Question for you.
You're not in the US. You're not blinded by propaganda. I consider you to be intelligent.
1)Have you reviewed either party involved in the US election?
2)If so who would your choice be from a Canadian standpoint.
You haven't been following? I post in these silly discussions all the time. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif
1) Yes, I am familiar with both parties, both historically and politically. Personally, I don't care for what is effectively a closed two-party system that is dominated by those who thrive on being the polar opposite of the other party. I like many conservative ideals, most notably small federal government, remaining fiscally conservative, and leaving decisions that impact the people to be decided by the individual states and their people. Really, I believe that the constitution (as originally laid out) was quite sufficient in many respects. Of course, the Republicans feign these ideals but do not live up to them; instead, they maintain their conservative base by denying human choice, ie. gay marriage, abortion, drug wars, etc. I am socially liberal, so this opposition leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don't believe anyone should be able to tell me what I can do as long as I am not directly harming another human being.
The Democrats, on the other hand, thrive on being as liberal as possible. Sadly, they are not as liberal as I would like on many social issues, and they wish to spend and interfere way more than I believe is right. It is callous of me to say this, but it is not the government's responsibility to bail companies and people out of poor loaning choices, nor is it their responsibility to punish those (ie. oil companies) who have used the perfect ideals of free will and capitalism to build successful businesses. In short, they wish to control too much and want to take too much money from those who have rightfully earned it.
2) So naturally, this leads to the question: which would I choose? Truthfully, if I were American, I would probably vote for McCain. Not because I think he's a good leader, but because I think the President doesn't even matter that much. If I really believed a President could inflict a lot of change, I would consider Obama more heavily. Obama runs on change, and that's fine. But we must remember that McCain, for many years, was one of the most liberal voting Republicans and has earned respect from both sides of the aisle. I think he has more pull in the political world and is more likely to develop good solutions to immediately important issues like the war in Iraq and the political challenges with Iran. Many of the US's financial problems will only be magnified if a tax and spend Democrat leads the country. Along these lines, I believe McCain is a good one-term President, and that the future of the country lies in the hands of a more experienced, and more fiscally conservative Barack Obama.
A big worry I have about the Democrats is their inability to solve any problems. Let's not forget they have had control of congress for quite a while, and even with the support of many Republicans, they have been unable to make any headway on things they say they will. For example, the Democratic party has gained popularity with talk of an exodus from Iraq, and yet they have continually voted in support of financial aid for the war in Iraq.
Mind you, with McCain you have to look at his history and ask yourself some hard questions. As I mentioned earlier, McCain was a well-known liberal-voting Republican for many years. In 2000, he lost a very tough nomination battle to the more conservative George W. Bush. Now, 8 years later, he has been the most conservative voting Republican in congress for the last term he was a senator. With each passing day, his policies become more conservative. So what prompted this? Did McCain, at over 60 years old, have a sudden change of heart? Or does McCain wish to be President so badly that he will say whatever will earn him the Christian conservative base, which is still the voting majority in the US.
I'm ranting a bit now....my point is that I don't think either candidate or either party is the solution, especially long-term. I really think the system is failing the American people, but I guess it would be more accurate to say that the American people are failing the American people.
Now, as a Canadian, who becomes President is important to me. We have a conservative government in power right now (although they are quite a bit more liberal than the Republicans), which improved our relationship with President Bush. However, we are almost certainly going to be voting in the Liberals in the next election, which means that a Democratic President may work better for our country. Either way, it is a tough choice: a successful US means our dollar is worth less and we are hurt in trade, but a failing US means we have less trade and commerce with one of our most important partners. Things are going well for us now, so I'm not sure I want that much change. All I ask is that you keep your hands off of our non-renewable resources. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
