An open letter to independent and undecided voters

A great argument aimed at independent and undecided voters, covering each candidates views and record on the economy, foreign policy and national security, social issues and character.  Here's the conclusion:

All this adds up to a clear conclusion: Barack Obama is far more likely to be an effective president than McCain. And he's far more likely to bring real change to Washington than McCain, who may have good intentions but who shares the failed policies of George W. Bush and his party. This isn't because Democrats are good and the Republicans are evil, or because Obama is some sort of political messiah, but because the Republicans have had their turn and screwed things up, and America desperately needs something different. Obama will not be a miracle worker. But he'll change the disastrous course steered by the Bush administration. McCain may move the furniture around on the deck, but it'll be the same Titanic.

As independents, you aren't beholden to any party or ideology. You have the privilege, and the responsibility, of thinking for yourselves. And when you do that, you'll find there's only one reasonable choice: Barack Obama.

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An open letter to independent and undecided voters

You're sick of politics as usual and just want results. Should you pick Obama or McCain?

By Gary Kamiya

www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2008/09/23/letter_to_independents/print.html

Sep. 23, 2008 | This is an open letter to those American voters who are not affiliated with either major political party, or who have not yet decided whether to vote for Barack Obama or John McCain. There are millions of you, in every state of the country, men and women, from all races, classes and ethnic groups. Each of you has his or her own reasons for not registering as either a Democrat or a Republican, and for not yet having decided whom to vote for. It's impossible to sum up such a diverse group, especially because by definition you are, well, independent. Some of you are relatively apolitical, whether out of disillusionment or simply because you have other more pressing concerns in your daily lives. Others of you follow politics, siding sometimes with Democrats, sometimes with Republicans, sometimes with libertarian figures like Ron Paul, and sometimes with none of the above.

But there are a few qualities that many of you share. You are fed up with the choices offered you and sick of partisan rancor. You are disillusioned both with the Bush administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress. Many of you are conservative on fiscal policy and liberal on social issues, which is a big reason neither party exactly fits you. Mainly, you want someone who will actually deliver -- on the economy, on foreign policy, on domestic programs. And you don't care what his or her political label is.

Because you hold the key to the election, both John McCain and Barack Obama have been assiduously courting you. But you're not sold on either candidate. You like the fact that McCain has a reputation as a maverick and an independent thinker, but you're not sure if he doesn't just represent more of the Washington status quo. As for Obama, you don't know much about him and all the mania about him only makes you suspicious.

As the endless campaign moves into the home stretch, the noise from both sides and their supporters grows deafening. You're sick of the hyperbolic, us-against-them commentary that dominates our political discourse. What follows is a list of the main issues facing the country, and an attempt to compare, in as neutral a way as possible, how the two candidates stack up on those issues.