Politicking

I don't generally want this blog to be about politics, but it's been occupying a good deal of my thought process lately, so you, reader, cannot escape. Unless, uh, you don't read this.

Political stuff:

McCain's recent ads on Obama have stretched the truth about the Illinois Senator and his positions so far as to be meaningless. For instance the bit about Obama voting to raise taxes on everyone making over $42,000 a year. Oddly enough, it takes Fox News, of all organizations, to push back on this. In being questioned, McCain campaign... dude... Rick Davis claims that Obama voted to raise taxes 90 times in his four years in the Senate. Many of these votes I suspect were for non-binding budget resolutions (as is the $42k thing), omnibus bills, and so on. And given that likelihood, I suspect McCain voted for some of them as well. This last bit is speculation, though.

What I can say is that there are pretty good numbers out there, from non-partisan groups like the Tax Policy Center, breaking down the proposed tax plans of the candidates. And some enterprising Obama supporter has coded the numbers into a handy-dandy little tool to estimate your own tax cut under the Obama plan, also giving the comparitive number for McCain's plan, if the McCain cut is less. You have to be making $200,000 or more a year (if married with one income) to have the McCain plan benefit you more (Following this thread, McCain's plan also taxes health benefits, which is something I just noticed the other day, and am creeped out by).

There are plenty of other issues, economic and otherwise, in this election. And I will certainly not claim that Obama's perfect. But I thought the web tool does a nice job of dispeling Candidate McCain's deceptive ads. And of course, I'm essentially repeating talking points here. That's because I want to spread the word and I want Obama to win.

P.S. A McCain campaign advisor who helped craft his health plan says the uninsured have insurance. It's called going to the emergency room. Because that's totally not already part of the problem in spiralling medical costs for everybody. Jerk. (See also Butch Roy for why the emergency room isn't acceptable health insurance.)