just thought i'd throw in a few fact-check blurbs regarding points made above ^:
McCAIN: "We can eliminate our dependence on foreign oil by building 45 nuclear power plants right away."
THE FACTS: For nuclear power to lower oil dependency would require a massive shift to electric or hybrid-electric cars, with nuclear power providing the electricity. No new U.S. nuclear reactor has been built since the 1970s. Although 15 utilities have filed applications to build 24 new reactors, none is expected to be built before 2015 at the earliest. Turmoil in the credit markets could force cancellation of some of the projects now planned, much less spur construction of 45 new reactors, as reactor costs have soared to about $9 billion apiece.
source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27001001/McCAIN: "Vouchers, where they are requested and where they are agreed to, are a good and workable system, and it's been proven."
THE FACTS: McCain's education plan proposes more private-school vouchers for only one jurisdiction: Washington, D.C. It's unclear whether the four-year-old Washington program is actually working. So far, the Education Department has found little if any difference in the test scores of kids who got vouchers to attend private school.
source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27001001/the 'joe the plumber' thing probably worked well for all the 'joe six-packs' out there playing the debate drinking game. tequila shots aside, i couldn't find any positives about it. the guy already makes enough money to BUY a company that makes over $250.000 per year; the
average joe, this guy certainly is
not.mccain uses joe as his 'middle class' reference, which is awkward and insulting for two reasons:
1 mccain still can't address the middle class directly
2 joe is in a place most americans cannot identify with
for mccain to try to liken joe to the typical american, it's not only insulting, but it also shows how out-of-touch john is with how things really work under his high-class radar.
one of the local news stations talked to a guy from milwaukee, 'al the plumber'. based on this guy's experience - which, mind, far closer matches that of average americans - he feels obama is far more suited to the presidency, and likewise believes that obama's healthcare and tax/economical plans will help him and most citizens far more than what mccain has on the table.
i think that 'joe the plumber' needs to stop being so greedy and defensive; there are plenty of people who work very hard on a daily basis that get shit for pay, and there are plenty of CEOs that get paid whilst enjoying a round of golf on their private fairways.
there is a profound lack of balance these days; if JTP & mccain want to bitch about 'spreading the wealth,' perhaps they should be forced into a position like so many of us who simply cannot get by on just one job.
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
Dorothy Parker
US author, humorist, poet, & wit (1893 - 1967)
