1. Is our choice between a candidate motivated by ideology and one motivated by political pragmatism?When George W. Bush was elected, the nation got a president motivated by a mixture of aggressive ideologies. He was/is a Christian fundamentalist, a "free market" deregulator, a neo-con warmonger, and a government minimalist. These orientations often superseded pragmatic politics and led Bush to resist compromise.
You could put a million people on the mall in Washington, D.C. to shout their disagreement with his policies and Bush would just dismiss them as a "focus group." Were his Democratic political opponents similar? Or were they more pragmatic politicians open to influence and pressure from various constituencies, including progressives? How do Romney and Obama compare in this regard?
2. What is the probability of a candidate taking the country into another war?
Presidents such as Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush were quite willing to lie through their teeth in order to involve the country in foreign wars of dubious legitimacy. Lyndon Johnson made his misleading Tonkin Gulf speech to Congress which led to the Resolution that expanded the U.S. presence in South Vietnam.
Reagan was constantly at war, directly or indirectly, in Central America, the Caribbean and the Middle East and most Americans did not even know it until 241 U.S. marines died in Beirut and the Iran-Contra Affair broke in the press. Bush and his advisers, of course, manufactured the "intelligence" which "justified" the invasion of Iraq.
Barack Obama ended American occupation of Iraq only to shift resources to Afghanistan. He has set a deadline for withdrawal from the Afghan morass even as he escalates the use of drone warfare. While pushing damaging sanctions against Iran, he has so far resisted pressure to attack that country or openly support Israeli ambitions to do so.
Mitt Romney has pledged to follow the lead of Israel when it comes to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and there is no doubt that Israeli leaders dream of fighting Iran with American support. Also, there is the fact that Romney's foreign policy advisers are some of the same neo-cons who served W.
So, given a choice between Romney and Obama, which one is more likely to attack Iran? Remember, the question addresses probabilities. Either candidate, if elected, may or may not do so, but which one appears more likely to go to war?
3. What is the probability of either candidate taking seriously issues of social justice?
Again, there is no guarantee either way, but is one of the candidates apparently more inclined to support such issues? Here, statements on record favor Obama when it comes to women's concerns, to the poor, to the healthcare crisis, to gay rights, and the like.
Which one will protect civil liberties? Probably neither will.
The list of questions given above is far from complete. For instance, an important consideration is whether such a list should include the perceived personal consequences of giving or withholding support? Do I commit some sort of moral breach if I vote for someone I have come to disrespect? Well, it depends on how you see the very act of casting a vote. Is it an act that refers to you as an individual, or to you as a member of a community?
If it is the former, it is your self-image that is at stake. You have to take a stand and live with yourself thereafter. If it is the latter, it is your concern for the fate of the community that is primary. That orientation may lead you away from thinking in terms of moral positions. Instead, it may lead you to accept the need for compromise.
Either way you act, you run the real risk of dissatisfaction. Like Sam Brown, you might live to regret a decision that felt right at the time. Or, you might vote for the candidate you believe will do the least harm to your community, and have to live with a nagging sense of cognitive dissonance.
This analysis has not been written to tell anyone what to do. Instead, it is an effort to clarify a real-life issue that simply does not have an easy answer. As of yet, I am not sure what I will do. However, it has crossed my mind that, if I do decide to vote for President Obama, I will enter the polling station with a clothespin on my nose.
Post Script: Richard John Stapleton -- in a short piece entitled "Voting: Duty, Privilege or Right?" -- discusses growing support for a "Voters' Rights Amendment (USVRA) to the Constitution that (among other things) deprives corporations of constitutional rights and denies the equation of campaign donations and free speech." More details are available at www.usvra.us.
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