MCCAIN VRS OBAMA - THE BEN FRANKLIN TEST

The lines have been drawn, the nominees chosen and the battle for the White House has finally narrowed to two. Well actually four if you count Ralph Nader for the Green Party and Bob Barr for the Libertarians but the truth is only two, McCain and Obama have a legitimate chance of winning the Presidency.

Many have already chosen the candidate that they are voting for in November, some are choosing not to vote and still more are considering which candidate best matches their individual beliefs and political philosophy. Some have drawn a line in the sand and are refusing to back the candidate of the party they have been affiliated with because they dislike that candidate and what he stands for.

This applies to both Republicans and Democrats. McCain angers many Conservatives who refuse to look past their anger and look at the broader picture of what an Obama administration with a Democrat Congress would entail. The Dems have a similar situation with many of their supporters who are angry with the DNC over the Primary process and the way they feel Hillary was treated plus they just do not like Barack Obama.

This year probably more than any other Presidential election year Independents and Moderates from both parties will be the key in deciding which candidate will win the election. So to my Independent and Moderate friends and also Conservatives who consider a vote for McCain a betrayal to their beliefs I submit to you the Ben Franklin test on making a hard decision.

Franklin was considered by his peers and by historians to be one of the wisest and most intelligent men of his time. Even today we look back in awe on the tremendous accomplishments by Franklin and his efforts for this country that, had they not happened in the creation of this Nation could have ben the demise of a United States of America or at the least a USA as we have known it through history.

Franklin therefore is considered one of our greatest Founders and a very wise man who developed a decision making process that while simple does succeed in showing the absolute logic when making a decision one way or the other. Franklin would take a piece of paper and divide it down the middle placing the positives about his dilemma on one side and the negatives on the other. Whichever side had the longest list was the direction that Franklin's decision would take.

Using the posting format makes it cumbersome to , "divide, " the choices down the middle so I am going to list the positives of John McCain as well as his negatives and will do the same for Barack Obama. As with Franklin these choices are based on what I see and believe and when the list is finished a clear picture will be available, again based on my Conservative ideals, as to which candidate will best match my belief's. The candidate with the most positives and the least negatives by this test will be the clear choice as I see it.

First John McCain - the positives: 1. A highly decorated war hero. 2. A military man who understands the military and how to use it. 3. Experienced on day one as Commander in Chief. 4. Favors tax cuts. 5. Favors tax reform. 6. Against earmarks. 7. Favors spending cuts. 8. Favors limiting the size and amount of entitlements from government. 9. Willing to prosecute the war to total victory yet understands that it must come to a satisfactory end that protects our National Security and that of the nations where we are fighting. 10. Understands the real threat of terrorism and taking the fight to them rather than waiting for them to attack us again. 11. Pro Life. 12. Will appoint Judges like Roberts and Alito to SCOTUS who will not legislate from the bench. 13. Understands Foreign Policy and when to talk and how to talk from a stand point of strength. 14. Understands that unconditional talks with Dictators is dangerous and compromising for the Nation and the President. 15. Finally understands that the people want border security BEFORE any illegal immigration plan is proposed or passed. 18. Favors free trade.

The negatives - 1. Not Conservative enough. 2. To willing to compromise at times with liberals. 3. Author of the , "Gang of Fourteen." 5. Author of McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform. 6. Author of McCain/Kennedy Immigration, (amnesty), Bill. 6. To willing to buy into Global Warming and economic and government regulation to, "combat, " an unproven science. 7. Favors to much government regulation on business.

Barack Obama - the positives - 1. First black candidate for a major party thus proving the advancements in solving race problems. 2. A very eloquent speaker. 3. Youthful and attracts the youth. 4. Not ashamed of his liberal stances thus making it obvious that he IS a liberal rather than trying to hide his liberalism behind a false middle of the road stance. 5. Knows how to tell people what they WANT to hear.

The negatives - 1. Liberal to the point of Socialism. 2. Tends to be somewhat racist based on comments and excepts from his book. 3. Anti military . 4. To willing to abandon the war by calling for immediate pull out without considering the dangerous consequences of that pull out. 5. Does not accept the real threat of terrorism. 6. Extremely naive about foreign policy especially in his willingness to unconditionally talk with dictators and despots. 7. Favors The UN over US sovereignty. 8. Favors seeking permission from European countries BEFORE acting in our own best interest. 9. No experienced to be Commander in Chief. 10. Favors across the board tax increases. 11. See government as the answer to everything and favors an ever increasing dependency on government by the people. 12. Pro - abortion. 13. Believes in activist Judges who legislate from the bench. 14. Has proposed hundreds of millions of dollars of increased government entitlements. 15. Favors limiting research and development of new and and improved weapons and weapons technology. 16. Very questionable associations with people who preach anti Americanism, support and have performed terrorist acts against this country and have had shady dealings for which they have been indicted.

Each of the above positives and negatives for both candidates are facts that can be looked up on the record by doing any type of search available for that particular subject. Again this is also based, as with Franklin's decision test, upon my Conservative beliefs and as such will disagree with most liberals but may help Conservatives to better choose when voting in November as well as many Moderates and Independents.

Following the Ben Franklin Test, the clear choice for President by the positives and the negatives is John McCain in 2008.

Ken Taylor