Sizing up the Presidential Candidates: Republican John McCain vs. Democrat Barack Obama

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Ron Paul's record in Congress

Partial summary: He opposes the right of women to be free to control their own reproductive systems if they happen to live in particular states or other countries. He would deny the use of the Federal court system to people discriminated against because of their religious beliefs or sexual orientation. He opposes the Minimum Wage. He would repeal significant portions of antitrust law. He would end U.S. participation in the United Nations.

Story link: Orcinus.

Giuliani's daughter is supporting Obama in '08 (Slate)

Online magazine Slate reports that as of last week Rudy Giuliani's 17-year-old daughter was listing Barack Obama as her preferred presidential candidate on her Facebook profile.

Mitt Romney on Health Care

Mitt Romney gives his views on health care in this video.

Shuck and Jive

McCain, telling it like it is (inadvertently)

From a March 26 Associated Press story:
"One of the reasons Republicans lost the war — excuse me, lost the election," [John McCain] said in Ames, Iowa. Then, in Milford, N.H., he said, "My friends, we lost the war — we lost the election, we lost the election because of spending."

Martin Wolk, chief economic correspondent at MSNBC, wrote March 17:

"In any event, most estimates put forward by White House officials in 2002 and 2003 were relatively low compared with the nation's gross domestic product, the size of the federal budget or the cost of past wars.

White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey was the exception to the rule, offering an 'upper bound' estimate of $100 billion to $200 billion in a September 2002 interview with The Wall Street Journal. That figure raised eyebrows at the time, although Lindsey argued the cost was small, adding, "The successful prosecution of the war would be good for the economy.

U.S. direct spending on the war in Iraq already has surpassed the upper bound of Lindsey's upper bound, and most economists attribute billions more in indirect costs to the war effort. Even if the U.S. exits Iraq within another three years, total direct and indirect costs to U.S. taxpayers will likely be more than $400 billion, and one estimate puts the total economic impact at up to $2 trillion."

On the upper end, Wolk writes: "Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and self-described opponent of the war, puts the final figure at a staggering $1 trillion to $2 trillion, including $500 billion for the war and occupation and up to $300 billion in future health care costs for wounded troops. Additional costs include a negative impact from the rising cost of oil and added interest on the national debt."