I like Barak Obama, and so far, I believe he is the man who might be able to lead us out of the mess that George Bush and a paralyzed Democratic party have put us in. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have some questions I’d like answered. Our mainstream media seem to be concerned only with catching Obama in some terrible gaff or in talking about his star power. Again, I think they are failing the American people who, as voters, depend on the media to deliver accurate reporting on political candidates so all Americans can make informed decisions.
Read on if you’re interested in the questions I’d ask Obama…
First of all, I’d like a clear explanation as to why Barak Obama voted to extend immunity to the telecommunications companies that participated in illegal wiretapping of Americans. I can think of some reasons that make sense, but I’d like to hear what he has to say.
Secondly, I want to know what Barak Obama is going to do about the signing statements that President Bush has been using to avoid doing his job as Chief Executive and actually enforcing the laws enacted by Congress. We’ve had plenty of good men who have gone to the White House with the best of intentions and then been unable to resist the temptation to try to grab more and more power. The position of President is already far to powerful in our country, and the powers that George Bush has laid claim to lay the ground work for creating a virtual monarchy. I want some assurance that Barak Obama is going to obolish the use of signing statements once and for all.
Third, I want to know what Barak Obama is going to do about campaign finance reform. In this area, he’s already shown a tendency to backslide. I understand why he feels he can’t go with public financing when forcing the resources that the Republican party can deply. Why should Obama give up the substantial war chest he has built up when there is no way the other candidate will? If he did that he would only be handicapping himself, something that would undoubtedly please McCain to no end. What I would like to hear from Obama is that he plans to introduce legistlation to end the use of soft money in campaigns and start us down the road to complete public financing, which might be the only way to insure free and fair elections.
I’ve got more questions for both candidates:
- How are you going to pay for the wars we have going without pushing the economy further towards a recession?
- What plans do you have for dealing with the series of failures that we’ve had in our financial institutions? It seems like they are primarily caused by greed and complete lack of ethics.
- What are you going to do about our failing infrastructure? It occurs to me that if we were spending the money that’s being spent in Iraq on fixing our roads and bridges here at home, there would be a lot of construction jobs to help our construction industry get through their current crisis.
We can’t afford more-of-the-same politics or more-of-the-same politicians. That’s the reason I would not vote for McCain or Clinton. I think I’ve made the right choice in Obama, but a little bit of reassurance would help.
