Why I l like McCain/Obama, Palin/Biden Harper/Dion/Layton/May...

I've read a lot of reasons why people dislike political candidates, but I'm interested in hearing why people like political candidates.  Surely no-one would vote for candidate "A" solely because they dislike candidate "B", so what is it about your candidate of choice that has earned your support?   

 

I like my choice because he lies less than the other guy.

I like mine because he doesn't wear lipstick, as far as I know.

I like mine because he inspires me.  Really.

McCain - I've always admired the way he bucks the system

Obama - I like his intelligence and commitment to serving people

McCain - I'm deeply disappointed in the terrible negative ads he's been endorsing.  Truth in advertising should apply to political ads.  Free speech doesn't excuse lying.

Obama - I get tired of his oratory

McCain - I wonder why he never mentions his family?

Obama - I love the way he interacts with his wife and children

McCain - I like the way he knows the DC establishment and admire the number of friends he has in government.  I think it these relationships would help him in office.

Obama - I like his educational and teaching background in constitutional law.  I think he'd uphold and defend the constitution which is very important to me

McCain - I wish he'd stop playing the POW card.  Being locked up all that time has to have effected the way he thinks and it doesn't qualify him to be president.

Obama - I wish he'd stop trying to be all things to all people.

McCain - His birth and upbringing were 100% military.  He married an heiress.  What can he possibly know what I'm up against in life?

Obama - I like his experience in actually working at the grass roots level for so many years. 

McCain - I wish his friends would stop glorifying his bad behavior, such as finishing at the bottom of his class, making trouble, dating strippers and dumping his first wife for a better model.

Conclusion - I think Obama.  I'm going for brains this time.  McCain could change my mind if he does a 180 on the false advertising and apologizes to his wife for suggesting she enter a wet teeshirt contest.

Same here, Santo. Inspiration is underrated.

I can't honestly say I dislike Palin. I still firmly believe she's out of her element, but she seems fairly likeable.

Or...to more fully answer the question:

Barrack Obama speaks in language I understand, with a familiar voice. The voice of my heart.

I like Obama because he doesn't resort to negative attacks to make himself look better. He actually addresses issues instead of spouting meaningless rhetoric. 

Original Post by kathygator:

I can't honestly say I dislike Palin. I still firmly believe she's out of her element, but she seems fairly likeable.

 I agree.  I've said it in another thread, but it bears repeating:  Even if McCain isn't elected, she'll be a force to be reckoned with in 4 more years.

Original Post by kathygator:

Or...to more fully answer the question:

Barrack Obama speaks in language I understand, with a familiar voice. The voice of my heart.

 i agree 100%.  i feel like obama is more down to earth and understands what it is like to struggle financially at some point in your life, his family values are important and strong, he also understands the harsh reality of being judged by race--which is an issue i care DEEPLY about.

i also feel like his words come from his OWN thoughts.  not someone else's who wrote his speech FOR him.

McCain - I admire that he came thru the POW thing

Obama - like his leadership qualities, tries to unify people

Obama - understands problems the common folk & poor people face

Obama - almost too intellectual - what really fires him up?

McCain - too rich, too out of touch

McCain - not sure he believes that much in women, but picked palin because it would help get him elected.  Don't trust him to do what he says.

Palin - like her political astuteness, and her "pitbull" attitude

Obama - I think he will do better with the economic problems

I like Stephane Dion because he is approaching North American environmental issues in a direct, yet reasonable manner.  I appreciate that he's being upfront on the costs of environmental responsibility, but is not overstating the issue or resorting to emotional appeals to justify his proposal. 

I like Obama precisely because he's intellectual, something which I've heard claims in "alienating" to people. But why wouldn't we want a smart leader? Also the unifying aspect of him, and most of his stands on the issues. McCain --I respect his experience as a POW, that's about all I can say positve about him. Biden - Has done a lot of work on domestic violence/violence against women issues, though sometime I think he barks up the wrong tree (cough-RAVE act-cough) Palin - I have nothing positive to say about Palin. I'm sure she's a good markswoman, that's about it.

While I've been mostly avoiding this election because I get hurt too easily, I do like Obama because even if he did go to an Ivy League and what not, just being part African American means that he had to deal with being an minority that's not well respected as a minority any more by the general public. As a woman, I can identify with that.

Even if he is an "elitest," I'd rather my president thing he's better than me or why am I not running for president?

Original Post by tincognito:

I do like Obama because even if he did go to an Ivy League and what not...

I'd like to know when going to an Ivy League school became a bad thing.  Seriously. 

You didn't imply you're a conservative, but I hear repeated attempts by the McCain campaign and the GOP to malign Ivy League education as if it's something to sneer at.  These are considered, far and wide, as some of the best learning institutions in the world, and yet somehow getting accepted to them and doing well is a negative.   When did that happen?

I'm a Harper girl. (Canadian election) I don't think that a carbon tax is reasonable whatsoever.  I don't think it will benefit our society at all.  It won't make us heat our homes less, drive our cars less or reduce emissions whatsoever.  It will pay for advertising to tell us to conserve energy.  Blah blah blah....no one listens.  Its a carbon driven society.  Taxing that is nothing but a cash grab.  If I knew that my carbon tax money was going to go to ensuring that products that we buy are more energy efficient or involved in rebates so the average person could afford to get a more environmentally sound furnace or something of the like then I would listen a little more.  There are so many issues for me other than the environment honestly. I want to know that when my kids want to go to university or college that it will be affordable, that when we want to retire the funds will be there because I have paid in to them, that crime is dealt with swiftly and appropriately.  I want cheaper gas, cheaper schools, cheaper taxes.  I'm on board for that! Environment is important but I think its overshadowed some of the bigger issues that mean something to me.

I have been watching the American election coverage on the news and its a shmozzle!  I don't know who I would vote for.   So much to cover in so little time.  It feels like a very strong line has been drawn between the two parties.  I don't think I have seen an election here or there where the parties had such opposing opinions.  Usually the parties argue about the same thing but who can do it better.  It's pretty fascinating!

Original Post by tincognito:

While I've been mostly avoiding this election because I get hurt too easily, I do like Obama because even if he did go to an Ivy League and what not, just being part African American means that he had to deal with being an minority that's not well respected as a minority any more by the general public. As a woman, I can identify with that.

Even if he is an "elitest," I'd rather my president thing he's better than me or why am I not running for president?

Even though you are supporting him as a candidate, it seems to be in spite of the belief that  he is somehow putting himself on a pedestal above the rest of us and is an elitist. 

 

 

Didn't G.W. Bush go to two Ivy League universities?  Didn't he also attend the most exclusive private schools all his life?  Didn't he grow up as a child of privilege and wealth that enabled him to get into these schools in spite of being a mediocre student?  Who's "elite" here?  How did he pass himself off as just an ordinary guy?

Didn't John McCain get into Annapolis because of his military family influence?  Didn't he graduate 4th from bottom of his class, labeled as a troublemaker?  Didn't he, according to Fred Thompson, date strippers?  Didn't he dump his first wife to marry an heiress?  Who's "elite" here?

Obama grew up in a hard working family that struggled as most of us do.  He got into college by virtue of being a good student and had to work for it. He went to work in Chicago helping the very poor.  How is that "elitist?"

Hang on - I don't want to hear why you're not voting for someone - there are plenty of threads I can go to for that.  I want to hear the positive attributes of the candidate you support.  Surely you have a better rationale for your choice than simply condemning the position of the opposition?  I'd hate to think that constituents are actively engaged in the promotion of the lesser of two evils!

Thanks.

Obama is smart, articulate, and he just paid off his student loans a couple of years ago with the money he earned from his first book.  He's a good writer, a good dad, and I like that he wants to move us (though we are kicking and screaming) into a post-partisan phase where we can all find our common ground and get things DONE for the American people.  I agree with his emphasis on alternative energy.  I agree with his view that education is the key to solving the problem of poverty - though I disagree that it all hinges on early childhood education - I think that IS important, but equally important I think are the middle school years and those are the years that are currently most neglected by our system, so I hope that he can be persuaded to make some initiatives on that too.

(any policy accomplishments i hope he will make, of course, is based on our economy not imploding next year, which it might no matter who is elected)

i like Layton because he seems to have held onto the socialist values that are important to canadian society while relinquishing some of the obsolete ideas (like backing big labour at all cost).

i like Dion because i think he's ready to stand up to big money oil and make the decisions that need to be made.  contrary to the earlier canuck post, i am heating my house less, driving my car less, making real, concrete efforts to use less energy in all forms, and i want a government that's going to support me in going further in making these decisions.  i also think he's prepared to make it clear that the canadian tar sands are not domestic US oil.

I like Obama because he seems genuine. My political beliefs line up with his more than any other presidential candidate who has run during my lifetime (short as my life has been). I like that he wants to get ride of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military, he wants more rights for the LGBT community, he doesn't want to revoke Roe vs. Wade, etc. My list could go on.

I agree with Santo... I don't understand why Obama having an Ivy League education is bad. I want a president who excelled in his studies and obtained his Ivy League education through hard work... not someone who merely obtained that Ivy League degree through family connections and was mediocre through their studies.