I’m still in the early stages of gauging which presidential candidate is most primed to not only sustain the existing strengths our country has, but someone who can fabricate on those areas on which America excels. I don’t want to say but I will; that I take for granted the fact that a candidate I will vote for has a plan for Iraq that differs drastically from the one being spearheaded by our current administration. An Iraq policy needs to first look at our own troops here in America. We need to ask the basic questions. Can we bend the military to the brink of devastation? Should American tax money continue to be diverted overseas to a war we oppose, as good paying American jobs get shipped across the other ocean to China? And is this cause truly worth the sacrifice of young woman and men no different then you or I, except the fact that they supply the rest of us with a free democracy? Can we envision a scenario in which the Iraqis will take over their country? If we can’t envision the last, then I would like to see our troop’s home as soon as possible. I just recently joined the armed forces, and feel certain gratitude towards our men and woman in uniform, to either end this war or fully commit diplomatically and militarily. Stuck in this abysmal predicament, if we wish to give rise to a relatively stable Iraq, American forces at some level will inevitably have to linger in this country in unsafe conditions. Lastly on this hot button issue, the political divisiveness only allows for a tug of war on ideas that leave troops dead and injured without a leader who has a justified cause for their sacrifice.
On this topic I think Joe Biden is clearly the man with the better ideas. He supports a refreshingly different alternative which includes regionalizing local issues while federalizing the common interests of Iraq such as keeping it safe and allowing for oil revenues to be distributed equally. I like people like Hillary Clinton and especially John Edwards, however they call for a complete withdrawal of U.S troops. That would ignite a sense of king of the mountain development, where corruptness would triumph. Iraqis should realize that we are delegating our roles over to them, but if absolute chaos should arise America will not leave you on your own. Citizens of Iraq will be less invested in there dreams if they know there heads are on the chopping block.
I like how Joe Biden is extremely pragmatic on almost every issue. He doesn’t leap to the far left to garnish support, but he does have a well though out vision. He understands that healthcare and developing alternative energies is intertwined in creating and keeping the jobs of the future right here in America. Right now to me it’s between Edwards and Biden, but it’s looking more like Biden. The other night I heard Edwards in New Hampshire at a forum. A union man talked about Jobs leaving the country. I liked when John said we need to look at alternative energies, but then he said something I personally couldn’t believe. He said something to the sort of we need to be realistic, we are losing these jobs, and we need to look at making different types of jobs. He went on basically conceding that if he were president nothing would be made or assembled in America. We would in affect concede our jobs to China and India. I’m sorry the future of America to me isn’t working at Wal-Mart or McDonalds as a clerk. I don’t think I’m drinking too much Kool-Aid when I say we should fight like hell to keep jobs here, and create even better ones. Sometimes these affluent politicians can’t understand that not everyone can get a college diploma, and that not everyone wants government assistance. We should also hold our global competitors accountable to certain labor standards that we cherish in this country. Communist countries such as China, who are getting a little better, need to understand that artificially low currency levels will not be tolerated. Obama and Clinton seem to want a monopolistic government which I’m not interested in.
If given the choice I would rather vest power into the people’s hands rather than big brother. Threes no question all the candidates have egos that could ooze all the way into the ocean. Joe Biden is no different, yes he has already run but he is not a deadbeat, in fact the fraction of good coming out of Washington seems to be closely tied to him. He also seems to put his foot in his mouth once and a while, but I like knowing someone particularly my president says what he means. If he Edwards or even Richardson another outspoken individual doesn’t make it, I guess I’ll be voting Libertarian.
Well, can’t beat the service. In my last post I said that I would be interested in hearing from soebody who supports Biden, and here you are. But a couple questions:
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I have trouble believing that Edwards said nothing would be made in America. You later say we should fight like hell to keep manufacturing jobs. What is your definition of “fight like hell” — trade sanctions? Would you advocate withdrawing from the WTO? Looking at the jobs section of his website, Biden completely ignores outsourcing as an issue. Edwards doesn’t.
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Furthermore, I’m not sure what you mean by Obama and Clinton wanting a “monopolistic government” — do you mean they have no interest in breaking up private monopolies?
The WTO in my view needs to do alot more in the way of shining a light on internationally recognized labor standards. It inevitably creates a scenario upon which corporations will scurry to the cheapest area they can find exploiting workers. And putting issues such as the environment and rights of the individual on the back burner. Don’t get me wrong, the competitive capitalistic nature that America has relied upon is something I see as a bright star. We can’t cry that everything isn’t fair because it never will be. However there undoubtably are certain standards that every nation should be obliged to uphold. We are part of the WTO and so are most countries, not China though. I’m left a little uneasy at the aspect of having non elected officials at the helms of universal trade. There seems to be little accountability, as with are elected officials we can work with them, and vote them out. Not so with members of the WTO, at a minimum the WTO needs a significant tweak. One that could procure enforcement, allowing for a level playing field. Until then its like a 13 year old boy running the 50 yard dash against the Al Gore. Joe Biden doesn’t have much on his web site but I hears him speak about jobs as I have heard many others. He knows that keeping and launching a first tier education system will keep us competitive. He signals to me that on the issues that face us he is determined to evaluate, what is good and whats harmful. John Edwards is what many would consider the best candidate and for good reason. He seems to really feel the pain on the faces of struggling individuals. He does indeed want to help. My ears get nervous when I hear him talk taxes. His way of handling these problems is mostly through social services and programs. I don’t want this countrues working poor to have to be consistently reliant on government funded programs. When this occurs generation after generation will become imbeded in dependency to big Brother. The goals to look for in candidates, is who would work to enhance the independance of you or I? Thats sort of what I meant about Hillary and Obama. The average joe will get taxed to the max, having little left to say other than what program is available to me. I encourage getting people up on there feet if they are willing. But once they are on their feet they need to get walkin.