I just watched the broadcast from Saddleback Church of the two interviews with John McCain and Barack Obama. I have a few casual observations. If I were not aware of how Barack Obama had voted in the past, I would have thought that he was a candidate I could support. However, all this talk about bringing people together doesn't hold up--he has one of the most liberal voting records in the Senate--always strickly the party line, and I can't really say that his former friend Reverend Wright was a very conciliatory person. His other comment that struck me was the idea of 'raising taxes on the rich'--anyone who makes more than $200,000 or $250,000 a year. With the way income is reported for tax purposes right now, any small business with that much gross income would be included in that category. Raising taxes on those small businesses would increase unemployment and have a chilling effect on entrepreneurship.
As I have mentioned before, I am not a big fan of John McCain, but he also conducted himself very well in response to the questions asked. He seemed a little more in charge of the interview (although he was polite about it) and spoke in a way that showed how his life experience had impacted his views. The stories he told about his prisoner of war days were very touching. I also enjoyed hearing about how he adopted his daughter. He came across as a much warmer man than he appears to be on the campaign trail.
I believe the choice is substance versus style and the voters will have to make that choice.
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