Why does McCain make such a big deal about earmarks, we have a 12 trillion debt, hes worried about 5 billion?

Just what is wrong with you people ? Always just so ready to point one finger at one person or one party!! How convienient and easy for you! Do you actually ever really think for yourself? Or is it just the entire mantra and ideology of the Democrats that you so willingly cling to? The mantra of ohhhh dont worry we will do the thinking for you and we will create more government to run your life for you!! Is that why you people just blindly and wildly point fingers at anyone in your lame attempts to cover the obvious failures of your party? I suggest you watch the House committe hearings on Fannie and Freddie from 2005 and watch how Democratic congressmen blocked any reform process.

Some earmarks are OK. An earmark added to a bill that would help a state with it's infrastructure to repave some roads that are crumbling due to the harsh weather or to help rebuild areas hit by the recent storms is not only prudent but wise. Obama was right, going after the budget with an axe when you should use a scalpel was the exact way to look at the problem and try to fix it. McCain obviously doesn't understand that crazy theatrics and simply acting like you know what you're doing when clearly you don't doesn't magically fix the problem and is certainly not the definition of a "maverick". As I see it, McCain would indeed bring "change" back to Washington where he came from; however, this "change" is simply swapping one incompetent person with another. Intelligence coupled with a personal desire to do what's right for America is, to me, the refreshing change we need in America and Barack Obama has proven to me time and again that he personifies those much needed Presidential traits admirably.

Just to set the record straight earmarks totaled 48 BILLION in 2005. Palin as an executive branch cannot request or insert earmarks. Sen Obama himself has requested more than 700 million (second link) in his few years as a senator.

The debt is primarily the result of foreign trade deficits and how much we owe other countries from outstanding $ to be paid as well as spending the tax payer dollars more than tax payers have put into the Feds revenue bank.

Remember, the president has no line item veto power, so he must sign the checks that congress writes even it includes pork barrell in order to fund the original intent of the legislation.

Hugo Chavez's government is strickly socialism and he praises Obama's plan. Why is his country's people 80% below poor rankings even by our own liberal standards?

Obama's plan is extremely simple to understand by it's purpose. Even with no war and no potential of a 911 repeat, his plan would raise more taxes in order to pay for the stratusphere levels of socialism programs.

The constitution was never written in a way that states the government "over the people" or to "control the people" for that matter.

No wonder why Hugo likes Obama.

Earmarks are the GOP catch phrase right now. Try to forget about the 1.4 trillion dollars that McCain and Bush want today. Instead think about 2.8 billion dollars that Congress wants to spend on infrastructure projects. Not only think about them, but think about them as wasteful. Some of them are low hanging fruit, but for the most part until we stop fighting wasteful wars in Iraq and bailing out banks, we are urinating into the gulf stream.

I guess I have to school some people about earmarks.

I isn't the money itself, it's that it's a marker for corruption. A legislator that works-in earmarks will sell you down the river for his own profit & power.

Every spending item is not an earmark. For instance, if my town has a spot of National historic significance and we ask our Congressman to advance a proposal for a Federal grant for a monument, that isn't an earmark. People can disagree about if it's appropriate federal spending but it isn't an earmark, it's an above board, out-in-the-daylight request for money. If there's a defense appropriation on the floor and he adds language so that a certain amount of the DEFENSE money is diverted to a monument in his district, THAT's an earmark. No one should put up with that. Democrats campaigned in '06 largely on the promise to end earmarks. They fulfilled that promise in exactly the way anyone paying attention these past decades expected them to. They hugely increased them to new record levels but stopped CALLING them earmarks.

Palin, like other local and state officials, has requested federal money. She hasn't asked for it to be sneaked into unrelated legislation; she hasn't asked for money that's SUPPOSED to be for something else to be diverted to her pet projects. In other words, she hasn't "hypocritically taken earmarks." Lately, Democrats want "earmark" to mean "any time a republican spends money." It's dishonest in the extreme and par for the Democrat course.

BTW: You grandchildren are guaranteed ZERO after-tax income unless major changes are made which ALL Democrats refuse to even consider. Democrats said on the floor of Congress they know this is true and they will not consider doing anything to change it. Blaming GOP is exactly backwards. They're the ones trying to reduce tax burdens.

He has tried consistently to reduce earmark spending because this usually ends up being what is termed Pork Barrel, and is used by politicians to impress their voting populous to keep them in office.It is unnecessary add on's to bills sent to congress.The current bail out, while undesirable, seems the only way to keep the countries finances afloat.But many in congress sees this as a way to advance their own popularity, and is unacceptable. We don't need to pay for their good times also.Alaska has nothing to do with the bailout except it is alaskans money being gobbled up by the government too.

12 trillion? where you getting your math? what has obama proposed?

Obamna has nothing to say at all about pork barrel spending, in fact, in the debate mccain said we should install a spending freeze, obama

agreed, and then said except............ and starting listing things we can't freeze like early childhood education, if obama and you get your way our grand children are going to get everything. I think we better start worrying about today and not two generations from now, our energy crisis, baby boom social security, and health care problems are here now, not too mention the possibility of the greatest depression ever if this bailout does'nt work. take a look on main street, any businesses where you live closing? the problem is now,

i hate when people lay that what about my bratty little grandchildren routine on me.

Because, in essence, earmarks are mainly a corrupt practice of paying off campaign supporters by throwing public money at them, or they're used to enrich their friends and family.

Sure, some are valid, where some oversight of budget cut eliminated some necessary spending.

But for the most part, they are corruption, graft, theft, and abuse of power.

And once you allow such corruption to be considered normal political activity, then you are ensuring the destruction of the Constitution in the long run. A corrupt government cannot and will not protect our liberties, freedoms and rights.

That's why it's important, although the current costs might seem small in comparison to the budget.

Alot of people dont realize it but McCain wants to stay dependant on oil because he and most people are dependant on money and money relations. I mean when are we going to figure out that this is a "crisis" caused by basic economics. It is called Money Shifting. Dont they see the 700 Billion Bucks (and more) just went into the pockets Oil companies. American Oil Executive pockets.

That could very easily be fixed by creating an "ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITY FUND" Any company that profits a certain amount over their projection should dump 10% of it into a fund or at least the interest earned on that profit. That money could easily be used for natural disasters, and situations such as these.

And McCain has just as many ties to those connections as Bush does.

As far as McCain wanting to be president, I think it is a personal Ego trip. A returned prisioner of war (POW) running for president who was captured and tortured. Uhhhhhh I think he wants to be president to redeem his own personal self worth. Think about it. He wants to relive his own idea of victory by being IN CONTROL of the US MILITARY that he probably feels like he failed at.

So I dont think he has or will do much about Oil Dependence, I think he is going to be a military president. I mean why would he have to care about the burdens of the common citizen. He is rich and his wife is a multi million buck heiress

Earmarks is a good place to start and then let's cut all the crazy spending on projects that don't benefit anyone.

I guess you're logic escapes me. At least McCain is a fiscal conservative. Earmarks is only one example.

Obama wants to increase spending exponentially. How can that possibly be good for the American people?