Obama Gets Specific

by David Reiter [courtesy of Blog for America]

This year I am captivated by the Presidential Primaries more than I have ever been. It is evident that the American people are waking up from a seven year slumber from democracy. Democratic voters are outnumbering Republicans by nearly 2 to 1 in almost every state, and if the pattern continues, McCain is in for a slaughter this November in 'red' and 'blue' states, alike.

Democratic voters are clearly mobilized to effect change this year, and set our nation back on the Democratic path. If the difference in turnout continues, Democrats will finally have clear majorities in both houses of Congress, and have the opportunity to show the American people and the world why our nation is that 'shining city upon the hill.' No matter which Democratic candidate is nominated, it appears clear that that person will be elected.

Barack Obama took the delegate lead this week, and almost immediately McCain and Clinton turned their ire upon him. In true political fashion, they both chose the same tactic: making false statements, repeating them, and hoping that people are too ignorant to know the difference. CNN chose to highlight these tactics on today's on-line front page.

Both McCain and Clinton chose to attack Obama on the issues, saying, respectively, that he is "lacking in specifics," and, "I am in the solutions business. (Obama) is in the promises business..." Apparently, John McCain has failed to compare his website that is meager on specifics, and heavy on pointing to perceived problems, with that of Obama's that is full of very specific and exacting plans for the future. In addition, similar to her lack of ability to read legislation she votes on, Clinton makes the same claim. However, when you look at her website for how she stands on issues like Iraq, where she intends on relying solely on her advisers, one can see that Obama clearly has the most detailed plans for the future.

I am not saying that McCain and Clinton's strategies are bad...rather it is very clever. As the campaigning began months ago, I would have tended to ignorantly go along with their assertion. In fact, my thought was, "...Obama sure is an incredibly inspirational speaker, but I just don't know what he truly stands for and how he will get it done." After doing some simple research and finding out for myself how they each stood on the issues, and their specific plans to accomplish their goals, it was clear that Obama is very specific, detailed, and exacting. Clinton is fairly specific also, but not nearly as so as Obama...and forget about McCain, who just has no real plan to accomplish anything at all.

So I put the links to each of the candidate issue pages above, so you don't take my word for it, but see for yourself. Obama is probably the most inspirational political figure and orator that I have seen in my adult lifetime. He brings people together, reaches across party lines, and still sticks to his principles while doing it. He appears to be a great leader, and has somewhat Progressive goals, ideals, and specific plans to accomplish them.

Clinton has some good ideas, but her 'experience' has just led her to compromise away those ideals she once held so dear. Her Universal Health plan of the '90's was inspired and as Progressive as you could get. Her health plan today is, comparitively, legalized extortion to ensure insurance companies make more money on the backs of the American taxpayer...somewhere along the line, Hillary lost herself in the political game and compromised away what is good for the American people. I would have been a whole-hearted supporter of the 1990's Hillary, but the 2000's Hillary is just plain Republican-Lite. Again...don't take my word for it, take a look at her plans, yourself.

Forget about McCain...have fun trying discern any real plan from him other than to cut taxes and go bankrupt from military spending.

Soooooo...the next time you hear Clinton or McCain talking about Obama's 'lack of specifics,' go visit his website and get the truth. The next time you hear one of Obama's inspirational speeches, follow up by reading how he plans on accomplishing those 'lofty ideals...' you might find that his specifics are even more inspirational than his speeches!