Inspired by Tod Kelly’s claim that we U.S. Americans are really closer to one another politically than we think, following is a quiz. All remarks are taken from the speeches of either John McCain or Barack Obama accepting their respective parties’ nominations in 2008.
I picked these in part from Tod’s reference to the nominating speeches of Bush and Gore in 2000, thinking that a more recent statement would give us a better picture of where we are now, and in part because these speeches are aspirational, setting out promises and goals rather than actual achievements. Thus, they represent the best and most recent picture I could find of what the leaders of our two major parties think the public wants.
I tried to find statements from both candidates touching on similar subject matter areas of policy, and found education, national security, energy, and budget issues in common, as well as some generalized statements about the role of government in both. However, I promise you that I did not cherry-pick statements to make one or another of the candidates look good in retrospect — I was just looking for a representative sample of the aspirations of each candidate and try to provide an honest quiz. It was harder to find actual promises than I thought, as both speeches contained a great deal of emotional appeals, rhetorical fluff, biographical stories, and describing the problems facing “typical” individual Americans rather than anything that would actually set forth what the nominees were about in terms of policy.
I picked 40 quotes. I’ve set this up in a table format, so that you can print out the quiz and decide for yourself which of the two candidates took it. The table appears after the jump. The answers are in whited text (highlight to see). You’re on your honor to not reference the speeches themselves before answering. I think that if many people report their answers after honestly taking the quiz, we will get at least a clue as to the validity of Tod’s hypothesis that the the parties not all that far apart in terms of their public policy aspiratins. Good luck!
|
Quote |
McCain |
Obama |
| Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We’re dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. No country ever had a greater cause than that. |
X |
|
| … [O]ne of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and each other’s patriotism. |
x |
|
| We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential from the boy whose descendants arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We’re all God’s children and we’re all Americans. |
X |
|
| We need to change the way government does almost everything: from the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy; from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network; from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children. |
X |
|
| … [Government] programs alone can’t replace parents, … government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework, … fathers must take more responsibility to provide love and guidance to their children. |
x |
|
| The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn’t a cause, it’s a symptom. It’s what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you. |
X |
|
| All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that’s just what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future. |
X |
|
| I will also go through the federal budget line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less, because we cannot meet 21st-century challenges with a 20th-century bureaucracy. |
x |
|
| We believe in rewarding hard work and risk takers and letting people keep the fruits of their labor. |
X |
|
| I will stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America. |
x |
|
| We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don’t legislate from the bench. |
X |
|
| … [O]urs is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools, and new roads, and science, and technology. |
x |
|
| We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity and initiative of Americans. Government that doesn’t make your choices for you, but works to make sure you have more choices to make for yourself. |
X |
|
| I will restore our moral standing so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future. |
x |
|
| …[W]hen we tell you we’re going to change Washington, and stop leaving our country’s problems for some unluckier generation to fix, you can count on it. |
X |
|
| I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn’t a popular thing to do. |
X |
|
| I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. |
x |
|
| I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home. |
x |
|
| I will end this war in Iraq responsibly and finish the fight against Al Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts, but I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. |
x |
|
| We lost [Americans’] trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Sen. [Opponent] passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. |
X |
|
| In 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East. |
x |
|
| As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. |
x |
|
| We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we’ll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex-fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles. |
X |
|
| I’ll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy — wind power, and solar power, and the next generation of biofuels — an investment that will lead to new industries and 5 million new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. |
x |
|
| I’ll eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow. |
x |
|
| We believe in low taxes, spending discipline and open markets. |
X |
|
| We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods and communities. |
x |
|
| I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it. |
X |
|
| We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage, whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. |
x |
|
| …the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but … businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, to look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. |
x |
|
| We will prepare [the unemployed] for the jobs of today. We will use our community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities. For workers in industries that have been hard hit, we’ll help make up part of the difference in wages between their old job and a temporary, lower-paid one while they receive retraining that will help them find secure new employment at a decent wage. |
X |
|
| My opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the global economy. We’re going to help workers who’ve lost a job that won’t come back find a new one that won’t go away. |
X |
|
| As president, I will work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return of the Cold War. But we can’t turn a blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world and the security of the American people. |
X |
|
| Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. |
x |
|
| If you commit to serving your community or our country, we will make sure you can afford a college education. |
x |
|
| I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries, and give them more support. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability. |
x |
|
| My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor. |
x |
|
| If you have health care — if you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don’t, you’ll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. |
x |
|
| Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. |
x |
|
| Thank you, and God bless you. |
x |
