Support Civil Rights, Vote No on Prop 8

Proposition 8 in California, if passed, "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry". It is an outrageous bill that perpetuates bigotry. Note that Sarah Palin is in favor of Proposition 8.

Thankfully a number of responsible California businesses have come out against Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is very wrong. It denies people a basic civil right to marry whom they choose. Just as a black person and a white person have a right to marry, so do people of other colors, religions, races, or sexual preferences.

Here is what Apple Computer has to say about Proposition 8:

"No on Prop 8
Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8."

Other companies opposing Proposition 8 include Levi Strauss & Co., Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Google.

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama

An excellent endorsement and worth reading.

Powell said "I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama."

Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/colin.powell/index.html

The Chicago Tribune Captured the Moment

The Chicago Tribune just published a remarkable endorsement of Barack Obama -- their very first endorsement of a Democratic candidate for President. The article really captures the moment in this time in history. This is a must read for everyone -- whether you support Obama or not.

McCain Hurts Himself

"The McCain campaign’s recent angry tone and sharply personal attacks on Senator Barack Obama appear to have backfired and tarnished Senator John McCain more than their intended target, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll has found."

At one time I had higher hopes for McCain. His earlier campaign in 2000 seemed to stick to higher moral grounds. This time the Republican machine that got Bush elected seems to have dragged McCain down into the muck as illustrated by this recent article.

Admittedly, McCain is out of options. Obama is better at public speaking, is better educated, has a better team, and has better coverage of the issues that matter. So McCain has been forced to use character assasinations and falsehoods to try to win.

Plus, if you have an ill trained attack dog like Sarah Palin on your team, well then, you get what you deserve. Choosing Sarah Palin was a clear indication that McCain was going down the wrong track.

I am pleased that Barack Obama has a cleaner image and is sticking more to the moral high ground.

For more please read the New York Times article "Poll Says McCain Hurts His Bid by Using Attacks".

Palin Failure

Palin failed at the recent VP Candidates debate with Biden. Check out this MSNBC news fact check of what Palin said at the debate:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#27015466

I think there are two reasons the vast majority of the press have weighed in against Palin:
1) She is incompetent
2) She started attacking the press preemptively even before they had much to say about her

Desperate McCain Resorts to Smears

Since Obama/Bidin are winning so clearly on issues, in debates, based on qualifications, and in the polls, McCain/Palin have resorted to desperate smear tactics to try to take them down with false and misleading attacks Swiftboating style.

Palin is so poorly qualified and so extreme it is scary. Here is a great chart that shows how she approached the recent vice-presidential debate:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/03/sarah-palin-debate-flowch_n_131607.html

Fortunately both McCain and Palin have plenty of problems in their past which makes it easy for the Democrats to counter attack with relatively honest criticisms -- Keating Five, etc.

For more, please read:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081007/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_character_5

McCain vs Obama

When considering McCain vs Obama for President, I looked at major qualities and criteria to decide who I would hire for the job. I organized my criteria into 3 groups -- Character, Capability, and Issues. Here is how I think each candidate compares.


Character

Honesty & Trustworthiness - Winner: Obama. While not perfect, Obama has done a much better job of being honest and truthful. McCain and Palin have both been caught by too many lies or bending the truth. Also McCain has changed his mind more radically, more quickly, and more whimsically than Obama. Obama has had a steadier hand and been more consistent. Finally, the Republicans in general have done some very ethically questionable things of late so I trust them much less. Biden has had some problems in the past but has been better of late.

Respectfulness - Winner: Obama. Obama was very considerate of both the moderator and of McCain in the first Presidential debate. Obama looked at McCain. I never saw McCain actually look at Obama. Palin smeared community organizers (most Americans) as well as Obama. Biden has been pretty quiet lately.

Friendliness - Tie: Obama & McCain. Both seem quite personable and friendly.


Capability

Experience - Winner: McCain. McCain does have more experience than Obama. Although Obama's experience is sufficient for the job.

Intelligence - Winner: Obama. Obama has shown a much better capability to think quickly and accurately than McCain. McCain has seemed slow on the uptake or bumbling and stuck on the same old saw much of the time. Palin has fumbled when she was not carefully prepped.

Schooling - Winner: Obama. He has excellent academic credentials having done well both at Columbia and Harvard Law. McCain and Biden are ok (whereas Palin pales in comparison to everyone else).

Communication - Winner by a long shot: Obama. Obama has shown he is an excellent communicator. Obama is clear, crisp, well spoken, and inspirational. Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope" is very well written and tells us more about who he is then we can know about just about any other Presidential candidate. McCain is more muddled and confusing when he talks. McCain uses lots of nice sounding words but ends up saying little of real substance. In the debate, Obama was much clearer on the issues. McCain kept trying to attack Obama's character and did not answer many of the challenges that Obama set before McCain.

Leadership - Winner: Obama. Not only has Obama shown himself to be a strong, consistent, reliable leader in the US, the rest of the world respects him as well so he can be a real world leader rather than someone who uses US military might to bully others. We need to have the rest of the world on our side willingly and not against us or only coerced to be on our side.

Health - Winner: Obama. The job of President is very physically demanding. It took a lot out of Bill Clinton. McCain is quite old and showing some physical vulnerabilities. Biden is older but not too old yet. Palin is quite healthy.

Balance - Winner: Obama. Obama is more of a centrist than McCain and especially than Palin. Read Obama's book, he is clearly a thoughtful centrist and not prone to make dogmatic statements or get stuck in dogmatic positions.


Issues

War & Peace - Winner: Obama. War is rarely justified and Peace should be the priority. I was strongly against the Iraq war and so was Obama. The Iraq war was a huge mistake and has been a huge waste of resources, money, and lives. Obama and Palin support the Iraq war, feel it is justified and can be won. (If you believe in War and might makes right, than vote for McCain.)

Economy - Winner: Obama. Obama recognizes that regular Americans are the backbone and strength of America. Obama wants to give these regular folks tax breaks rather than the wealthy. McCain says he supports regular Americans but plans to give the real tax breaks to the wealthy. Also McCain was one of the people who were around during the time we got ourselves into the financial pickle we are currently in. If his experience is so important, then why did he not succeed in doing more to prevent the current crisis? Also McCain has been wrong a number of times in the economic area -- saying "Our economy is fundamentally strong..." even though there has been horrendous financial mismanagement recently and now we are trying to rescue our economy from disaster. (If you believe in making the rich, richer, then vote for McCain.)

Education - Winner: Obama. Obama understands that education is fundamental for a strong nation and will strongly support it so our entire nation can be knowledgeable and strong. McCain and Palin seem to see funding education as socialism rather than an investment in our future. I believe that education is the best possible investment in our future that we can make. Our children are our future. Books not bombs. (If you believe in not spending money on education, then vote for McCain.)

Energy - Winner: Obama. Obama has a vision and a reasonable plan for energy independence. This must be one of our top priorities. McCain and Palin want to delay and mainly drill for more oil rather than solving the root cause. (If you believe we should just get more oil, then vote for McCain.)

International Policy - Winner: Obama. Experience is not everything. It also takes the right perspective and capability. The rest of the world recognizes Obama as someone they can trust and respect. (If you believe we are always right and should force other nations to get our way, then vote for McCain.)

Civil Rights - Winner: Obama. Obama knows that free speech matters. He also seems more aware of civil rights issues than McCain does. (If you believe our government knows better and should control our lives more, then vote for McCain.)

Right to Choose - Winner: Obama. I strongly believe in a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. It is a tough choice and she is in the best position to choose. McCain's side, and especially Palin, want to eliminate the ability for women to choose. (If you believe others should choose for women, then vote for McCain.)

Environment - Winner: Obama. Obama seems much more likely to be a good steward for our environment than McCain. McCain seems to more strongly support big businesses that are more likely to want to rape our earth than maintain and restore it. (If you believe the environment can take care of itself, then vote for McCain.)