wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

sorry more:

i also must clarify that i am not saying iraq is not good or better now because i believe it is much better although there are "terrorist" out-breaks.

EGB:

i agree with Orinoco. there should be more than 2 political parties allowed to become president!! who's to say what would have happened if al gore became president in 2000, NO ONE KNOWS, but i will say that i'm glad he didn't become president but also sad that bush has led us on this "downward spiral".

AND we ARE using our powers as a citizen, we are voting for who we want to be president, someone that we agree with and not someone based on their political party! the more people that vote for a party other than the pubs and dems, the more likely our country will have a greater choice of who can actually become president and a greater difference in views brought to the table than the conserv pubs and liberal dems.

the govt shouldn't be a two sided fight, other views need to be expressed.

sorry, and another thing:

WE CANNOT JUST DROP OUT OF IRAQ LEAVING A DESTROYED COUNTRY TO DEFEND ITSELF WHEN WE WENT IN THERE AND MADE IT THE WAY IT IS TODAY, NOT SAYING THAT IT WASN'T BAD BEFORE!!!!

everyone that believes we the US need to pull out of iraq immediately is wrong and right in both ways, as is the people who say we need to stay in there. we cannot just pull out completely now because if we did so, don't you think the surrounding countries who hate the US would charge right in and completely destroy iraq?? it would cease to be iraq and probably be divided...YES we have made tremendous leaps in the govt system and most other aspects in iraq but i do believe we might be overstaying our welcome. i am aware that there are people who do not want us in their country BUT i am also aware of the many that do, LET DEMOCRACY PREVAIL. if we pull out now it would most likely fail. but we are almost there!!!

i'm going to say that it is going to take us at least 2 more years to complete what was started. in the mean time, leave the other countries, especially iran, ALONE!!

i must clarify that i hope which ever candidate that wins will get the US back on track, causing some positive outcomes instead of negative ones...sorry.

and the last of it:

ps-a touch on social security. yeah....not such a good plan after all...i mean i am completely behind taking social security out of our paychecks to put into a system that i am wishing will still be around when i retire (i'm 19), although very grim but still hopeful, BUT i am not for allowing senior "citizen" immigrants who haven't worked a sec in the U.S. to come in and the govt willingly gives them money that they did not even put into via social security. it's no wonder that when i retire i will have to have an extremely large savings account in order
survive and no wonder that the elderly currently are BARELY surviving, especially since inflation seems to have to end...like i said earlier, maybe someday.

and some more:

obama promises us "change", great, but i don't think it's going to be the change that we all need and are looking for, mccain, i don't think there is going to much change whatsoever, unfortunately. with these choices it saddens me that the party i will be voting for will not be able to even attempt for presidency even though they try repeatedly; for even if 90% of America voted for the third party, that candidate would never see the "luxury" of being president. with that i am
an independent and claim no "political party" for all you "born and die as reps or dems".

heck we have a racially different presidential candidate now, maybe someday a third party candidate or someone else will be able to be president :)

continued:

as far as the political system goes, i believe it's all screwed up, the fact that we only have TWO political parties that are ALLOWED to get into the office. pity that our own govt cannot represent the "People" with several candidates going for the presidency that have differrent views, and that P. Washington
gave everyone fair warning against what we call today the "political system". don't get me wrong, i am not an anit-govt anarchist, but i believe quite a few things need to be changed.

just a few things:

obama will get us nowhere with his "lack of experience" as everyone keeps stating...more of his "multi-facedness" to give the answer that everyone is looking for, varying depending on who he's campaigning to, sometimes going back on what he told a different group, and his lack of finding people that will fill important roles around him sufficiently instead of people who fail in so many aspects. mccain on the other hand will also get us nowhere in that he is going to continue the bush years, but hopefully with less failures and more positive outcomes
(i hope either candidate that wins will do so)...his "experience" as everyone lays as base of their support for him, is great yes, he's been in the military for however many years, but in saying that, being in the
mil for so long and going to war, isn't the base or underlining motto that "if we go to war we must win", excluding vietnam...all-in-all, not voting only serves as to confirm the presidency of someone who you don't want in the office...that said, if you don't vote, don't complain when the person who ends up in the office and does something or many things you don't like, it's partially your fault for not voting and i myself am kind of tired of hearing wining from people who don't vote.
THAT SAID, VOTE!!!!!!!! and if the person you vote for doesn't win, o well, at least you get the right to complain to whomever you want, right?

Brian was too dismissive of the guy who said I'm Jewish, but I'm American. Why is Israel the litmus test? And why does Ari Fleischer matter? Some people are looking for excuses to see Obama as unpatriotic. Ironically, these same people (like the lady who is afraid of Obama for scurrilous reasons) appear to be placing their interests in Israel ahead of the interests of this country, which are not always aligned with Israel. I think that view is worthy of more than dismissing a caller's comment by saying, "In fairness, I'm sure [Diane] would say that she's American, too." She didn't seem to care about the fact that our role in the world is greatly diminished and will only weaken with the abundance of uninformed people like her. What would these same folks think if an Italian-American (who has likely never lived in Italy) discussed, almost exclusively, ITALY instead of the United States in this election cycle? Unpatriotic at best.

I have listened to this show for several years. I don't think it was fair for Brian to be dismissive of the man who referred to himself as Jewish and American (Lehrer's response was to defend the woman who addressed her fear of Obama's views on Israel by saying, "I'm sure she would say she's an American, too."). It does seem fundamentally at odds with American citizenship (as he, the caller, seemed to suggest) that so many people are expressing greater concern for Israel than the United States. I daresay that a Spaniard from the US who expressed concern for Spain or an African-American who said that he's most concerned about Obama's views on Sierra Leone would probably be labeled unpatriotic or worse--it wouldn't be the first time. So I think this topic should be addressed more directly and not dismissed (although I'm sure some listeners stay silent for fear of being labeled anti-Semitic): for Ari Fleischer (sp), for example, why is Obama's views on Israel such a flashpoint versus his views on, say, the very tenuous future of the United States as a super power (or not) due to major economic shortcomings in this country? I think it's outrageous for Fleischer to make such comments and not be fully questioned about them--is he signaling that people should simply not vote? The race card by another name may well still be the race card.

M,
I agree we shouldn't be snickering about "beer." What kind of reform do we need to keep American companies competitive? IMHO, we should find a way to uncouple paying for health care from employment. Imagine. Starbucks pays more for health care than it does for beans. Also, how do we cope with the "losers" in the global economy? If we can all agree that closing ourselves off to trade is a bad idea then maybe we should have a better safety net like the Europeans do.
What do you think?

m
but HOW will he do this?

and USA has second highest in the world corporate tax rate, but what is the "effective tax rate"

Why didn't you air this excerpt from McCain's speech instead of poking fun at the flub about beer. An honest man deserves better and your listeners tune in for unbiased coverage regardless of NY's political leanings. You certainly gave Obama fair play on his agenda, why not McCain?

"As president, I intend to act quickly and decisively to promote growth and opportunity. I intend to keep the current low income and investment tax rates. And I will pursue tax reform that supports the wage-earners and job creators who make this economy run, and help them to succeed in a global economy. Serious reform is needed to help American companies compete in international markets. I have proposed a reduction in the corporate tax rate from the second highest in the world to one on par with our trading partners; to keep businesses and jobs in this country....

k
your link did not work but the article i read talks about his navy pension which he has a right to no matter how rich he is. but 58k is a nice pension, if u can get it

k
how did u get a link up i tried yesterday twice and it never posted :(

mc
right, but the only fix is to dump the SUV's no one's going to do that or say maybe, we should use trains instead of trucks to ship goods

This is the link for the newspaper report that I was talking about McCain is collecting disability as a vet when he is a millionaire.

http://ms16.lnh.mail.rcn.net/wm/mail/fetch.html?urlid=27050841d462e5ba301664abe5c3993aa&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fla-na-pension22apr22%2C1%2C6562984.story

hjs.
Yeah, and too busy talking about how bad the other guy is without saying how they would fix it.

mc
guess everybody is worried about the price of oil

hjs,
Other stuff everyone went quiet on:
Education
Darfur
North Korea
Rising food prices
Foreign held debt
Oh, and global warming.............

mc
thanks, i forgot that but i'm not into sound bites i was hoping one of the friends of mccain would explain his position on iran. they went all quiet.
i don't get to talk to many right wingers i was hoping to get the other view. cause i just can't see where they are coming from, they all seem crazy to me.

like how bush the lesser could still have 30 approval rating is BEYOND me. other than the laissez-faire business types, it's irrational.

hjs,
"Bonb bomb bomb - bomb bomb Iran."

Leonardo Andres,
Try the Working Families party.

and what's mccain position on expanding 'the war without end' into iran?

#98

The probability of ANYONE taking the troops out of Iraq is close to zero. Third party candidates included.

I don't think anyone who wants the troops out immediately has a complete grasp of reality.
It is a grave problem without easy solutions.

Obama has said that he will take them out as carefully as W sent them in recklessly. That is the best you're gonna get.

Leonardo
explain, do u mean in 2012 we will have the same troop level as we do today?

the probability of obama taking the troops out of iraq is close to zero. That is not going to happen. be realistic.

People get the government they deserve. I am sorry to say

jay
what about the message we would send to the world when we elect a son of muslim to our highest office?

As usual, the "uncommited" voters turn out to be a bunch of wackos. I wish Brian would stop having this segment on his show, because it is so depressing.

If you want to know where the candidates stand on the issues, here's an idea: go to their websites and read all about it. Be proactive.

As for this, "I'm Jewish and Ari Fliescher told me to be afraid of Obama." Come. On. Why do they let these people on the air?

Jay #83

McCain, March 17 - "As you know, there are al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they're moving back into Iraq."

He repeated this by the way... four times within a week... and once in Amman... which is the capital of Jordan... in the middle east!

If you didn't know, this is not only wrong it's incredibly wrong. The war is 5 YEARS and counting. This is unacceptable for a candidate running for POTUS, who voted for the war, with a hawkish stance on the war

We know where lack of knowledge about the region can get us.

Don't get me started on "100 years" and "out by 2013"

Im a conservative and not happy with McCain also… but Obama.. beside his excellent campaign to promise paradise and the way his people run fundraising through internet social networks there nothing else.

eligit, you scooped me!

jay
"Hate and anger will create an electorate"

true look at the GOP their power in the south is based on such fear of blacks taking your wives in the night. gay are coming to take over with their secret (civil rights) agenda
oh dear!

"hate and anger"....what are we in bizarro land here??

i think everyone knows who has a corner on the market in that department.

we are talking about the party of karl rove and the christian right.

i also recently read a juicy quote from mccain calling his wife a c(*& in public after she teased him about his thinning hair. the guy has anger issues.

so as far as hate and anger (you could add fear to that list) creating a voting base....not a strong position on which to advocate republican rule.

i too wish for self editing after posting

@Bored
They are the base of base of the Democrat Party. Hate and anger will create an electorate.. And then an illusion that a huge government will solve all their problems.
Just think about high taxation on corporation. Corporations don’t pay tax – YOU DO. Lowering corp. tax is the only way to improve economy and lowering outsourcing. It’s a base of US, not government workers with a rate of growth close to GDP.

that should read "rabid"...not "rabin"

an edit function would be useful for poor typists like myself.

@ jay

do you REALLY want to get in to talk about changing your stance on issues in regards to this campaign?

mccain has switched position on issues so many times it is practically a blur at this point.

granted...i sympathize with him because he is caught between a rabin right wing base who needs red meat....and more moderate voters....he wants and needs both groups to vote for him....so his positions, shall we say....have "migrated a bit"

@ Jay what do you think of the greed of poor people.

Carol (#74). It's W-2. I know that because my expertise in dealing with numerous taxing authorities.

Here's a thought, how about after the campaign is over and Obama pays all the necessary campaign expenses, he pays both the employer and employee tax on ALL of the remaining money he will pocket after his $300 million fundraising? I will bet anything that all money he keeps is tax-free.

and yes rosie 53....i also heard about that caller talking about "the greed of the poor" and how this was a serious factor in her decision whether or not to vote for obama...unreal. i had to think...."did she just really say that or am i going nuts?"

that is the kind of thing you hear and just want to give up on the whole system.

Obama is a joke. Flip-Flope. Have zero understanding of basic economy. 25 years ago after the clip of rev. Wrights speech Obama would be dead as a candidate.. He feeds the crowd anything they pleased to hear, typical democrat. Here is just a few quotations for you, Obama’s foreign policy lovers:

OBAMA DATED MAY 18: Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us.

OBAMA DATED MAY 18: Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. I mean, if Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance.

OBAMA DATED MAY 20: Iran is a grave threat. It has an illicit nuclear program. It supports terrorism across the regions and militias in Iraq. It threatens Israel's existence. It denies the Holocaust.

McCain blaming the Democrats for the ridiculous spending of the government is hilarious! Who does he think has been in office for the last 7 years?

don't tax me GOP's are greedy!

I swear, I'm going to go totally apo (apoplectic) if we have to have the gay marriage discussion pre-November. Let's make a date to discuss it in December, okay?
December.
December.
It is very close.
Anyone who is voting for McCain because Obama isn't for gay marriage is likely the kind of person who would cut off their nose to spite their face.
Please. We like your nose just as it is. Don't do it.

let them eat cake!

man.....who could possibly BE undecided at this point??

who has EVER voted for a presidential nominee with whom they agreed on EVERYTHING?

The difference between mccain and obama is beyond blatant and it was GREAT to hear him blasting mccain just now. Do not back off! Hearing mccain chuckle and misspeak in comparison was embarrassing.

as the son of a jew whose parents barely escaped the nazis i am SICK and TIRED of these jewish callers saying how "afraid of obama" they are. How much of the right wing koolaid have you had today? Don't you know water hydrates much more effectively?

obama is not going to abandon Israel so just calm down and look at ALL the issues. In fact his fresh image might even HELP resolve the whole issue since he is a man who in not afraid to talk to people with whom he disagrees.

is her PERFECT? no. no candidate ever is....but undecided? remember when they said that gore and bush were the same? give me a break already. the reason the polls are as close as they are right now is because of racism and propaganda. all the "experienced candidates" either lacked charisma or made terrible choices on the war in iraq. If you want more republican rule...vote for mccain...if NOT....vote for obama. it really is not that complicated.

I find it outrageous that McCain, who refusies to vote for the GI Bill for our troops because "it's too generous," is himself getting $58,000 a year, tax-free, from the US government for his military service.

People have been literally tortured to death under the Bush administration's directives. We have a Three TRILLION dollar war going on, a 9.5 TRILLION dollar federal deficit, and the economy is going in the crapper.

And the civil right that liberal Americans are most concerned with is... gay marriage?

Hello? Please. Get. A. Grip. People who want to talk about gay marriage pre-November (pre-NOVEMBER! only a matter of months) are no better than Marie Antoinette at Versailles.

Think of someone other than yourselves. Like those dudes at Gitmo. Miserable fates. THAT's a civil rights issue. There is nothing CIVIL about marriage - leave it to the churches, who will marry BOTH gay and straight couples.

Ashley 57
just look at the world

For 2008 the Social Security Taxable Wage Base(that's what it's called) is $102,000. Employees who make more stop paying the employee part of the tax at that point.

Self employed individuals are both employer and employee and pay both parts.

If #34 thinks that he's overtaxed as a self employed individual he can go get a W-3 job. I'm guessing he doesn't becaouse he nets more than he could as an employee despite what he pays in taxes

Tony #68,

Thank you!

The self indulgent ignorance of many of its citizens.

THAT is America's dirty little secret...

Tony,
Hmm, I'm going to go with under investment in education and purposeful misinformation by the administration. Oh, and demonizing "elitism" in the form of quality higher education and annoying things like science and books.

One thing you can say about poor people, as "Gina" said--they are greedy!

re: the Jew-centered Obama smears. People believe these things, against all odds. That's why they're pumped out; it's frightening.

I know a woman who sends out every dingbat rumor she comes across on the 'net, rumors easily checked and disproved--as I have pointed out to her. She simply refuses to do anything else but pump out hogwash. To meet and talk with her, you'd never suspect she could be so very screwy. Yet the flood continues (going directly to my trash).

hey ladies on mccain's first wife
"When Carol was discharged from hospital after six months of life-saving surgery, the prognosis was bleak. In order to save her legs, surgeons
had been forced to cut away huge sections of shattered bone, taking with it her tall, willowy figure. She was confined to a wheelchair and was forced to use a catheter. . But when John McCain came home from Vietnam, she had gained a lot of weight and bore little resemblance to her old self".... so he divorced her

#47,
if gay marriage proponents want to make this election about gay marriage (again) we are all in for a hurting.
Neither Clinton nor Obama support gay marriage, but they do support civil unions.
In the end, gm will be up to the supreme court. So vote for the more progressive candidate. (Duh!) That's Obama.
Sheesh.
AWM, I agree, with the issues of the war and the economy, the so-called civil right of marriage should be, at the very least, back burner right now.
Sheesh. It's unbelievable. Wake up, people. (And grow up.)

It's official. Americans are too stupid to navigate democracy for their own benefit. A teacher(no wonder private school is worth $30K/year) believes propaganda written by the fact checkers at super market tabloids. Kathie is confused about which party has a better civil rights record. A bunch of angry women think the best way to honor Hillary Clinton's historic campaign is to vote in a way that threatens to make Roe v Wade tantamount to Plessy v Ferguson and the Lilly Ledbetter decision will become the new law of the land.
John McCain is counting on the desperation created by his party's policy's to make a gas tax holiday a deciding factor in the election. It becomes increasingly apparent how the country became so dysfunctional. What I can't understand is how people became so stupid. Anyone know?

I will be researching third party candidates. If you are voting for obama and mccain, you will probably get more of the same. I am tired of the lesser of two evils and refuse in partake in something like that any more.

Thanks for nothing Orinoco. I suppose you think that if Gore had won in 2000 there would be no difference in what happened over the last 8 years. Way to use your power as a citizen to shape the direction of your country.

One the issue of Israel, I am an Obama Supporter with a lot of family in Israel. If I hear one more person say they have a problem with Obama's Israel policy I am going to go nuts! He is not suggesting anything even slightly radical in our dealing with Israel. What could be more harmful to Israel than the insane Bush administration policies that have helped make Israel a pariah in the world's eyes and bring Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran to prominence? We need to deal with Israel as an ally, but a rational ally that tells them that (for instance) the West Bank settlements are wrong and an impediment to peace. We must elect Obama for our sake and for Israel's!

#63 stop it thats america dirty little secret lets keep it that way

I'm voting for Ralph Nader again probably. Most countries(democratic that is) have more than 2 parties to vote for. Let them have their town meeting debates and include 3rd party candidates. Let Ralph Nader and others into the debates!...Stop the political system from manipulating the people and limiting choices!!!.......there's more to life than coca cola vs pepsi, mcdonalds vs. burger king....and democrats vs republicans!!!!!!!!....................

I'm all for this "Israel" debate.

I know we can lose those Southern Florida Jewish votes but it's worth it to have this debate.

I would vie that MOST Americans could give a crap about what Israel does or doesn't do.

Our President is supposed to defend the constitution. Israel is not the USA and Jewish people only make up 2% of our population.

I wish i had made Steve's point. Not even Ari Fleischer believes Ari Fleischer anymore.

Obama is going to keep the troops in Iraq as long as McCain.

He is no longer talking about pulling the troops out.

He said in debates he'd pull them out in 16 months however he's stopped talking about it.

The GREED OF POOR PEOPLE????!!! What is the last caller saying?

"THE GREED OF POOR PEOPLE" this sums up America.

Why is everyone such a GRUMP?

"The next caller who claims to be a Jew and "afraid of Obama" ought not be allowed to join the conversation. This person is CLEARLY working for the RNC."

I agree with Soren. Come on, Brian! Don't allow this sockpuppetry to besmirch your show!

I just heard the McCain "invitation" to Obama and offering to take the same plane. I know his funds are low; is he hitchhiking? Looking for a ride? Town hall meetings certainly would be good for the candidate with the least amount of funds and now he's looking for cheap transportation!?!

Again we get to see this year's Republican candidate trumpet his "pro-life" stance. I guess he was once a female in her reproductive years in his previous life, so he knows what I deal with firsthand?

You people are scaring me. If you all don't stop being so damn finicky, we *are* going to end up with McCain, endless war, no healthcare solutions, and the continued attack on the middle class.

The greed of poor people. Yes poor people are so greedy. They want to buy food. Food! Jeez.

AWM [20] is right. Getting Obama into the white house is the only way to appoint progressive supreme court judges and further the cause.

You must know that he can't publicly support gay marriage. The religious right will come out in droves on election day. Why do you think the New Jersey gay rights issue in 2006 came up right before election day? The right wing brings it up every time to polarize us.

Sue, are you just angry because Clinton didn't get the nomination?

As a Jew I am extremely offended and ashamed by people such as the last caller who are "afraid of Obama," a sentiment that can only be fueled by the misinformation about him that is circulating in the Jewish community. Jewish leaders MUST communicate the truth about Obama and above all MUST stop these ludicrous rumors. Educated and supposedly ethical, liberal and open-minded Jews should be ashamed of themselves. They sound bigoted and ignorant and should know better.

The next caller who claims to be a Jew and "afraid of Obama" ought not be allowed to join the conversation. This person is CLEARLY working for the RNC.

If Jewish Americans want to make this election about vote FOR or AGAINST Israel, and Obama is against Israel they in for a very rude awakening.

"McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory." Ross Perot

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

This woman believes something Ari Fleischer peddles? He's the best liar the Bush administration ever had.

re: Social security, since the OASDI portion is capped at 6.2% of the first 97,000 of income, someone earning $194,000 is effectively taxed at a rate of 3.1%.

If an argument of fairness is made, based on the idea that you are paying into a retirement account for yourself, this can be countered by the fact that some people live longer than others and collect no matter what, while others die younger and do not collect on all they paid into. You can argue either way, but, the overall situation is the system needs some adjustments made. And, these are minor compared to Medicare.

Bill

People that have one or two policy issues with Obama should really consider voting for him anyhow. The gay marriage issue is largely gong to come down to the composition of the Supreme Court. A McCain presidency at this point would sentence us to a ridiculously conservative and out of touch Supreme Court. Stevens and Ginsberg can't serve forever.

I've heard this station being called "National Palestinian Radio" but I'm sorry this station is SOOOOO Jew-centric.

Brain don't be fair to her let her make her own statements about her.

This is absurd! Your last caller says she's worried about Obama because she's Jewish? How is that acceptable??! What would the reaction have been a few years back if I said, "As a Catholic, Joe Lieberman worries me?" It's an absurd double standard.

That woman makes Jews sound stupid! Obama is not a muslim, and so what if he was!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24970066#24970066

a nice piece of video on Obama's stand on Israel

What leftists like Obama don’t understand is that the wealthiest Americans pay more than their fair share. “Those Americans” are most often self-employed. As such, “Those Americans” pay both the employee AND employer portions of the Social Security tax—12.4% total, plus both side of the Medicare tax. (See http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/oasdiRates.html). Obama never ran a business and has no clue the crap the self-employed have to deal with.

McCain Sounds like a and old man verging on dementia. We need a president that can actually speak in public.

Robert
there's going to be a lot of whining, no matter who wins.

Please, enough with this "lack of experience" nonsense.

Rumsfeld and Cheney had more experience than anyone in the history of the US government.
Their years of experience combined add up to more years than McCain has been alive.

How has that worked out?

Obama will be fine, he's a smart guy.

john mccain just blamed the demecrats for the ridiculous spending of the governement! is this guy for real? is he in touch with reality at all?!

Thank you. 2 minutes of McCain is about all I can bear. Maybe he should consider becoming a standup comic!! Anyone agree?

Can we still have wine?

Undecided?!?!

Uh how hard is the choice? Either you want more Bush policy or something different.

It's not going to change over night but do you want more of this insanity?

Oh my god he's gonna veto beer! Ahhhhhhhh!

22
as u wish. but if u live in NY or the northeast for that matter obama already has your elector college votes.
mccain supports bush, bush wants to invade iran.
bama is just telling AIPAC what they wanted to hear.

As far as John McCain:

John McCain has an entire campaign staff of OIL LOBBYISTS. By labor day gas will be $5.00 a gallon.

This election will come down to two things:

1. Oil prices
2. The war in Iraq.

John McCain loses on both counts. Americans will vote with their pocketbooks. Like Rupert Murdoch says Obama will win by a landslide.

That said, I cannot honestly say I am undecided.

Neither one of them adequately addresses health care costs. McCain wants to give families a $5000 tax deduction to buy individual polices; won't go far when the average cost of such a policy is $12,000. Obama wants to allow people to come in and out of the system as they please but at the same time cap the premiums which will lead to adverse selection and I give it a year.

Neither has a plan to control the costs which are rising at twice to three times inflation.

Obama is NOT for gay marriage. Nor was Clinton.

Kuccinch is the only one. But that said in our AMAZING democracy we only have two political candidates.

Obama is for civil unions and that is a step in the right direction. McCain is more of the same.

Gay marriage? really? how is gay marriage going to improve the economy?

I am crossing my fingers that Obama can do the job because the thought of the loose cannon from Arizona scares the bejeebers out of me.

"save the country from a 7 year downward spiral OR you're a selfish greedy war-mongering racist."

I am not sure which part of your statement bothers me most. I could really the same about the people voting for obama. Obama sounded pretty war-mongerind when he was in front of the israelly lobby. and well i do not even have to get into the racist part.

If this is how obama supporters feel, then it makes me want to vote less for obama, not that i was going to vote for him anyway. Keep preaching that way see how many people you get over to your side.

I guess if i dont want to vote for the bi-racial candidate it makes me a racist....hahahahaha

Gays marriage is important because they have been discriminated against for too long. Give them marriage and the benefits that go along with it and that will go a long way towards improving our economy.

Gay marriage?!!!

With the economy, the war, healthcare costs, a neglected national infrastructure, the assault on habeus corpus, future supreme court appointees, etc. gay marriage should be way down on the list here.

The question makes no sense here anyway. If you are committed to gay marriage it's pretty obvious who gives you a better chance to get it. No research necessary on that one.

16
noo?....not really

Suit yourself Robert,

but remember, we the People can make the difference if we want to.

"third party candidate?" are we allowed to vote for a 3rd person?

#13 I really hope that was sarcasm

Katie, I don't buy that merchandise anymore. That's a ploy to get folks to vote who don't want anybody. If one doesn't vote then they chose no one for an office and whoever gets in or doesn't get in that office is not based on that non-vote. I have no guilt about not voting anymore. I don't want either to have my vote and neither of them will get my vote. I'm very comfortable with that.

I will agree with Robert. If you are undecided between Obama and Mccain then you must not actually know any of the issues they represent.

I can see if you are between voting for Obama or a third party candidate of vice versa, or voting for mccain or not voting at all. but there should not be a lot of people who are undecided between this two.

what kind of person is still undecided. what's the dilemma?
save the country from a 7 year downward spiral OR you're a selfish greedy war-mongering racist.

what kind of person is still undecided. what's the dilemma?
save the country from a 7 year downward spiral OR you're a selfish greedy war-mongering racist.

Usually I vote for the lesser of two evils. In this election I'm not offered that choice so as of now, I can't see myself voting. Obama hasn't paid his dues..I question his ability to make decisions based on his lack of experience. McCain's support of the war is unacceptable as is his stand on abortion.

By not voting for Obama, you are voting for McCain indirectly and allowing him to get elected and another 4 years of Reaganomics!

I heard the tidbit about McCain on Thom Hartmann program on Friday's episode, he is on the Air America network, on after Brian Lehrer from 12-3pm. Thom always has facts straight.

1. Anyone who can't decide between Obama and McCain must have other serious problems. There is such a difference between the two that I can't imagine where the conflict of decision might be.

2. Obama is not pro gay marriage as of a panel that questioned him on the subject on LOGO TV back in the Fall. It is the reason I wanted Dennis Kusinich on the ballot and the reason why I will not be voting in November for the first time in my entire votable lifetime. I do like Obama but I cannot bring myself to vote for anyone who is against gay marriage even though I am against any marriage period. If there is such an institution as marriage in our culture than it should be available to everyone and that's my reasoning. If Obama changes his mind since that panel then I'll vote for him.

Katie
could that be true??
do u have a source?

I thought this was for undecided voters and comments above do not really help anyone.

Also why are obama and mccain my only choices? I encourage people to find third party candidates to vote for, while they will not win, there has to come a point where we have to show that this two party system is just not working out for people like me.

Steve,

the geezer who greets us at WalMart is smarter and better looking than McCain.

Did you guys know that McCain is still claiming that he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and he collects $58,000 tax free from the government for being disable while he is a millionaire and married a beer heiress worth $190 million?

It is critical that we keep the Confused Old Man out of the White House - he thinks we want to stay in Iraq (and attack Iran) and continue Bush's Glorious War to Resubjugate Brown People.

And is it me, or does McCain look like the geezer who greets you at the WalMart?

But is he pro gay marriage? I have my doubts and I want gay marriage to be legal.

It is time to give everyone else the rights that heterosexual couples have.

kathie
i think obama is pro civil rights.

I want to know Barack Obama's position on key issues to me like gay marriage and health care reform to give us a national health care system.

Anyone know Obama's stance on these? I haven't been able to find out any info.