"Including interest costs, Obama’s tax plan would boost the debt by $3.5 trillion by 2018. McCain’s plan would increase the debt by $5 trillion on top of the $2.3 trillion increase that the Congressional Budget Office forecasts for the next decade."

Health care:

"TPC projects the McCain plan would trim the uninsured by 1 million in 2009 and nearly 5 million by 2013, although their numbers would slowly rise thereafter because the tax credit would fail to keep pace with premiums... Obama would reduce the uninsured by 18 million in 2009 and 34 million by 2018."

So, Obama's plans would provide health care to more people, increase the deficit but at least by a smaller amount, give a larger tax break to low and middle income taxpayers, and increase taxes on the highest income taxpayers.

4) Vice President candidate selection

Joe Biden...Obama picked a vice-president, someone who fit well into his team, who you easily could make a case for being qualified for the presidency, and addressed a perceived weakness in foreign policy. This was a confident pick, a selection of someone who could do more than just help Obama get elected.

Sarah Palin...Is she really the most qualified (or even a qualified) candidate that could be found for vice-president? How can John McCain claim "Country first" and then select her? The consensus seems to be that she was not a first choice, that her selection was an attempt to sway two groups of voters...women who had supported Hillary Clinton and the very conservative. But you have to wonder about a Vice President Palin or (horrors!) a President Palin!

For example, this is from one of the Couric interviews with Palin. Does the answer make any sense at all?

Couric: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? Allow them to spend more, and put more money into the economy, instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

Palin: That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, we're ill about this position that we have been put in. Where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh, it’s got to be about job creation, too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade — we have got to see trade as opportunity, not as, uh, competitive, um, scary thing, but one in five jobs created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation.

And foreign policy...again from the Couric interviews. Trying to justify that being next to Russia is foreign policy experience.

Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don't know, you know … reporters.

Couric: Mocked?

Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there...

Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.

Other Palin thoughts...

• Banned books? There is no record of Palin requesting specific books should be banned. However, it is on record that she initiated discussions on the topic with the town librarian when she was mayor. A discussion on it is available at http://www.snopes.com/politics/palin/bannedbooks.asp. No specific books, but it certainly looks like something going down that path.

• Creationism / intelligent design (ID)? "'In a 2006 gubernatorial debate, the soon-to-be governor of Alaska said of evolution and creation education, 'Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of education. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.'" To quote U.S. District Judge John E. Jones in the Dover Area School District trial, which found it unconstitutional to teach ID in schools:
  
  "...ID is not science. We find that ID fails on three different levels, any one of which is sufficient to preclude a determination that ID is science. They are: (1) ID violates the centuries-old ground rules of science by invoking and permitting supernatural causation; (2) the argument of irreducible complexity, central to ID,
  employs the same flawed and illogical contrived dualism that doomed creation science in the 1980's; and (3) ID’s negative attacks on evolution have been refuted by the scientific community."
  
  "...our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach ID as an alternative to evolution in a public school science classroom."
  
  One more thought from Governor Palin, "...dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time..."

• Troopergate?
  
  From Governor Palin, "I’m very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing … any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."
  
  (From a CBS News story) 'The investigation said she violated Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act, which states, "… each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."'

5) Social issues...Obama supports Roe v Wade. McCain says it should be overturned. Safe and legal seems to make sense to me.

6) Diplomacy...To quote General Petraeus, "I'm trying to go around minefields these days and not blunder into them. But I do think you have to talk to enemies." That sounds very similar to statements Obama has made. I wonder if McCain and Palin would consider that "naive" and dangerous" coming from Petraeus. Or that Petraeus should demand preconditions first, as they have said they would.

7) Economy...McCain..."I am a deregulator. I believe in deregulation." (7/13/2003)..."...the fundamentals of our economy are strong," (9/15/2008). Is this who we want trying to fix this mess that he was part of getting us into?

More to come...if I make the time.