We need more troops in Afghanistan.
And we need to make sure that we finish the job there,
which we got done so well in 2001 and 2002,
in driving al-Qaeda out, driving the Taliban out
and creating a situation there that could help us
in the terrorist war against us.
It really makes sense to increase the number of troops.
I'd like to see it increased by more like a total of 10,000.
My name is Irene Lowe.
Around here, I'm known as Sparkles.
As of now, I plan on voting for Giuliani as of now.
And I like his issues on taxes.
Even though I'm a tax accountant, I think it's a good idea.
In fact, I can go back to 1913 and have a copy
of my father's tax return, which was one page.
Well, basically, I liked most everything he said,
but the one thing that I didn't like was the prospect
of sending more troops into Afghanistan.
I was in World War II, and as I say,
I think we won the war but lost the peace.
And that's when the Cold War started after the war,
and it's just been a succession of wars going on,
and we never seemed to come out the winner of them.
I really feel that we need to be trying to build
in the Near East strong democratic governments
and certainly to our own national interest
to have the Middle East a stable place.
I was in Pakistan for a couple of years,
and I was very close to some terrorist activity
right when I was there.
And maybe that color is my thinking.
I love that.
I don't know, it's kind of tossed between Giuliani and McCain
as far as I'm concerned.
I think Giuliani, the issue of Iraq, if you will,
and the issue of the war specifically,
the war against terrorism is his main forte.
So if we were to consider that the main issue,
probably the candidate that will be ahead of all the others
will be Giuliani.
But when you look at all the other issues,
immigration, economics, Iraq, terrorism, healthcare,
conservative principles, since I am a conservative,
my choice was made homely.
My second choice is Houdi Giuliani.
Giuliani is a polarizing figure.
I believe he did a good job when the towers were attacked.
However, and you have that in the press,
the firemen, some firemen love him
and some other ones hate him.
His take is I led one of the biggest cities in this country.
I led them well.
I did a good job.
I was with them through crisis.
And when you're sitting in a room,
he does have you believing everything he says.
And I think he definitely is well qualified.
My only drawback with Giuliani is at the end of his speech,
he's got you cheering, go war.
One thing that I think the president,
any president can change is going to be what we're going to do in Iraq.
And whoever is going to be the next president,
if they've made that hardline decision
that I will try to get the country out of it,
then I'm going to be with that candidate.
In the primary, because I'm Republican,
I've been thinking I'm going to vote for McCain.
And I like McCain because I guess I like the fact
that he just says it as he thinks it,
and I can respect that.
However, when the election comes around,
I'm not sure I will be voting Republican.
Like many Cuban-American kids that grew up here in Miami,
most of us grew up Republican.
At least the friends of mine all are in the same age group.
We all grew up Republican.
We grew up under Reagan.
And then the first Bush, we all kind of grew up that way.
But kind of like myself and many of my other friends
in my same age group, a lot of them have changed
and they're a lot more independent than they were previous.
This year, I think we need to change.
We need to shift in power.
And I plan to vote for Barack Obama.
I like people with experience.
I respect those candidates who've been there, done that.
I feel Barack has walked the path of the middle class,
and I think we need that because the middle class
is suffering in the United States.
And that's why I'm voting for him.
It's just out of all of them.
I think that Obama has that ability to unify the country
more so than any other rest of them up there.
I personally feel like the country is ready for change.
I don't see change on the Republican side.
Some of the candidates who are running are saying
and wanting to do some of the same things
that I've seen President Bush say and do.
I was actually originally interested in McCain
at a buddy at work that told me to start looking into Ron Paul.
And I did, and what he was saying was it just worked for me.
Ron Paul's absolute and utter knowledge of the economy
was what really turned me on to him.
He just seems like the right man for the job.
This area in Pensacola is a Navy town and a military town,
and we appreciate that.
So I will be voting for John McCain.
I did go to Rudy Giuliani's thing the other night,
but I just didn't get that sort of punch that John McCain has.
I believe that this country needs to have a leader
that can make choices that will please God.
His lifestyle and his character choices
don't reflect what I think a president should
as far as, you know, having a fair
and those different things like that.
799.
Probably in this primary I'll vote for McCain.
I just, once again, he's straightforward and honest
and just really seems, I can see where this could be his time.
I know he's run in the past and has been around for a while,
but this might be the kind of leadership we need right now.
And, you know, after that primary,
I feel like I have some time to kind of make a decision
on who my next vote will go to,
and so I just feel like education is key there.
And if, you know, Barack Obama is elected by the Democrats
and he's a candidate, then I would say, you know,
I would give him some consideration.
Hillary, I just can't get warm about.
