Should I go with a traditional IRA or choose a Roth IRA? Does it depend on whether I think tax rates will be higher or lower when I retire, or is there more to it than that?

I like the Roth, just because it's more flexible. For instance you're not forced to start taking withdrawls at age 70½ like the traditional IRA does, so if you expect to live long in retirement (or retire later) you can keep building up your wealth longer for more security.

Also if you need to make an early withdrawl to buy a house or some emergency, it's easier with the Roth, and since you already paid taxes on what you've put in, the withdrawls are tax free.