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I voted for McCain.

Three main reasons.

1. Taxes. Obama will radically raise taxes on businesses as well as capital gains. Taxing business even higher than it is now is extremely poor fiscal policy during a serious recession. This will cause loss of jobs, less expansion by business, and flat payroll during a period of inflation. Terrible idea. Eliminating the beneficial tax cuts for capital gains right now would have a chilling effect on investment as well (obviously).

This is just dreadful and will not end well.

2. Checks and Balances. Or the lack thereof. McCain would have been a regulating force for the government. Instead, we're going to have at least two years of a filibuster-proof Senate, a House majority, and a far-left administration, all working at breakneck speed to drive this country into the waiting arms of socialism. Checks and balances can basically be forgotten for the time being. Gridlock has a bum rap.

3. Pelosi. Forget Obama. We're facing four years of Nancy Pelosi. Obama, the junior Senator, is going to be the mouthpiece for the Pelosi agenda. That should scare even Democrats. Pelosi and her kind are just SALIVATING right now at the thought of all the power they'll be able to wield to transform this country. And not in a good way.

It was not a slam dunk.

A. Age/Palin. McCain is old. He is more likely to experience short-term health problems as well as a catastrophe such as a stroke or heart attack. This wouldn't be so much of an issue had he chosen Lieberman as his running mate. Instead, he chose a token female for a short-term "bump" in the polls. Very poor decision.

B. Diplomacy. What's good for Europe and Southeast Asia is bad for America. Obama will be much better for Europe and Asia than McCain would have been, from a fiscal point of view. And yet, even with McCain's diplomatic experience, I feel Obama will do more to repair America's image overseas. To the extent that having a favorable image helps the US, I think this is a plus for Obama, but it can easily backfire. Have to give the short-term edge to Obama though. He's just a

C. Goofy mortgage-buying scheme. McCain wanted to buy "troubled mortgages." Directly from homeowners. This was a plan so fraught with potential for rampant abuse that it's hardly worth entertaining seriously.

So we have Obama. We have a deepening recession and a plan to make it even worse, basically. We have a Congress and a White House that will work in absolute tandem, with no checks and balances whatsoever.

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Aaaaaaand, it's official, the markets are not happy with on Obama presidency so far. 900 points down in two days, in a very linear fashion. I think we're all kind of in a state of shock. We elected a guy who is all style and zero substance. An empty suit. A blank slate. No ideas whatsoever about how to save the economy. Just more stimulus and... HEAVILY TAXING BUSINESSES. Tariffs. Raising capital gains taxes. Yes, yes, this is exactly what an ailing economy needs. My company is cutting 9% of its work force (4000 people). Maybe more in 2009. Raise taxes and you will significantly increase the number of people laid off. It's pretty much a cause-and-effect guarantee.

We're in for a major recession. The effects will be wide and far-reaching. I think we can only HOPE that Obama has the sense to surround himself with fiscal conservatives and people who truly understand a recessionary economy, instead of caving to the Pelosi simpletons who will drive us to depression.

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Update November 25th. Obama has surprised me over the past few days, and in a good way. His cabinet and other choices have shown a fiscal conservatism and a wisdom that I was hoping he'd show but wasn't optimistic about. The market likes it, as we're up almost 1000 points in three days. There has been talk that he will NOT let the tax cuts expire and that he will NOT raise taxes any time soon (which would be a steel-toed boot right to the windpipe of a battered economy right now). This is wise. Confidence is starting to return. The Citi recapitalization loan was done the right way. We're going to see a major recession into 2009, but there's hope it may turn around by late 2009, that unemployment might not rise as high as once thought, and that the threat of deflation is abating (which says nothing about the long-term threat of inflation, of course). Anyway, I'm very pleasantly surprised and happy to see Obama's pre-game show so far!