I want to respond to three things Obama said to illustrate how he either doesn’t understand what his own plans will do, or that he is misleading people. First up is Pakistan, where Obama claimed he’s never suggested invading Pakistan. Most people probably saw the coverage of Obama’s said statements, but not many probably watched the AFL-CIO Democrat forum on MSNBC, where Obama indeed suggested sending in military forces to Pakistan if then-President Musharraf wouldn’t go after bin Laden. Here’s the clip:
This is a dangerous comment to make, and it’s an example of Obama’s lack of understanding (as McCain has suggested), as it not only because Obama was “tipping his punches” but it’s also dangerous for the reason that Hillary Clinton explained in response (in the video). Obama’s suggestion would be an invasion of Pakistan’s sovereignty, and it would have risked undermining one of our crucial allies (at the time, Musharraf).
The next thing I want to address is Obama’s illusionary healthcare choice. Obama talked about affording people the option of government insurance, but assured the crowd that he wouldn’t take their private healthcare away. As I mentioned, the choice of public healthcare already exists today in programs like SCHIP, which was created to provide care to children at low income levels. What we’ve experienced is a phenomenon called “crowd-out,” where when given the option of “free” government healthcare, many people drop their private insurance. Either Obama is unaware that the effects of his hybrid healthcare program will lead to increased government control, or he is perfectly aware and offers his hybrid to appear less threatening than national healthcare. To illustrate this point, watch the TV ad Obama has been running to highlight how his plan is neither privatized nor nationalized, though it doesn’t tell you the whole story:
The third point I want to make is about taxes. McCain followed up Palin’s attack on Obama’s tax plan, where Obama claims to cut taxes for 95% of Americans, and to raise taxes only on those who make over $250K. McCain pointed out that many small businesses make more than that, and will therefore be affected. Obama echoed Biden’s claims that most small businesses make less than that. While we’d like to see statistics on that (UPDATE: Businesses categorized as “small businesses”), we can be sure that many small businesses will be affected, even if the percentage isn’t in the majority.
While many small businesses make under $250K, businesses in general are trying to make more money. Wouldn’t it be a disincentive for businesses under the Obama plan knowing they’ll only take a significant tax hit when they grow? Contrast Obama’s tax plan with McCain’s assurance that he won’t increase taxes on anyone. Obama’s tax plan is a recipe for economic disaster.
What I won’t analyze are Obama’s statements that McCain’s support of the Fannie and Freddie reform bill wasn’t originally McCain’s bill and that it didn’t pass, since we’ve shown it didn’t pass because Democrats blocked it.
