Cons vs. Cons

Elections tend to make me depressed. This year is no different.

The next president will not be decided by ideas, but by voter mobilization and geography. Split-ticket voters and true independents are disappearing as people with similar lifestyles and voting patterns move into like-minded neighborhoods, strengthening party allegiance. True discussion is pointless when people use the infinite choices of information servers today to read pre-filtered news already slanted toward pre-conceived notions. In this culture, political misinformation becomes more critical than truth, since the truth is ignored while misinformation serves to reinforce previously held beliefs and mobilize the base.

So in that spirit, I'm debating the "merits" of the two candidates myself, if for no other reason than to organize my ideas.

Obama

Pros:

• Charismatic and diplomatic, and completely free of the Bush taint, his election will go a long way toward restoring some international credibility to the U.S.
  
• He'll appoint judges with liberal leanings, which means more support for legal abortion and other social rights.
  

Cons:

• His economic ideas are proven failures. And a Democratic congress will be only too happy to implement them.
  
• He's a global warming true believer.
  
• He's a liar and a party tool. Led the Senate in 'present' votes, and when he did make a stand, his record was more liberal than anyone else's. All while campaigning on a platform of "change" and "bipartisan consensus."
  
• He'll appoint judges with liberal leanings, which means more support for class-action lawsuits and less protection for businesses from the I-need-a-warning-label-on-my-coffee-cup knuckleheads.
  
• This isn't based on anything but observation, so it may be flawed...but I just can't shake the feeling that Obama is in over his head. He seems like a tremendous orator but a mediocre thinker.
  

McCain

Pros:

• I don't know that he'll actually do anything, but he at least talks about cutting government spending. The absolute best way to fix our economy and secure our future as a prosperous nation is to take money away from the government at every possible turn. In addition to reduced spending, McCain wants to...
  
• Lower the corporate tax rate. This is necessary to compete in an ever-crowded world marketplace. America has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world, and some of the most onerous regulation (SarbOx, anyone?) This has led to more and more companies listing their headquarters offshore.
  
• I'm completely in line with McCain's energy policy. We need to drill for oil in the U.S. and build nuclear plants everywhere.
  

Cons:

• He's ardently pro-life, or at least he proclaims to be in order to assuage the religious right. He's promised to stack the Supreme Court with judges who will seek to overturn Roe v. Wade.
  
• Palin's even worse. She's against gay marriage too. I might be able to convince myself that McCain's just lying to get votes, but Palin is the real psycho-religious deal. One heartbeat away is way too close for this chick.
  
• Somehow he's bought into this carbon cap-and-trade bullshit.
  
• As a former military guy who is hawkish on foreign affairs, it's very likely our international image will remain that of aggressive cowboys. Sure, he's smarter than Bush and won't ask God for advice, but he's close enough policy-wise to maintain our poor perception.
  

Talk about a Sophie's Choice. I guess either one would be better than Bush, but that's not saying much.

Feel free to comment additional pros/cons, maybe I'm forgetting something. Don't be an idiot, though, and post the latest nonsense you heard from Michael Moore or Rush Limbaugh. Read some differing viewpoints, do some research, and put some thought into it before you post.