Obama! Obama! Obama!

Now that Obama has won the election.

Here are some facts about him:

Obama is left-handed. (Yay! Me too.)

Obama had to quit smoking if he wanted to run for president. This was a demand from his wife.

Obama lived in Indonesia during his childhood.

Obama's mother had a Ph.D and worked in microfinance. From 1988-1992, Obama's mother helped build the microfinance program in Indonesia. Today, Indonesia is No. 1 in the world in terms of savers with 31 milion members.

Obama refused to use public funds (tax payer money) for the election. McCain accepted them.

Obama was opposed to the Iraq war from the beginning.

Obama likes to play basketball.

Obama was a professor of law at the University of Chicago from 1992-2004. He was invited to become a full-time professor, but he declined.

Education:

Obama graduated Columbia University with a B.A in political science.

He later attended Harvard Law School. Obama was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. This is a legal journal published by you-know-which university. He graduated Magna Cum Laude. Michelle Obama also graduated from Harvard Law School, but they did not meet in school. Both Barack and Michelle borrowed a lot of money to attend Harvard. Barack Obama wrote two successful books and used the money to pay off their student loan debt.

Tax Policy:

The first thing my friends ask me is: "Aren't you concerned about paying more taxes if Obama is elected?" No. I'm not.

Obama's tax cuts:

1. 10% of mortgage interest up to $800

2. No more income tax for senior citizens making less than $50,000 per year.

3. No more taxation of unemployment insurance.

4. $4,000 of college expenses will be tax deductible.

5. Companies will be refunded $3,000 for each new worker hired.

6. Allow penalty free withdrawals from IRAs and 401ks of up to 15% of retirement accounts.

Tax Increases:

1. Capital gains tax of 20% for people earning over $200,000 a year.

2. Estate tax of 45% for estates worth over $3.5 million.

3. He will impose windfall profits taxes on oil and gas firms.

4. Publicly traded financial partnerships will have to pay corporate tax.

5. No itemized deductions for households making over $200,000 a year.

How will this affect me? In no way whatsoever. I do not earn $200,000 a year. I doubt my parents will leave me over $3.5 million in their estate. I'm not a college student or a senior citizen. With his proposed tax cuts for senior citizens, I'm beginning to understand why he won Florida. =)

Personally, I like McCain but I can't stand Palin.

I voted for this party. I like their credo: small government, lower taxes, more freedom.