as angry, the statement accurately reflects the mood of Americans. Americans are frustrated with uncapped interest rates and high gas prices due to corporate greed and the devaluation of the dollar. Despite being one of the top nations in the world, we feel (or get) screwed on every possible level.

Can the promises of Senator Obama help us on every level?
I don’t know. And if anybody tells you differently, then be wary because it is nothing but enthusiasm talking. Just ask the George Bush supporters about the promises in 2000. However, I do know that Senator Obama has opened his ears to the experts. The gas tax holiday, hailed by both McCain and Clinton, was disapproved by more than 230 economists and Senator Obama. The program was nothing but an election gimmick which would neither solve the energy crisis or give consumers effective relief to the rising gas prices. I do not give credit to Obama for not supporting the proposal, but I content knowing that he sided with those who knew more than him. Actually, economists tend to agree with him on several topics and have shaped his plan for America. (more)

Besides the economy, Americans are very worried about national security. As a former retiree of the Navy, John McCain has made it clear, in his opinion, that the lack of military service has left Obama incapable of addressing foreign affairs. Fortunately, the military speaks for itself here: $132,133 of military support went to McCain and $178,456 to Obama. And here: seven generals and three admirals have endorsed Obama. To be clear, I am not implying the military does not support John McCain (because it does), but the conservative party is out to make voters fear Obama by implying he is incompetent. This is fear mongering, just like Operation Iraqi Freedom has been for the last seven years. Dorothy Thompson was correct to say:

The most destructive element in the human mind is fear. Fear creates aggressiveness.

Again, Obama has no military experience, so it is unlikely for him to come up with a strategy for ground forces and be successful. However, unlike George Bush who replaces officials who don’t agree with him, Obama is collaborating to carefully and safely remove the United States’ presence in Iraq.

John McCain has taken a fair share of criticism from the left as a flip flopper. The trouble with using “flip flopper” is, it is just a label and no particular information is given with the name. Also, the term is often improperly used to describe a person who changes their mind. The only condition a person needs to justify themselves is: new information or a different context. Science has been flip flopping since the conception of science itself. There is no problem with flip flopping, unless a person cons an audience (or supporters) by tailoring their message to suit the audience. In 2000, I supported George Bush, does that make me a flip flopper? No, it is evident to me now that he is incapable of progressing the country in a positive direction.

Similarly to Obama, I am not buying into the promises of tomorrow from McCain. As of now, John McCain’s policies are inline with George Bush and he has demonstrated little knowledge on the State of the Nation. The following explains why it is my American duty to not support John McCain:

1. Lying about Iraq. Whether it is an intentional lie or failure to see the truth, John McCain has deceived the American public by implying that Iraq is safe. Safe enough for General Petraeus to walk “unarmed” out of the protected zones of Iraq. It is apparent that McCain wants to suggest that the republican party has made a great choice by staying in Iraq and justify his decision to pull out of Iraq after the big win. The problem: this follows in the footsteps of George Bush. The same deceitful and ambiguous position on Iraq. Iraq is not safe. Winning is not an objective. Produce a detailed plan or get out.
2. Improperly informed. After being asked about how McCain plans to balance the budget, he cited Ronald Reagan, who tripled the deficit. There is no doubt there will be presence of Reagan democrats who will play an important role in this election, so McCain plans on courting those voters, while proving to be ignorant about the economy. If McCain cannot see a problem with the country, then certainly he will not be able to repair it. For example, it is estimated that the national debt is over 9 trillion dollars and increasing by more than a billion each day. In 2000, the national debt was over $5.6 trillion dollars and more than 100 billion was paid off that year (during the Clinton administration). The problem: decreasing value of the dollar and increasing debt. The solution proposed by McCain is to remain in Iraq and keep cutting taxes. National debt accrues if more money is being spent then the government is receiving. Both cutting taxes and spending large amounts of money contribute to debt, which is not a very effective method of conserving (or improving) the economy.
3. The lack of computer knowledge. Senator McCain has admitted he has a hard time using a computer without the help of his wife. This may seem like some sort of cruel joke to point out the fact that he is old, but ask yourself, are you expected to know how to use computers? Be it your friends, family, or coworkers, would you feel dim in front of them if you told them you didn’t know how use a computer? Well, the fact that John McCain is not holding himself to the same standards as everyday Americans sends up a red flag. Then, to think computers have been apart of American culture for more than a decade now. It is completely irresponsible for him to not know how to use a computer.

If McCain is lying and misinformed about simple things, then can Americans depend on him to pressure congress into banning Bisphenol A? Will he stop the telecommunication companies from creating a tiered Internet service?

I certainly don’t think so.

Experience
The deal breaker for thousands of voters is the experience Senator McCain has in Congress. To be more specific, Senator Obama has about two decades less experience than Senator McCain. Meaning John McCain has been making decisions for the United States longer than some of us have lived. Over this period of time, he must have come to know how America works and runs, thus some believe he is the most qualified candidate.

Sadly enough, voting for a third to a half of the year on Congressional issues does not qualify a person for a full time Presidential position. Take past presidents who were considered well qualified for the position as President based on their experience, such as George Bush or Richard Nixon. Both of them lied and deceived the American public. Then, take past presidents who were not qualified based on their lack of experience, such as Abraham Lincoln or John F. Kennedy. Two presidents which are considered to be the cream of the crop. Experience can give reason to why a candidate would make a great president, but it obviously not a necessity because–as history has shown–a person can be morally corrupt with plenty of experience.

The President of the United States sets the morality of the government. He or she hires the officials, allows passage of laws, and commands the military. For a candidate strikingly similar to George Bush, John McCain seems to want to follow the path Americans have been on for more than seven years. The path paved by Karl Rove, a man who left the Bush Administration just in time to have the waters settle before he jumped into the McCain campaign.

A presidential candidate needs to be judged on character and morality. Wealth, ethnicity, religion, marriage, and political party should have little to no effect on an American’s decision in November. I do not judge Senator McCain on politics, for I do not doubt at one point cutting taxes will benefit the country and military presence may be a necessity. I do not pretend that the United States of America became one of the greatest countries in history by the hands of democrats alone–but rather–side by side with republicans, libertarians, and federalists. One day republicans will one day produce a formidable candidate who will change the country for the better, but John McCain is nothing but a last resort.

John McCain wasn’t good enough in 2000 against George Bush and he still isn’t good enough in 2008 against Barack Obama.

Miscellaneous
There are other trivial tidbits of information regarding this election that everybody should know.

• Why are Americans so critical of Jeremiah Wright?
  The minister supports Senator Obama and he has very radical beliefs. Some Americans are particularly frightened to stand behind a nominee who is supported by the pastor’s beliefs. Senator Obama has separated himself from the church and pastor to ensure that his politics are not mixed with the beliefs of Jeremiah Wright.
• Hillary Clinton tells her supporters that a vote for McCain (over Obama) would be a “terrible mistake.” In the CNN Situation Room she stated “anybody who has ever voted for me or voted for Barack has much more in common in terms of what we want to see happen in our country and in the world with the other than they do with John McCain.” Despite all the remarks she made about Senator Obama, she believes he is a better candidate than John McCain.
• John McCain called his captors in North Vietnam “gooks.” He further complicated the situation for himself by saying “I will hate them as long as I live.” There is no excuse for John McCain here; it was outright racist for him to use an offensive term to Southeast Asians.
• About eighty percent of the population in the United States has an income less than $100,000 per year. Meaning about eighty percent of the population will actually benefit from the tax plan proposed by Barack Obama, who has larger tax cuts than John McCain if you make less than $125,000 per year. Plus, Jeanne Sahadi reports Obama will increase the debt by $3.3 trillion dollars while John McCain will increase the debt by $4.5 trillion dollars.
• Do not buy into the ups and downs of everyday polls on candidates. Nate Silver has been highly successful at predicting the primary polls over at FiveThirtyEight.com. I trust his method of weighting all of the top polling agencies because quite a few times he has been more accurate than prime time television.