In that spirit, my tech-friendly audience might find this CNet News post interesting. They compiled a chart before Super Tuesday summarizing the major candidates' positions on seven signficant tech issues. The results for Clinton and Obama:
| Source: Declan McCullagh, "In the '08 Presidential Race, Who's the Most Tech-Friendly?" CNET News.com, 2008.02.05 | Clinton | Obama |
| Net neutrality legislation | Strong yes | Strong yes |
| Telecom spying immunity | No | No |
| DMCA fair use reform | Ducked question | Probably yes |
| Supports Real ID Act | Maybe | No |
| ISP data retention required | Ducked question | No |
| Permanent Net-tax ban | Ducked question | Yes |
| Increased H1-B visas | Strong yes | Probably yes |
Where they expressed clear positions, Obama and Clinton were identical. The difference the CNET authors note is didn't evade any of their questions.* They give Obama a slight edge as being more liberal. They also note that both Clinton and Obama voted for Real ID three years ago.
CNET News offers a broader 2008 Voters Guide. Sure, Clinton's funny "Guitar Hero" video doesn't stand a chance against the more creative and authentic DipDive "Yes We Can" mashup (inspiration, not chuckles, will motivate young hipsters to go to the polls). Watch the videos if you like, but remember: some folks say we're electing a manager, not just an orator or spiritual advisor. Read the Voters Guide, make sure there's substance to back up the images.
*The CNET authors give credit to Obama and Ron Paul for being the only candidates surveyed who didn't dodge any questions... and interestingly, Obama and Paul agreed on everything but Net neutrality. The authors also note that Huckabee and Romney declined to offer any reply.
Obama over Clinton isn't that hard a choice.
ReplyDeleteKnowing how much you like superfluous and ridiculous bills, I'm surprised you haven't taken the legislature to task over SCR 9. Talk about a waste of time and effort over Gorebull alarming. I can't believe how contagious that load of crap is.
I do like those superfluous and ridiculous bills -- they keep me writing! But I haven't spent much time looking at the House and Senate resolutions, since they are almost by definition superfluous. No effect of law, talking about issues the state has no authority on. Sure, it's nice that our man Russ voted for HCRs 1002 and 1003 to support Taiwanese trade and independence (and, as my policy debate friends would contend, trigger nuclear war with China). Moral statements are nice, but at the state level, I'm much more interested in practical legislation.
ReplyDelete