The campaign for president–to be decided in the election in November 2012–is going to be decided, most people believe, by the state of the economy and its impact on each of us as we enter the voting booth. I believe while the economy will hold a high priority with the voters, they will consider domestic policies and foreign affairs as well.
Most Americans understand the difference in views on the domestic agenda between the two candidates–Obama and Romney–and the parties they represent. President Obama and the Democratic Party believe we must never privatize Social Security and Medicare, but instead take measures to keep them solvent, but to always keep them as entitlements.
The Republican Party and Mitt Romney and his predecessor George W. Bush have made it clear they are desirous of ending the entitlement contract between the government and the individual American and substitute the concept of privatization with individual stock accounts, making Social Security dependent in part on the stock market and ending Medicare as we know it, providing instead a voucher system, allowing those eligible to receive a government voucher with the beneficiary being personally responsible for the cost of an insurance policy as the voucher buys less with each passing year.
The Democrats believe Medicaid – health care for the poor – should remain an entitlement, no matter the number of poor qualifying, while Republicans believe Medicaid should instead become a block grant to the states, eliminating the federal responsibility to care for the poor, giving the 50 states the power to decide the benefits to be provided and the funding.
In the field of foreign affairs, one major issue is that of Iran and what to do to prevent Iran from achieving possession of nuclear bomb capability. The President’s position was recently stated by the American Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, who according to The New York Times of May 18, 2012, which reported, “The American ambassador to Israel said this week that not only was America willing to use military force to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but that preparations had already been made for a possible attack. ‘It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically and through the use of pressure than to use military force,’ the ambassador, Dan Shapiro, said Tuesday at a meeting of the Israeli bar association. ‘But that doesn’t mean that option is not fully available. And not just available, but it’s ready. The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it’s ready.’” I believe that here both parties and candidates are basically in accord
Another major foreign policy issue is our commitment to defend Israel. Most people know of my expressed concern on this issue, putting the President and me at odds at one time. I am convinced as the result of the President’s actions, his statement in support of Israel given at the United Nations which supporters of Israel unanimously concluded was magnificent, his preventing the entry of the Palestinian Authority as a state at the UN, and his personal actions at the Security Council that accomplished that feat and, finally, the statement of the Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, who said that he could “hardly remember a better period of support, American support and cooperation and similar strategic understanding of events around us than what we have right now.” He had earlier said, “I don’t think that anyone can raise any question mark about the devotion of this president to the security of Israel.”
Most important, convincing me of the President’s firm commitment to the security of the state of Israel was our personal extended conversation on that issue on September 21, 2011.
Finally, there is the issue of fairness in taxes, collected from the wealthy (millionaires and billionaires) and the middle class. The republicans and Romney do not believe in collecting more taxes from the wealthy; President Obama and most Americans do.
I will, whenever the president asks me, go on his behalf to Florida and anywhere else where I can be helpful to campaign for him. This will not be an easy campaign for either side. I believe the Democratic positions considering domestic and foreign affairs are far more preferable to that of the Republicans, and I intend to do my part to assist in the reelection of President Barack Obama.
Further comment:
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deserve enormous thanks and applause for having gotten the leaders of the people’s Republic of China to release Chen Guangcheng and his family, allowing them to travel to the US — where he now is – and attend New York University School of Law as a visiting professor and take whatever classes he deems necessary for himself. It is a tremendous accomplishment
@ C.R.:
Have you checked your closets and looked under our bed lately? Those Marxists are everywhere!!
Susanna M. McNeil says:
May 27, 2012 at 10:04 pm
What a dupe! Anyone who believes Obama on this topic is a complete fool.
Koch is probably senile now so he has an excuse for being fool and a dupe, problem is he was always a stupid fool before senility set in.
@ Dr. Sanford Aranoff:
Thank you for the reference-exactly the idea I had in mind
What a dupe! Anyone who believes Obama on this topic is a complete fool.
Another American Jew with a German name. Ashkenazi – ash can nazi
@ David Chase:
Why not quote the Gemorrah and the Rambam: The highest form of charity is helping someone help themselves.
And also make sure the congress has no choice but to give enough funds to these programs, and I would stand up for Israel, Israel is more important.
I am totaly against privatising social security and medicare, I would go along with turning over medicaid to the states and let the states run medicaid as long as it is mandated by federal law the states have to let people get on medicaid that qualify for medicaid, meaning bar the states from denying medicaid to people that realy need it, fooodstamps I am totally against elimaniting the foodstamp program, make changes to foodstamp program and deal with the people that are frauding the foodstamp program, but the people that arent frauding leave them alone, there are people that really need help from the programs, make changes but leave the programs there to help people that really need help.
Could Koch now be trying to rationalize and justify his support of the Messiah the first time around?
@ terence:
But he doesn’t and, therefore, not.
@ Ted Belman:
It is interesting that if TB agreed with Obama’s mid east policy, Obama would automatically be the greatest president that ever lived.
@ Laura:
“All I have to say is, what a schmuck”
With all due respect, there are some who might say, the same word applies to yourself. May I assure you, with humbleness, I do declare, I am not one to agree with that description of yourself.
@ C.R.:
I was trying to add to my previous comment by pointing out the success of Welfare to Work passed in 1996 by the Republicans and signed by Clinton during an election year It saved billions and contributed to balancing the budget by 2000. This was part of the Republican platform. If it wasn’t an election year, I’m not sure it would have been signed. Clinton was obviously politically savvy. I don’t know the actual figures but many, many dependent Welfare recipients gained the skills to become employable and earn a paycheck and learned how to fish for themselves
@ C.R.:
You’re right. Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he eats for a lifetime.
@ David Chase:
Ed Koch claims to be compassionate–but compassion is not making people dependent upon government–its just the opposite–its hatred. Most of those who are dependent upon government are very capable of doing for themselves.
The democrat party are so compassionate they have murdered forty to fifty million unborn children.
@ Ted Belman:
TRUE!
The above statement is fallacious–G.W. Bush governed like a Marxist democrat–which he was and is–G.W. Bush is a RINO and CINO!
Of course the profoundly mentally ill and corrupt Ed Koch would endorse Barack H. Obama–he has totally given himself over to the Marxism of the democrat party–he is a traitor to the USA and to Israel–
It’s not a conspiracy – it’s a Koch-up.
@ AnObserver:
Actually, I might be part of his family tree–don’t know for sure–and this endorsement disgusts me.
Just as Obama is threatening to shove a settlement with Iran down Israel’s throat.
The family connection, incidentally, has some basis. When I emailed Ed Koch some years ago, he did ‘t answer.
Not a mention of the debt, the deficit, the wasted trillion dollar stimulus, the crony capitalism, the embrace of the MB and CAIR, the promotion of the MB in the ME, the treatment of Netanyahu, the demands on Israel to go back to the 49 lines,the unemployment. The list is endless.
Who has what on who?
Koch is an idiot, clear and simple. I gave him credit two years ago when he started criticizing Obama vis-a-vis Israel but apparently he’s been snowed like the rest. He would use economic fear tactics to scare people into supporting Obama. I’d like to ask him if he had to choose between saving Social Security or saving Israel which would he choose? Actually, apparently we know the answer-he’s more worried about Social Security than the threats to Israel. He ought to be ashamed of himself
Laura Said:
I agree. I would go so far as to call him a mamzer except that I’m not familiar with his family tree.
All I have to say is, what a schmuck.