Posted by
jbeds777 on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 11:52:02 AM
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Since Barack Obama incessantly makes the
case that a John McCain administration would equate to another Bush
term, it's worth looking at just how much Sen. Obama himself is in
agreement with the unpopular president.
Does that mean that he, too, would be a repeat of President Bush? If one were to apply his logic, maybe so.
Here are 20 reasons why:
1. Abstinence:
Bush expanded community-based abstinence education during his term,
including a $28 million budget increase for 2009 in an effort to "Teach
both abstinence and contraception to teens." Obama concurred in April
when he said: "We want to make sure that, even as we are teaching
responsible sexuality and we are teaching abstinence to children, that
we are also making sure that they've got enough understanding about
contraception."
2. Affirmative action: Bush said of the
2003 University of Michigan affirmative action case: "I strongly
support diversity of all kinds, including racial diversity in higher
education. But the method used by the University of Michigan to achieve
this important goal is fundamentally flawed" -- because it depended
solely on race. Bush has said other factors, such as socioeconomic
status, should be considered, which would include poor white students.
Obama now agrees with that view. "Inside Higher Ed" referred in May to
"Obama's suggestion that he may be ready to change the focus of
affirmative action policies in higher education -- away from race to
economic class. ... In his debate in Philadelphia with Hillary Clinton,
he said in response to a question, that his own privileged daughters do
not deserve affirmative action preferences, and that working-class students of all colors do."
3. Budgets: Obama voted for Bush's budgets, which included 19 spending bills.
4. Capital punishment:
Like Bush, Obama supports capital punishment. He spoke out in
opposition to the recent Supreme Court decision that denied the death
penalty for child rapists. And in his 2006 memoir, Obama said, "I
believe there are some crimes -- mass murder, the rape and murder of a
child -- so heinous that the community is justified in expressing the
full measure of its outrage by meting out the ultimate punishment."
5. Education: Obama
supports charter schools, as does Bush, and merit pay for teachers, and
he voted in favor of supporting the president's 21st Century Community
Learning Centers.
6. Economics: Obama told reporters that
he agreed with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Bush's bailout
package, then voted for the $700 billion plan. And despite routinely
criticizing "the Bush tax cuts," Obama is now offering tax cuts of his
own (although only for the 95 percent of taxpayers earning less than
$250,000 a year). What a concept!
7. Energy: In signing
the $12.3 billion Energy Policy Act of 2005, Bush said it "promotes
dependable, affordable, and environmentally sound production and
distribution of energy for America's future." Obama voted for the
energy plan and called it a "first step toward decreasing America's
dependence on foreign oil."
8. Faith-based initiatives/fatherhood: Bush
is well known for his commitment to the faith-based community -- with
initiatives for the poor and on fatherhood -- and he expanded the
ability to allow faith-based providers a seat at the funding table.
Obama, who has railed against Bush's efforts, has still found a way to
embrace them, saying he would "expand" faith-based initiatives. He used
his Father's Day speech to echo the president's Fatherhood Initiative.
9. FISA: Of the Senate bill passage that rewrote intelligence
laws to grant immunity to telecommunications companies that
participated in the Bush administration's wiretapping program, Bush
said: "This vital intelligence bill will allow our national security
professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of
terrorists outside the United States, while respecting the liberties of
the American people."
Obama, who supported it, after opposing
FISA last year, said: "Given the grave threats that we face, our
national security agencies must have the capability to gather
intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while
respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the
American people." Almost identical, huh? Are we sure they don't share
the same speechwriter? But Obama did take heat for his change of heart,
as The Washington Post reported that: "The Illinois senator's reversal
on the issue has angered liberal groups." Guess you can't please
everyone.
10. Gay marriage: Both Obama and Bush agree
that marriage is and should remain between one man and one woman. As
far back as 2004, Obama said: "Gays ... should not marry." And in a
2007 Senate debate, he said: "I agree with most Americans, with
Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Cheney, with over 2,000
religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about
marriage, as they always have, should be left to the states. ...
Personally, I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman."
11. Global AIDS:
Obama has said the U.S. must "lead the global fight against the AIDS
virus." And earlier this year, he encouraged lawmakers to "Use whatever
works with AIDS, including teaching abstinence." Obama has given Bush
kudos for his efforts to combat global AIDS and the record amount of
funding ($15 billion over 5 years) the president has earmarked for the
fight. Obama said in September, "I think President Bush -- and many of
you here today -- have shown real leadership in the fight against
HIV/AIDS."
12. Health care: While they don't share
similar views on universal health care coverage, Bush and Obama agree
that the problem with health care is "about affordability" and there is
a need to address minority health concerns with more coverage and
targeting. That is why Bush expanded community health care centers,
covering the uninsured and targeting urban areas, to the tune of $1.5
billion for 1,200 centers "coast to coast."
13. Middle-class tax cuts:
While he hasn't voted for such cuts, Obama is pushing his biggest
economic initiative yet: tax cuts for the middle class. "We've got to
help the middle class," Obama said Tuesday. Perhaps unbeknownst to him,
Bush has already been there, done that. In signing the 2001 Tax Cut
Bill, Bush said: "Tax relief is an achievement for families struggling
to enter the middle class. For hard-working lower-income families, we
have cut the bottom rate of federal income tax from 15 percent to 10
percent. We doubled the per-child tax credit to $1,000, and made it
refundable. ... Tax relief is an achievement for middle-class families
squeezed by high energy prices and credit card debt."
14. Minority homeownership:
Obama adopted the Congressional Black Caucus principles "to increase
minority homeownership" as it is "one of the best wealth-creation
vehicles for minority families." These principles were developed as
part of Bush's vision to expand minority homeownership to 5.5 million
new homeowners by 2010. "Across our nation, every citizen, regardless
of race, creed, color or place of birth, should have the opportunity to
become a homeowner," Bush said.
Similar comparisons can be drawn for their positions on small businesses and on businesses owned by women and minorities.
15. National security: Obama voted yes on preauthorizing the much ballyhooed Patriot Act, sought by the Bush administration.
16. Offshore drilling:
Bush has consistently pushed for drilling offshore, while Obama, who
until recently opposed it, now says he's for it. In Nashville,
Tennessee, he told an audience: "We're going to have to explore new
ways to get more oil, and that includes offshore drilling."
17. Racial profiling: Obama's
campaign literature states that he will call for a ban on racial
profiling, even though Bush issued a directive that banned racial
profiling in 2001. In his order, Bush said to the attorney general: "I
hereby direct you to review the use by federal law enforcement
authorities of race as a factor in conducting stops, searches and other
investigative procedures. ... I further direct that you report back to
me with your findings and recommendations for the improvement of the
just and equal administration of our nation's laws."
18. Religion:
It is widely known that Obama is a person of faith. He has said: "I am
a proud Christian who believes deeply in Jesus Christ." Bush, who
shares the same faith, has been just as much, if not more vocal, about
his faith. He once told The Washington Times that he doesn't "see how
you can be president without a relationship with the Lord."
19. Supreme Court ruling on gun ban: Despite his past endorsements of some gun control
measures, Obama's reaction to the recent Supreme Court decision
upholding the constitutional right of individuals to own handguns
mirrors the administration's. Obama now says: "As a general principle,
I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear
arms."
20. Welfare reform: An Obama ad this summer said
he "passed a law to move people from welfare to work" and "slashed the
rolls by 80 percent" (though all states had to as a result of the
Clinton administration's mandate). Obama said in 2004: "Go into the
collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't
want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency." In 2003, Bush
successfully called on Congress to reauthorize and expand on welfare
reform efforts, "to make welfare even more focused on the well being of
children and supportive of families."
So, although he has been
ranked as the most liberal senator by the National Journal and
obviously hasn't voted with Bush as often as Sen. McCain has -- based
on his voting "record" -- Obama's "rhetoric" still sounds a lot like,
well, Bush. McCain might want to take that into account the next time
Obama talks about another Bush term.