An undecided friend has asked me for 10 reasons to vote for Obama.

[zingaro]

He'd like non-emotional reasons and I've got a few points started but I'm asking for some help from DUers because we are the smartest, most well informed bunch of people I know. I'm sure I'm going to miss some important things so maybe some reminders will help me be comprehensive as opposed to me-centric.

Help a girl out, please, with some suggestions and "don't forget" ideas? Thanks!

[NJmaverick]

1. Let me see

1) The Supreme Court- Under George Bush it went from being moderate to conservative. Under McCain it would take an extreme swing to the right. The court should maintain a moderate non-partisan position, if it's to do it's job properly. An extemist Supreme Court will cause great harm to our nation.

2) The Obama/Biden ticket is smarter, more experienced, better eductated and better leaders than the McCain/Palin ticket

3) The McCain/Palin ticket will mean a contination of the failed Bush domestic policies

4) If anything happened to McCain the Country would be led by a completely unqualifed extermist.

5) A McCain/Palin White House would mean perpatual war with the rest of the world. The two of them made it clear they prefer war to diplomacy

6) A McCain/Palin ticket would mean of continuation of the tactics that has caused us to be losing the war on terrorists

7) Better tax cuts under an Obama/Biden White House

8) Obama/Biden offers a positive leadership model, with a positive vision for the future. McCain/Palin represents more fear and backward looking leadership and no vision.

9) The Country has historically done better under Democratic presidents than Republican president

10) Obama has a real solution to our nation's energy crisis. McCain/Palin would only increase our nation's dependency on oil.

[tanyev]

2. Supreme Court justices.

[tandot]

3. One of my top reasons: I don't want WWIII. n/t

[blm]

4. Obama is an advocate for Open Government accountable to the people.

McCain has been a protector of Closed Government that does not TRUST or respect the citizenry enough to share facts and information they need to perform their duties as an informed electorate.

[Virginia Dare]

5. Is that person willing to put four more years in the hands of the GOP?

do they want to continue tax cuts on major corporations (including big oil) and the rich while the middle and lower classes get screwed? Can we afford to ignore global warming, doing nothing substantive about it any longer? Can we afford not to fix the health care crisis? Can we afford to let big corporations run our lives unimpeded and unchecked, with little to no oversight? If the old man croaks do they want the crazy fundie Princess Barracuda theocrat in the White House? Can we afford to stay in Iraq any longer, or worse yet maybe another 100 years as McCain stated?

[GreenEyedLefty]

6. He will get us the hell out of Iraq, for starters.

He will put more emphasis on Afghanistan.

He will make the following our real priorities:
-the economy
-infrastructure (roads, bridges, fiber optic networks)
-educating our children
-affordable health care
-equal pay for equal work
-restoring our Constitutional rights
-restoring our status in the eyes of the world

There's 9 for you.

[zingaro]

7. See? I knew it was a good idea to look for help.

Thanks for the input so far. It will be a big help for me. :)

[demnan]

8. Here are a few of mine

Obama understands Constitutional Law, therefore he is better equipped to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Obama's tax plan will help 90% of the people, while only taxing more those who can afford to pay more.

We need a comprehensive reform of health care. Obama's plan is a start in the right direction.

Obama opposes tax breaks for corporations who move jobs overseas, but favors tax cuts for small businesses who are hiring here in the States.

Obama is in favor of research into new areas of energy, like wind and solar, that will not damage the environment.

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. He wont privatize Social Security

[islandmkl]

10. easy ten, try these:

1) 2000...

2) 2001...

3) 2002...

4) 2003...

5) 2004...

6) 2005...

7) 2006...

8) 2007...

9) 2008...

10) ...you want more of the same?

[goddess40]

11. Both have taught Constitutional law

so they actually know it exists and what it means.

[polichick]

12. A sane, wise foreign policy that creates coalitions to deal with our biggest problems...

...like terrorism and global warming ~ and makes a draft unnecessary.

[bdamomma]

13. Avoid Draft

prevent the end times which these people like Palin believe in.

will take away a womans' right to choose, banning books, and will drill cause it is God's will and Iraq is too. This is what the McCain/Palin is promoting.

[crazylikafox]

14. Keating 5

Along with that his advisors' links with the current financial crisis (mortgage forclosure crisis & bank failure ie. Phil Gramm & banking deregulation as the root of this problem)

This can all be pretty complicated, but if your friend is intelligent & wants facts, this is a big area that the media is overlooking.

[RoadRage]

15. Here are a few:

1. He doesn't take a dime from lobbiests - first candidate in forever who does this
2. His ability to negotiate and bring people of opposite oppinions together is well known
3. He is well respected in the International community - could seriously help improve our image abroad
4. Fiscally he wants to help the middle class regain their footing economically - not the richest 1%
5. Wants to actually get us out of Iraq because he's not making money from Haliburton, Oil Companies and crooked Politicians abroad
6. If he were to be incapacitated while in office, he has a "backup" who knows what the hell he's doing.

I'll try to think of more later!

[RollWithIt]

16. Heres 10, off the top of my head....

1. A change in strategy economically. Emphasis on lower taxes for the poor & middle class with an increase in taxes to the top 5%. Trickle-up economics last seen during the Clinton Administration.

2. Renewed diplomatic efforts internationally. The Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war will effectively end from day one.

3. The Supreme Court will not become the Right Wing Conservative court for the next 30 years. Currently 5-4 conservative, it would be dangerous to allow McCain to further pack the court with more. The court always needs balance.

4. Health insurance could become affordable to everyone rather than exclusionary to too many.

5. Obama will rebuild our military infrastrure by drawing down troops from Iraq. He will also make sure that the returning vets get the proper funding they deserve.

6. Psychological change similar Reagan's "Morning in America." For the first time in US history, the American dream will be truelly open to everyone. Even a black guy with a funny name and big ears. You just have to work for it.

7. Restore an impartial Attorney General's office.

8. Unlike McCain, Obama will be able to accomplish many of his goals from day 1 because the Congress will be Democratic. McCain will just be like Bush is now, a VETO pen.

9. Longterm investment in alternative fuel sources to alleviate our dependence on foreign oil.

10. We'll have a President who actually answers questions, gives interviews, does press conferences and does NOT hide behind the curtain pulling strings.

[stillcool]

17. Here's mine..

#1 Iraq
#2 Jobs
#3 Health care
#4 Infrastructure
#5 Energy
#6 Education
#7 Corporate Welfare
#8 Choice
#9 Foreign Policy- India, China, Russia, Iran
#10 We're fucked

[spanone]

18. give him one...mccain't

[denverbill]

19. Compare 2000 and 2008 for the first 4 reasons.

1) The stock market has barely moved since 2000. From 1992-2000 it more than tripled from around 3000-10,000. From 2000-2008, it's gone from 10000 to 11000.

2) In 2000 gas was around $1.50/gallon. Now it's $4.00. McCain gave oil companies tax cuts, despite their record profits, and wants to give them even more, despite the fact that the previous tax cuts didn't result in any cost savings to consumers. The oil companies just kept the extra money.

3) In 2000 the national debt was around $6 trillion and declining. Now it's nearly $10 trillion and increasing nearly $500 billion per year. The dollar has dropped in value accordingly, from being worth 1.30 euros to being worth .7 euros. That's why prices are going up.

4) From 1992-2000 we were at peace. Our lone major military commitment during that time was to send peacekeepers to the Balkans. We've started 2 wars since 2000. One, the important one in Afghanistan, we are losing. The other, a war of choice, has cost us nearly $1 trillion and 4,000 American lives. If McCain has his way, we will soon be 'bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bombing Iran' right into World War III.

5) McCain supports free trade unequivocally. He thinks if Americans can't compete with slave laborers in China, Americans should lose their jobs, and American companies should be free to ship jobs overseas and reap the profits.

6) McCain isn't trustworthy. In 2006, he WROTE legislation giving amnesty to illegal immigrants. Once he started running for President, he started OPPOSING the bill he WROTE. Also once he started running for President, he started SUPPORTING the Bush tax cuts he VOTED AGAINST.

7) Palin is the most unqualified VP candidate EVER. Moose-hunting and beauty pageants don't make a person ready to lead. And McCain is 72 years old.

8) As others noted, the Supreme Court and the right to choose are on the line.

9) McCain's campaign staff is nothing but lobbyists, though he claims to be independent of them. Obama is taking NO special interest money.

10) McCain wants to 'fix' the healthcare crisis by giving people a tax break and making them buy insurance in the open market, a plan virtually everyone in the health care industry sees as a disaster.

[Nye Bevan]

20. Here are 18 reasons:-

[xiamiam]

21. easy

Intelligence, compassion, vision, awareness, strategic, diplomatic, even tempered, informed historically and currently, unifying, inspiring...

What or who is your friend watching and or listening to...because if he can't figure this out by now, he's just not informed...that would be the first step...you might want to remind him of the failure of the economy, the Iraq war, the corruption, the no bid contracts, global warming, gitmo, torture debated on tv, the choice of an extremist for vp, the multitude of screw ups which have been supported by Mccain ...

on second thought, ask your friend to visit du or rawstory or huffington post, or talkingpoints memo, or daily kos, truth out, or if you dare, the rude pundit..he could also visit free republic although I for one have never been there...too scary for me..

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JBoy]

23. This is a bullshit reason, and you need to explain your remark.

[xiamiam]

24. "concerned"...is my guess...newbie troll perhaps?

[1Hippiechick]

28. He's a troll - alert. n/t

[1Hippiechick]

27. Hi and bye!

I'll just sit and enjoy my :popcorn:and wait for the pizza delivery. LOL. Nice try, but you'll be gone before the day is over. :)

[zingaro]

25. DUers rock! I'll post my list, in case anybody wants to see it, when I'm done. THANKS!! nt

[Alter Ego]

26. #1: The SCOTUS.

[ContinentalOp]

29. Here you go

1. He will lower your taxes. Here's a calculator so your friend can see exactly how much. http://alchemytoday.com/obamataxcut/

2. Republicans controlled the Presidency and both houses of Congress for 6 years. We can all clearly see where their policies lead. If he doesn't like the way things are going, it's obviously time for a change.

3. His health care plan will save you money. McCain would add a tax onto any benefits you're getting now.

4. He's the true reform candidate since he refuses to take money from PACs or lobbyists.

5. As a constitutional scholar he understands and will protect the constitution and undo the damage the Bush administration has done.

6. He will create incentives for businesses to make the shift to green technologies and invest in alternative energy technologies. He wants to create a new boom of green collar jobs that will transform our economy and ultimately save every American money on their energy costs, help sever our country's ties to the petro-fascists of the middle east, and ultimately help save our environment. He's not in the pocket of big oil.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

30. Has your friend asked for 10 reasons to vote for McSame?

If not, ask your friend if he/she plans to at some point. Have you asked him/her for 10 reasons to vote for McSame?

[damndude]

31. kick