Guest Author - Lee S. Williams

While it seems a long time before we have to actually vote for the President, learning about the potential candidates before the actual nominations gives us an opportunity to choose our President in a much more informed light. Today, with party lines blurring, and with the information highway, we have the ability to make an informed choice rather than merely a party choice.

It’s difficult to cover all aspects of each candidate in one article. Currently, there are some 25 people who have thrown their hat into the Republican arena and about 10 major contenders for the Democratic nomination. Each of these candidates issue statements on their various positions on a myriad of topics, some concerning pertinent issues for the over-50 set, others not recognizing the need for stating their position on those issues.

One issue that is becoming nearer and dearer to many of us is the “green” position. While there doesn’t seem to be one complete definition of this word for the political arena, it’s generally used to refer to environmentally friendly legislature and politicians who support such positions. Let’s take a look, today, at some of the candidates and their position on the issues, focusing on their environmental stance.

Candidate Barack Obama, the 46 year old Democratic Senator from Illinois, made the national scene at the 2004 Democratic National Convention with his introductory speech. The third African American since Reconstruction elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, he has sponsored and co-sponsored an impressive number of bills, many of which are bipartisan. His actions indicate that he believes in working together rather than along party lines. His website lists 13 issues that he cares passionately about; among them are healthcare, ending the Iraqi war, saving the environment and improving our schools. Senator Obama is not afraid to make his stance known on any issue. He is pro-choice. He advocates holding corporations responsible for their illegal actions and rewarding those that maintain loyalty to creating new jobs for U.S. citizens. He supports a very judicious use of capital punishment. He has sponsored legislation that recruits and rewards good teachers. Most of all, reporters are finding that Senator Obama continually turns down lobbyist money and gifts.

Candidate Rudy Giuliani, New York City’s popular Mayor during the 9/11 crisis in 2001, has thrown his hat into the Republican arena in a bid for nomination. It isn’t as easy to check the record of a mayor to find his stand on the issues as it is to check the record of a congressional member, so we often have to glean his stance from speeches and actions. Mr. Giuliani appears to promote a far less aggressive campaign against pollution than Senator Obama does. Mr. Giuliani advocates research into seeking alternative fuels in order to help clean the environment, but he has issued no policy statement. While he appears to oppose the Iraqi War, he seems to want a more aggressive stance against Iran. Could such a stance lead to war, only Mr. Giuliani could answer that question. He supports the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but has stated that the states shouldn’t be penalized if they provide abortion “benefits.” During Mr. Giuliani’s tenure as Mayor, over 460,000 people were helped off the welfare roles, and he advocates turning welfare centers into job centers in order to nationalize his program. On the other hand, he attempted to overturn the term limitations of Mayor in order to continue his tenure in office which may indicate such an attempt at the national level.

Between these two candidates, it seems that Senator Obama reflects his party’s platform quite well, while former Mayor Giuliani may have some trouble securing his party’s nomination. His pro-choice and extending civil rights to gays positions may cost him the Republican nomination. It will be an interesting race.