The Obama Tax Calculator: Discover How Much YOUR Family Will Save!

This is so cool.

When discussing John Kerry's loss in the 2004 election, many people point to the effective right-wing smear job that made Kerry seem unpatriotic and unreliable. This is typically referred to as the "Swift Boating" of John Kerry.

A much less discussed reason for Kerry's loss, I think, is the notion that Republicans were able to paint him as a typical "tax and spend liberal" who would invariably raise taxes on most Americans. Kerry did not do an effective job laying out his ideas on taxes. Yes, he discussed repealing the Bush tax cuts, but he did not assure most Americans that his tax plans would help them - and I think this was a major liability.

As I have said before, Barack Obama has finally found an effective way to talk about taxes in a way that is progressive and reassuring to average Americans.

His new "tax calculator" launched today on his website is another ingenious extension of this argument. It is a simple application that allows you to enter a few essential facts about your income, and calculates what your taxes will look like under an Obama Administration, and compares it to the numbers you'd receive under a McCain administration. I put in some numbers for my own family, and found we would be getting THREE TIMES the amount of tax relief under McCain.

Try it out for yourself!