Presidential Quiz

60-Second Soap Box

"I only vote Democratic because I want my vote to count, and I choose the lesser of two evils." --Evenstar111

"I was just pondering the idea of a woman president and I know that it is an age old topic now but I wanted to know what other woman thought about the idea." --drgnfly7900

Edwards

Main Bush Cheney Conventions Decision Tools Democrats Economy Education Edwards Kerry National Defense Republicans Science and Technology Third Party Values

The Race at Case

Like Wendy, I was impressed with Vice President Dick Cheney. He didn't sound much like "the guy everyone loves to hate" last night. He sounded articulate, reasonable, and somewhat scholarly. The quietly spoken comment that there "were so many inaccuracies that I don't know where to start" hit home, I think.

Despite Edward's trial lawyer background, Cheney's thirty-some years of political experience were hard to combat. He knows how to tell it like it is - from his perspective. It's easy to say that things are signficantly better in Iraq and that Kerry has been on the wrong side of the fence, when you don't have to support it with evidence. Cheney even told Edwards he had never met him before, which simply wasn't true. Edwards, though, wasn't intimidated and responded with facts and figures. The trial lawyer experience and the warm-hearted charm worked well together, readily combating Cheney's assertions.

I'd have to call it a draw. Both candidates did a good job, there was no knock-out punch, and they both spoke well for their party and for their candidate. As as I see it, what happens in the next debate will have more of an impact on the election, than this one did.

Dicussion: Discuss the Vice-President Debate

Wednesday October 06, 2004 #
Posted by Alison

We Can Do Better

"We can do better," said Senator John Edwards speaking in Ohio, one of the must-win battleground states that is crucial to this presidential election. How much better? I hate to say it, but, it doesn't need to be that much better. Look at the statistics:

• five million Americans have lost health care
• four million Americans have fallen into poverty
• 220,000 students did not attend college because they couldn't afford it
• 1.6 million private sector jobs have disappeared
• Over 500,000 workers have given up looking for work
• Two million Americans have exhausted unemployment benefits

By the way, those two million workers are not eligible for extended federal unemployment benefits because the Republican administration overturned all attempts to continue benefits, despite the fact that the Unemployment Tax Trust Fund has a balance of $14 billion, a figure that is projected to grow to $38 billion by the year 2008.

These statistics should speak for themselves. Employment, health care, and education, for most Americans, are a sorry state of affairs. We need better and yes, Kerry-Edwards certainly can do better.

However, Senator Kerry needs to do a bit better too. As John Alter commented in Newsweek, Kerry needs a KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) strategy. He needs to tell voters "four or five simple things that Kerry and the Democrats would do immediately." He also needs to sell his own vision - now. While he still has time to get the message across.
Discussion: I am too poor to vote Republican

Wednesday September 22, 2004 #
Posted by Alison

Doctors Wary of Edwards

One of President Bush's biggest applause lines last Friday was, "You cannot be pro-doctor and pro-patient and pro-trial lawyer at the same time. You have to choose. My opponent made his choice, and he put him on the ticket." A blistering article in "The Washington Times" backs this up. It quotes: "The John Edwards we know crushed [obstetrics, gynecology] and neurosurgery in North Carolina," said Dr. Craig VanDerVeer, a Charlotte neurosurgeon. "As a result, thousands of patients lost their health care."

The Kerry-Edwards Plan for Rural and Small Town Economies says they will help keep doctors in small communities by reforming the insurance industry and punishing those lawyers who bring 3 or more frivolous lawsuits. The problem is, Edwards was highly successful in winning medical malpractice lawsuits with what many say was junk science, therefore they were not frivolous. I've seen the stories for years - ob/gyn doctors are either leaving the specialty or being forced to practice with HMOs because only an HMO can afford the malpractice insurance. In addition, many doctors have gone to "the defensive practice of medicine," ordering excessive numbers of tests and imaging procedures and making the number of c-section deliveries skyrocket. All of this has contributed to the enormous increase in health care costs that Kerry-Edwards now lament. John Kerry has likewise been a consistent opponent of medical liability reform.

The line is clearly drawn, for the first time ever the Pennsylvania Medical Society PAC has endorsed a presidential candidate, George Bush. They cite a loss of 2400 health care jobs in Pennsylvania, and forcing 1700 Pennsylvania physicians to relocate, retire early, close or curtail their practices.

At age 14 my leg was partially paralyzed in a complication following knee surgery - swelling against the hard cast cut the nerve to my lower leg. My family was poor, we desperately needed the money, and we could have sued for malpractice. We could have won the "medical lottery." We chose not to. All of my medical costs were covered by dad's union medical insurance. We just didn't think it was right to take more.

Undecided Voter Rating
Medical Liability Reform
Edwards: Strong Negative
Bush: Strong Positive

Tuesday August 17, 2004 #
Posted by Wendy

Meet the Edwards

"Hope is on the way." It's easy to like the Edwards family, from John's hardworking parents sitting in the audience, to fresh-faced Cate introducing her mom, Elizabeth, the soccer mom lawyer, to John who portrays himself as the self-made champion for the little people. I wouldn't mind seeing these folks often. Edwards Family Profile

I found myself quibbling with John Edwards' speech. Having just read about the weakness in the Kerry economic plan, I had a newly jaundiced eye on his economic promises. I like that the Democrats are pledging to win the peace in Iraq, sending more troops, further strengthening the military, even doubling the number of Special Forces troops. That's a relief, as I feared the election year rhetoric might veer to a "peace at any price" stance. Once you're in a war you had better be in it to win it and build a lasting peace.

John Edwards projects that he really believes what he is saying, that he is conveying his true values rather than adopting the stances needed to be elected.

Undecided Voter Rating
John Edwards Night at the Convention
Kerry: Strong Positive
Bush: Negative

Wednesday July 28, 2004 #
Posted by Wendy

Does NATO Want Bush Gone?

Senator John Edwards told Larry King's audience yesterday that NATO ambassadors implied they want a new face in the White House. Kerry got in trouble for similar vague comments earlier in the campaign.

I have no problem believing that the Bush Administration has squandered the good will towards the US that 9/11 produced. Our action in Afghanistan was widely supported. But going our own way in Iraq, with a "we'll do it with or without you" attitude, has hurt us enormously in the eyes of the world.

Edwards said he would not rule out future pre-emptive strikes when needed. Good words. In this dangerous world, America needs to keep its options open. I do not want to see Kerry-Edwards becoming the "peace at any price" ticket. That would be an insane position in today's world.

Undecided Voter Rating
Bush as Bad Diplomat
Kerry: Strong Positive
Bush: Strong Negative

Thursday July 22, 2004 #
Posted by Wendy

Edwards Conjures Chads and Bullies

John Edwards was in Florida yesterday vowing that all votes would be counted this time around, as he spoke at at Orlando's St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church. I guess he thinks I forgot that the Florida recount paid for by news organizations after the election showed that Bush won Florida anyway. And I've been reading in "Vanity Fair" that the new voting machines Florida purchased may have an even higher error rate than hanging chad punchcards did, with no way to do a recount. Electronic Voting
Undecided Voter Rating
Edwards: Negative. A swing and a miss.

Bush the Bully: "We need a commander-in-chief like John Kerry who will lead the world, not bully it," Edwards said. That is an attack that hits home. The sympathy and support of the world we had after 9/11 has evaporated. The Bush Administration must take the hit for lack of diplomacy and coalition-building.
Undecided Voter Rating
Edwards: High Positive. Home run.

Tuesday July 20, 2004 #
Posted by Wendy

What a Difference a VP Makes

It's the John-John ticket. I'm relieved that Kerry didn't go for Hilary Clinton, as was rumored in one article, or for somebody obscure. Edwards certainly makes the ticket more photogenic, but I really chuckled at President Bush's comment on the subject. As a reporter gushed over how telegenic and charismatic Edwards was and asked what Cheney brought to the Republican ticket, Bush's answer was, "Dick Cheney can be president."

Problem is, there is a lurking suspicion that Dick Cheney is the Shadow President. That wasn't dispelled when Bush insisted on a joint 911 testimony with Cheney. Cheney performed very well in the VP debates four years ago, if he comes out of the bunker he could be an asset in the campaign. We'd like to see more of the guy some of us think is the puppetmaster.,

The attack dogs immediately set upon the John-John ticket.
Lightweight qualifications: Edwards has as little experience as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter did when they ascended to the presidency. As VP, one assumes he would learn a bit more before getting the call. This one doesn't strike home.
The Shark Factor: He got rich in the way most of us loathe - suing doctors, using junk science to get huge settlements, driving obstetricians out of practice, raising medical costs for all of us. This is the arrow that strikes home for me. His fortune comes in part from suing obstetricians over babies with cerebral palsy, even though the scientific evidence is that the condition is in no way related to the delivery. Many women are getting unneeded c-sections thanks to these suits, as doctors are afraid to allow a natural delivery.
Mill Town Roots: OK, he's a rich shark now, but his dad was a mill worker, he swept floors to get through college, and he was the first person in his family to go to college. I like those creds. John Edwards biography
The Two Americas: Edwards has been slamming George Bush for creating two Americas - one of the privileged, one of the rest of us. This just doesn't resonate with me. What I've seen for the past three years is a country finally coming together after 9/11. I've seen middle class tax relief. It irritates me to blame economic woes on anything other than 9/11 and the technology bubble bursting. Sorry, I don't have amnesia, I remember what caused our economic woes. It wasn't Bush's economic policies.
Family Guy: I like it that he married his law school sweetheart. Lawyers in love? One wife, four kids, kudos.

Undecided Voter Ranking
Edwards for VP
Kerry: Positive
Bush: Slight Negative

Saturday July 10, 2004 #
Posted by Wendy