Excellent point.

Most of McCain's ads are hypocritical, as is the candidate.

I voted for Ahnold.. First vote, I ever regretted.. He took cues from his buddies, Al Gore and Ted Kennedy to go from a big star, to a huge Hypocrite in "no" time.. McCain's far from ny favorate guy. However, I'm note voting for Obama.. You want to continue to smear McCain? Anounce to us who your voting for instead "NaR"..

>>>read: all flash no substance

If you really think that was the point of that ad, you're even more naive than I thought.

Do you honestly think that they just happened to choose two white women sex symbols as the "celebrities of choice" by accident?

It's disgusting, blatant race-baiting.

Good point about Arnold tho.

With under 100 days this is the absolute pinnacle of campaigning. This is THE time to make your mark and set it in stone. Let's face it. This is the best McCain can do. Despicable negative attacks that are on their face not only despicable but factually hollow.

Just sad.

I hope everybody who is on the fence will consider Barack Obama's plans on the economy, energy, health care, Iraq/Afghanistan and terror, etc etc. B/c as we all know, THOSE are the important issues confronting America.

And Barack Obama has concrete plans to address each of those issues if and when he is elected.

Hi "Ethan"..
Love your comment, "Do you honestly think that they just happened to choose two white women sex symbols as the "celebrities of choice" by accident?
It's disgusting, blatant race-baiting."
"Ethan", the fact that you would bring "race" into it, again "You" bringing race into it here seems like you are a bit sensitive about race, for some reason. Or, you're the sort who buys into Conspiracy theories, with no apparent "Proof", like many other whackJobs. (Charlie Sheen comes to mind) Yes. No wonder you're a Obama supporter.
P.S. Trying to support Obama's Tax plans with anything resembling logic, is "Laughable"..

I love this comment that I found on politicalwire.com. It summarizes everything very well.

--------------------

Here are some adjectives that desrcibe McCain very well:

DIShonorable

dishonest

whiny

grumpy

negative

attack dog

mean

crazy

same old

confused

cranky

mindless

pathetic

angry

desparate

shameless

old

clueless

awkward

old

hack

insane

-------------------

Look who us talking. It is McCain who is running a whorish campaign suitable to Paris Hilton. Probably Paris Hilton has more shame than McCain. Paris never released her own tapes but her boyfriend did. Here McCain is releasing his own whorish ads. I am stunned.

So Ethan... as an Obama supporter you should be well versed on his plans for those important issues. Care to enlighten the rest of us because I have yet to hear Obama actually talk about details of ANY plans. And, more importantly, how he is going to afford any of it.

Hi "Emma",
Is that "Stunned" as in, "you can't believe McCain would point out this "Media" anointed RockStar status slung about this Charismatic Liberal Faker that the Demo's have this time out?.. Or, would that be like, "Phaser" Stunned? Hopefully the latter. One less NutJob in the voting booth.

Ex-McCain Aide Blasts McCain

John Weaver, a long time confidant and friend of Sen. John McCain, told Marc Ambinder that McCain's current campaign strategy "diminishes John McCain" and the recent ad linking Sen. Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears was "childish."

Said Weaver: "For McCain to win in such troubled times, he needs to begin telling the American people how he intends to lead us. That McCain exists. He can inspire the country to greatness. There is legitimate mockery of a political campaign now, and it isn't at Obama's. For McCain's sake, this tomfoolery needs to stop."

McCain has lost his honor. He has nothing to talk about other than attacking Obama personally. Where is McCain of 90's?

DBO, since you asked and since I am curious myself as to some of his plans on taxes, I'll post some highlights. But keep in mind that he has something like 50 pages of plans on his website on any number of issues. It's worth checking out some of them (the energy one is my personal favorite because that is my #1 issue).

www.barackobama.com/issues

Here are some passages from his website on taxes and tax relief:

Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief

Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.

* Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.

* Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000: Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This proposal will eliminate income taxes for 7 million seniors and provide these seniors with an average savings of $1,400 each year. Under the Obama plan, 27 million American seniors will also not need to file an income tax return.

* Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans: Obama will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.

Support Small Business

* Provide Tax Relief for Small Businesses and Start Up Companies: Barack Obama will eliminate all capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation. Obama will also support small business owners by providing a $500 “Making Work Pay” tax credit to almost every worker in America. Self-employed small business owners pay both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax, and this measure will reduce the burdens of this double taxation.

Work/Family Balance

Obama will double funding for after-school programs, expand the Family Medical Leave Act, provide low-income families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules.

* Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve a million more children. Obama will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.

* Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.

www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/#tax-relief

................As for how he would pay for these plans?

This is from his Fiscal Discipline page:

The Problem

Increasing Debt: Under President Bush, the federal debt has increased from $5.7 trillion to $8.8 trillion, an increase of more than 50 percent.

Irresponsible Tax Cuts: President Bush's policies of giving tax breaks for the wealthy will cost the nation over $2.3 trillion by the time they expire in 2009.

Barack Obama's Plan

Restore Fiscal Discipline to Washington

* Reinstate PAYGO Rules: Obama believes that a critical step in restoring fiscal discipline is enforcing pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budgeting rules which require new spending commitments or tax changes to be paid for by cuts to other programs or new revenue.

* Reverse Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy: Obama will protect tax cuts for poor and middle class families, but he will reverse most of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers.

* Cut Pork Barrel Spending: Obama introduced and passed bipartisan legislation that would require more disclosure and transparency for special-interest earmarks. Obama believes that spending that cannot withstand public scrutiny cannot be justified. Obama will slash earmarks to no greater than year 2001 levels and ensure all spending decisions are open to the public.

* Make Government Spending More Accountable and Efficient: Obama will ensure that federal contracts over $25,000 are competitively bid. Obama will also increase the efficiency of government programs through better use of technology, stronger management that demands accountability and by leveraging the government's high-volume purchasing power to get lower prices.

* End Wasteful Government Spending: Obama will stop funding wasteful, obsolete federal government programs that make no financial sense. Obama has called for an end to subsidies for oil and gas companies that are enjoying record profits, as well as the elimination of subsidies to the private student loan industry which has repeatedly used unethical business practices. Obama will also tackle wasteful spending in the Medicare program.

Make the Tax System More Fair and Efficient

* End Tax Haven Abuse: Building on his bipartisan work in the Senate, Obama will give the Treasury Department the tools it needs to stop the abuse of tax shelters and offshore tax havens and help close the $350 billion tax gap between taxes owed and taxes paid.

* Close Special Interest Corporate Loopholes: Obama will level the playing field for all businesses by eliminating special-interest loopholes and deductions, such as those for the oil and gas industry.

www.barackobama.com/issues/fiscal/#restore-discipline

I'm not here to convince you. You should be able to convince yourself. Check out his website and read about his plans on any number of issues. In my opinion, his plans are comprehensive, smart, and aimed at helping people like you and me.

And this is why I feel that his Presidency is exactly what we need right now.

Ethan,
Thanks for the info. I will go check out Barack's website, but from what you have quoted above, I am not seeing the level of detail that I would like. If it is indeed fifty-two pages of issues, there is more than enough space to be very specific. You have many, many point above. The two that stick out to me the most: Making Work Pay. How is this different from the tax cuts the are set to expire in 2009? New catchy tag line? :)

And the issue that always sticks in my craw... who defines "wealthy" or "middle class" Americans?

Column 1 - Percentiles Ranked by AGI
Column 2 - AGI Threshold
Column 3 - Percentage of Federal Income Tax Paid

Top 1% $388,806 39.89%
Top 5% $153,542 60.14%
Top 10% $108,904 70.79%
Top 25% $64,702 86.27%
Top 50% $31,987 97.01%
Bottom 50% Ethan,
Thanks for the info. I will go check out Barack's website, but from what you have quoted above, I am not seeing the level of detail that I would like. If it is indeed fifty-two pages of issues, there is more than enough space to be very specific. You have many, many point above. The two that stick out to me the most: Making Work Pay. How is this different from the tax cuts the are set to expire in 2009? New catchy tag line? :)

And the issue that always sticks in my craw... who defines "wealthy" or "middle class" Americans?

Column 1 - Percentiles Ranked by AGI
Column 2 - AGI Threshold
Column 3 - Percentage of Federal Income Tax Paid

Top 1% $388,806 39.89%
Top 5% $153,542 60.14%
Top 10% $108,904 70.79%
Top 25% $64,702 86.27%
Top 50% $31,987 97.01%
Bottom 50%
Note: AGI is Adjusted Gross Income
Source: Internal Revenue Service

Seems to me like the top 50% of the country is ALREADY supporting the bottom 50%. How is this fair? Sounds like the days of Lords and serfs. Or Robin Hood... take from the wealthy to feed the needy. THAT is not a democracy and will only serve to punish people for becoming successful / self-reliant.

I'm glad you responded, DBO. He has lots of plans. He NEEDS lots of plans. I think if you went over the details of every plan on every issue he would face as President, it would be far more than 50 pages.

Barack Obama's plan does not raise taxes on the top 50% and frankly while your numbers may be accurate, the plan is to raise taxes on the top 1 or 2%. Those individuals' incomes have GROWN more than any other bracket over the last 8 years. Their tax load has increased but their incomes have risen at an even greater amount. That is a fact. I don't have the article, but it was a week or so ago.

Point being that while the top 1-2% income earners wages have grown at a healthy clip, the rest of America has suffered. Repealing Bush's tax cuts JUST FOR THOSE PEOPLE will fund a great deal of necessary government programs, like a tax cut for the middle class and lower class, like investment in infrastructure, investment in food security, and more.

Add to that a massive reduction in "emergency expenditure" in Iraq and we will invest in green collar jobs -- manufacturing jobs for wind, solar components in places like the Midwest and rural America -- health care, bringing rural areas and the Federal government further into the digital age...

And those investments and the cost savings from those investments and improvements will spur job growth, economic growth, and improved quality of life all around the country -- but particularly in hard-hit, depressed rural or blue collar industry areas where manufacturing jobs have gone overseas.

So... If you want to suggest that it is not worth it to repeal the Bush tax cuts to the top 1% of Americans -- if you want to defend THAT, then that's your opinion and that's fine... But just know that by defending the incomes of the richest 1% in this country, you are preventing the American economy from getting the investment it so direly needs.

The kicker is that many of the programs that Senator Obama is seeking to develop or fund would really be helping "Red State" rural areas that are the hardest hit by manufacturing outsourcing and high prices.

The investment Barack seeks to make would restore the Midwest and Middle America as the country's prime economic engine for sustainable growth and, yes, sustainable energy. The lack of manufacturing jobs being a major factor in causing so much hardship for regular American workers these last 8 years.

Let's roll back the Bush tax cuts on the Top 1%. Re-invest in America through the promotion of green technology manufacturing jobs in rural middle America. And then we will ALL reap the benefits.