That's the simple and loaded question posed today at The Liberty Papers .
So who's worse for liberty, McCain or Obama?
Well, like I said in the comment thread over there, the first relevant question before answering is: What kind of liberty are we talking about? or "Freedom from/to what?"
That means basically and generally the paradigm between positive liberty and negative liberty. See Wiki for more in depth explanations.
Personally, I can't say one is "worse" in a general sense. It's a matter of which liberties you prefer and the implications.
Then again, liberty may not be your priority.
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It depends.
The old John McCain was kind of libertarian. Right now he's running saying he'll select the same Judges as dubya. He's embracing dubya's foreign policy. He's backing all the over-reach that the bush43 Administration has done.
Obama on the other hand is somewhat of an unknown. He claims moderation but his record isn't really enough to say.
Right now, being a democrat & a progressive, I trust Barack more than I trust John to safeguard the Constitution & Bill of Rights.
There are 10 amendments (9 that are still relevant)
in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution contains quite a bit direction.
I think if you broke it down to the letter and the respected the intent of the letter, you'd be hard-pressed to say one is truly superior to the other. I think it's a matter of priorities and interpretations.
Only 9?
Apparently you've not had troops quartered in your home recently. Let me tell you...
__________________________I'm listening to...
I'm still certain that what motivates me
Is more rewarding than any piece of paper could be -- Dennis Lyxzén
chuckle, chuckle
oh stiney....
As I've said before,
as someone who's also Democratic and progressive, I, too think McCain too much of a danger to our civil liberties all around. Yet, at the same time, while Obama's positions on such things are closer to mine than McCain's, I can't bring myself to trust him, either.