Question:
Can somebody help me out by explaining to me where he stands?
river family
2008-10-31 09:45:57 UTC
I am watching Obama's speech in IA and he says we need to cut back now to help future generations. It is to my understanding thought that he wants to offer health care and many other social programs. I understand that he will save money by pulling troops out of Iraq, but he wants to step up Afghanistan and has a trillion dollars in new spending planned. So, which is it? I have a problem with his clarity. It seems like he is trying to cover more of his bases rather than being straight forward.
31 answers:
anonymous
2008-10-31 09:53:29 UTC
"It is to my understanding thought that he wants to offer health care and many other social programs."



This is where your understanding is wrong.



He doesn't want to 'offer health care'. He wants the government to offer the same health INSURANCE that they already give congress, to the people of the country. You still have to buy it if you want it.... you still pick your own private practice doctor to go to.



He hasn't proposed any other sweeping 'social programs'. Please Identify one.



On the other hand McCain wants the federal government to own assets in formerly private land via mortgage buy ups. He also advocates ,as does Bush, the nationalization of banks. McCain has proposed FAR more spending than Obama, and without offering any source to pay for it. Obama at least admits he will have to raise taxes on those making more than $250k.



McCain wants to spend your tax dollars on DESTRUCTION of other countries. Obama wants to spend it on CONSTRUCTION here in America... You decide what is better for you... I think it's obvious.
anonymous
2008-10-31 10:56:07 UTC
It's hard to get a fix on what he truly believes. Like he's always said he's going to end the war and bring the troops home, yet in the debates, he says he's going to pull them out of Iraq and send them to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Which is it?



He says he's going to cut back on the military on TV, then goes to Columbia University and says he will "demand" to reinstate the draft - in which absolutely everyone (except himself, of course) will be drafted!



And now, he has made all these promises about tax cuts and all those benefits and the BASIC math just doesn't add up.



How can anyone trust this guy?
Horserider75
2008-10-31 11:19:15 UTC
NO ONE, except Obama and his racist/marxist cronies REALLY know where he stands. What I DO know is that Obama is a wolf in sheeps clothing. There isn't a darn thing that you can trust/believe because he's a shape-shifter, whatever he thinks will get him voted in - HE'LL SAY ANYTHING AND THEN "CHANGE" IT IF THERE'S ANY BACKLASH. DO NOT FALL FOR HIS RHETORIC!!!!



At least this should help you to sort out some differences, and NOT in Barack's lie filled bullcrap.



http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ba2f1c-c03f-4ac2-8cd5-5cf2edb527cf.htm
NoFnWayIwillLkdothaway
2008-10-31 09:58:21 UTC
Do not ask a question that questions him. We are expected to blindly accept that we are wrong for questioning Obama on anything. Asking a question is a smear. Questions are not answered with thought and honesty, you will get short nasty answers. If you question BHO, you will be reported by the Obama-botz, lose 10 points, and/or called names, called incompetent, have your sanity questioned and then subjected to a lot of rants about Palin, Joe the Plumber, Bush and then you will be directed to a tax calculator on the Obama web site.



This is the Obama way, like the change?
anonymous
2008-10-31 10:00:18 UTC
He doesnt have a stand in my opinion..I am watching that also.He is double standard to me...He talks about all the changes but never gets to the core of them...he basis his plans on Mccains plans

I have noticed that when McCain tells his plan...obama seems to fall behind him with the same plan but a revised version.

That was a lie when he said Mccain called him every name in the book....
Essentially_Libertarian
2008-10-31 09:54:46 UTC
When McCain and he were asked whether they would balance the budget in one of the debates, I believe the last one, both candidates balked. McCain said he believed it would be possible in ten years, and then Obama did what he usually does when the other guy gets the first question: He said, Um, Yeah, Uh, we can in 8 or ten years. So neither is planning on sound fiscal policy, but I still believe McCain is better because he won't tinker with the American economy just for the sake of a social experiment.
D.C.
2008-10-31 10:08:34 UTC
HE HAS NEVER MADE ANY SENSE------AND ALWAYS IS CHANGING HIS TUNE BY WHERE HE IS AT OR WHO HE IS TALKING TO ------AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER HE HAS PLAYED EVERY SIDE OF MOST ISSUES . ABORTION AND GAY RIGHTS ARE THE ONLY ONES HE HAS STAYED ON ---EVERYTHING ELSE " CHANGE AS THE WIND BLOWS " -------THERE IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY IN AMERICA TO DO HALF OF HIS B.S. ----TO EVEN COME CLOSE HE WILL GIVE IN TO A 20 - 30 % TAX INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD . AND THE REDISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH IDEA IS TO GIVE ALL THAT MONEY TO POVERTY NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD NOT POOR AMERICANS . READ HIS GLOBAL POVERTY BILL AND YOU WILL SEE HE WANTS TO AT LEAST DOUBLE THE AID TO THE POVERTY COUNTRY'S-------IN SHORT IF HE WINS ---AMERICA LOSES .
?
2016-09-28 14:16:59 UTC
if its `i` then its In My F&%king conceited Opinion.... greater so if its an answer to a query. potential "I dont extremely be attentive to the respond, yet i'm going to blurt out an opinion that has no substance, only so i will experience smart". the 'l' is what anybody else has mentioned giggling my f&&king **** off. BM
anonymous
2008-10-31 10:15:51 UTC
He is a LIAR, and a lawyer. He is telling people what he thinks they want to hear. I can't even keep up with the guy. One week it's this, way the next week, it's another. Please don't vote for him. Can you really trust him to make any important desicions. He is all over the place.
pebb1125
2008-10-31 09:54:11 UTC
I find Sen. Obama to be confusing as well. I believe that he is more concerned with sounding good for the moment than in actually standing firm on things. Sen. Obama is a good at giving speeches but I don't think that when it comes down to it he even really understands what he's talking about.
Expat Mike
2008-10-31 09:51:26 UTC
Congratulations. You are now smarter than a full 73% of Obama's supporters.



He has been contradicting himself the whole way through. He cannot possibly, given the laws of physics that hold this universe together, follow through on even half of his promises. Yet people still eat it up.
Yo it's Me
2008-10-31 09:50:52 UTC
Wow, somebody is actually paying attention. He does this a lot. Here is an example, he says he is going to let the Bush Tax Cuts expire in 2010, this will cause everyone's taxes to go up between 3% and 5%*, yet he says he is going to cut taxes. He rationalizes this by saying that if he lets the Bush Tax cuts expire, he is not raising taxes, so even though your taxes will go up, he can say he didn't lie, people just weren't paying attention (better yet, he can then cut $150 off of your new taxes and call it a ta cut and still be telling the truth by his logic).



But back to your point, he wants YOU to cut back (meaning you will have less to spend), he didn't say cut back government. So when he raises you taxes and says that it is to pay for his programs, he can go back and show you where he said it and say, hey, we weren't paying attention.



* For example a single person who makes $30k to $40K per year will have their Federal Taxes go up between $500 and $800 per year when the Bush Tax cuts "expire".
eyeofra1969
2008-10-31 09:50:41 UTC
He's all over the place. The only direction this man has is trying to get into the White House. Us free thinking Americans need to make sure that doesn't happen and vote for McCain. A proven man. Not a make-shift empty suit that spews Marxist rhetoric like Obama.
starlightstarbright
2008-10-31 09:50:41 UTC
I agree completely. It's an oxymoron. He wants to pull troops out of Iraq. Yet he wants to spent billions of dollars on another country. Where's the logic there?
mishkin
2008-10-31 09:50:44 UTC
He is getting the money to support his social initiatives by pulling troops out of Iraq, there won't be as many troops needed in Afganistan so there will be savings here plus he'll be taxing individuals who make more that $250K a year and corporations at steeper rates so this will be an additional source of revenue. You can see how Obama's tax plan will affect you if you go to http://taxcut.barackobama.com/
anonymous
2008-10-31 09:52:02 UTC
The health care isn't free but overall it will cost us a little, but save us as well. Remember, people who don't have health care still go to doctor's offices and ERs when they are sick. The tooth fairy doesn't pay for this, we do.

Overall according to the tax policy center, a bipartisan group, obama will increase the debt by 3.8 trillion over 4 years. McCain on the other hand will increase it by 4.4 trillion dollars.
Obama & Gator Hater!
2008-10-31 09:51:23 UTC
He will be the demize of this nation! He plans to tax the all businesses that will put millions out of their jobs. Just you wait and see....if he is elected....the jobless rate will be 35% of America! So he's going to look like a 'winner' when all those out of jobs benefit from his so called programs. He will keep the poor poor! He will bail out millions when in fact WE all could have prevented it by not electing him!!!
anonymous
2008-10-31 09:50:39 UTC
There are some policies that must be review, and perhaps cut back on. An a example of this would be giving tax credits to oil companies that have the highest profits ever.



There are areas where me must continue to spend money to improve because there is a benefit for it later. An example of this is improving education and health care to children. This way they can be productive adults to the country later.
?
2008-10-31 09:57:03 UTC
http://www.barackobama.com The savings will come from the disbanding of the 150,000 strong, private military thanks to Cheney, that is currently in Iraq. More savings will come from letting the tax bill championed by Bush to expire and bring in 5% more in taxes from the wealthy. You should just research his web site instead of posting inflammatory questions on Y/A. You could actually learn something.
anonymous
2008-10-31 09:52:18 UTC
Darling, you are confused , look at his web site, he has great plans and good judgement. If you want to lose the future of this country, McCain /Palin will have us there in no time, sadly they both have worked to help their own pocketbooks while we pay! We will be more trouble without a penny to pay



45cal, nice lies but fiction does not make truth, too bad some spend more time on helping corruption then fighting it
Jack X
2008-10-31 09:50:30 UTC
Money for Iraq ---> Conflict in Afghanistan.



How hard is that to figure out?
anonymous
2008-10-31 10:15:16 UTC
In essence what hes saying is that he will do just the opposite to get US out of this big mess of what Bush and McCain did to get US into this big mess..
anonymous
2008-10-31 09:51:21 UTC
Well, one thing he won't waste money on is more tax cuts for the rich.



If that was such a good idea, how come our economy stinks!



Want more of the same? Vote McCain.



If you want to make our country better, vote Obama.
anonymous
2008-10-31 09:50:37 UTC
Don't try to understand a Democrat...you can't...they make no sense.



Obama is a socialist, who wants total government control of everything, that means more spending spending spending.
V
2008-10-31 09:52:06 UTC
He will take money from places it is spent that is not working or not necessary and put it into places it works. They same thing people do when they want to save. You reprioritize to fit your situation. The new spending does not necessarily mean more money needed.
anonymous
2008-10-31 09:51:28 UTC
I'm hearing it from another room......he has lost another poll point or two on this one. This guy amazes me. He is only as smart as the level of ignorance he surrounds himself with. )))))))) Good catch "River Family".
meee
2008-10-31 09:52:36 UTC
he wants to help the people. there is no reason for us to be in iraq, so it makes sense for us to pull out

and 45 cal shut up. who cares what his religious beliefs are or who hes friends with?
Fed up!
2008-10-31 10:50:03 UTC
There's the trouble with Obama. It has appeared throughout this entire campaign that he want's us all to behave like sheep and just follow him because he USES words like "hope and change". It's the "hope and change" that he REALLY means that have so many of us concerned. Obama has changed his story at every given turn. If what he says, or someone he's been affiliated with for 20 years, turns out to be unpopular, he CHANGES his story and HOPES that we believe him, NOT WHAT HE SAID THE FIRST 10 or 15 times, but his NEW line of BS. That's ALL you're going to get with him - BS. How can ANYONE vote such a liar and scam artist into office.



I think we should believe what he wrote in his books. Obama said that many of the things he wrote "became INCONVENIENT after running for office". Does that mean that he doesn't REALLY hate white's including his mother's own race, or has he really CHANGED what he believed when he wrote the FIRST version of "Dreams From My Father"? How would he even know what his fathers' dreams were since Obama NEVER EVEN KNEW the womanizing drunk.



Barack Obama is nothing more than a DANGEROUS Trojan Horse, and we'd BETTER pay attention. Here's some excerpts that may be of interest to you. The writings are some of his truths, the man you hear speaking to you today is a CON ARTIST!!



“I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites,” he wrote.



“I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds,” he wrote in “Dreams.” “One of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied; they were relieved — such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn't seem angry all the time.”



Although Obama spent various portions of his youth living with his white maternal grandfather and Indonesian stepfather, he vowed that he would “never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father’s image, the black man, son of Africa, that I’d packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.”



Obama wrote that in high school, he and a black friend would sometimes speak disparagingly “about white folks this or white folks that, and I would suddenly remember my mother's smile, and the words that I spoke would seem awkward and false.”



As a result, he concluded that “certain whites could be excluded from the general category of our distrust.”



During college, Obama disapproved of what he called other “half-breeds” who gravitated toward whites instead of blacks. And yet after college, he once fell in love with a white woman, only to push her away when he concluded he would have to assimilate into her world, not the other way around. He later married a black woman.



Such candid racial revelations abound in “Dreams,” which was first published in 1995, when Obama was 34 and not yet in politics. By the time he ran for his Senate seat in 2004, he observed of that first memoir: “Certain passages have proven to be inconvenient politically.”



Thus, in his second memoir, “The Audacity of Hope,” which was published last year, Obama adopted a more conciliatory, even upbeat tone when discussing race. Noting his multiracial family, he wrote in the new book: “I’ve never had the option of restricting my loyalties on the basis of race, or measuring my worth on the basis of tribe.”



This appears to contradict certain passages in his first memoir, including a description of black student life at Occidental College in Los Angeles.



“There were enough of us on campus to constitute a tribe, and when it came to hanging out many of us chose to function like a tribe, staying close together, traveling in packs,” he wrote. “It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.”



He added: “To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists.”



Obama said he and other blacks were careful not to second-guess their own racial identity in front of whites.



“To admit our doubt and confusion to whites, to open up our psyches to general examination by those who had caused so much of the damage in the first place, seemed ludicrous, itself an expression of self-hatred,” he wrote.



His pessimism about race relations seemed to pervade his worldview.

“The emotion between the races could never be pure,” he laments in “Dreams.” “Even love was tarnished by the desire to find in the other some element that was missing in ourselves. Whether we sought out our demons or salvation, the other race would always remain just that: menacing, alien, and apart.”



After graduating from college, Obama eventually went to Chicago to interview for a job as a community organizer. His racial attitudes came into play as he sized up the man who would become his boss. “There was something about him that made me wary,” Obama wrote. “A little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.”



Harris-Lacewell said such expressions of distrust toward whites will not hurt Obama in the Democratic presidential primaries, which are dominated by liberal voters. “To win the Democratic nomination, he's got to get a part of the progressive, anti-war, white folks,” she said. “And those white folks tend to be suspicious of any black person who wouldn’t be suspicious of white people.”



Such liberals would have little basis for suspicion after reading some of Obama’s conclusions about the white race, which he once described as “that ghostly figure that haunted black dreams.”



“That hate hadn't gone away,” he wrote, blaming “white people — some cruel, some ignorant, sometimes a single face, sometimes just a faceless image of a system claiming power over our lives.”
45 auto
2008-10-31 09:48:50 UTC
River family this might help you>





They see that Obama has Arabic-Islamic first and middle names: Barack means “blessed” and Hussein means “beautiful.” His last name is Swahili, an East African language based on Arabic, Taheri writes. His sister is named Oumah, Arabic for “the community of the faithful;” his daughter Malia bears the name of a daughter of the noted Caliph Othman; and his father and stepfather were both Muslims.



Although Taheri did not note it, Obama was raised partially as a Muslim when he lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather. While there, he studied at two schools and was registered at both as a Muslim student.



As such he received Islamic religious instruction, studied the Koran, and prayed with other students. He did attend mosque, albeit infrequently, with his stepfather.



Obama’s religious upbringing after Indonesia is somewhat of a mystery until his late 20s. At that point, Obama says he converted to Christianity after meeting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Chicago.



Still, Obama has maintained strong support from American Muslims, including Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam movement. Farrakhan has endorsed Obama and has called him the “messiah.”



These factors have made Obama a big hit in the Arab world, where he has received wide praise, including:



The Syrian regime has indicated its preference for Obama. Buthaina Shaaban, an adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, has written: “The change suggested by Obama is essential not only for the U.S. but for the entire human family.”





Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi called Obama “a Muslim” and said: “All the people in the Arab and Muslim world and in Africa applauded this man. They welcome him and prayed for his success,” although Qaddafi also expressed criticism of Obama’s comments on the future of Jerusalem.





Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said this year: “We like Mr. Obama and we hope that he will win the election.”





Hezbollah’s second in command, Sheik Naim al-Kassim, urged Americans to vote for Obama as a step toward peace with Islam, and pro-Hezbollah columnist Amal Saad-Ghorayeb said there is “no doubt Arabs should welcome an Obama presidency,” according to Taheri.





In Saudi Arabia, commentator Hussein Shobokshi wrote that an Obama presidency “would mark an important moral transformation in the superpower and is a healthy indicator of the long-awaited improvement in the international arena.”

Some columnists also have noted Obama’s close ties to several Palestinian radicals, including Columbia University Prof. Rashid Khalidi — former communications director for the Palestinian Liberation Organization — and another Palestinian political activist, the late Edward Said.



The “Arab street” also favors Obama. Recent surveys found that he is the preferred candidate in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
TG
2008-10-31 09:48:37 UTC
Yeah...that's a pretty big contradiction huh



By cutting back he is referring to cutting back programs he doesn't agree with (like the military) to support things he does agree with (like his health care plan and other social programs). If you really listen to him he really doesn't make any sense...
datukchew
2008-10-31 09:50:26 UTC
He stands for middle class and for change, average people like me.


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