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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (124971)	5/26/2008 10:46:38 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 173976

Obama Promises Germany-Plus By GABOR STEINGART Page A9 When I begin to feel homesick for Germany, I have discovered a cheap and easy way out. I simply turn on the TV and listen to a Barack Obama stump speech. The promised land of universal health care, secure pensions, a lot of green-collar jobs and stable bridges brings me back to my home country. My grandma, who has worked in a post office all her life, enjoys her pension without having ever observed the stock market. Everyone who travels through the countryside can see thousands of windmills, but never a collapsed bridge. And the best: My mom, my friends and everyone around them have access to first-class medical services. Sometimes it appears to me that Mr. Obama wants to trump all that. He has promised not only a $160 billion program for new green-collar jobs, a higher minimum wage, affordable health care for everybody, a massive investment in infrastructure and tax-free status for pensioners who make less than $50,000. All these nice things come with no tax increase for 95% of Americans. Wow! That's Germany-plus! I've been in the U.S. for a while, but if I remember my home country correctly, all the German comforts come with a price. My grandma has paid 10% of her salary to the public pension system, and her employer has matched the contribution. For our health insurance everyone has to sacrifice 7% of his or her earnings, which again is matched by the company. Fashionable windmills go along with extra taxes for fuel. A gallon of regular gas in Munich or Berlin costs – fasten your seat belt – more than $8. Not all of my fellow Germans are happy with this, but the overwhelming majority of my fellow countrymen made their decision a long time ago. They prefer big government. They have learned to live with growth rates far behind and an unemployment rate far above the U.S. Maybe I am being unfair to Mr. Obama. But it seems to me that the agent of change was window-shopping in Germany without looking at the price tag. You should ask him for the bill. Mr. Steingart is the senior correspondent in Washington, D.C., for Der Spiegel news magazine and author of the "The War for Wealth – The True Story of Globalization" (McGraw Hill, 2008).

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (124971)	5/27/2008 10:07:20 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 173976

Kaine Wants Clinton to Drop Out in June Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said today he thinks Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY.) should consider abandoning her campaign for the presidency so Sen. Barack Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, can begin focusing on the general election. "I think we need to move to a position now where the campaign is between Senator Obama and Senator McCain and not have a side campaign between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton," said Kaine, one of Obama's national co-chairmen. Kaine, who was speaking on his monthly call-in show on WTOP radio, added it would be "a bad thing" for the Democratic Party if Clinton takes her campaign to the convention in August. "To win, (Obama) needs to focus on Senator McCain and I want the campaign to move purely to that level," said Kaine, adding he expects that Clinton will drop out of the race shortly after the June 3 primaries in South Dakota and Montana. Kaine largely avoided a question from host Mark Plotkin about whether Obama should name Clinton as his running mate. But Kaine said he thinks Obama could win Virginia this fall whether Clinton was on the ticket or not. During the same interview, Kaine defended his decision to endorse a candidate in the competitive Democratic primary in the 11th congressional district. Kaine endorsed Fairfax County Board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly, a decision that upset some supporters of candidate Leslie L. Byrne. "I have a soft spot for local elected officials because I think they are implementers and I think Gerry is an implementer and I think Congress needs more implementers," said Kaine, a former mayor of Richmond. By TimCraig \| May 27, 2008; 12:25 PM ET \| Category: Election 2008/President , Tim Craig Previous: U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo Endorses Bob Marshall \| Next: Big Donors Boost Kaine's Fundraising