Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama's Thesis

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S. To become legal, U.S. citizens (Alba, online at (http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_10241460).That pathway was created in 2001, under Section 245 of the Life Act Amnesty of 2000 (Porter, 16). If it fails, Obama can pass the buck to the Bush Administration for implementing the plan. It also leaves the door open for Obama to do a new amnesty program at some point during his administration, to make good on his campaign promise of providing a legal pathway for illegal immigrants, who will surely continue to enter the U.S. By the thousands every day.

Gay Marriage

Gay marriage is not found on Obama's web site as of this date, August 25, 2008.

This is an issue that could bode ill for Obama, because the moral majority that is perhaps disgruntled with the conservatives, or to whom John McCain does not appeal, will be considering turning their vote in favor of Obama. As has been seen here, Obama and the conservative camp do not greatly differ on the issues, but gay marriage is an issue where, again, it is perceived that there is a huge difference in opinion. That difference of opinion was established, if not somewhat covertly, when, in early 2007, the highly sought after political support of entertainment billionaire David Geffen defected from the presumed Clinton camp, to the Obama camp (Mccollom, Roy, 2007, 40). Geffen not only defected in his support of the Clinton machine, but he bad-mouthed it on his way out saying that Hillary Clinton and husband, former president Bill Clinton, "lie with such ease it's troubling (Mccullom, 40)."

Geffen's support of Obama could be construed as an unspoken nod towards gay marriage by Obama. However, at this point, prior to the November elections, it would be political suicide for Obama to openly agree to gay marriage. The moral majority, whose vote Obama needs, would indeed turn its back on Obama quicker than it would on any other campaign issue, except perhaps abortion. Abortion is probably as important to the moral majority as is preserving the sanctity of marriage for heterosexual couples.

The candidates need our votes because gay people have become a powerful voice across the country, economically and politically," he adds. "And it's far too early to commit to a candidate. Think of it like a fancy ball or a party. You want to flirt and laugh and make the cute guy get your attention. That's what we need to do so they can keep pursuing the gay vote and eventually move on some issues. You don't go to the dance floor with the first guy who asks you; you look around and assess your options. That's what we should do (Mccullom, 40)."

The gay vote does not represent a majority in the population, but they are influential in business and in entertainment, as evidenced by the powerful billionaire Geffen. There are many for whom Geffen's support of Obama will be indicative of Obama's position on gays. However, Obama is an adept speaker, and politicians, and the momentum of his endorsement by the Kennedys has reawakened the baby boomer's sense of nostalgia as they reminisce the "could-have-beens," of the Kennedy years.

What, then, is the moral case for gay marriage? The case begins with a tragic fact about the structure of our society. Our culture provides a limited number of social scripts that people are expected to follow to live a good life. (27) These scripts work for some people, and, for these people, they may be a good thing. Perhaps ordinary people are simply incapable of facing the virtually infinite range of choices theoretically available for how to live, and perhaps, if faced with a virtually infinite range of choices, people would make bad ones. Indeed, it is hard to imagine even in principle how people could start from scratch, choosing from an endless menu of cultures, social structures, and modes of living (Seidman, Louis Michael, 2008, 135)."So far, McCain has not forced the issue of gay marriage with Obama, but it is likely that as November, 2008 approaches, McCain will attempt to force Obama to make public statements for, or against gay marriage and unions.

Abortion

Abortion is yet another turning topic; that is, it can make or break the outcome of the presidential election.

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Further, for Obama, if his position on gay marriage is found to be a contentious one by the moral majority, it could mean the election of John McCain to the White House. Today, August 25, 2008, there is no mention of abortion on Obama's formal web site. As Obama looks to find common ground with the moral majority, he is evasive on the issue of abortion.

The struggle to maintain the choice for young women to terminate unwanted pregnancies has been an unwavering effort on the part of abortion advocates as equally as it has been the cause for anti-abortion advocates. Obama's preference is to side-step, knowing that Roe v Wade will probably not ever be overturned, but efforts to limit and to chip away at the right to abortion by end runs around Roe v Wade. There is a community of professionals dedicated to keeping abortion true to the letter of the Roe v Wade law, and to ensure that young women never again have to risk their lives by having illegal abortions (Joffe, Carole, 1995). Every indication, though silent as he might be on the issue, is that Roe v Wade will not be in jeopardy with an Obama White House.

Barak Obama has connected with America's young people (Adler, Ben, 2008). This is in and of itself a statement as to how young people do not feel threatened that Roe v Wade is in danger under an Obama presidency.

American Healthcare

It is a subject about which Obama is very vocal, and he has a plan. Obama's plan is to extend to 47 million Americans who have no health insurance, subsidized coverage that will ensure they have access to health care (Flint, Samuel S. And Gorin, Stephen H., 2008). The problem is that Obama is addressing the problem of non-coverage, not access to healthcare. Since the onset of managed care in the 1980s, healthcare access has become a myriad of formalities and paperwork that delays access to vitally needed services and physicians (Zelman, Walter a, and Berenson, Robert a., 1998) (Altman, Stuart H., Reinhardt, Uwe, and Schactman, David, 1999) (Birembaum, Edward, 1997). It is the job of managed care to determine what services and care can be accessed based on the outcome of the diagnosis (Birenbaum, 13-14).

Obama's plan does not eliminate, or even minimize the role of managed care in American healthcare. Indeed, if his plan is to succeed without creating a healthcare budget deficit to equal that created by the war Iraq, then Obama needs managed care to prevent the Americans he will extend coverage to from accessing healthcare in a "preventative" fashion, as opposed to the managed care "outcome" philosophy (Birenbaum, 13-14).

That there has been little response from Americans on Obama's plan, which is better than no insurance if one knows how to maneuver the system; is that they do not see beyond the coverage. They do not for the most part understand that their access to their healthcare will be dependent upon managed care case managers who are incentivized to prevent them from that access, sometimes to the point of illegal and certainly immoral decision making (Altman, Reinhardt, Schactman, xxi)."Policy analysts viewing issues like increased regulation of managed care often start from opposite points-of-view. Some start from the position that markets are ill-suited to the task of providing health care services. These analysts view health care as a public good to be provided to all citizens, as a matter of right, like education or our transportation infrastructure. They are particularly suspicious of managed care because it can be seen as altering financial incentives for providers toward providing less care. They also maintain that the private, for-profit delivery system siphons profits away from the health care system, potentially raising the costs of health care for society. Also, because consumers are not able to evaluate medical judgments, quality can suffer as market competition encourages providers to compete on the basis of cost by cutting corners (Altman, Reinhardt, Schactman, xxi)."

This is an issue that could come back to haunt Obama. It will not take long for the vast majority of Americans who are now uninsured to become dissatisfied with the inaccessibility of their healthcare. The inability to access care and services.....

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