Point by point, and see if it makes sense !
(taken directly from his speech as seen here
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/28/barack-obama-democratic-c_n_122224.html )
So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.
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Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
Sounds nice but can he deliver ?
Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
Sounds nice but I thought corporate welfare was a bad thing.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
Small business and start ups seldom pay capital gains taxes but venture capitalists who finance them do. Bye bye money !
I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.
Whats a "working family" ? If its middle class and down, most of them don't pay tax now so do you increase earned giveaway credit ? You already said the BUsh tax cuts are gone gone gone, how is that not a tax increase ? Capital gains is doubling, how is that not a tax increase ? More later...
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Sounds nice but how ?
Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
Renewable energy like ethanol ? Thats proven to be a disaster. We imported more because the ME made it cheaper than we could due to your running mate's votes. How the people would have howled had they had to pay double for gas back then. Lets face it, its a little more complicated than that.
Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
Who said it was long term ? Just you guys.
As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.
Again with the reserves, hows about that natural gas PAlin just contracted with Canada to pipe out of the North Slope ? T.Boone says its abundant but he must mean in the ground because my gas company keeps talking about how much more it will cost me as its scarce. Clean coal ? Did you clear that with Sheets Byrd ? He's bee the lone wolf stopping that. We've know how to safely harness nuclear power for generations. Help the auto companies re-tool ? more corporate welfare ? And those guys make vehicles in Mexico and Canada unless you are talking about Toyota etc. And then you're going to give money away to people to buy those foreign cars ? Why not just make tax incentives fo that energy development ? Thats free but... oh my, thats the very thing you're on McCain's case about ! And how exactly can they never be outsourced ? Laws ? They'll say no thanks.
America, now is not the time for small plans.
Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
I take that to mean that you're for school vouchers. We have teachers and paying them more does nothing without measuring performance but I seem to recallyou dissing NCLB and wait till you hear from your unions on accountability !! Oh the $4k thing again. Won't even cover community college.
Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
Who made that promise ? And lets see you tell the insurance companies how to operate. That ought to be funny.
Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.
BOHICA small business...
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
Humm... how do CEOs and insolvent people connect again ? Fix Social Security ? But you said no more pressure on the middle class !
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.
Who made that promise ? This will eliminate your daughter's chances. There is a reason for this difference, like it or not.
Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.
Loopholes sound nice to we'll give it the benefit of the doubt and call it 100b. Congress tells us that it cannot possible eliminate anything and that its torture to Americans to limit growth ! Spare me !
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
There goes the black vote. Sorry but I remember Bill Cosby getting eviscerated for saying that.
And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.
And what promise is that again ? As to C-I-C, we already had that test and Barry lost and lost badly.
For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.
And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.
That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.
Seems to have kept America safe pretty well.
You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.
Sure kept them focused and sucked their assets hard. What if they were left to pick and chose their operations with all the cash they had acquired ? Probably have a longer litany of attacks as happened pre-Bush.
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
Roosevelt allowed Hitler to ru roughshod over Europe, Kennedy let LBJ talk him into Vietnam... not the best examples.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
You had the very opportunity that Bush did not have to equip the troops, as a congressman you hold the checkbook. At least those days you were actually representing Illinios.
I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
Rebuild the military ? Sounds expensive.
Diplomacy ? Sure... direct talks without pre-condition. That may have worked with landlords in Chicago when you had the Daley machine behind you as goon enforcers but there isn't any goon behind us to make things happen. Remember how well tough diplomacy worked for Jimmy Carter ?
You are showing your greenness Senator.
These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.
Me too ! Ought to be funny !
