Just because you know one asshole that takes advantage, does not mean there aren't millions who actually need it. Working families that have 2 wages that can't make ends meet, single people that can't pay rent because it is hard when you only have 1 income. Not everyone is lazy.
I'm cynical and I go the other way. The few who are deserving are far outweighed by the users and abusers. This country has become lazy. Everyone feels entitled and wants the government to give them more. If universal health care is instituted in this country it will be abused to the point that it is unusable. Everybody will rush to the hospital for their entitled service and people who actually need hospital care will literally be dying in the streets because of the congestion and wait. Health care is already out there! You can go out and buy health insurance on your own! My father sells insurance for a living and for $240/month, you can cover an entire family! Sure, $240 is a lot you say, and that seems to be a knee-jerk reaction from a lot of people. But seriously, I see it all the damn time. People "can't" afford it, but I'm sure that if you add up all the money up that is spent on cigarettes, alcohol, cell phones, computers, internet, cable/sat TV, pets, etc. That money can easily be found! and not only that, but (unless McLame wins) that money spent is tax deductible too! and YES I know there are people that are too poor to have those extras and thus can't afford health insurance, but that is why we need to lower the bar, not raise it! Lower it to the point where only those that are truly indigent get the help that they need. Sorry, but I fear that this line of health care thinking is exactly the type of thought that got us into the current housing problems with the "every american in a home" policies.
I am sorry sabs, but I am one of those that you mentioned that is on the fence. I HATE them both! Obama is just a little too slick for my tastes. Like was mentioned, he answers everything very vaguely. I agree we need change, but tell me HOW we are going to change it, not all change is good. He has run a very slick campaign as well, he tells everyone what they want to hear without actually saying anything. He has run a subtlely ruthless campaign too.
There are two ads that stand out in my mind. One is the constant line of how McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time. Ok, I'm not exactly fond of W, but just how much of his more unpopular policies were actually votable? I know the declaration of War one, but most were on board for that at the time. Aside from that? How often did Obama vote against Bush policies? A lot of his voting is basically "I am here". Seriously, Bush sucks ass, but that does not by itself mean that McCain will. McCain just didn't grow up the same way that W did. Since I mentioned the war, I have to briefly say that while I HATE the fact that we are in Iraq, we can not just pull out, It will have worse repercussions in the long run if the region is not stablized. You can't just rub flea shampoo on a dog then walk away without washing it off...
The other ad that baffles me is where McCain gives tax breaks to companies that ship jobs over seas. Ok, what companies? Seriously. The only thing I can think of is giving breaks to the big three auto makers, who yes, also have over seas operations.
Which ties in well with how I think of McLame. I'm sorry, but the fucker can't even run a competant campaign, how can he run the country? Seriously, a lot of the attacks made on him are very shallow and could be easily rebuked, but he doesn't do it! Look at his choice of VP! You can look in this very thread and see how I felt the day she was announced. He wants a woman VP? Fine, but there are much more qualified woman out there to pick! At any rate, choosing any VP for the simple fact of trying to win votes is fundementally a bad idea in my opinion.
So yes, I am on the fence. I am choosing between a guy who's eagerness to please the voting masses and socialistic tendancies could lead this country to sink even farther down and a guy that seems to be an odd genetic mutation of Kerry, Quale and Bush Sr. ARGH! I look back on past elections and think specifically on 1996 and wonder what this country would be like today if Dole had won. The man had great ideas and strong ethics and was smart as a whip. The knock on him was he was presented as kind of a hard ass, and came off as such until the pressure of the election was off and he could concentrate on Visa commercials. Seriously though, if he takes office in 96, the housing crisis is no where near as bad today. Osama is probably a non-issue, and certainly W does not get into office in 2000...