My Campaign Report Card (ZT)

From a friend's email...


Here’s my personal assessment of the candidates for President and VP.  Obviously I’m very conservative, but I tried to remove politics from my assessment with the exception of three assumptions:

(1) that socialism and expanding government are bad things for the country;

(2) that a reduction in the size of government and the amount of money they take from our pockets is a good thing; and

(3) that America does in fact want an end to politics and lies as usual.

Note that I included the point that McCain is far more centrist than his opponents as being a good thing.  I actually think it’s a bad thing—I’d rather see him far more conservative and move the country back to traditional family and social values instead of just watching the country slide further into far-left social liberalism.  But I included it as a positive point because the ability to unify is seen by most people as a good thing.

Candidate	Pro	Con	Grade
Obama	> He's black. > Not a Washington long-timer. > Dynamic personality.	> No executive experience. > No foreign policy experience. > Worse attendance record than almost any other senator. > Uses race to avoid debate. > Very poor speaker without teleprompter. > Political positions are socialist/Marxist. > Radical, racist, and terrorist associations. > Changes positions constantly based on political expediency.	D-
Biden	> Experienced in national politics. > Foreign policy experience. > Strong debating skills.	> Disgraced in 1988 as a result of proof of plagiarism. > Long-time Washington insider. > Received less than 1% of Democratic vote in Iowa caucuses in Jan 2008.	C
Overall ticket	> First black presidential candidate. > VP is very experienced.	> Obama's record and ideas and Biden's insider status completely negate any claims that Obama represents "change" from the usual business of expanding government and dirty politics. > Not clear who would be running the Exec branch, Obama or Biden. > Obamanomics are a clear move deep into socialism, requiring massive tax increases.	D
McCain	> High character credibility. > Experienced in national politics. > Foreign policy experience. > Far more centrist than opponents. > Fiscal conservative. > Strong debating skills.	> Media and publicity whore. > Too anxious to "reach across the aisle" rather than standing firm on conservative ideals. > Has fought for bills supporting amnesty for illegals and restriction of free speech. > Would be the oldest first-term President ever. > Doesn't listen to his constituents--very stubborn. > Poor attendance record in the Senate. > Long time Washington insider.	C
Palin	> She's a woman. > Not a Washington insider. > Fiscal conservative. > 2 years' executive experience. > Record of being a successful reformer.	> No foreign policy experience. > No experience in national politics. > Unknown to most Americans until last week.	B
Overall ticket	> First woman VP. > McCain is very experienced. > Both have records of supporting fiscal reform, lower taxes, and smaller government.	> McCain's stubbornness will be a big problem when he backs legislation that is clearly bad for America. > McCain's age suggests a risk that Palin might find herself President before she's gained enough experience.	C+

Jeff in Chandler 

[Styx]

Palin is a very natural speaker. her debut in the RNC is very impressive and proved her an excellent speaker with or without teleprompter. McCain is not a great speaker in terms of eloquency, but he speaks issues very clearly and strongly, which has nothing to do with teleprompters.

Obama does stumble a lot in debates (without teleprompter). you are go back to some primary debate videos to find out

[yryx]

> Very poor speaker without teleprompter.

I notice this item is not listed in McCain or Palin's section. Does your friend think McCain or Palin are much better speakers than Obama without a teleprompter? Otherwise, he/she is clearly biased.