8-30-08, 11:01 am

People are ready for a big change away from Bush-McCain politics, according to a new article from Yes! Magazine, titled 'Our Own Agenda: 10 Policies for a Better America,' which compiles the results of a number of polls and surveys on a host of issues.

From rejecting torture and aggressive militarism to raising the minimum wage and economic stimulus that involves direct government intervention to setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and using greater diplomatic efforts in the Middle East to repairing the broken health care system with a government-sponsored system, large majorities of Americans want a new direction, says the article.

More than 6 in 10 Americans, for example, want a timetable for ending the war in Iraq that is one year long or less. While well over half say they want a single-payer government-run health care system, nearly two-thirds say we should have some type of government sponsored system that makes health care coverage more affordable.

About eight in ten Americans want mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions, while nine in ten want higher fuel economy cars.

On economic questions, more than seven in ten Americans think corporations do not pay a fair share of the tax burden, and a similar number views unions as positive for working families. About three in four want lower taxes for working families. About two-thirds support government intervention in the housing crisis.

About two-thirds of Americans support either allowing same-sex marriage or allowing gay and lesbian couples to form civil unions.

Most Americans favor restoring habeas corpus rights, reject torture as an intelligence and interrogation policy, favor strengthening civil liberties, and reject the imperial presidency that acts with checks and balances by Congress.

An overwhelming number of Americans regard the future as being less favorable for their children than the past, if things remain the same.

In each incident described here, Americans, by large majorities, agree with the basic positions and views of Barack Obama, and disagree with John McCain's plan to stay the current course adopted by the Bush-Cheney administration on each point.

What may be the most interesting thing about the data compiled in this article is not that the American electorate is 'moving left,' but that it sees change as positive and rejects the ideologically driven policies of John McCain and George W. Bush. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) may have hit the nail on the head in his recent speech to the Democratic National Convention when he described it as not a right-left issue, but and 'up-down' issue. (See his speech here.)

The article has a neat feature that allows readers to check out some of the data simply by putting their cursor on a category. Sources are given and include polls by media organizations and the traditional polling groups.

--Reach Joel Wendland at