Obama and stuff

I've been on board with Obama for a while now. I still haven't pledged myself unconditionally to the man as my preferred Democratic candidate for president, but I certainly prefer him now. Today's NYT column by Cohen gives Americans another reason to consider him for the job: his intrinsic ability to deal with multilateral and international affairs empathetically.

Last week, when Obama appeared on Meet the Press, I watched the whole show. I read a few critiques out there of Obama mentioning Social Security as a future "crisis" -- for example, Krugman claims that Social Security is fine and Medicare's the problem. I don't know enough about the background to stand either way, but I have two inferences that likely explain any discrepancy on Obama's part, should one exist:

1. He has made it abundantly clear that he intends to raise the cap on SSN/Medicare taxes so that those making over $100K / year pay the tax on all of their income. Raising taxes is never "exciting" and so it is necessary for Obama to exaggerate the need to do this so that rich people find themselves less hostile to the idea.
2. He is combining SS and Medicare into one label. I think this completely explains the discrepancy, given that he hasn't bothered to even utter the phrase "Medicare crisis" and instead uses "Social Security crisis." It cannot be as if he really is ignorant of the former and instead fabricated the latter. I really think this is a semantic issue that he should clarify with the next major public venue speech.
   

On MTP, Obama did try to draw a distinction between himself and InevitaBillary (wink wink) on the issue of leaving troops in Iraq to stage Iran-related missions. I think this is an important issue to keep in mind, especially given the epidemic of war-related suicide deaths and the way the public and Bush administration have ignored it entirely.

In addition, Hillary's strong "political" nature rubs me the wrong way and always has. That said, I would vote for her in a heartbeat over any single one of the GOP candidates right now. I also think that the strong anti-Hillary sentiment of rightwingers will make the presidential contest more difficult for her than it would be for him. I'd nonetheless love to see her as VP.

This week, Obama unveiled an interesting technology policy that got some major endorsements.

His energy policy and interest in investing heavily in science also impresses me. This is the last frontier in which America still leads the world (barely), and it is in hi-tech fields that jobs are still being created, albeit on a slower pace than we need. Too many Indians and Chinese are being hired to do the scientific and technology-related jobs that Americans must do to preserve our country's economy and future. He's promised:

Obama will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial scale renewable energy, invest in low emissions coal plants, and begin transition to a new digital electricity grid. A principal focus of this fund will be devoted to ensuring that technologies that are developed in the U.S. are rapidly commercialized in the U.S. and deployed around the globe.

He is clearly a very intelligent man with a dedication to changing the face of politics and pushing forward progressive policies. (See more new progressive ads here.) Hillary is clearly a very intelligent woman who has made many promises to do the same; I just worry a bit more with her that her tenure in Washington may have tainted her judgment and scruples.

You should consider whether to donate and join the campaign to support Obama for president.

If you're a Republican who is willing to consider voting outside of party loyalty next November, consider Obama.