I appreciate the fact that you gave a long and thoughtful answer. But as you see, Amanda had a long and thoughtful response.

You don't have any slam dunks.

On energy, Obama prefers focusing on renewable sources – no secret there. But he has also stated that he'd be willing to open up more drilling as a compromise to help get more support for renewables.

On taxes, Obama intends to end the Bush tax-cuts for wealthy individuals, cut off loopholes for corporate taxes, and prevent the use of tax-shelters.

Joe Lieberman's comment about Obama not working with Republicans is a blatant lie. Off the top of my head I can think of two prominent pieces of legislation that Obama drafted with Republican Senators. He worked with Dick Lugar on a bill to help responsibly deconstruct and dispose of old nuclear weapons in former Soviet republics. And he co-sponsored a bill with Tom Coburn that requires full disclosure of all entities/organizations/businesses that receive federal funds.

National defense – you didn't say anything about his positions, just that he doesn't know anything, which, again, is far from the truth. He's a member of the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations, Veteran's Affairs, and Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. He's also chairman of the subcommittee on European Relations. So while I grant you he is not so experienced in foreign affairs as Joe Biden or John McCain, you certainly can't say that he's a complete tyro in this area.

On Government reform, Obama has been a supporter of PAYGO and voted for it on numerous occasions. He has voted for several pieces of legislation (including the Coburn-Obama bill I mentioned before) that promote greater transparency and accountability in government.

He doesn't support vouchers for private schools because that money is needed in public schools. Also, it is not the federal government's jurisdiction to decide how individual school districts determine which students go to what schools. So if your complaint is that you want your kids to go to a different public school, that's something you need to take up on a local level.

On healthcare, all I have to say is you should read his plan instead of parrotting rightwing talking points about it.

What's your beef with Obama on the 2nd Amendment? He is not opposed to private gun ownership, though he does think that reasonable steps should be taken to prevent the sale of guns to criminals. I don't think a background check or a licensing exam is so much to ask when you're giving someone a lethal weapon.

Abortion I'm not touching, partially because it's a sticky subject that people don't often change their minds about, and partically because I'm not super familiar with Obama's stance other than being pro-choice.

Energy, ie the needed to drill for oil offshore. He also has Sarah Palin on the ticket that knows more than the other 3 candidates combined on the subject.

Taxes. Fred Thompson put it best:

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Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases.

They tell you they are not going to tax your family.

No, they're just going to tax “businesses”! So unless you buy something from a “business”, like groceries or clothes or gasoline … or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small “business”, don't worry … it's not going to affect you.

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Ever get hired and paid by a poor guy? Me neither.

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Bi-partisanship. McCain has lead real bi-partisan reform and hasn't voted with his own Party 96% of the time like Obama. I'll let Joe Leiberman's words be added here, another guy with extensive bi-partisan support:

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Sen. Barack Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead. But eloquence is no substitute for a record — not in these tough times.

In the Senate he has not reached across party lines to get anything significant done, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party.

Contrast that to John McCain's record, or the record of the last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who stood up to some of those same Democratic interest groups and worked with Republicans to get important things done like welfare reform, free trade agreements, and a balanced budget.

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National defense? No way Obama beats McCain there, Obama should sit down and have Joe Biden's mom set him straight about how to deal with bullies.

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Government reform? What has Obama done that can compare to McCain's achievements? He even tried to take partial credit for an ethics reform with McCain when he backed out of the efford in favor of partisanship.
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Education? Do you think parents don't want choices on what schools to send their kids to?

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Healthcare? Ok I may give you this one, people would rather have the Nanny State take care of them and Obama's plans to reattach the umbillical cord between big government and the American people might have wider appeal than McCain giving individuals $2,500 and famlies $5,000 to actually be responsible to choose their own provider rather than have the government choose what is best for them and allievating them of all responsibility for themselves and leaving them free to whine to the government if something goes wrong.

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The right to bear arms. You better believe that Americans value the US Constitution and the rights guarenteed by it.

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Abortion? Most Americans believe that a baby born during an attempted abortion shouldn't be thrown in a trash bin, no matter what their position is on the rest of the issue, Obama blocked such treatment and is on the record as having done so and also on the record as having flat out lied when he denied it and slandared others.

If it wasn't for that, the country would split between the candidates on that issue, a few more support abortion, but not as many support late term abortions. I'm pro-choice up until a synapse is medically possible in the fetus myself, after that point I'm pro-life, except in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the mother.

What he is is an old school Chicago political opportunist. Nothing more, nothing less. They will have it whichever way the wind is blowing.

Being White, the single most important issue this election cycle.

What issues would McCain be winning on?

And please show your work.

Bull shit!

Voters Trust Democrats More on Nine out of Ten Key Electoral Issues

This month, voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on nine out of ten issues, including National Security. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys also found that the economy is still the top issue among voters in this year’s election.

Every poll shows that on the issues, the democratic party wins on the issues which doesn't mean that Obama will win.

OK- Well you can't have it both ways. Either he's an ultraliberal,partisan Democrat or he's a moderate who realized that it would be disasterous to defund the troops on the ground–even if he opposed the war before we went in. Which one is it? And his web page garnered most of his campaign funding from small donors— not all–but more than his opponents.

From the Grey Lady:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/us/politics/0…

<snip>

But records show that one-third of his record-breaking haul has come from donations of $1,000 or more: a total of $112 million, more than Senator John McCain, Mr. Obama’s Republican rival, or Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, his opponent in the Democratic primaries, raised in contributions of that size.

<snip>

An analysis of campaign finance records shows that about two-thirds of his bundlers are concentrated in four major industries: law, securities and investments, real estate and entertainment. Lawyers make up the largest group, numbering roughly 130, with many of them working for firms that also have lobbying arms. At least 100 Obama bundlers are top executives or brokers from investment businesses: nearly two dozen work for financial titans like Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. About 40 others come from the real estate industry.

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Now onto the war issue.

The Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008…

A review of Obama's votes on Iraq in the Senate shows that he was not one of the most outspoken opponents of the Bush administration's Iraq policy in the Senate until he began preparing to run for president.

<snip>

When he ran for Senate in 2003 and 2004, he continued to oppose the war and said he would “unequivocally” vote against an additional $87 billion of war funding, which Congress was considering at the time. But after taking office in January 2005, Obama voted numerous times to support Iraq funding, to the tune of more than $300 billion.

<snip>

Gee that kinda reminds you of how he backtracked and ended up voting for the Cheney FISA bill that gave telecoms retroactive immunity after he swore he would filibuster such legislation. He talks a talk, but when it comes to walking the walk he rolls over and plays dead, unless it might help his campaign.

Some of us care that he was against the war, and collected much of his war chest from small donors– who the GOP has largely ignored. He also has the same voting record as Hillary Clinton- who I supported before I went over to the Obama camp. Finally, I think his VP choice of Joe Biden was about the best one he could have made, especially when you compare it to someone who we were told had the superior judgment– John McCain. The country is in a real mess, and the last thing we need is someone who has no idea how to operate in Washington, a heartbeat away from the presidency.

But come on, would you support a candidate President with 1/3rd the experience of Dan Quayle (at the time he ran for VP the first time) if not for 3 things, 1) his personality, 2) the (D) by his name and 3) His race?

Maybe you would, but I'm prettyt sure 70% of Americans wouldn't.

I can say that personally I find Obama's positions on the issues more reasonable and appropriate than McCain's positions, so I'd be curious to know if I'm really only with 30% of the country or not.

…If he was lucky. Thats why he's so desperately trying to run against George Bush.