Monday, February 4, 2008
First Thoughts
I'm curious what people think about the candidates, so I've set up this blog to invite others on the Bard MFA list to post their comments. Right now I'm leaning towards Barack Obama. My reason is pretty basic. Hillary Clinton represents "same old, same old". Her version of Universal Health Care seems to me to be actually a form of mandatory private insurance where the government pays Insurance Companies to cover the poor and needy. As I see it this plan is from the exact same neo-liberal play book as the one that saw the privatization of Army operations, guaranteeing long term public support (at inflated costs) to companies like Halliburton. It's also not like any other Universal Health Care system in the world, which are all government funded and managed, so I hardly believe it deserves the same name. Along these lines, I find it quite disturbing that people like Rupert Murdock support Clinton, or that Hillary's closest friend among all the candidates is John McCain. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton: "same old, same old", that's my worry and why I'm leaning towards voting for Obama tomorrow. But I'm curious what other people have to say. Cheers. Joshua.
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6 comments:
Rupert Murdoch and NY Post are endorsing Obama as reported in Monday's NY Times Business section front page.
Obama has supported legislation that supports the coal companies, also voted for continued funding for the war. The aspect that some people consider "inspiring" I just see as sophisticated spin. I welcome any health care plan
I confess I'm torn btwn the two. Neither of them, of course, is as liberal as I'd like and both are deeply flawed. However, from the perspective of the last 8 years, it all looks good to me. I think it's foolish to suggest that there are not MAJOR, substantial differences between the democratic candidates and the Bush administration. Let's take some baby steps and get back on track.
I also think one has to be tragically cynical to not see something positive in the fact that a woman and an African-american are in serous contention for the presidency.
Finally, I agree that it is criminal how little discussion there has been about US interrogation (torture) policy but it is perhaps even more sad that not a word has been spoken, by either party, about the flagrant human rights abuses carried out by our major trading partners the Chinese. Yes, the US is involved in some nasty stuff on a global scale but there are governments out there with considerably worse human rights records. Our biggest crime, imho, is that we look the other way.
thanks for setting this up. There's an article in today's guardian titled "there's been no contest like it", and I agree. As a professed liberal I find this an exciting and novel position. And I'm also completely torn.
I really want Obama to be the amazing person so many around me seem to think him. But I'm not convinced. There are a lot of things I don't like about Hilary, but in part I think that's just because we all know so much about her. We're past the crush stage with her. And while sexism and racism are being kept in check I do think she's a bit the victim of some implicit ageism. I think either of the 2 would be vastly superior to what we've endured for the past 8 years; for what its worth, I was leaning toward Edwards before he dropped out.
I'm off now to do some final reading and prowling around youtube to help me decide. Obama is speaking in Boston tonight. I almost went. At 8pm the lines were 4 abreast and about 1/2 a mile long according to a friend who tried to get in. That's amazing.
from the film SiCKO: Hillary Clinton became the second largest recipient in the Senate of health care industry contributions.
"As she runs for re-election to the Senate from New York this year and lays the groundwork for a possible presidential bid in 2008, Mrs. Clinton is receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from doctors, hospitals, drug manufacturers and insurers. Nationwide, she is the No. 2 recipient of donations from the industry, trailing only Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a member of the Republican leadership." Raymond Hernandez and Robert Pear, "Once an Enemy, Health Industry Warms to Clinton," New York Times, July 12, 2006.
About coal...there'd be a lot of cold people sitting in the dark without the coal industry at the moment. So..."supported legislation" is rather broad, what were the laws passed?
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