Presidential Candidates and Topics

[finn's mom]

I am yet to vote. I have tried to understand my options in the past, but have never had much success in choosing a candidate. I have never voted, and therefore have never really complained about the state the country is in.

With that being said, I'm trying a different route this time, and am going by a grid I found online showing simply whether or not the candidates support or oppose certain topics/issues. It has helped me a lot, but I'm still having a hard time deciding where I stand on certain topics, so I want to hear from regular people what their thoughts are and why. I would like to hear pros and cons from all angles, so if you have an opinion, I'd like to hear it. But, please, steer clear of name calling and derogatory adjectives describing the candidates. I'm not here to open the door for bashing people we don't even know.

• Roe v. Wade
  
• Death Penalty
  
• Education (No Child Left Behind)
  
• Embryonic Stem Cells
  
• Energy & Oil (ANWR Drilling)
  
• Energy & Oil (Kyoto)
  
• Guns (Assault Weapons Ban)
  
• Guns (Background Check)
  
• Homeland Security (Patriot Act)
  
• Homeland Security (Guantanamo)
  
• Homeland Security (Torture)
  
• Homeland Security (Wiretapping)
  
• Immigration (Citizenship Path for Illegals)
  
• Immigration (Border Fence)
  
• Internet (Neutrality)
  
• Iran (Sanctions)
  
• Iran (Military Action as Option)
  
• Iraq War (Support)
  
• Iraq War (Troop Surge)
  
• Iraq War (Withdrawal)
  
• Minimum Wage Increase
  
• Same-Sex (Marriage)
  
• Same-Sex (Civil Union)
  
• Same-Sex (Constitutional Ban)
  
• Universal Healthcare

[Freedom]

Good for you, being interested in the elections. It is a hard won right, to vote in a democracy.

No matter what you decide on each issue, no ONE candidate is going to agree with your position on EVERY issue. So you not only need to decide how you feel about each issue, but then you have to decie which ones are the most important to you. And which ones you are willing to place on the back burner for another election.

I've heard some people summarize this way: do you generally believe that people can look out for themselves, or do you think people generally will do what they like / want, not necessarily what is good for them and hence they need someone "saner" to make decisions for them. This helps figure out how involved government should be in life; in setting rules, making laws and so forth.

[finn's mom]

No matter what you decide on each issue, no ONE candidate is going to agree with your position on EVERY issue. So you not only need to decide how you feel about each issue, but then you have to decie which ones are the most important to you. And which ones you are willing to place on the back burner for another election.

Oh, yeah, I'm naive about the issues, but being 31, I'm not naive enough to think that any one person will agree or feel the same way I do about every issue. Although, I have noticed one or two candidates that are pretty much right along with what I've decided on so far.

Thanks for the reply, any thoughts yourself on any of the issues?

I really enjoy listening to pros and cons from people, that typically helps me understand topics that I don't have firsthand knowledge or experience with.

[columbine]

My main guiding principle this time around is how entrenched any given candidate is in the existing deal-brokering and influence-buying structure. By this time it may be too big a cancer to completely excise, but I appreciate it when a candidate goes out on a limb to address salient issues, rather than buying into the status quo to set the stage for a comfortable political career.