Swing Vote

It is funny how when your team loses you are always quick to point out all the mistakes that the referees made or what the other team did wrong. “Did you see that call? it cost us the game.” Sometimes it did, but perhaps if your team had been playing a little better then they could have overcome one bad call.

Recently I watched the recap of the Palin/Biden debate and then I went to Twitter and there was nothing but negative remarks about Palin and how she is a liar. What I find the most interesting about Democrats is that they are extremely vocal with the negative criticism. Why not focus more of that energy in proving why your candidate is the better choice and less bitching about the opposition?

I think as Americans we all know that people will say whatever they think the public wants to hear. Every president has made promises that they were later unable to keep,it didn’t mean that the time those promises weren’t heartfelt, it only means that the circumstances changed and they can’t call a press conference every time they have to go back on their word.

I watched this link on Obama’s website and I have to disagree with his comment that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. It is true that small businesses make up 95% of all businesses in the U.S. but they only generate 5% of the income. I work for a big company and I have to tell you that my pay is excellent and my benefits are outstanding. Tax breaks for corporations allow them to get started in areas and then later the community reaps the rewards from those taxes that are later incurred.

I also read on McCain’s site that he proposed limiting the gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor day. I am not sure if this is a good strategy for the economy, why not just make the tax less year round? I realize American do more driving during the summer, but this seems like one of those ideas that sounds good on the surface – like the Lottery, but in reality it is just a way for someone else to make money.

John McCain believes we should institute a summer gas tax holiday. Hard-working American families are suffering from higher gasoline prices. John McCain called on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

• Reuters: Gas Tax Holiday “Of Most Immediate Effect To Consumers.” “Of most immediate effect to consumers was his appeal to the U.S. Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day at the end of May to Labor Day in early September.” (Steve Holland, “McCain Proposes Tax Cuts And Lashes Democrats,” Reuters, 4/15/08)
• USA Today: “A USA TODAY Analysis Showed That McCain’s Gas-Tax Proposal Could Save Motorists $6.8 Billion In Taxes During The Summer.” (Kathy Kiely, “Gas-Tax Holiday Among McCain’s Plans For Economy,” USA Today, 4/16/08)

I’ve still got a lot of research to do, but when i asked some of my friends that live outside of the U.S. who they would vote for they immediately, without hesitation, said Obama.

Either way it will be an interesting election year and my vote is still undecided and so if you have some good information to swing me one way or the other, I’d like to hear it.