The Promise of Hope

The Promise of Hope

Having stayed up to witness the concession of Senator McCain to President Elect Obama and to listen to the speeches delivered by both candidates, I can’t help but think this election is worrisome. I won’t go as far as to say that, "this is the beginning of the end for America" or that "the ‘antichrist’ was elected", but I do feel that the intentions of the voters that selected President Elect Obama were ignorant of the effect his promises and plan would have on America.
Normally I try to write from a neutral standpoint regarding politics. However, after reviewing some of the sentiment voiced by my peers, I just wonder if they really knew Obama’s policies before voting for him. To me at least, it seems they voted for a candidate that stood for "change" and "hope" rather than provide information regarding the substance of his plans, how he intends to achieve them, and any subsequent effect they may have on the nation. I hear people say, "tax breaks for the middle class" and "guaranteed health care for all" amongst the list of solutions Obama offered compared to his opponent. However, when I press them for details about these plans, little substance is left.
Obama’s tax breaks for the middle class and his rhetoric that McCain offered nothing for the middle class is complete malarkey. Obama planned on letting the Bush tax cuts expire. This means there will be a tax increase for 100% of Americans, not tax breaks for 95%. I know I used Obama’s tax calculator to determine how much of a "tax rebate" I would under his Presidency; to the sum of $1,000 annually. The thing is, this is far less than I would have received if the Bush tax cuts were still in place. Essentially, I would see my annual net taxes paid increase under his plan and I certainly qualify as middle-class (even with his decreasing threshold of what middle-class is). McCain decided that keeping the Bush tax cuts was a good idea, so essentially McCain was the real candidate for the middle-class as his plan would provide me with a larger check in April. Just one example of rhetoric offered by Obama.
Secondly, Obama will tax corporations to provide revenue for his social programs. Sounds good, right? Well, when you think about it economically, this works against the middle-class. When you raise taxes on corporations, they earn less profit. When corporations make less profit, they cut more jobs to increase that profit. Guess who corporations normally employ? You guess it; the middle-class. So how can Obama work for the middle-class when he already has two policies that leave less overall money in their pockets? This seems very contrary to his policies regarding "helping the middle-class".
As for healthcare, I believe that everyone needs some sort of insurance and that this will help bring down healthcare costs to some extent. The problem is, I cannot speak in an educated fashion as to what a nationalized healthcare plan will do to the insurance premiums paid by the middle-class and what this will mean for the quality of care given to individuals that are enrolled on this plan. Only time will tell. I will say that if we are lucky and more people are provided with health insurance, this might decrease healthcare costs overall if there are less uninsured individuals (whose health care costs are passed onto those that are insured).
Senator McCain was one of the people who called attention to these problems, much like he did with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the financial crisis happened. It seems his voice has went unheeded again.
So as for the election, I would like to think that President Elect Obama was selected for his policies but find it hard to do so. I think that Obama was selected because of the disapproval people have with current President Bush. People saw "change" and "hope" as someone of a different political party than President Bush. I also believe that race played a factor in this election, but in a way that most Kentuckians are not used to; some selected Obama simply because of the color of his skin and not the content of his policies. Still others voted for Obama because the thought of making 2008 a historic election year was too much to pass up. And still others selected Obama for one or two issues not discussed here. All this is completely fine with me; that’s their choice and their vote and they did with it as they saw fit.
I will however offer those of you who are McCain supporters this message of "hope". We are unsure if President Elect Obama will have the support, resources, and votes necessary to pass some of his policies. America may come around and realize the error of their ways. Or, Obama may pass his programs and policies and the proverbial "mess will hit the fan" and the American electorate will let him know in 4 years what they really think of his policies. Either way, depending on his actions in the next couple of years, we will see how his policies affect the nation and how the nation responds.
Despite the result of the election and given the current state of the nation, we all need to unite and work through our problems. I will take nothing away from President Elect Obama. He has achieved something that is nothing short of historic. Although I do not support his policies, I do support this nation. I am a patriot first and foremost and will act as such. My rights allow me to be both a patriot and a dissenter. I am exercising that right today.