Thursday, March 06, 2008

Which single issue will determine the Democratic nominee and ultimately President?

It comes down to that single issue. Which issues do we select the next President on. Here are some choices and you can vote in my mini poll on the right side of the page.

• Iraq war
• Economic recovery
• Healthcare
• Immigration reform

There are several possible outcomes and the calendar plays an important role here as does which States are left to vote in the Primaries. Which candidates are the best match-up?

Let's take the first one: Iraq war. The best match-up is McCain versus Obama.

John McCain wants us to stay in Iraq until we've won and has supported the President's strategy. Obama wants to get troops out and was never in favor of the war in the first place. Hillary now says she wants our troops to come home but had voted to give the President the authority to go to war in Iraq.

Economic recovery: Best match-up Hillary or Obama vs. McCain

McCain wants to make tax cuts permanent and both Hillary and Obama want to let them expire so that the wealthiest pay their fair share. They also both want tax cuts for middle class Americans.

Healthcare: Best match-up? First you must decide do you want Hillary's plan which includes penalties for those that don't purchase health insurance and fines they buy it or Obama's which is similar to Hillary's except no mandates. Both want to look for ways to reduce costs but no one really wants Universal Healthcare where our taxes pay for the Healthcare system and the Insurance companies become extinct and not in business anymore as we know them. Johm McCain wants to manage costs down by dealing with the Insurance companies to get them to contain more costs. We have been unsuccessful doing this since Managed Care (HMO’s) came into existence 15-20 years ago, and I don't think any will be successful in working with Healthcare providers. The system doesn't work. But Hillary claims her plan is Universal Healthcare, and it isn't. Many will be disappointed no matter which person is elected on the basis of this issue, as all have problems.

Immigration Reform: All the candidates are basically the same on this issue. All want tighter borders and all want the current system to be reformed so that legal immigration is easier than illegal immigration. And all want those undocumented (Illegal entry) persons to get at the back of the line of those that have been waiting and to pay a fine to get on the path to return.

So as you can see there isn't much difference in who you vote for in the remaining Primaries unless the main issue is the Iraq war. If you combine the Iraq war and the economy there are clear distinctions between the Republican position promoted by McCain and the position of Obama. The choice seems like a simple one. The economy is tied into the Trillions of real dollars that will be spent in Iraq, on the cist of the troops there and the cost of taking care of the nearly 30,000 seriously wounded Veterans that are returning with so much need for help. It also contributes to the price of Oil which has gone from $20-$24/barrel to $105/barrel under this President. That is a fact and it is killing the economy.

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