Wow, what a debate last night. At least it didn't give me a headache like the 2nd debate did. But I think I'm more confused than ever. I wonder if I can even vote this election with a clear conscience.
McCain unfortunately spent most of his time attacking Obama and sounding flustered. I really wish he would have just stood his ground and expressed clearly what his plans are. I feel like he hasn't been very specific about anything except his $5000 health care rebate, which would hurt us personally since right now our employee-based health insurance is tax-free, and $5000 isn't enough to actually help people who don't have any health insurance.
I was so impressed with Obama's ability to express himself clearly and articulately. He has made lots of specific plans, many of which would help those who need it. As I was watching I thought, "Wow, he's tromping on McCain," and I felt like he'd be the better leader. But then came the question about choosing a judge who may or may not support Roe v. Wade. I knew that Obama was pro-choice so most of his answer didn't surprise me. But then he said something that scared the daylights out of me.
Barak Obama said (taken from the transcript printed from CBS news):
"It is true that this is going to be, I think, one of the most consequential decisions of the next president. It is very likely that one of us will be making at least one and probably more than one appointments and Roe versus Wade probably hangs in the balance. Now I would not provide a litmus test. But I am somebody who believes that Roe versus Wade was rightly decided. I think that abortion is a very difficult issue and it is a moral issue and one that I think good people on both sides can disagree on. But what ultimately I believe is that women in consultation with their families, their doctors, their religious advisers, are in the best position to make this decision. And I think that the Constitution has a right to privacy in it that shouldn't be subject to state referendum, any more than our First Amendment rights are subject to state referendum, any more than many of the other rights that we have should be subject to popular vote. "
When I heard those words, I just thought of the state referendums that are going on in Arizona and California to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Although Obama did not refer to homosexual marriage at all in the debate, that statement made me very nervous that he was speaking against such state referendums. So I decided to check out Obama's official website. And I found that Obama absolutely opposes state referendums that allow the people to decide how to define marriage! (see http://obama.3cdn.net/9bbadf2e4222f1de03_5humvyu4s.pdf. (This page can be found by going to his official website, clicking on the "People" tab, "LGBT", and then "Comparisons of Obama and McCain on LGBT issues" under "Resources".)
He doesn't think it should up to the people! I guess in my heart I really do believe that people and states should be able to speak out about what is acceptable to them, and that one person should not be able to take away our ability to say, "no, that's not okay, and that's not the kind of world I want for my children."
In addition, factcheck.org reports a somewhat different story of Obama and his vote against the Infant Protection Act in Illinois, than the one that Obama told last night. http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obama_and_infanticide.html
I do believe that Obama would be a better, more natural, more charismatic, more articulate leader, but maybe that's even more dangerous if he's leading in the opposite direction than I want to go. That's where I am right now. There are my two cents. Feel free to enlighten me further in any direction.
Here I am!
2 years ago
12 comments:
Soooo many factors to take into consideration when choosing one of the candidates. It is very frightening to think of what could happen to the definition of a family, if Obama wins, but McCain scares me in other ways...mostly in the area of diplomacy. I just don't think he's the man I want in charge when dealing with North Korea and Iran. I'm afraid both candidates concern me...hmmm. Thanks for providing the links to the abortion and family issues.
I'm glad I'm not able to vote as I go back and forth all the time. This months Ensign had an article about the Sanctity of Life and maybe it's being a new mom, but the pro-life argument would sway my vote.
Hey Heather
You know me and you know that I'm probably one of the last people to give a political opinion, but I've really taken an interest in this election for some reason. Without writing a book on your comments =) I'm just going to say that I've never really noticed a HUGE difference in what happens in the US from president to president. Yes, they have their different views and promises and issues they back, but because of congress and everything there are great checks and balances .... so as a latter-day saint, I know that things in the world will get worse, I know that lots of things are going to get worse before the 2nd coming. It's prophesied that way. There will be wars, there will be earthquakes, yes, environmental issues will probably get worse .... so I think the way you said you normally vote is STILL the most important ... family values, marriage (like Palin "admitted" is between a man and a woman -- I thought that was awesome that she would actually stand up and say that in a national VP debate, wow!). All of these other issues of course are important, but are they more important than what our leaders say? ... it starts in the home, it starts with family values, it starts with marriage between a man and a woman. And in this election, I'm going to support maybe not the most articulate speaker, but they support things that are sooooo important to our church and to me ... family, marriage, those core values that the rest of the world kind of laughs at now. It may be a little insignificant thing to any other voter, but for me, those are the things that matter most in the end.
Whew! =)
Thanks for your post. Tyler & I thought that Obama did better (but the new people thought McCain did better...what do we know) by a lot last night. I am nervous about the abortion issue, but other than that I really like Obama better as a speaker, leader, international diplomat, and financial and energy planner. Lindsy's right about the Congress with checks and balances...should that help me make my decision though? Yikes. I wish Sarah Palin was running for President instead of VP though. I like her values. Maybe she's not the most knowledgeable person about international affairs or some other areas, but she has her strong areas.
Yeah, thanks for posting all that. It's hard for me to articulate what I think because I just don't know if I understand things well enough. Thanks for studying it out for us!
Aaron was more charismatic and eloquent (especially under pressue) than Moses... he surely was the more obvious choice, had the people had a say. And he gave them what they wanted - a golden calf. Great guy, right? Don't get me wrong, McCain's no Moses. But I think it offers food for thought.
Yeah my friend told me that he wants/is willing to make partial birth abortion LEGAL. Like the mother gives birth to the child and they just let it die right after. Lovely, right?
I'm pretty sure of my decsion for this election, but that doesn't mean I like it. I feel like I'm at a restaurant and the two choice on the menu aren't anything I like. But I'm hungry and I have to order something. So I do and hope for the best.
I have to say ditto to Sarah's comment. I'm not really happy with the choices, but I guess I'll have to keep looking at them, because not voting isn't really a good option either. Sigh.
I forgot to put this in my last comment! I noticed your books to read/reread...I love most of Robin McKinley's books, but was just disappointed by her book "Sunshine". It's vampire book (but written before the Twilight series), and written for adults, so she slipped in more overt violence and sexual situations. What a disappointment.
But Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale was great!
Hi Heather! Man, do I feel your frustration. I started strongly McCain, but have been inching my way towards Obama. However, I agree with Lindsy, and feel that I have to stand up for the basic values. Plus, like Lindsy said, things are going to get worse - and I have a feeling that includes the wars. Personally, want someone who has protected the country before, with everything he had, to protect it again! Plus, these politicians have so many "plans" but like Lindsy mentioned, with Congress etc... what of it is really going to get passed?!? Therefore I have to stick with the basics! (wow, obviously I was more decisive than I thought!!) Thanks for this awesome post Heather!
Hi! I'm terrible about keeping up with people's blogs, but wanted to tell you yours is great! I think about "stuff" a lot but rarely sit down to write about things....
As for politics, I'll just stick with saying that Obama just makes me really really nervous - Charisma is a dangerous power in the wrong hands....
I actually meant to comment on your want-to-reads, too --- "B" is right to warn you about "Sunshine" (my aunt tipped me off about that one, fortunately). However, McKinley's "Deerskin" is also pretty aweful (and includes a brutal rape scene). Its disappointing because up until she wrote that one (1993), McKinley had been my favorite author! I still highly recommend "Beauty", it's one of my all-time favorites, and I like most of her other books, too... Just wish she'd kept to the "nicer" stuff....
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