Obama, Romney, and Politics

More and more, it’s looking like the upcoming presidential election will be decided by a select number of hot-button issues, rather than overall policy. But this is not the way to go about deciding who you vote for, especially since these few issues only serve to confuse the voter, or to not differentiate the candidates at all.

First let’s look at the issue of healthcare. Obviously, Obama has his “Obamacare”, and Romney is opposed to such things…right? Well, no. Romney had a similar system for Massachusetts when he was governor – so similar, in fact, that it’s virtually identical.[1]

The biggest issue, though, is LGBT rights. Obviously, Obama is for full rights, and Romney takes a more traditional approach…right? This is where it gets messy[2][3]:

Obama
1996 – supports gay marriage.
1998 – undecided on gay marriage.
2004 – supports civil unions but opposed to gay marriage.
2008 – states that marriage is between a man and a woman.
2012 – supports gay marriage.

Romney
1994 – said he would be a stronger advocate for gay rights than Edward M. Kennedy, and that we must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern; supported DADT, and supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
2002 – supports neither gay marriage nor civil unions, but opposes a Massachusetts constitutional amendment that would prohibit domestic partnerships for gays and lesbians.
2006 – no longer supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and supported the Federal Marriage Amendment.
2007 – still supports DADT.
2011 – will not re-enact DADT.
July 2011 – refuses to sign a pledge opposing gay marriage.
August 2011 – signs another pledge opposing gay marriage.

The only thing I can infer from all this is that both candidates’ real views on this issue are completely hidden from the public, and they’re both using it to play the political game and win more votes. So don’t think one candidate agrees with your views on gay marriage, whatever they may be – because who knows for sure if they do.

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[1] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/06/romneycare-and-obamacare-differ-only-in-inconsequential-ways.html
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Mitt_Romney#LGBT_rights
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_social_policy#LGBT_issues