My friend Cordellia thinks she might be in favor of Obama in 2008 depending on how things go.

I agree with her that it's hard to be certain without knowing who the choices are.  But having looked at his positions and statements, I'm pretty sure I couldn't vote for him even though I agree with him on a lot of his votes.

Let's see how we match up:

Abortion: Support

Affirmative Action: Strongly oppose

Rights for gays: Support

Teaching family values in public schools: No opinion

More federal funding of healthcare: STRONGLY oppose

Privatize social security: Support

School vouchers: Support

Death Penalty: Strongly support

Mandatory 3-strike laws: Oppose

Decrease taxation on wealthy: Support

Illegal Immigration: Oppose

Expand free trade: Neutral

Patriot Act harms civil liberties: Disagree, patriot act = good. No evidence
of loss of civil liberties.

Military spending: Support

Limits on campaign funds: Strongly oppose

Supports UN: Oppose

Replace coal and oil: Strongly support

Drug enforcement: Neutral

Allow churches to provide welfare: Support

I am not sure I could vote for an Obama based on his political views. But it's not clear yet.  For instance, I agree with him on a lot of his votes -- I don't agree with the interpretation the test takes of his votes.

I don't know if my views on immigration (where he's a total nut in my opinion) would disqualify him.

He also is clueless on economics. "Tax cuts for the rich do not create jobs" is a ridiculous statement. So who does he think creates jobs? The government?

He's also anti-2nd amendment.

He also thinks imprisonment should be about rehabilitation. I think imprisonment should be about taking bad people off the streets.

Overall, he's a guy who wants the government to have a lot more power and for individuals to have a lot less. There's no evidence that he knows how the real world works economically and seems driven by feeling more than his head.  He seems to like to appear compassionate by taking away other people's freedoms IMO.

So I guess no, I probably wouldn't vote for him.  I do agree he says nice things.

He said:

Blue states may pray to the same God but they it's the red states that are the ones who seem to actually deliver the goods.  23 of the top 24 states in terms of charitable giving per GDP were red states Coincidence?

There are very distinct cultural values in our country that can't be easily rectified. The left really needs to reconcile the statistical reality that as a general truth that they have substituted political belief for tangible action.  That is, to believe in a better world is actually more important than actually doing something to make the world a better place.

Obama's handful of actions so far seem to indicate that he is of that group -- he wants nice things to happen but he doesn't seem to understand how to make those nice outcomes occur.  Taxcuts for the rich don't create jobs he says. Okay. Who creates jobs then?  He is big into gun control even though there's a wealth of evidence that legal gun ownership makes society safer in the broader sense (those gangs in the innercity aren't buying their guns legally).