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Presidential Web Sites offer a glimpse into real agendas |
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Written by Dave Gould
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Saturday, 04 October 2008 |
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NEW BEDFORD, MA - Years ago, a professor in college offered me the advice that when someone is asked their opinion in regards to why they want to do some thing, the first thing said is usually the correct answer. What either John McCain or Barack Obama actually think is something for the historians to accurately decipher. Until then all we have to go on is what the candidates actually say they are thinking about. Those thought processes are more easily obtainable by reading their web pages. I feel these are more valuable than any position paper, public speech or TV or Radio pundit reports.
List of Issues from both John McCain's and Barack Obama's Website as of October 4, 2008
John McCain
- American Energy
- Economic Plan
- Iraq
- Healthcare
- Education
- Climate Change
- Homeland Security
- National Service
- Border Security
- Human Dignity & Life
- Fighting Crime
- Second Amendment
- Veterans
- Judicial Philosophy
- Technology
- Government Reform
- National Security
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Barack Obama
- Civil Rights
- Disabilities
- Economy
- Education
- Environment/Energy
- Ethics
- Faith
- Family
- Foreign Policy
- Healthcare
- Immigration
- Iraq
- Labor
- Poverty
- Rural Policy
- Service
- Technology
- Urban Policy
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Both candidates have professional web pages and it is my theory that both candidates have unintentionally broadcast their diverse views through the simple arrangement and choice and wording of their issues categories. Now even though these pages are implemented by Internet professionals, they would be doing a disservice if in the final design and content of the pages do not reflect the candidate's actual intentions.
Right off the bat, you can see that John McCain's choice of issues is top heavy with talking points of economic business while Barack Obama's is top heavy with social issues. Now even though Barack Obama's campaign is supposed to be color blind and race neutral, his top two issues are Civil Rights and disabilities. Is it intentional or accidental that the top two issues for both candidates reflect the stereotype associated with their respective parties. Should we be concerned that Barack Obama's first issue is a throw back of the racial issues of the 50's and 60's? Now before you consider me a complete idiot, it is also obvious that Barack's Issues are also listed alphabetically. In the word's of the paranoid, how convenient. One could postulate that Barack Obama's cleverly worded issues menu choices are a ingenious ruse at hiding his real agenda while claiming it is just the accidental nature of the English Alphabet.
Since John McCain's choices are not alphabetical, it is more likely they were arranged in an order of possible priority of his agenda should he be elected. Personally I like his top two choices. Both are very important to the average American everyday of their lives; Energy and the Economy. Barack Obama lists the Economy third and has grouped Energy together with the environment. This is another difference between the Republican and Democratic views. To the Republican, energy is a business and whether or not that energy is related to the environment is a secondary factor. In my humble opinion this is a humans first model. By grouping together the environmental and energy issues, Barack is signaling that he will be less interested in funding traditional energy sources while developing alternative ones. This is an activist Earth first model. His efforts will most likely be focused on alternative energy while traditional energy is allowed to become less influential. Which idea is better will depend totally upon your views and how much you are willing to spend to stay warm and power your lights. Granola crunchers are going to love Barack Obama's plan, the rest of us won't care as long as we don't need a second mortgage every winter.
John McCain has an option for Homeland Security, Barack Obama has an option for Immigration. Now both web sites offer good rhetoric with regards to border security and immigration, however Barack Obama spends a great deal of time on the issue of immigration where John McCain gives it cursory mention as part of a plan to secure our country against rogue nations and terrorists. Barack Obama clearly lays out a plan to increase the bureaucratic engine of immigration and work to remove the advantages of being an illegal in the United States. His plan encompasses a hemispheric view of well managed non American labor to fill gaps with clear paths to citizenship if so desired. I was glad to read that English proficiency was part of that plan.
John McCain's homeland security program focus's more on enforcement and security. It appears that he believes that it is up to the non United States Citizen to discover the proper process for entry and employment. Everyone else deserves the status of criminal. My assessment is that Barack Obama is in the camp that supports movement between Mexico, the United States and Canada should be little different than the modern movement between France and Germany. Mr. McCain gives his home country of the United States his first priority, with the movement of non nationals as a simple matter of economic need and law enforcement.
Sadly, neither candidate gives much attention to Technology. John McCain's site only provides a cursory glance into his vision, which at best is blurry and vague. Barack Obama has Technology low, but because his list is Alphabetical and there is no better way to word Technology, there it is. It is obvious Mr. Obama is of the tech generation as his page is heavy with taking the Internet to the next obvious level. However, that seems to be the end of it. No mention of space exploration, fusion development or real world applications for today's theoretical physics. The bottom line is, neither candidate are scientist or have a good grasp of what science and technology really means. However considering the fact that government has a hard time with 1+1=2, it may be better for the technological world if government just stays out of the way.
John McCains Issues Web Page
Barack Obama's Issues Web PageOnly registered users can write comments.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 04 October 2008 )
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