Political Punch

People believe that Obama will be compassionate and help them. Obama's aunt lives in a Boston slum. Also, his brother is in a hut in Kenya. Obama cannot even help his own family. I believe Obama to be very cold and calculating individual. Obama is only about the power and his agendas.

Obama does not represent the Democratic Party. He is very left wing outer fringe kook. It is very dangerous to have someone like Obama in power in the dangerous world that we live in today. His running mate Joe Biden stated that Obama will be tested in the first six months and there will be international crises. Meaning that Obama will be perceived as weak by the dictators and terrorist thugs around the world. America does not need Obama and the disaster that he will bring in foreign policy and our economy.

Many lower income people are excited about getting a tax cut. There are 40% of Americans who pay no taxes and would get a welfare check. All of this at the expense of taxing the wealthy and business. This will kill job creation and innovation in our country. Higher taxes will cause business to cut cost and thus employees. Also, the cost of goods and services will increase to help with the tax increases. This type of economic plan will cause massive unemployment and put our economy in a deeper recession.

I have never gotten a job from a poor person. Job creation only comes from the wealthy who own business.

We cannot afford to risk the poor judgment and inexperience of Obama.

Go McCain/Palin

I really have no problem with paying taxes to help get the country out of debt. I have a HUGE problem with the taxes I pay being used to give tax "refunds" to people who DO NOT pay taxes. That is a slide toward socialism, plain and simple. I did not like it when the Dems insisted on giving tax "rebates" to non-taxpayers as part of the economic stimulus plan, and I like it even less as part of Obama's platform. Why should my money be taken from me and given to folks who did not earn it?

"Spread the Wealth" Maybe we should all quit our jobs if Obama gets elected and join the gravy train. Let the Far left liberal thinkers take a hit for the team!

I would simply like to echo what most objective readers have written! My dad is a plumber and when I heard this comment I was aghast. I figured that it would be all over the internet and the news but fox is the only one who mentions the only newsworthy comment--"spreading the wealth around" to a plumber. I was on the fence, but now have realized that Senator Obama does not understand what this country was founded on---HARD WORK! Go McCain/Palin!

How far in the tank is this author for Obama?

Didn't mention that Obama told the plumber that he he had nothing personal against him making money but that he was "concerned" for all the people economically below the plumber and only wanted to "spread the wealth around" and that is why the plumber shouldn' t complain about being taxed. AMAZING

Jake Tapper. How far in the tank for Obama are you? Your article did not even come close to telling the American public what Obama said to the plumber about his (Obama) "wealth distribution" plan. You project his adoring house keeper interview but gloss over the fact Obama stated on NATIONAL TV that he is going to take money from those who make it and give it to those who dont work. A tax credit is actually "Welfare".

Brett said "So for all of the posters concerned with trickle-down economics, what do you propose?"

A. You didnt address what many of us were asking. Why did the writer omit that quote? It was the key moment of the exchange between Obama & the plumber. It should be played on TV over & over so that the American people can understand what Obama's real beliefs on the idea of wealth redisribution are.

B. The alternative is too simple and is such a common sense approach it will never be implemted. A straight forward flat tax rate and the abolishment of the tax code. This however means there is no need for accountants or tax laywers or the IRS in its current form. It is the ONLY "fair" tax system. EVERYONE paying their "fair" share, no matter how much they make. Problem is politicians will create fear in the public by telling them it will actually make them pay more. The home ownership issue and the mortgage interest tax break always come up in that discussion. Politicians know the the saying from MIB is true.

"A person is smart, people are dumb"

If you can create fear in the people by telling them they will lose something they have, it will drown out the common sense of a straight forward flat tax.

We dont need Chucky Wrangel writing thousands more pages of tax codes that he wont follow, but that he expects the rest of us to be a slave to.

Dear Liberati, how little you know of the "real" John McCain. A man who left his disabled wife and family for the beautiful Cindy aka his mistress after she waited over 5 years for him. A man who ignored the warnings that an enemy mig was coming for his plane and continued his bombing run, not for us, but to try and be a hero. Tell me, wouldn't have been more prudent to dodge the mig and come back and blow up that vietnamese plant? A man who graduated at the bottom of his military class and was allowed to fly planes, because of who is father was. By the way, when you graduate that low, you don't get to fly planes. Lastly, a man who almost drowned in one of those planes because he didn't pay attention in class and couldn't release his own belts and hatches. Stop allowing McCain to run on his war record. Look at the real John McCain, a man who has done everything to serve himself and definitely not this country. A man who bullies those that would disagree with him, and disgrace his own running mate by picking her because she's a woman, when he knew she was not qualified to be VP. Country First, I think not. More like McCain First, Country Second, and Women and Children Last. He is not POTUS material. George Bush is probably the worst President we have ever had, but a least, he stood by his convictions. John McCain, has no convictions because he left them all at the door when he caved to the right wing party and put an unqualified female on his ballot.

I was very disappointed in ABC for leaving out what Obama said. I watched your show when this was on. Then I go to work and one of my co-workers was telling me what was really said. I was mad. That is a whole different story. I guess I will be watching Fox and news from now on to get the true stories.

Lost a viewer
Pryor, OK

Food for thought:

If the "poor" (40 something percent) end up with no tax liability and assuming for a moment that the "rich" don't pay taxes, who DOES PAY the taxes?

The middle class.

Does anyone here understand that Obama is NOT proposing tax cuts? So far all of his tax proposals are tax credits. Tax credits ARE NOT tax cuts.

They don't even reduce taxable income, although they MAY reduce one's tax liability IF one qualifies for the credit.

As someone who is lower middle class, I should benefit from such tax cuts, yes?

Nope. I have NO kids (no add'l tax credit). NO mortgage (no add'l tax credit). I am NOT a student (no add'l tax credit). I make too much for the EIC (which is fine. It's merely a handout). I might get the "working" credit, but why should I get a credit for doing the right thing?

I and others like me will NOT benefit from Obama's tax plan.

Cedric,

That Obama tax credit (not tax CUT) for hiring more employees is $3000 per employee ABOVE the number already employed.

Obviously, you know nothing about the cost of business: It costs much more than $3000 to employ someone in the US.

Given that $3000 is not enough to even pay minimum wage most businesses will forgo the credit because it will not be worth it. And if Obama gets his way and businesses are required to offer all kinds of benefits that will cost business even more and provide a great disincentive to grow or even stay in business at all.

That will not create jobs for anyone.

Obama does not understand this. Or he does and just doesn't care. He wants everyone dependent on government. I and many other American who understand what this country really stands for (not handouts) want the government to get out of the way.

Gotta say, I am so IMPRESSED that so many of my fellow citizens caught the exchange between the plumber and Obama and are outraged about it. Gives me a lot of hope for America (and not the kind Obama wants to impose)

I make less than $250K per Year, a lot less, but my taxs will increase under B.O.. You see most of us middle class got a cut under the Bush tax cuts. B.O. will let those expire, our taxes will be raised to pre-Bush levels. Now along comes B.O. and he gets his tax cuts passed and while it will cut my taxes I will still be paying more than I was under the Bush tax cut. Now B.O can say he didn't eraise my taxes but gave me a cut. How sly.

I make less than $250K per Year, a lot less, but my taxs will increase under B.O.. You see most of us middle class got a cut under the Bush tax cuts. B.O. will let those expire, our taxes will be raised to pre-Bush levels. Now along comes B.O. and he gets his tax cuts passed and while it will cut my taxes I will still be paying more than I was under the Bush tax cut. Now B.O can say he didn't eraise my taxes but gave me a cut. How sly.

Why does the post not include the quote from Obama's exchange with the plumber? Or the video that caught Obama saying he (and I quote) wants to

"spread the wealth around"?

If McCain said something equally damning, Big Media would be all over it.

I think some of us are actually capable of knowing what true socialism is, but thanks for the lesson. The point is that we may be inching towards socialist economic policy. There are people on the left who believe that's exactly what we need to do- but thank goodness for independents to keep it all in perspective

Those 5% pay most of the taxes in this country. If they are so insignificant and the only ones affected let's just see what happens if they stop paying taxes all together. The country would fall apart so you better be glad those "rich" people exist. And if you think that the other 95% won't have some form of their taxes raised your in lala land. if their is a dem in the White House and a dem congress- they will get very creative on how to spend all our money- not just those 5%!

No one is implying that you're not a hardworking citizen if you make more than $250,000. But a tax policy that only affects 5 percent of the population is just as nonsensical as your notion of socialistic tax policy.

So for all of the posters concerned with trickle-down economics, what do you propose? Keep the Bush tax cuts and roll in a middle class tax cut for families earning under $200,000? The problem is, trickle down no more addresses the economic issues than providing a middle class tax cut; the key is a middle ground, which you'll find in a permanent R&D credit, credits for alternative energy development, closing corp. tax loopholes and lowering the taxes on businesses? The current estate tax I believe is 55 percent, so do we roll that back to 45 percent as Obama has suggested?

The problem with these posts is no one is offering an alternative. Economic issues are far more complicated than partisanship bickering.

Why did you omit the single most critical sentence to Obama's chat with the Ohio plumber?

"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody"

Tremeous insight into his true economic beliefs in an unscripted moment!!

You choked on it!

At least you did have part of the encounter on your site, NBC, CBS & CNN have absoultely NO mention of it on their sites at all.