Reply #21: If you want real criticism of Obama's policies, I've got it. [View All]

[ThatPoetGuy]

Please don't respond with, "Hillary this" or "Hillary that." I was an Edwards supporter, and I'm still deciding where to go now.

Edwards' plan for Iraq was to leave only enough troops to guard the embassy. That's a good plan.

Obama's plan for Iraq is to leave enough troops to guard the embassy
AND extra troops to "strike back at al Qaeda" (his words, not mine)
AND more troops to protect the military who are striking back at al Qaeda
AND troops to protect American civilians -- I don't know who these American civilians in Iraq are --
AND troops to "train" Iraqi security forces.

Obama's Iraq policy is a bad policy. It amounts to more of what we have now.

On health care, Obama's plan isn't actually universal. It will leave approximately 15 million poor people without coverage. Right now, these poor people are largely covered by state-to-state indigent care programs. Obama's plan will invalidate those indigent care programs (as would Hillary's plan and Edwards' plan). But Hillary's plan and Edwards' plan included assistance for these poor people who suddenly lost their indigent care programs. Obama's does not.

Poor people are better off now than they would be under Obama's plan.

The Obama camp's response to this has been to attack universal health care as "mandates," trying to liken it to mandating auto insurance. This comparison is pure sleaze and dishonesty. "There are mandates to have auto insurance, and people drive without it," say Obama supporters. There are also mandates to pay unemployment insurance and social security coverage -- Obama's people were simply lying about the Edwards plan when they compared it to auto insurance mandates.