Obama is right to expand the United States Armed Forces

 

During the speech Obama called for an expansion of the United States Armed Forces "by adding 65,000 soldiers to the Army and 27,000 Marines", an idea previously introduced by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Reasons to agree:

1. We should have enough perminant troops that if we ever wanted to do another Iran, we could win it easily.

Interest of those who agree (that Obama is right):

1. Promoting the Democratic Party by defending a democrat.
   
2. Liberal guilt (defending a minority because he is a minority)
3. Security
   
4. Money / Jobs. Securing jobs for family or friends who are employed by US Military or defense spending.

Interest of those who disagree (that Obama is right):

1. Promoting the Republican Party by attacking a democrat.
2. Racism (critisizing a minority because he is a minority)
3. Not using money on things that kill people.
   
4. Anti-Americansim. Those who are overseas might not want America to be able to defend itself.

Obama is right to say, we "will cut funding for programs that are wasting your money"

Obama is right to say that we "will fire government managers who aren't getting results"

 

Reasons to agree:

1. The Chinese work 14 hour days. Their smartest engineers work for $600 dollars a year, and live in housing owned by the company they work for. They eat, sleep, and dream their jobs. They are lean, mean, and efficient. We will not be able to sell our products on the open market, unless our businesses become more efficient. We will not be able to compete, unless businesses have the ability to fire those who are not effective. The same goes with government. If our government takes more money, and does less with it than other governments, then this will be a worse place to live than other countries. If our government is not efficient at what it does, it will put our country at a competitive disadvantage, and the smartest people will want to go to another country to live. We used to be able to afford inefficient wasteful government. We will no longer be the best country, if we don't do things more efficiently. We can keep our since of entitlement, but we will not be able to keep our lack of efficiency, and our spot as the best place on the planet to live.

Reasons to agree:

1. Word mean nothing. Obama is owned by the unions. He will never expand the right of businesses or government to lay off inefficient managers. No matter what he says.

Obama is right on affirmative action based on class

 Obama has indicated support for affirmative action based on class, not just race, (q.v. redistributive change) in comments where he said that his daughters should be treated by prospective colleges and employers as people that grew up with a privileged background.

Obama shifts affirmative action rhetoric, By David Kuhn - The Politico "Obama has called for government to 'craft' a policy 'in such a way where some of our children who are advantaged aren't getting more favorable treatment than a poor white kid who has struggled more.'

Reasons to agree:

1. We don't want an aristocracy.


2. Schools should be impressed when students come a long ways without any advantages. Of course you are going to take someone's background into consideration when you are trying to get an overall understanding of their potential.

Reasons to disagree:

1. If we are going to compete with the Chinese, and overcome the problems that we face, it is not enough to put kids into schools that came from disadvantaged background, so that we feel like we are being fair. Life is not fair. We need to put kids into the top schools, that got the top scores.

Probable interest of those who disagree:

1. Republican Party Affiliation (40%)


2. They agree with the argument, outside of any interest or alterior motivation (30%)
   
   


3. Racism (5%)


4. Political laziness & issue crossover.


5. Money lost from others advancing because of affirmative action
   
   

Probable interest of those who agree:

1. They agree with the argument, outside of any interest or alterior motivation (30%)
   
   


2. Democratic party groupism (40%)


3. Liberal guilt.


4. Political laziness & issue crossover.


5. Money made from advancing because of affirmative action

Obama is wrong on racial affirmative action

Obama writes in his most recent book, The Audacity of Hope: "Affirmative action programs, when properly structured, can open up opportunities otherwise closed to qualified minorities without diminishing opportunities for white students."

Reasons to agree:

1. It not that big of a deal, and Obama may be correct, that it is fair to give advantages to groups that were held back. However what he says is not logically sound. You can't give advantages to one group, without taking those advantages from another group. I'm not saying that I think affirmative action is wrong, I'm just saying that you shouldn't lie to us about it. If you think that minorities have been held back, and that they need help, just tell us that, but don't lie to the majority and tell them that their "opportunies" will not be "diminishe[ed]".

Interest of those who agree (that Obama is wrong):

1. Promoting the Republican Party by attacking a democrat.
   
2. Racism (critisizing a minority because he is a minority)

Interest of those who disagree (that Obama is right):

1. Promoting the Democratic Party by defending a democrat.
   
2. Liberal guilt (defending a minority because he is a minority)

Obama was wrong to support giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants

Interest of those who agree (that Obama is wrong):

1. Promoting the Republican Party by attacking a democrat.
   
2. Racism (critisizing a minority because he is a minority)

Interest of those who disagree (that Obama is wrong):

1. Promoting the Democratic Party by defending a democrat.
   
2. Liberal guilt (defending a minority because he is a minority)

Obama was wrong to vote YES on funding for social services for noncitizens

Reasons to agree:

1. It is feels "nice" to let illegal aliens to receive social services, but you have to be smart, and fair also. Why don't we give social services to South Americans, Europeans, or Chinese? Because they are not US citizens. Just because someone breaks into our country illegally, and hangs out here long enough to make friends, doesn't mean that we should give them social security. It might be nice (and democrats want SOOOO much for everyone to think that they are nice) but it is stupid to give non citizens benefits of citizenship, unless you are willing to say there is no such things as borders, no such thing as laws, no such thing as rules, and the government is just going to give everything to anybody who wants anything.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Immigration.htm