quote:

Originally posted by bamafaninaub:
Majority for Obama say they are voting for him because:
1. They will be part of making history.
2. He will bring change to this country.

I have no doubt he will bring "change". However, I don't think the "changes" are what his supporters are expecting.....

-----------------------------

Darby up the middle!

quote:

Originally posted by JumboPackage:

quote:

Originally posted by bamafaninaub:
Majority for Obama say they are voting for him because:
1. They will be part of making history.
2. He will bring change to this country.

I have no doubt he will bring "change". However, I don't think the "changes" are what his supporters are expecting.....

I have yet to hear anyone say what he will change and how he'll do it.

quote:

Originally posted by Mountain Tider:
These are the reasons I am casting my vote for Barack Obama:

A Leader for Reform
Obama reached across the aisle and challenged leaders of both parties to pass historic ethics reforms both in Washington and Springfield, IL. Unlike other candidates, he refuses to accept campaign contributions from PACs and Washington lobbyists.

Close the Revolving Door
Obama will close the revolving door between the executive branch and K-Street lobbying shops. Obama’s appointees will serve the American people, not their own financial interests.

Increase Transparency
Obama will increase transparency so that ordinary Americans can understand their government and trust that their money is well spent.

End Wasteful No-Bid Contracts
Obama will clean up government contracting and end the abuse of no-bid contracts.

Universal Coverage
Obama will sign a universal health care plan into law by the end of his first term in office. His plan will provide affordable, quality health care coverage for every American.

Reduce Health Care Costs
Obama’s plan will bring down the cost of health care and reduce a typical family’s premiums by as much as $2,500 per year.

Taxes
Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.

Trade
Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.

Technology
Obama will encourage the deployment of the most modern communications infrastructure to reduce the costs of health care, help solve our energy crisis, create new jobs, and fuel our economic growth.

Labor
Obama will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions. He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama will ensure that his labor appointees support workers’ rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers. Obama will also increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to ensure it rises every year.

Home Ownership
Obama will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. He will also make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and he will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.

Bankruptcy Reform
Obama will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies, and require disclosure of all pension investments.

Credit Cards
Obama will establish a five-star rating system so that every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card. He also will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.

Work-Family
Obama will double funding for after-school programs, expand the Family Medical Leave Act, provide lowincome families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules.

Commitment
As someone who was largely raised by his grandparents, Obama has first-hand knowledge of how hard
America’s seniors have worked to defend our country, teach our children and grow our economy. He will honor their lifetime of work.

Protect Social Security
Obama will preserve Social Security by stopping any efforts to privatize it and working in a bipartisan way to preserve it for future generations.

Secure Hard-Earned Pensions
Obama will fight to ensure that companies don’t dump their pension obligations.

Help Americans Save More
Obama will make retirement savings automatic.

High-Quality Zero to Five Early Education
Obama will launch a Children’s First Agenda that provides care, learning and support to families with children from birth up to five years old.

Reform No Child Left Behind
Obama believes that the goal of No Child Left Behind was the right one, but that it was written and implemented poorly and it has demoralized our educators and broken its promise to our children. Obama will fund No Child Left Behind and improve its assessments and accountability systems.

Improve K-12
Obama will improve our schools by recruiting well-qualified teachers to every classroom in America. Obama will improve teacher compensation by rewarding expert, accomplished teachers for taking on challenging assignments and helping teachers succeed. Obama also will reduce the high school dropout rate and close the achievement gap by investing in proven intervention strategies in the middle grades and in summer learning and afterschool opportunities.

Make Community College and College Education Affordable
Obama will create a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that will make tuition at the nation’s community colleges completely free and will cover up to two-thirds the cost of tuition at the nation’s public colleges and universities. This $4,000 tax credit will be fully refundable and available at the time of enrollment in college – when families need the money.

Tackle Climate Change
Obama will implement a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the level
recommended by top scientists.

Create Millions of Green Jobs
Obama will invest $150 billion over ten years to deploy clean technologies, protect our existing
manufacturing base and create millions of new jobs.

Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil
Obama will reduce oil consumption overall by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels of oil, by 2030.

Restore Fiscal Discipline in Congress
Obama will reinstate pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules, so that new spending or tax cuts are paid for by spending cuts or new revenue elsewhere.

Cut Pork Barrel Spending
Obama will cut skyrocketing pork barrel spending projects by forcing more transparency about who is requesting projects and what the projects would accomplish before Congress votes to approve them.

Cut Down on Tax Haven and Tax Shelter Abuse
Obama will build on his bipartisan work to penalize companies that abuse the tax code and stop the use of tax havens.

Repeal Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy
Obama is committed to repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Family Farms
Obama will ensure our farm programs help family farmers, not giant corporations. He will fight to enable family farmers to have fair access to markets, control over their production decisions, and fair prices for their goods.

Alternative Fuels
Obama will help farmers continue their leadership in the renewable fuel economy and harvest more of our energy from Americans farms.

Investing in Rural Communities
Obama will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed internet access. He will improve rural schools and attract more doctors to rural areas.

Protecting the Rural Environment
Barack Obama will work for tougher regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to prevent air and water pollution.

Pay Equity
Barack Obama will better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace.

Reproductive Choice
Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving a women’s right to choose under Roe v. Wade a priority as president. Obama also supports expanded access to contraception, health information and preventive services to reduce unintended pregnancies.

Health Care
Obama will tackle diseases and illnesses that disproportionately affect women.

Domestic Violence
Obama introduced legislation to combat domestic violence and cosponsored and helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

Comprehensive Reform
Barack Obama has fought for comprehensive immigration reform that secures our border, fixes our broken immigration bureaucracy and puts the 12 million undocumented immigrants on a responsible path to citizenship.

Commitment
If Congress does not act in the interim, Obama will revive immigration reform in the first year of his presidency.

Help More Americans Climb the Job Ladder
Obama will help low-income Americans enter the workplace and move up the career ladder.

Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Obama will increase benefits and expand the number of individuals eligible for EITC, one of the most successful antipoverty programs in history.

Establish Promise Neighborhoods to Combat Chronic Urban Poverty
Obama will create Promise Neighborhoods to provide comprehensive services in impoverished areas in 20 American cities.

Support Economic Development in Low-Income Communities
Obama will help local entrepreneurs revitalize inner cities.

Increase Affordable Housing
Obama will increase the supply of affordable housing across the U.S.

Ask All Americans to Work Together to Meet Our Common Challenges
Obama will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots and double the Peace Corps and dedicate these positions to addressing America’s common challenges. He also will provide new service opportunities for working Americans and retirees.

Expand Service Learning
Obama will integrate service-learning into our schools to enable students to graduate college with as many as 17 weeks of service experience.

Bolster the Nonprofit Sector
By leveraging federal dollars, Obama will foster the use of best practices of the private sector to nurture innovation in the nonprofit sector.

Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement
Obama will staff the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department with lawyers who prosecute civil rights violations, employment discrimination, and hate crimes instead of political cronies.

Protect the Right to Vote
Obama will remove discriminatory barriers to the right to vote.

Promote Fairness in the Criminal Justice System
Obama will work to ban racial profiling and eliminate disparities in criminal sentencing.

The War in Iraq
Obama is the only major candidate who had the judgment to oppose the Iraq War from the beginning. He will end the war responsibly by bringing our troops home within 16 months, pressing for a political solution to Iraq’s civil war, and launching the diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives that are needed to bring stability to Iraq.

Terrorism
Obama will fight terrorism and protect America with a comprehensive strategy that finishes the fight in Afghanistan, cracks down on the al Qaeda safe-haven in Pakistan, develops new capabilities and international partnerships, engages the world to dry up support for extremism, and reaffirms American values.

Iran
Obama has stood up against going to war with Iran, and called for a new approach. He will lead tough diplomacy with the Iranian regime, and offer Iran the choice of increased international pressure or incentives if it stops its disturbing behavior.

Renewing American Diplomacy
Obama will turn the page on the Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to countries that we don’t like. He will talk to our foes as well as our friends, and he will restore American leadership and alliances abroad.

A Sacred Trust
Barack Obama believes America has a sacred trust with our veterans. He is committed to creating a 21st Century Department of Veterans’ Affairs that provides the care and benefits our nation’s veterans deserve.

Help for Returning Service Members
Obama will improve the quality of health care for veterans, rebuild the VA’s broken benefits system, and combat homelessness among veterans.

Improved Mental Health Treatment
Obama will improve mental health treatment for troops and veterans suffering from combat-related
psychological injuries.



Those are the highlights of why I am voting for him. If you want to take the time and read the details of why I am voting for him, click here: Blueprint for Change

quote:

Originally posted by Sweet Home:

quote:

Originally posted by Mountain Tider:
These are the reasons I am casting my vote for Barack Obama:

A Leader for Reform
Obama reached across the aisle and challenged leaders of both parties to pass historic ethics reforms both in Washington and Springfield, IL. Unlike other candidates, he refuses to accept campaign contributions from PACs and Washington lobbyists.

Close the Revolving Door
Obama will close the revolving door between the executive branch and K-Street lobbying shops. Obama’s appointees will serve the American people, not their own financial interests.

Increase Transparency
Obama will increase transparency so that ordinary Americans can understand their government and trust that their money is well spent.

End Wasteful No-Bid Contracts
Obama will clean up government contracting and end the abuse of no-bid contracts.

Universal Coverage
Obama will sign a universal health care plan into law by the end of his first term in office. His plan will provide affordable, quality health care coverage for every American.

Reduce Health Care Costs
Obama’s plan will bring down the cost of health care and reduce a typical family’s premiums by as much as $2,500 per year.

Taxes
Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.

Trade
Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.

Technology
Obama will encourage the deployment of the most modern communications infrastructure to reduce the costs of health care, help solve our energy crisis, create new jobs, and fuel our economic growth.

Labor
Obama will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions. He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama will ensure that his labor appointees support workers’ rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers. Obama will also increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to ensure it rises every year.

Home Ownership
Obama will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. He will also make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and he will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.

Bankruptcy Reform
Obama will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies, and require disclosure of all pension investments.

Credit Cards
Obama will establish a five-star rating system so that every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card. He also will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.

Work-Family
Obama will double funding for after-school programs, expand the Family Medical Leave Act, provide lowincome families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules.

Commitment
As someone who was largely raised by his grandparents, Obama has first-hand knowledge of how hard
America’s seniors have worked to defend our country, teach our children and grow our economy. He will honor their lifetime of work.

Protect Social Security
Obama will preserve Social Security by stopping any efforts to privatize it and working in a bipartisan way to preserve it for future generations.

Secure Hard-Earned Pensions
Obama will fight to ensure that companies don’t dump their pension obligations.

Help Americans Save More
Obama will make retirement savings automatic.

High-Quality Zero to Five Early Education
Obama will launch a Children’s First Agenda that provides care, learning and support to families with children from birth up to five years old.

Reform No Child Left Behind
Obama believes that the goal of No Child Left Behind was the right one, but that it was written and implemented poorly and it has demoralized our educators and broken its promise to our children. Obama will fund No Child Left Behind and improve its assessments and accountability systems.

Improve K-12
Obama will improve our schools by recruiting well-qualified teachers to every classroom in America. Obama will improve teacher compensation by rewarding expert, accomplished teachers for taking on challenging assignments and helping teachers succeed. Obama also will reduce the high school dropout rate and close the achievement gap by investing in proven intervention strategies in the middle grades and in summer learning and afterschool opportunities.

Make Community College and College Education Affordable
Obama will create a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that will make tuition at the nation’s community colleges completely free and will cover up to two-thirds the cost of tuition at the nation’s public colleges and universities. This $4,000 tax credit will be fully refundable and available at the time of enrollment in college – when families need the money.

Tackle Climate Change
Obama will implement a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the level
recommended by top scientists.

Create Millions of Green Jobs
Obama will invest $150 billion over ten years to deploy clean technologies, protect our existing
manufacturing base and create millions of new jobs.

Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil
Obama will reduce oil consumption overall by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels of oil, by 2030.

Restore Fiscal Discipline in Congress
Obama will reinstate pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules, so that new spending or tax cuts are paid for by spending cuts or new revenue elsewhere.

Cut Pork Barrel Spending
Obama will cut skyrocketing pork barrel spending projects by forcing more transparency about who is requesting projects and what the projects would accomplish before Congress votes to approve them.

Cut Down on Tax Haven and Tax Shelter Abuse
Obama will build on his bipartisan work to penalize companies that abuse the tax code and stop the use of tax havens.

Repeal Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy
Obama is committed to repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Family Farms
Obama will ensure our farm programs help family farmers, not giant corporations. He will fight to enable family farmers to have fair access to markets, control over their production decisions, and fair prices for their goods.

Alternative Fuels
Obama will help farmers continue their leadership in the renewable fuel economy and harvest more of our energy from Americans farms.

Investing in Rural Communities
Obama will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed internet access. He will improve rural schools and attract more doctors to rural areas.

Protecting the Rural Environment
Barack Obama will work for tougher regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to prevent air and water pollution.

Pay Equity
Barack Obama will better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace.

Reproductive Choice
Obama has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving a women’s right to choose under Roe v. Wade a priority as president. Obama also supports expanded access to contraception, health information and preventive services to reduce unintended pregnancies.

Health Care
Obama will tackle diseases and illnesses that disproportionately affect women.

Domestic Violence
Obama introduced legislation to combat domestic violence and cosponsored and helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

Comprehensive Reform
Barack Obama has fought for comprehensive immigration reform that secures our border, fixes our broken immigration bureaucracy and puts the 12 million undocumented immigrants on a responsible path to citizenship.

Commitment
If Congress does not act in the interim, Obama will revive immigration reform in the first year of his presidency.

Help More Americans Climb the Job Ladder
Obama will help low-income Americans enter the workplace and move up the career ladder.

Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Obama will increase benefits and expand the number of individuals eligible for EITC, one of the most successful antipoverty programs in history.

Establish Promise Neighborhoods to Combat Chronic Urban Poverty
Obama will create Promise Neighborhoods to provide comprehensive services in impoverished areas in 20 American cities.

Support Economic Development in Low-Income Communities
Obama will help local entrepreneurs revitalize inner cities.

Increase Affordable Housing
Obama will increase the supply of affordable housing across the U.S.

Ask All Americans to Work Together to Meet Our Common Challenges
Obama will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots and double the Peace Corps and dedicate these positions to addressing America’s common challenges. He also will provide new service opportunities for working Americans and retirees.

Expand Service Learning
Obama will integrate service-learning into our schools to enable students to graduate college with as many as 17 weeks of service experience.

Bolster the Nonprofit Sector
By leveraging federal dollars, Obama will foster the use of best practices of the private sector to nurture innovation in the nonprofit sector.

Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement
Obama will staff the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department with lawyers who prosecute civil rights violations, employment discrimination, and hate crimes instead of political cronies.

Protect the Right to Vote
Obama will remove discriminatory barriers to the right to vote.

Promote Fairness in the Criminal Justice System
Obama will work to ban racial profiling and eliminate disparities in criminal sentencing.

The War in Iraq
Obama is the only major candidate who had the judgment to oppose the Iraq War from the beginning. He will end the war responsibly by bringing our troops home within 16 months, pressing for a political solution to Iraq’s civil war, and launching the diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives that are needed to bring stability to Iraq.

Terrorism
Obama will fight terrorism and protect America with a comprehensive strategy that finishes the fight in Afghanistan, cracks down on the al Qaeda safe-haven in Pakistan, develops new capabilities and international partnerships, engages the world to dry up support for extremism, and reaffirms American values.

Iran
Obama has stood up against going to war with Iran, and called for a new approach. He will lead tough diplomacy with the Iranian regime, and offer Iran the choice of increased international pressure or incentives if it stops its disturbing behavior.

Renewing American Diplomacy
Obama will turn the page on the Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to countries that we don’t like. He will talk to our foes as well as our friends, and he will restore American leadership and alliances abroad.

A Sacred Trust
Barack Obama believes America has a sacred trust with our veterans. He is committed to creating a 21st Century Department of Veterans’ Affairs that provides the care and benefits our nation’s veterans deserve.

Help for Returning Service Members
Obama will improve the quality of health care for veterans, rebuild the VA’s broken benefits system, and combat homelessness among veterans.

Improved Mental Health Treatment
Obama will improve mental health treatment for troops and veterans suffering from combat-related
psychological injuries.



Those are the highlights of why I am voting for him. If you want to take the time and read the details of why I am voting for him, click here: Blueprint for Change

ditto.

-----------------------------

Darby up the middle!

quote:

Originally posted by The Stig:
I can name several blacks I'd happily vote for president over McCain. Oba-Messiah just isn't one of them. This is about politics, not race.

-----------------------------

Darby up the middle!

quote:

Originally posted by JumboPackage:

quote:

Originally posted by The Stig:
I can name several blacks I'd happily vote for president over McCain. Oba-Messiah just isn't one of them. This is about politics, not race.

I'd vote for Condaleza(sp) Rice