Most of my readers know that I have really wrestled with my election decision - even though living in Georgia it doesn't really matter.

In February, I was leaning towards Obama.

That changed in March when I realized how stingy of a giver he is, thus indicating he thinks it is the governments job to take care of the poor.

Also in March, I started to get the idea of voting for Colin Powell.

In August, because of the Saddleback Civil Forum, I really started to lean towards McCain. After the financial collapse of September, I really had decided to vote for McCain (more on this later).

Then in October, Colin Powell came out and backed Barack Obama. Given that Colin Powell is who I really want to be President, out of respect to him, I stepped back and reconsidered Obama.

But it was a video on September 7th and a conversation on October 28th that finally helped make my decision: and both were because of Europeans.

In early September I watch a video of the MTV Music Video Awards with host Russell Brand. In there he makes the plea, "As a representative of the global community...could I please ask of you people of America to please elect Barack Obama. Please, on behalf of the world..."

It was at that moment when I realized two things.

Problem #1: Barack Obama is essentially a European leader. Now don't get me wrong, I love Europe. I have traveled there many a times. I love Europeans. But there is a reason I do not live in Europe; and it isn't because my family and friends are here. I believe America is the greatest country in the world, even though it has its faults.

Problem #2: I could take his socialist-leaning (Barack is not a socialist) before the September crash because I figured the American people would pull his administration closer to a moderate capitalist. But since the collapse of the financial markets, it is almost like America is looking for a socialist-leaning representation.

And just as Bush's extreme removal of civil liberties in the name of security after 9/11, I fear Barack Obama will take the removal of capitalism to the extreme after the September market crash of 2008.

Cue my conversation with Andreas. Andreas is a man who listens to the Allen Hunt Show from Finland. He is also a man I have grown to have a nice internet friendship with over the years, and a man I respect.

To save you 2,500 words of reading (which is below if you want), I have over-summarized and over-simplified Andreas and I's conversation. Conclusion: I really did want to vote for Obama, but I just feel that the States will better serve the world by not becoming Europe. We will be able to continue giving more money for poverty alleviation and generating more wealth for everyone remaining with the same economic philosophy that the States has had for years.

And ultimately the world will be a better place with Europe being Europe, and the States being the States.

So my vote for the 2008 Presidential Election is..........Colin Powell. He's the one who I want to be President.

If I were in a swing state, I would probably vote for Obama. But since I am not, I wanted to at least use my vote to send the message that yes, I think Obama will be a good President, but that no, you don't have so much the freedom to do anything you want.

I also decided I am voting out my Senator and Congressmen, but that is a blog for another time. I'll just say this. Almost everyone in Congress needs to voted out. And even though I like Chambliss and Price, I am voting them out. The only current person in the Congress I would vote for is Senator Richard Lugar - him and Powell are about the only two people in Washington DC I respect.

Well that's it. It took 2.5 years to make that decision.

Andreas & I's Conversation About the Election

Andreas

I am no democrat - but I agree with the Fonz and Ron Howard on this one. I will hate the judges Obama puts on the Supreme Court but there is more to life than abortion :)

There, I am out of the closet. I support OBAMA!!

:)

/Andreas


Andrew Borgmann

I was all ready to vote for Obama in August. I really was. The abortion thing didn't really bother me because as you put it, there is more to life than abortion, as well as the fact that the President won't really make that big of a difference in the issue anyway.

The only real thing that concerns me about Obama is the extreme left economic policy. Now in August, I didn't care that much because I figure Congress and the American people would be a nice counter balance. But with the collapse of Wall Street and banking in September, it is almost like Americans are looking for that extreme left economic policy. And while I don't think extreme right, no holds bar, no-regulation free market capitalism is the way to go, going to its exact opposite won't work very well either. And once you give Government power, it is hard to take it back from them.

So now I am really torn. I am seriously considering writing in Colin Powell.


Andreas

With all due respect to the left wingers of the United States Congress, and senor Obama - the term "left economic policy" is quite laughable, actually. We have a "center-right" government here, and my gosh are they in American terms faaaaaaar left. So I wouldn't worry too much :) Whatever version of economic policy Obama puts in place with the help of an all democratic congress will be nothing like "left" anyway. And people do get rich even in Sweden (which is even more left than Finland) - two quick examples would be IKEA guy (Ingvar Kamprad) and the H&M guy (Stefan Persson) are both billionaires, and trust me their tax burden has been higher :) There is a few rich Nokia folks in Finland too, trust me on that :)

One reason to vote for Obama is the pathetic campaign that McCain has allowed the republicans to wage. Find a narrative and stick to it please. And not Joe the plumber... Have you seen the whole conversation between Obama and this figure? It's about 5 minutes long, and "spreading the weath around" is not the theme of the conversation. And "Joe" is completely sold :) And the policy Obama is laying out is faaaaar more right wing than any place else on planet earth besides the US. What's the tax rate for 250,000 USD income anyway? 32%? And with your charitable deductions you can get rid of most taxes anyway :)

I usually dislike the democrats because of their pathetic white guilt - America is lame - Europe is heaven crap that they communicate with their beings, but reading Obamas books and listening to his speeches - this guy is different! Palin has it wrong - Obama does not thing America is so bad so that he wants to blow it up, or whatever the implication of this pathetic Heirs line of thought is. Obama is a new kind of politician, a thoughtful, and smart one, and boy would it be a good signal to the world if you guys put him in office.

As for your vote it will not matter one way or the other as Georgia will go for McCain :) which will render your vote meaningless, except for a footnote in the history books that record the popular vote.

Sorry for the ranting here - I had such high hopes for McCain, but he is not doing it for me...

/Andreas
ps. the President does have influence over the Supreme court, and there the roe vs wade balance is getting closer. One vote to go with the 2 pro-life judges that Bush got in there. Bush also prevented federal funding for human embryo destruction, while also helping to maintain ban on federal funding for abortions domestic or international. And he’s appointed pro-life judges, including 2 to the Supreme Court. Additionally, he appointed people to government agencies who were pro-life. That's the only case for McCain I think :) but with an all democratic congress he would have to be very slick to get any good judges in there :)


Andrew Borgmann

Andrea -

I loved your insight. And before I continue I want to make two disclaimers: #1 I love Europe and you know that and #2 I am not saying that material wealth is per se a better thing.

But now that is said, I think your message above is a primary difference between the States and Europe.

You are right there are great companies that come out of Scandanavia (I LOVE Ikea) - but the question is should or could there be more if it weren't for your tax code? Would there be greater wealth for everyone in your country if it wasn't for the tax code? That's an answer that I am not sure I know.

When I was in studying abroad in the Middle East I did a report on how pathetic the American government's aid to foreign developing countries was in comparison to their GDP. So, of course, I write this bombastic essay on how America needs to be more generous, etc..etc...

But what I failed to take into account is that all I was doing was pulling data from what the government gives out of their budget. I didn't take into consideration what private families and businesses give. When that was taken into consideration, America gave more money in percentage of their GDP than other nations.

I think that speaks to the fundamental difference between America and Europe. Europe pays higher taxes because they expect their government to handle things that in America we expect private citizens to take care of.

Which is better, I am not sure either is. But I like the balance in the world. And this is where i get into disagreements with Americans. I am fine with American Capitalism, European Capitalism, European Socialism, Communist Socialism - because I think the balance is important. As long as human rights aren't being violated, I don't care what the economic model.

Now back to the election. I like keeping America what makes America unique. And you are right that Obama's left is still more moderate than Europe, it still makes me a little concerned we are blending the two.

I'll tell you this, I have decided to vote for Colin Powell - because he is who I really want to be President, and as you said, my vote in Georgia doesn't matter.

WOW that was long!

--
Andy

P.S. About those judges. Sure, even if the President changes the court balance of power and they reverse Roe v. Wade - all it does then is return it to the individual states and I guarantee that states like NY or Cali or Illinois will always allow abortion. Thus, if I needed on and GA didn't allow for it, all I would do is drive to another state. Thus no real problem is solved.


Andreas

Andy!!

Great message! You have it figured out. That is exactly how it is. We here think that government will and should take care of everything, and we have no moral obligation to be generous or help the poor. We pay taxes after all :) As we "active Christians" (I don't know how to put it - most people consider themselves Christian over here, but it has absolutely no meaning to them - so "active Christian" may be a fairly pc way to call folks who actually believe in God :)) are talking about tithing and how generosity is a good virtue, some folks think we are crazy. We pay taxes after all, and that takes care of that.

As I went to high school in 89-90 in Thornton (of technically Brighton:)) Colorado I was amazed at how dynamic the economy was. In a market roughly the size of metro Helsinki, the Denver area had soooo much more businesses, malls, restaurants etc. and stores were opening and closing and things were moving. (Since then things have changed greatly and Scandinavia has become much more consumerism oriented and business driven, so now the difference is not as great, even though it is still there). The American economy is very dynamic, and the driving force of the world. One reason I am sure is the lower tax-burden.

But honestly - how much is a good health insurance policy in the US? What is the cost of a decent college? Here we pay income tax on average maybe 30% (goes up to almost 50 when you make 6 figures) and we get free healthcare for life, almost free dental care, kindergarden care for very little extra money for the kids, the best schools (up to high school anyway) in the world
(http://www.pisa.oecd.org/document/2/0,3343,en_32252351_32236191_39718850_1_1_1_1,00.html)
free university education, child-allowance, un-employment benefits, pensions etc. etc.
So our deal is pretty good :) Our system is by US standards "socialist" (why I don't know, since we have a free market and the government does not seize control over banks here:)) but I think we get pretty good bang for our buck. I don't mind paying the taxes I do. I don't have this hatred for taxes in me, that is so evident in the US political rhetoric especially around presidential elections :) I don't know why :) I guess I trust the government. I see what they do (well, in my job and position I see more than I'd like to actually:) but overall I trust them.

Having said that, I still love the US, and would love to spend more time over there (so give me a decent job and I'll come over for a few years :)). For people like you and me that are educated, smart and understand things, there is no better place to thrive and be successful than the US. Your system values success and intelligence, ours makes sure no-one is left on the street to rot. And we probably do pay with holding back more IKEAS and Nokias. So I still think you should vote for Obama, his version of socialism is nowhere near ours. He's not for a Canadian type health care system (would that really be so bad??), he's not for socializing Texaco, he may be for a tad more government programs helping the poor (and they don't seem to work very well in the US:)), and his proposed tax plan lowers taxes for more people than McCains does.

Some things I don't get. How Obamas proposed agenda is socialist is one of those :)

This was long too :) Sorry :)

/Andreas
ps. on abortion - our law says that "Abortion is by law forbidden - exept in the following circumstances" and then it lists just about everything, but the notion that abortion is not ok I like. Row vs. Wade says that the US constitution somehow would say that abortions are ok is just absurd. That's one of the reasons it has to go :) Our abortion rates are far lower than in the US, and I think one of the reasons it the perception. We will never get rid of them completely, but we have to make them as rare as possible!! Well, all this is probably just my own bs - sorry 'bout that :)


Andrew Borgmann

Andreas -

Can I just say that I loved this back and forth. It was probably the most pleasant discussion I have had about the election since the election began (which by my recollection was about three years ago).

I am going to be blogging about both abortion and then followed up on who I am voting for in the next couple of days and I almost wish I could just post our conversation. But alas, it is too long so I'll figure out a way to summarize it.

Even though we've never met, I am glad you are in my life.

Take care

--
Andy


Andreas

we need to get together :) I am a US political junkie as you may have figured out - as well as a Finnish poltical operative:)
Feel free to use whatever you want of my rantings:)

All the best,
Andread