I’m back guys, sorry for the long absense, FIU Student Media keeps me busy. Anyway let’s get to it:
According to FOX News, Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin have called off their engagement. As all of you no doubt heard, during the election it was revealed that Bristol Palin was pregnant with the child of fellow student (and douchebag) Levi Johnston. Here is a quick excerpt from the article:
The teenage daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her fiance have broken up just over two months after the birth of the couple’s child.
People.com reported Wednesday that sources said the split between Bristol Palin, 18, and Levi Johnston, 19 occurred a few weeks ago, and Johnston confirmed to the Associated Press that he and Bristol mutually decided to end their relationship ”a while ago.” He did not elaborate.
Palin said in a statement to the Associated Press that she is “devastated.”
First of all I would like to be the first to reply to this by saying I told you so. And contrary to what people say (“I didn’t want to say I told you so…”) I did.
Does this run contrary to my personal beliefs? Yes. Is this, in my opinion, the wrong thing to do on his part? Absolutely. I don’t know about him, but true gentlemen don’t pull that shit. Then again, one can’t expect a 19 year old to act like one. However, if you honestly thought that was going to last, you are crazy.
This kid went from banging the governor’s daughter to being thrust in to a full on political shit storm. The GOP’s PR team turned him from a long-haired, whiskey drinking, 18 year old kid and tried to mold him in to a model citizen, father, and apparently model from a Brooks Brothers catalog, and they failed as I knew they would.
In the end, Levi Johnston isn’t just “the queer that knocked up Palin’s daughter” as my friend Joel (who was the one who emailed me the story) put it. In fact she is kind of hot and most importantly a woman, so he is far from a queer. He is a guy who had a night of passion with a girl and paid a WAY bigger price for it. You can’t put this amount of pressure on an 18 year old and expect him to cope. And with the intense scrutiny from Palin, the GOP, and the media, well that just makes it even worse. I would gladly argue that if his ex-mother in law weren’t pursuing a massive political career, he wouldn’t feel so pressured.
And now, that the sensation that is Sarah Palin is slowly fading, does it really come as a shock that this child wants out of a situation he was no doubt forced in to for the sake of a, now failed, political campaign? The answer is invariably no.
Is this the end of the world for either of them? No. There are plenty of kids being raised by single moms, and the turn out okay (At least, I hope I turned out ok).
Bristol Palin has the benefit most single moms out there (my mom included) don’t have. She has money, fame and a stable family to give her support. Levi will be okay too, I am sure he will get to see the kid and play a role in his life. Sadly, seperated families are a reality we see in society today. Though I don’t think it is great, I by no means a hopeless situation for anyone. A marriage where one person feels forced, will only mess up that kid even more than Sarah Palin will. Leave a comment, let me know what you think.
According to the Associated Press, Joe The DouchebagPlumber is headed to Israel to cover the war as a correspondent for pjtv.com. Here is the article…
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Joe The Plumber is putting down his wrenches and picking up a reporter’s notebook.
The Ohio man who became a household name during the presidential campaign says he is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for the conservative Web site pjtv.com.
Samuel J. Wurzelbacher (WUR’-zuhl-bah-kur) says he’ll spend 10 days covering the fighting.
He tells WNWO-TV in Toledo that he wants to let Israel’s “‘Average Joes’ share their story.”
Wurzelbacher gained attention during the final weeks of the campaign when he asked Barack Obama about his tax plan.
He later joined Republican John McCain on the campaign trail. At one stop, he agreed with a McCain supporter who asked if he believed a vote for Obama was a vote for the death of Israel.
Yeah Sam Joe that’s exactly what the general population needs, your perspective on a conflict you learned about three days ago on Wikipedia. I am soglad that you “want to let Israel’s “‘Average Joes’ share their story.” Do us all a favor Joe, head down to the Gaza strip, hand out a couple of copies of your book and see if you can find some Average Joes there, and ask them to share their story.
I wish I can go back in time, and stop John McCain from mentioning this guy’s um…self given title? Joe The Plumber is not a plumber. He is not a politcal expert, a journalist, a country singer, and I would venture to say he didn’t write his own book so he is not even an author. Joe the Plumber is a man who was a poor choice to be an example of the working class. Sadly, he continues to cling to his already finished 15 minutes like a sinking ship. Now he thinks he is a journalist? I guess the whole plumber thing isn’t working out.
The Anchorage Daily News sat down with Sarah Palin to discuss the campaign and her return to Alaska. It was a very good interview, they covered a lot of things, but one thing really caught my eye. This question…
Q. Why do you think your campaign lost?
A. I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a 10 trillion dollar debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we’re talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing. So people desiring change I think went as far from the administration that is presently seated as they could. It’s amazing that we did as well as we did.
Sarah Palin is absolutely, 100% spot on. But what this points to is not so much a glorious revelation that Sarah Palin just had. This is showing the complete madness going on in the GOP. And this is Sarah Palin distancing herself from the GOP a bit, maybe for a 2012 presidential race? I don’t know how thats going to work out. But in the end, she has to be careful, cause she is biting the hand she will need to be fed from in 2012. Can anyone say Bobby Jindal?
Wow, FOX News just reported that smokin’ hot conservative Elizabeth Hasselbeck has decided to support Barack Obama. I am mildly surprised, however I can see how she would eventually break after being yelled at by Joy Behar and Whoopie for so long. Anyway here is a full quote of the article, it’s brief. Peace Out.
The View’s conservative cutie Elizabeth Hasselbeck stunned viewers today by throwing her support behind president-elect Barack Obama.
Executive Producer Barbara Walters asked Hasselbeck, who campaigned with John McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin, how she felt after seeing McCain/Palin go down to defeat on election night.
Hasselbeck said her daughter Grace, 3, had asked her who won and who lost the election. “No one lost,” Hasselbeck said she told her child. “Seriously, today is a victory for this country.”
Hasselbeck said the massive voter turnout and the excitement of the presidential contest inspired her. “I will get in a long line of supporters … for this president,” she said.
Now that the election is over, regardless if your candidate won or lost, just take a deep breath and relax.
Whether or not you voted for Barack Obama, we all need to realize that he is OUR president. Now we are beyond liking or disliking him, as the nation has spoken and Barack Obama is our president elect. In the past eight years I have always voice my disagreements with George Bush, but I have never delegitimize him as a president. He was my leader, he was my president and he earned my respect because of that.
I think we need to put this bickering and complaining aside. I woke up this morning and checked my Facebook mini-feed and noticed all these people leaving comments. “Oh I am packing for Australia!” or “I am so disappointed in America!” are just a few of the messages posted, repeated over and over.
First of all it’s kind of stupid saying you are going to Australia…cause man, THATS socialism. But look, this isn’t the first time our nation has had a president that is not a Republican. In fact some of the presidents history considers great were Democrats. So don’t be disappointed in your nation, just because your side didn’t win. You win some, you lose some. Accept it, and place all your support behind Barack Obama, after all, he is going to be working for you too. Rejoice in the fact that WE can vote. That this man was elected by the majority
Last night, Barack Obama delivered a speech that did a good job to unite a country that has been divided by a long, bitter election. Here is a excerpt from the speech (full transcript here):
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
We are all in this together. Support this president, regardless of what you think, earned his post. When it comes to a president, we have a duty as voters, and as Americans to support him. We can praise him for his triumphs, and we can hold him accountable for their mistakes. This situation is no different. We need to set aside this partisan bickering once and for all. Peace Out.
This election is without a doubt amazing for many reasons. The first time we have an African-American president presidential candidate, the first time we have a woman as a vice-presidential nominee, but over all it is historical because this is the most poignant referendum on the Bush Administration and the Republican Party in American history.
As of right now, I am seeing on my tracker that it’s going 207/135 for Obama. Prior to this, McCain was in the double digits which is astounding. Barack Obama has maintained such a commanding lead that the west coast seems irrelevant. Everyone has convened together to vote in CHANGE. Barack Obama has come in, proven that he is a competent candidate, ran against a crippled, injured Republican Party.
John McCain came in as the underdog, but didn’t do much to change that. He didn’t try hard enough to separate himself from Bush, he chose an underdog VP to match his underdog campaign, and he quickly switched to brutal personal attacks and soured the campaign. Almost every facet of his campaign could have been done differently.
In eight years, George W. Bush has taken this country from an economic high point ran it straight to the ground. I won’t list all the failures because we all know them very well. But in the end, when some stand and wonder why they elected Barack Obama. Well, the answer is fairly clear.
Give it up for CNN guys, they totally owned this election as far as coverage goes. Whether it’s Wolf Blitzer walking in front of that giant 100 inch screen that looks like it might eat him, or John King twiddling around with his “MultiTouch Board of Awesomness” flicking and tapping away, cycling the different states between red or blue, or Campbell Brown totally schooling McCain spokesmen, CNN has had this down.
In all seriousness though, CNN I think has been on top of this election non stop. They have covered the primaries exceptionally, they have provided, I think, very unbiased, balanced coverage, and have asked great questions of the candidates. The Political Ticker has been a source of my blog constantly, their iReport and Fact Checking have been spot on.
What do you guys think? Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment. I am also trying to work with this Poll Daddy thing, so once that pops up, you can cast a vote on that.
I could go on and on about what a waste of genetic material Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher truly is. But if I did, this blog would turn in to an 8 page dicertatcion with a bibliography and a table of contents with fancy roman numerals. Joe Wurzelbacher is a liar and a fraud. Yet John McCain has thrust this man in to the public spotlight, thinking he is an accurate representation of the middle class.
First of all, “Joe The Plumber” is not even a Joe. He is Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher. He is NOT a certified plumber. He does not have enough money to buy a pack of tropical Mentos much less a plumbing business that makes $250,000 a year (actually it makes less than $250,000 a year). And If he were telling the truth (which he obviously wasn’t), he might actually BENEFIT from Obama’s tax plan. But it seems as though he chose not to hear that part.
He has recently gone rogue by agreeing with another lunatic that “a vote for Obama is a vote for the death to Israel.” Are these people asking this moron POLICY QUESTIONS? And is he agreeing to this outright, obvious lie? Hell even FOX News had to back pedal from Wurzelbacher, that was too rich for them. Does his last name sound familiar? Yep it’s the same as the son-in-law of Charles Keating…from the Keating Five. You would think John McCain wouldn’t want people googling this guy and finding this instead.
So now, Joe Wurzelbacher has become a beast that cannot be fed. He is at every campaign rally, he is being asked policy questions, and is being paraded as the “symbol for the working man”. Yep, the symbol for the working man just hired a publicist, is working out the details for a country music album, and is considering a run for congressman. Oh, and they offered him a book deal. I honestly don’t know how he is going to fill up one chapter, much less ten. I bet it’ll have a lot of pictures.
It almost amazes me as to how dumb John McCain thinks we are by making an example this moron. Like we need an example of what a working class person looks like. Trust me Senator, I know what a working class person is like. If I need an example I’ll just walk outside and look at the woman who raised me, who supported a family of four by herself through thick and thin. A woman who worked her ass off to make sure I had a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and a school to go to every day.
Joe Wurzelbacher is not a great man. He is not a great example of a working class citizen. In the end, say what you will about Wurzelbacher, he is a pawn of the McCain campaign. From the second he approached Barack Obama in that crowd, thats what he became. He was a target of opportunity for the McCain campaign to capitalize on. But the magnifying glass of the media always digs up the truth, and this is no exception. “Joe The Plumber” is more evidence of the McCain campaign clinging to straws in current. Peace Out.
- Jorge “The Blogger Who’s Sick Of Joe The Plumber”
Just finished watching the 30 Minute Barack Obama ad. This one was indeed a doozey, a little too much Obama in one sitting I think. Sure the message was very nice, the production value was superb, and it seems as though that the McCain campaign is getting fired up about it, which should lead to some hilarious sound bytes and impromptu “Joe The Plumber” appreances. BTW you know they offered that moron a book deal? I am surprised he can put pen to paper. Anyway, let me save my anti-Joe comments for another blog (coming soon).
So in closing, let me make a bulleted list, cause, well I like bulleted lists and it’s my blog.
Was the 30-minute ad space worth it? Umm maybe? I mean he is doing very well, I personally would have gone with something brief. However the time did fly by and I always appreciate a nice field of wheat?
Was the 30-minute ad a bit larger than life? Absolutely. Barack Obama has raised way too much money and it’s obvious. Enough of that “broken promises” malarky. The man did what he had to do to make the cash he needs to be President. McCain didn’t take the “high road” and use public funds because he wanted to. He didn’t take it cause he likes being the underdog compared to Obama’s millions.
Will the 30-minute ad hurt Obama? Probably not. I don’t see this as more than another ad. It will fire up the Republicans thats for sure. I can imagine the asinine comments Sarah Palin has cooking in her wacko brain for tomorrow.
So in the end, all we can take from this ad is basically the same things Obama has been saying for the passed couple of months. Except with a nice, calm, field of wheat. Mmmmmm wheat.
I wanted to address a part of Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy very breifly. I know it’s rather old news, but I wanted to talk about this notion of sitting down with Iran and Cuba “without pre-conditions”. John McCain seems to think this is the most inexcusable act that a God fearing, American citizen could ever consider. But is it really?
Honestly, we seem to have this notion that we are America, and before we even meet with you, we want out demands to be met. In reality a true diplomatic sit down has no preconditions. It’s two parties who are willing to sit down peacefully to discuss terms and try to avoid escalation, and needless suffering. Last I checked, going to war was a bad thing. Shouldn’t we avoid it at all costs?
Brand new McCain ad...try not to stare it makes my brain hurt.
Being raised by my very Cuban family, and living in Miami, FL, has made me very knowledgable about Cuban history and life before la Revolución. It seems as though I always hear about how Cuba, pre-Castro was a utopia, where everything was better than America, and life was good. And trust me, I can believe it. You can see it in the faces of the people, family members, who lived there.
Seeing that Miami, FL is so saturated in Cuban culture, our poltics always have that “Cuban additive” in them. Candidates down here find themselves facing a slew of questions about their policy on the Cuban embargo, and what they plan to do about the regime. Try going north of Orlando and see if anyone cares.
Lately, one major comparison down here is that “People in Cuba wanted ‘Change’ and look what happened.” Castro led a military revolution to over throw Fulgencio Batista. He promised to hold elections and never did. He proclaimed to his people that if they even looked upon him poorly, he would relinquish power and leave peacefully. Fidel Castro was never an elected official. He is a MURDERER, a TYRANT, and a COMMUNIST.
Hmm, doesn’t seem like what’s going on here at all. I don’t see Barack Obama charging his forces through the streets. This is still a nation, with checks and balances and a constitution. Refer to my past post on Barack Obama and Socialism for more differences. And lets try to keep these asinine comparisons to dictators and tyrants to a minimum. Peace Out.
Frankly, I am fairly confident that Barack Obama will snag this election up by a fair majority and he really doesn’t need that half hour spot on all the major networks on Wednesday, but hey…thats just me. However, I do see a problem that Barack Obama could have in this election. One that maybe might even hand it over to John McCain.
Last week, I decided to go vote early. To my surprise I waited about an 1 hour, 45 minutes before I could vote. Since then the lines in my favorite battleground state (Florida) have only gotten bigger. Barack Obama, in my opinion, needs the youth vote in order to be able to lock this state up. I just don’t see the youth vote waiting outside for upwards of 3 hours to vote.
If Barack Obama wants to ensure that those voters who compromise a group I like to call “convenience voters” (voters who will only vote if it doesn’t screw up their day) he needs to start pushing alternative methods, i.e. the gloriously underrated Absentee Ballot.
So I pose the question to you guys. What do you think could be a wrench in the Obama campaign’s machine? Does John McCain still have hope? Comment below, Peace Out!
This post is for my friend Jen, who thinks that I am some what biased when it comes to the scope of my blog.
According to MSNBC, The Obama Campaign bumped the national anthem to make room for more speakers at the rally. Here is the excerpt from the post.
Not present, or at least not singing the National Anthem at the rally was Londonderry senior Zach Bencal.
Bencal, who sings the anthem for a number of school events and is actively involved in local community theatre, had been contacted by the Obama campaign to sing the anthem. He agreed to do so, then was told later in the evening the anthem had been scratched from the program. Bencal said he was told by the campaign the decision was a simple programming change to make room for another speaker.
“We regret the miscommunication with Zach about today’s event but we are pleased that several other New Hampshire residents were able to speak at today’s event, where thousands of voters in both parties gathered to hear Sen. Obama discuss his plan to bring the change we need to Washington.”
Sandra Abrevaya, communications director for the Obama campaign’s Manchester office, confirmed the choice had simply been a last-minute scratch from the rally’s program, which included the Pledge of Allegiance.
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” Bencal said.
This isn’t very uncool I must say, I mean it IS the pledge of alliegance and the national anthem. It does show that the media in general seems to pick and choose what they report. And I am also including FOX News in this, because this definitely seems like something Bill O’Reilly would be foaming at the mouth over. The McCain campaign gets a lot of heat, sometimes it’s deserved, sometimes it’s not. The public scrutiny should go both ways. Lets make sure we as voters keep our political scopes relatively unfocused, so as to see the bigger picture, and keep focus on both candidates equally. Peace Out.
It seems as though when John McCain isn’t discussing what Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher discussed with him during their morning conference call, he is calling Obama a socialist. Now, trying my hardest to spare you a lecture on the tenets of modern day socialism, I am going to explain why Barack Obama’s tax plan isn’t socialist, and why technically this nation isn’t capitalist.
First of all. Barack Obama’s tax plan isn’t socialist at all. In fact, when either Sen. Obama or Sen. McCain refer to is as a “distribution of wealth” or “spreadin’ the wealth around” thats just a dramatic over simplification, and in some respects even a misconception. Barack Obama is basically eliminating the Bush Tax Cuts, and raising the higher tax brackets to the same levels set during the Clinton Administration, which is remembered for it’s economic success (see a great stat sheet here in PDF form).
Barack Obama’s tax plan though more progressive, is no where near as Socialist as the GOP or John McCain make it sound. If you think a progressive, fair share tax plan is Socialism, then we have been a socialist nation for 100 years now. What Barack Obama’s plan is doing is basically closing these unfair loopholes that higher tax brackets take advantage of in order to pay the least amount possible. If you and I are paying our fair share, so should everyone else, right?
This idea of Socialism and “redistribution of wealth” is like a horse with blinders on, focused on one purpose but ignoring the facts around it. Every time the Government builds a road, makes a social security or welfare payment, or pays for an elderly persons medical care, that by definition IS a redistribution of wealth. People argue that the bailout bill is the “downfall of capitalism in America.” But are we all that capitalistic?
In reality the government involves itself in the economy all the time. The Pentagon procurements that keep defense contractors operating, creating defense technology and weapons is an example of government intervention in the military economy. The FDA is an example of government intervention in business, as it is the gateway for foods and medicines to the open market. No approval, no sale. Pre-college education, AMTRAK, and the USPS are all provided and controlled by the government. And our Bailout plan doesn’t really scream laissez faire either. In reality, we are a mixed economy, and I don’t think this has crept up on us out of no where.
Barack Obama’s tax plan & healthcare system may be progressive, but it is far from a radical shift to socialism. As I am flipping through the pages, I really don’t see any ideal that isn’t already in place. I don’t see Barack Obama’s plan to buy up the means of production, set production quotas, or abolish private property and capital. He is not buying up factories and forming “The Bureau of Wages” either. Have a great Friday.
Ok, before I delve in, I want to state a couple of things outright.
First, I want to repudiate the fact that my friends think I am a dirty, partisan liberal. I am not, I am a Republican, who saw what his party was becoming, and what it started to stand for, and decided to jump ship before it sucked me in to the abyss. I am an independent. Been one for quite a while now.
Lastly, I want to clearly communicate my beliefs, and show you that I am neither brain washed nor misinformed. I am an educated individual, capable of making my own decisions. It’s kind of insulting that some would think that.
I am willing to admit that in modern U.S. Politics we will never have a “perfect candidate”. That one candidate that will make everyone happy, and will make everything perfect. I think that the political state of this nation is choosing ”the lesser of two evils”, and this election is by no means different. Both candidates have their obvious flaws, they have had their ups and downs. But without a doubt, this campaign became an ugly one, a long time ago, and John McCain’s true colors bled out.
I think the McCain/Palin campaign has been launching accusations and attacks far more than they have been discussing issues. Look, I understand attacking Obama, it’s all part of the game. But these attacks are just baseless and borderline lunatic. I understand the Jeremiah Wright incident. However, I will give Obama the benefit of the doubt on this. I think a man should be judged by his actions and by his words. Barack Obama condemned Wright’s obviously insane comments. I have sat in front of many pastors that I have disagreed with in my life, I don’t think it’s fair to hold that against me. I have discussed ad-nauseam the Bill Ayers link so I’ll spare you, as I will also spare you the ignorant supporters that shout death threats. You all know what I have to say about that.
John McCain tends to hover over yet another misconception, this idea of “Barack the Socialist”. I’ll keep this brief. The GOP tends to blur the lines between Socialism and Communism, and people tend to forget what socialism is. Google Socialism, do some research, find out what Socialism TRULY is, and then if you still think Barack Obama is a Socialist, come back and talk to me.
On the subject of taxes, I do agree that raising the corporate gains tax does tend to affect what businesses do best…business. But at the same time, I think we are at a point in our economy where we can justify making any of the Bush tax cuts permanent. It just doesn’t make sense to me how cutting the government’s income is going to be a benefit to our current situation or the actions we intend to take about it. Here’s Sarah Palin on Biden’s stance on taxes:
“You said recently that higher taxes or asking for higher taxes or paying higher taxes is patriotic. In the middle class of America, which is where Todd and I have been all of our lives, that’s not patriotic.”
That is such a terrible, stupid thing to say. First of all, Obama has stressed that his tax cuts are for the middle class. But lets forget I said that. Governor Palin loves to make taxes seem like a major drag. I want to quote Thomas Friedman’s great article on this issue. Here is an excerpt, but read it all, it really is good.
I only wish she had been asked: “Gov. Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn’t from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects — printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?” That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.
Is paying taxes patriotic? You are God damned right it is. Much like Friedman I was raised in a middle class family, where my single mother supported a family of four and always paid her share of taxes. Taxes are the life blood of this nation. Friedman went on to quote Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. “I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.” Great quote.
While on the subject of Sarah Palin, I don’t think she can run this nation. Anybody got a nicer word than “inept”? I won’t even go to her links to secessionists (all lies right?) and the whack job Joe Vogler, because well, you already know that. I guess won’t bring up the entire Katie Couric interview, cause well, you know that too. But I want to bring up yet another “epic” quote.
“We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation.”
Wow. Let that soak in a bit and then please tell me why you want this woman as the back-up to a 72 year old man with a not-so-hot track record for health. Sure, I have given her credit where it was due, but come on. The notion that some areas of the country are “better” or “real Americans” as opposed to others is the most narrow-minded dribble I have heard in a long time. Way to persuade voters guys!
Look in closing. I want to say that this isn’t some sort of radical overnight shift in my behavior. This is me, seeing the facts, looking at both sides of the issue, and making the choice I think is right. In the end, for these reasons, and many others, I cannot give my vote to John McCain. Barack Obama isn’t the greatest choice either, but in the end, John McCain is worse. If you can’t take my word for it, ask Colin Powell, or any of the other prominent Republicans who has given him their support. Peace out, thanks for listening.
P.S.
Notice, I didn’t once mention Joe The Plumber. Thats because he is insignificant.
Last night on Meet the Press (R.I.P Tim Russert) Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. If you sit quietly, you can still hear McCain cursing. Colin Powell is without a doubt one of my favorite, if not my most favorite Republicans. The man is one of the most effective and intelligent generals that has ever served this nation, he is a statesman, and in my opinion a true patriot, and someday even a great president. I even did my first book report in the sixth grade on his biography. However, what struck me the most is why he endorsed Barack Obama.
Powell sees Obama as a “transformational figure” and a “new generation coming onto the world stage…”. I couldn’t agree more. But most importantly of all, he addressed my major concern (and one of my major reasons) for not voting for John McCain. Here is a quick excerpt from the CNN article I found.
Powell said he was concerned about what he characterized as a recent negative turn of Republican candidate Sen. John McCain’s campaign, such as the campaign’s attempts to tie Obama to former 1960s radical Bill Ayers.
“I think that’s inappropriate. I understand what politics is about — I know how you can go after one another, and that’s good. But I think this goes too far, and I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It’s not what the American people are looking for,” he said.
100% spot on.
Could this be the final nail in the coffin for the McCain/Palin campaign? Who knows? There is still plenty of time left, and frankly anything can happen. All I know is that the amount of respect I have for Colin Powell, and the fact that he has endorsed Barack Obama for the correct reasons will serve to reinforce the decision some have made to support him, and will cause others to re-think their decisions to support John McCain.
During the final presidential debate, John McCain said this about Bill Ayers
Yes, real quick. Mr. Ayers, I don’t care about an old washed-up terrorist.
So the focus of your entire campaign, more so than health care, more so than the economy is no longer a concern to you? Then why are auto dialing machines calling people with this message?
“You need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge’s home, and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country.”
Frankly, the McCain campaign is clinging to straws at this point. The campaign continues to allow these baseless accusations to go unchecked, letting them grow like wildfire. All this while John McCain demands of Obama to repudiate statements made against him. I am sorry Senator, this is very much a two way street. For every minute you attack Barack Obama for this nonsense is a minute you aren’t talking about the issues.
First of all, the debate tonight was a very interesting one. I do believe Barack Obama won this debate, however I give him this victory with a few caveats. Barack Obama was almost, a bit TOO mellow tonight. He had a few opportunities to come after John McCain on a few subjects. That being said, John McCain was on a major offensive tonight, especially at the beginning. However, I think John McCain did not succeed in staging his much needed and much anticipated “last stand”. In the first thirty minutes of the debate, John McCain did take the debate and was on the right track. As the debate went on, Obama maintained his cool while McCain lost his. McCain’s temprament and body language spoke volumes for him. it definitely showed McCain was angry and annoyed. With all the sighing and the expressions it was obvious. Despite that, it was definitely McCain’s best debate, definitely Obama’s worst debate. But in the end, on his worst debate, I think Barack Obama came out with a win based on the issues, based on his temperament, and based on staying germane to what’s important. But it was a close win none the less.
Like I have done before I want to touch on a few topics and discuss key moments in the overall debate. So lets jump in.
First of all I want to address what I thought was a very important part of the debate. John McCain, up until the point where he was discussing campaigning and the personal attacks in the campaigns. At this point is where, in my opinion, John McCain started to slip. I think he dragged this John Lewis incident on and on, almost as if he wanted Barack Obama to apologize on his behalf. People don’t want to hear about hurt feelings and partisan rambling. That being said, John McCain did go there as he promised he would. What Lewis said was not the issue. The issue is with what McCain said to Obama in regards to that.
Every time there’s been an out-of-bounds remark made by a Republican, no matter where they are, I have repudiated them. I hope that Sen. Obama will repudiate those remarks that were made by Congressman John Lewis, very unfair and totally inappropriate.
I was a bit appauled by this. John McCain’s supporters are shouting for Obama’s death, accusing the man of being a terrorist, and he wants Barack Obama to repudiate a negative statement against him and Sarah Palin? Barack Obama definitely kept his cool in this situation, something I can’t really say about myself. I’ve addressed this issue already, however I do want to emphasis one more point John McCain said in response to Barack Obama bringing these death threat remarks. John McCain treats this as an isolated incident and I whole heartedly disagree. It is obvious that this a larger problem that John McCain, but mainly Sarah Palin, refuse to address. If McCain wants repudiation for a single man’s comments, then he must give Obama the same in return. Either way this was a positive and negative aspect of the debate. Positive because it needed to be addressed face to face by both candidates, and negative because, frankly we are all sick of it.
In regards to the Economy, I definitely think it was a very “John McCain” dominated area. Coming right off the block, Sen. McCain had Obama on the defensive. John McCain definitely over shadowed Obama on this part of the debate. Obama did make the usual points he makes, but here I think is where John McCain’s offense paid off. This part here resounded with me the most:
The fact is that businesses in America today are paying the second highest tax rate of anywhere in the world. Our tax rate for business in America is 35 percent. Ireland, it’s 11 percent.
Where are companies going to go where they can create jobs and where they can do best in business?
We need to cut the business tax rate in America. We need to encourage business.
I do agree with this. I do think this would create some jobs now. But again, it’s times like these where tax cuts aren’t going to work. If the government is not taking in, we cannot pay out. My economics professor spoke about how during times of recession, the government has to observe a “contractionary” (He may have made that word up, bare with me) policy so to speak. This is where the government takes in more, and spends less. Cutting taxes is great, but they need to be precision cuts to the right people. I do think that Barack Obama keeps avoiding specifically what he plans to cut.
On health care, it’s a different story. I think Barack Obama was spot on when it came to his plan to alleviate the health care woes in this country. Not only did he reinforce his own policy changes, but I think he countered John McCain very well.
He says he’s going to give you all a $5,000 tax credit. That sounds pretty good. And you can go out and buy your own insurance.
Here’s the problem — that for about 20 million people, you may find yourselves no longer having employer-based health insurance. This is because younger people might be able to get health insurance for $5,000, young and healthy folks.
Older folks, let’s healthy folks, what’s going to end up happening is that you’re going to be the only ones left in your employer-based system, your employers won’t be able to afford it.
I wish I could fit a little more but I don’t want this blog to get too long.
This debate was a very close one. I think John McCain did bring his A game but at the same time, a mellowed out Barack held his on the the issues. To call a winner in this debate is going to come down to a personal preference. That’s how close it is. Some will call it for Obama, others will call it for McCain based soley on their alleigiance to the candidate. I, again gave it Obama for the simple reason that I agree with him the most. Most people will assign the winner in the same way I think. Either way, it was the better of the three debates no doubt, and definitely a valiant effort by John McCain. Will it be enough to get him a lead in the polls? I doubt it. But with 3 weeks left, anything can still happen. Peace Out!
With the third presidential debate drawing near, I have been noticing the media has been hinting that John McCain is going to be addressing Barack Obama’s link with domestic terrorism Bill Ayers during the debate itself. Frankly, if John McCain wants to go down this road, he needs to do one of two things. Either prepare to bring evidence showing an 8 year old Barack Obama lighting the fuses along side Bill Ayers, or prepare to be torn apart by Barack Obama for trying to assign him guilt by association and taking the focus off the issues like our current economic crisis during a debate. This debate is all or nothing for John McCain. He needs to leave these ignorant, baseless attacks to the stump speeches and start addressing issues. All this “Who is Barack Obama, and where did he come from?” nonsense needs to end. Are the two autobiographies, senate experience, and the two and a half years of media scrutiny not enough? Oh that’s right, Sarah Palin doesn’t read…my bad. Either way, John McCain better bring his A game tonight if he wants a hope of closing the gap in the polls a bit. I’ll definitely be back to give me post debate summary so stay tuned. Peace Out.
I have been saying this until I was blue in the face, and it has finally come true. I caught this story on CNN this morning before I left for Jiu Jitsu. Here is a video though I urge you to read the article:
There is nothing like getting booed by your own supporters. After this entire week, the McCain/Palin campaign has been jumping through hoops to try to connect Barack Obama to a “domestic terrorist” (while Obama was 8 years old) and who is currently reformed English professor and community activist. I responded to that link, I won’t go in to it again. But what I want people to notice is that now, these attacks have completely exploded in McCain’s face. His supporters are blathering the ignorant dribble that Sarah Palin has been pushing all week (like if she has known it her whole life) and simply taking it to the next level. ”I don’t trust Obama. I have read about him and he’s an Arab.” said one lady at that rally in Minnesota. Now John McCain has to back pedal because this level of ignorance, that was fueled like a furnace on Monday, stands to drag John McCain down today, much farther down that he already is at.
That one? Are you serious? I doubt John McCain could look any less like an a-hole by referring to his senate colleague as “that one”. I, frankly am suprised that the media hasn’t slammed him even more for this. Honestly, I believe Senator McCain sincerely doesn’t like Senator Obama, but he should at least dial it down a bit.
Despite that, Barack Obama commanded this debate in my opinion. He was on the offensive, always throwing McCain off his game. He definitely said things people wanted to hear, and the town hall format gave him the opportunity to defend against John McCain’s attacks on the fly. He reinforced his health care plan big time and it seemed as the people connected with his more than McCain’s. On Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama again reinforced the flaws and shortfalls of the war, and John McCain’s involvement with it. Here is a great line:
“Well, you know, Sen. McCain, in the last debate and today, again, suggested that I don’t understand. It’s true. There are some things I don’t understand.
I don’t understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, while Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are setting up base camps and safe havens to train terrorists to attack us.” — Sen. Barack Obama
In my opinion this stopped John McCain cold. This was in response to McCain saying that Obama “does not understand our national security challenges.” Obama went on to say:
“We’ve spent, so far, close to $700 billion and if we continue on the path that we’re on, as Sen. McCain is suggesting, it’s going to go well over $1 trillion. We’re spending $10 billion a month in Iraq at a time when the Iraqis have a $79 billion surplus, $79 billion. And we need that $10 billion a month here in the United States to put people back to work, to do all these wonderful things that Sen. McCain suggested we should be doing, but has not yet explained how he would pay for.” — Sen. Barack Obama
Boom. Barack Obama did a great job linking the Iraq and OUR economy monetarily. It really puts in to perspective just how the Iraq War has affected our economy. Obama was also strong on the environment. Though I agree, we should explore more nuclear power options, that should only play a small roll in a larger plan. A plan involving solar, wind, hydro-electric to name a few. This was by far my favorite line with regards to alternative fuels and the environment.
“Sen. McCain and I actually agree on something. He said a while back that the big problem with energy is that for 30 years, politicians in Washington haven’t done anything.
What Sen. McCain doesn’t mention is he’s been there 26 of them. And during that time, he voted 23 times against alternative fuels, 23 times.” — Sen. Barack Obama
Definitely a win for Obama. It was an undisputed win at that. I have no doubt that come tomorrow, boost Barack Obama even more in the polls.
P.S.
I used the CNN Political Ticker’s Transcript of the Debate for this post, visit it here!
I can’t watch this woman on TV anymore, she irritates me so much. Her voice, her empty baseless attacks that I am almost positive someone told her to say cause she doesn’t know a DAMN thing. I can’t take this hockey mom, joe six pack, “you betcha!” nonsense anymore. If she winks at the camera one more time I am going to lose my mind. I can’t imagine a world where this woman can be so close to the presidency of this nation. This isn’t a sexist thing. If I get one more woman ask me what my problem is with a woman vice president, I am going to spazz out. I have already gone down the list of women who he could have chosen that would have contributed positively to not only John McCain’s ticket, but also this nation should he be elected. Sarah Palin is outraged at the “evil leftist media” for asking her all these tough questions like “What newspaper do you read?”
This entire thing with Bill Ayers and Barack Obama is such a stretch of the truth. When Ayers was bombing empty offices Obama was 8 years old. As much as Sarah Palin wants to picture an 8 year old Obama lighting the fuses with Ayers thats not so. And the fact that he “palls around with him” is also not so. Considering that they served together on an anti-poverty group, Woods Fund Of Chicago, from 1999-2002. This hardly makes Obama guilty by association, and only further proves the McCain/Palin campaign is desperate, and slowly realizing that their lack of attention to the economy is causing them to slip in the polls.
I think I know what’s going on here. The Republican party and the Republican constituency are openly supportive of Palin. They cheer, they chant her name, they dig all this hockey mom nonsense. But deep down, they are freaking out. Sarah Palin may be a great lady, but the woman cannot lead this nation. The GOP is trying so hard to mold her, but frankly it’s too little too late. All the coaching and all the advisers in all the world cannot mold Sarah Palin in to an acceptable Vice President.
Recently, the bitter partisanship in Washington, among other factors, caused me to lose the little faith I had in our government and the people that we have appointed to run it, on both sides. However, I did however, keep the faith that this bitter partisanship had not trickled down to the common man.
Sadly, I was wrong.
This weekend I ran in to a Republican who fit the idea the people have about the Republican party so well. This person is one of those people who love to impose their beliefs on you, constantly. I would describe it more as a fanatical, militant loyalty rather than a political party affiliation. If you don’t believe what they believe then, well you’re stupid, you’re wrong and you’re “lost”. For all the partisan bitterness, there was little substance. Fortunately I kept my cool and I refrained from laying my political smack down. Because whenever you encounter one of these “blind followers” of any political party you have to keep in mind that you can never argue with ignorance and expect to win.
But I wanted to let you know that just because there are some complete morons like the one described above, there are others that are quite the opposite. I also spoke to an couple of intelligent Republican this weekend, who are respectful, well spoken, and make great points that as an independent make me think. At the same time they are receptive and open minded, not confrontational at all. I just wanted to share a few thoughts and make a point. There will be some people who follow blindly, for whatever reason, and close their minds to everyone and everything else. Those people are called SHEEP.
Whoever you follow, Democrats, Republicans, Independents… be open minded, and be educated on all the issues, and all the sides. But most importantly, I find that I learn the most from those who disagree with me, more than those who do. I think if we all kept that in mind political discourse in this country would be much more productive.
Oh, and don’t be a douche bag. That too. Peace Out!
I thought the debate went really well, and I was extremely impressed by Sarah Palin. That being said, the reason I was extremely impressed is because I really wasn’t expecting much, but hey it’s something right? Since the beginning, I think Sarah Palin was looking to give off an impression to the viewers. She was definitely going for the impression that she was just a “hockey mom” (sorry I am sick that that too) who just got sucked into the male driven world of Washington politics. The “Hey, can I call you Joe?” and all the similar talk showed that Plain was trying hard to make herself look unpolitical, so to speak. No doubt that it was her goal to dial down her status and try to relate to the average person, but after a while it just seemed like pandering. The idea of this “lady taking on the Washington establishment” is pretty transparent, in my opinion. She seems to hammer that point frequently, and the more she does, the more I don’t care. You were offered the job, and you know what it requires. And frankly, on a side note, the little winks and shrugs, don’t work. That is not something a president does. I keep having this reoccurring dream that she is negotiating a nuclear treaty with Iran and when they start pressuring her she will get all cutesy and wink at Ahmadinejad, “Ohh Mahmūd, say it ain’t so!!” If that doesn’t scare you, you’ve got problems. Sarah Palin did, however meet her goal, which was to repair her image and in a way, earn the viability as a vice-presidential candidate. The CBS interview with Katie Couric was starting to nudge at some Republicans a bit as to whether or not she was fit to step in if something happened to John McCain in office. I definitely think she accomplished that. But whether she won the debate or not is…well, debatable.
The debate winner, is definitely Joe Biden. He debated John McCain and his issues, and not Sarah Palin which is ideal, because in the end that’s what it’s all about. He didn’t ramble, he wasn’t biting either. He won this debate not because of anything having to do with Sarah Palin, like I said she represented John McCain VERY well. He won because he argued the points and showed his vast experience in all areas, especially in Foreign Policy. He connected with the Middle-Class extremely well, even more so than Sarah Palin (sorry Sarah, but darn it I just didn’t care for ya! *wink*). He delivered excellent replies and brought in to question various McCain policies on Foreign Policy, Taxes, and most notably the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. What also helped him out was in the instances where Sarah Palin called him out on how he disagreed with Barack Obama on certain issues. He handled those questions very well and it showed that he wasn’t a yes man, that he wasn’t afraid to give his input which I think is valuable to any president. And lastly, his words about his personal experiences with his family and the experience of loss, showed his human side and I am sure was very effective in relating to the average voter. I think Joe Biden both stated, and defended Barack Obama’s policies well, while calling out John McCain on his. All in all a good debate, with a clear winner, but a close second for Palin.
I did cut this blog down, the length was way too long. I will post the rest of it later, it still needs some tweaking. Stay Tuned!
I was watching the news and caught John McCain’s address at a rally in Missouri today. Aside from the usual comments about the dire situation of our economy and what he is going to do, he started making points about unity and bipartisanship. I was a bit surprised considering that this part of his speech was normally used to blame Obama for the failing economy, the bickering congress, and his back pain. But not today apparently. He actually…didn’t sound like the partisan d-bag he normally comes off as. I definitely think that parachuting in the Bailout situation and then seeing it not get passed, by his own party, has sort of humbled his approach a bit. I guess we will see if this lasts or not.
I want to make somethings clear, especially now that I have gotten a chance to cool down from my patriotic, panic driven, stock tumbling meltdown I had this afternoon. When I said that I would not vote Republican, I sincerely meant it. Do the Democrats have some blame in this? Absolutely. I think both sides are to blame in the big picture of this economic crisis. But in regards to today, the Republicans have dropped the ball for no good reason what-so-ever. At a time when President Bush, Democrat, and Republican leadership were UNITED under the idea that this plan is nasty and dirty but EXTREMELY necessary to ensure that people keep their money and stay in there homes. I mean thats the point of this. This Bailout Bill is more of a rescue bill. Rescuing us from a second Great Depression.
I promise you, what has happened today is inexcusable. Politicians in this country have given in to this partisanship hatred. Because thats what it is, it’s hatred. You can see it too, you can see it in their faces, in their eyes. You can see it in John McCain’s face when he was debating Barack Obama the other night. This hatred only causes problems, not solutions. The reason the DOW fell 777 points today is because Republican Party voted with partisanship in mind. Check this video out for a second, and see what I mean:
I think this speaks for itself. So I will move on…
I was writing a blog this morning, preparing to endorse a candidate for President, somthing that I have been putting off for a while, because I think it’s around times like these where politicians show their true colors a bit. Usually closer to election time, candidates have debated a few times, and I can more or less feel them out. Well I am done deciding. I am an Independent voter supporting Barack Obama for President. By no means am I endorsing or registering as a Democrat, I like being an Independent, it gives me leeway to slam both parties. But I strongly believe Barack Obama is the lesser of two evils. I believe that the partisan hate is weak in him, I believe in the man, and I agree with most of his positions on the issues (minus of course his stance on Abortion for reasons of my faith). In a time like this we need to raise taxes to the rich and corporations, we need to enter a “take in more, spend less” mind set when it comes to government funding and spending. So there you have it. Peace Out.
Well, there we go. The House has turned down the Bailout Bill, and the partisan blame game has just begun. I am officially scared, and frankly, I am rarely scared about things like this. We are in for some seriously rough times. Ok, my calm tone will now end, and my angry tone will now take over.
God Damn It. I cannot believe that this did not pass. I CANNOT fathom that these people, these “adults” are in charge of our government. You guys shoot this plan down and then start bickering and pointing fingers. I cannot stress enough how badly we need this bill to pass. This is not even close to the perfect solution but this is a step in the right direction. Our economy is slowly falling, banks, financial institutions that have been around for close to 100 years are crashing all around our feet and all you can do is sit around and bicker.
I love this country so damn much that to see this scares me to the core. It scares me that Congress cannot sit down and say to themselves “Lets cut the crap and do what is best for this nation.” People are losing their money. Companies are cutting jobs and banks are closing doors. The DOW dropped 777.68 points. Congress has let us down. The Democrats yielded 140 Yea, 95 Nay, successfully rallying the majority of their party behind this bill. The Republicans voted 65 Yea, 133 Nay. The Republicans have voted against this because Nancy Pelosi made comments about how Bush destroyed Clinton’s established surplus. See the full article here.
Pelosi said “$700 billion [is a] a staggering number, but only a part of the cost of the failed Bush economic policies – policies that were built on budget recklessness … combined with an anything goes economic policy, [that] have taken us to where we are today.”
I want to make this clear. You can’t argue this, there is no doubt, the Republicans have said this themselves. There is no conjecture, there is no speculation or anything to take out of context. The REPUBLICAN PARTY has taken comments made by Nancy Pelosi personally and is punishing this nation for it. They have voted against their own President, their own presidential candidate, and their own party leaders. The reason this bill failed because of Republican House Members.
I am SO OUTRAGED that I am almost to tears frankly, something that is very unlike me. The Republican Party has shafted this nation out of stupidity. A REPUBLICAN WILL NEVER GET MY VOTE AGAIN. I am forced to do this because of the ineptitude and unprofessionalism of this party, it is irrefutable! The DOW is down 777 points because of them. If tomorrow morning there are bank runs and economic panics it will be BECAUSE OF THEM. If more banks fall tomorrow, it will be because of the handful of Republicans that let this happen. This is beyond presidential elections, beyond Sarah Palin, and beyond anything else. This is the Republican Party acting contrary to the best interests of this nation because they are offended. Country First? No. Country Last.
Interesting article on CNN Money yesterday. At a time when the government is using tax payer money to bailout large institutions, it’s strange we haven’t been hearing from the angry tax payer more. I mean should we just let AIG, and companies like Bear Sterns and Fannie & Freddie fall? I don’t know. As it seems, they did sort of get themselves into this. But at the same time the massive impact of these companies falling on our economy would be…well catastrophic. Love him or hate him, Jim Cramer made a very good point on his show Friday. We don’t know how close we came to a very terrible situation.
Yes, using our tax dollars to bailout companies for bad, risky decisions they chose to make sucks. But in the end, we need to weigh the need. These companies made very poor choices at a time where the market was doing great, and now it has chomped down on their ass. But the impact would be so much greater if they let them fall. It’s definitely a rock and a hard place situation. The $700 Billion bailout plan being pushed through congress seems like a step in the right direction (be it a step in the right direction with tax payer money). However, I agree with Sen. John McCain, this situation requires independent, bipartisan oversight. Secretary Paulson is doing a good job trying to stabilize the market, but thats a lot of money, and the more experts involved the better.
I’ve taken a bit of a break from politics lately. The constant media coverage, the back and forth gets a bit tiring. But after the 500 point drop in our stock market, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the bailout of AIG, Inc. makes me remember an article I read not too long ago about John McCain’s economic advisor, Former Senator Phil Gramm, who is not vice chairman of UBS. He said some pretty interesting stuff back in a July interview with the Washington Post. He described the job loss and economic problems then, which we can assume were the precursor to this and things to come, as “being a mental recession”, and we had become a “nation of whiners”.
Is that still the case Phil? Is it still all in our heads? The nationalization of Freddie and Fanny, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the $85 Billion Bailout of AIG, that is all mental. It’s comments like these that show how out of touch Republicans are with the economy. Take Phil Gramm for example. He is a former Senator, Vice Chairman of UBS, one of a larger Swiss Banks. You think he is in a position to tell us why we shouldn’t be whining? Unemployment is SHOCKINGlY high, the Stock Market rides like The Hulk Roller-coaster at Islands of Adventure, and if that weren’t enough mortgage lenders are crashing down around us and the housing market is flattening out. Phil Gramm doesn’t know what the American people are going through. And when he says things like this, it makes John McCain look like he doesn’t know either. If John McCain wants to win this election, he needs to relate to the average person. Right now, people see him as elitist and out of touch with the common man. And I honestly can’t say thats not true. I think in an economic climate such as this, where the average, middle class consumer is feeling the brunt of the s*** storm that is our economy, the Republicans are already at a handicap. That coupled with the fact that, like a new toy four days after christmas, the intrigue people had for potential vice-president (*gulp*) Sarah Palin has worn out, which is giving the Dems a bit of surge. We are only a month and a half or so away from “The Day” so lets see how this turns out.
Personally, I can’t wait till it’s over. Peace Out.
It seems to me that Barack Obama is loosing the boost he had. Ever since his fiery, historic Denver DNC speech, Barack Obama has seemed a bit boring. He used to have these really swift, well delivered responses to everything. But now, when he isn’t going on and on about something, he gets that look on his face like the Republicans are getting to him. The Democrats are epically well known for loosing elections. Barack Obama needs to do what Bill Clinton did and start going to the mattresses. Go out there and win it, the stage for a Democratic victory in this election is set. The country is reeling from the disaster of the Bush Administration and the “Bush Congress”.
I am not saying that McCain is getting a boost where Barack is faltering. John McCain is seemingly doing well because most of the Republican party drank the Sarah Palin Kool-Aid and are now making her look like the next best thing since The Beatles. There is a perfect reason why John McCain is not campaigning without her for very long. She brings crowds, she riles up the base. Something that he can’t do by himself. Let me not talk about Sarah Palin anymore, I don’t want to be accused of sexism and then forced to apologize by John McCain.
Barack Obama needs to seize this election once more. Hopefully he will find his second wind quickly, other wise, this will be a red election once again.
As I was doing my morning blog sweep, I noticed a few stories where it seems all the McCain campaign is doing is just, as Stephen Colbert puts it, wagging the finger at the Democrats. First off, here is Barack Obama addressing the Republicans new “campaign for change” from the CNN article:
Obama made the remarks at a Virginia campaign stop late Tuesday afternoon. “John McCain says he’s about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is, ‘Watch out George Bush – except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics – we’re really gonna shake things up in Washington,’” Obama said.
“That’s not change. That’s just calling something the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it’s still going to stink after eight years. We’ve had enough of the same old thing.”
Apparently John McCain didn’t like this, saying it was an attack against Sarah Palin, who said in her acceptance speech that:
“You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”
Oh boo friggin’ hoo. If you want to strech Obama’s remarks completely out of context and say that it was an attack against Sarah Palin, then she deserved it. Cause that’s a stupid Sarah Palin quote and I am sick of hearing it. It’s up there with the Bridge to Nowhere quote and her dumb crack at community organizers. But alas, his comment is merely referring to the fact that the Republicans can call their policies whatever they want, but in the end it’s the same. It’s a pretty popular phrase… you know put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. It’s pretty obvious that when the Republicans dish out the attacks, that’s fine. But if you retaliate…you better watch out, cause they’ll run crying to the media calling foul.
Now, here comes Joe Biden, his argument is that if you support helping children with disabilities then, logically, you should support Stem Cell research. I mean, it’s a fair argument, seeing as not only do the Democrats support Stem Cell research, so does John McCain. Joe Biden said:
”I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy … and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect.” He went on to say: ”Well, guess what, folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?”
Uh Oh. He is just arguing the issues right? Apparently McCain/Palin doesn’t agree. His campaign said Joe Biden “sunk to a new low”. David Wade, a spokesman for Joe Biden put it this way…
“This is a clash of policies, not a clash of personalities,” Wade said. “We’ve heard not a dime’s worth of difference between the McCain-Palin ticket and the Bush administration on medical breakthroughs that millions of parents and doctors believe could save lives and transform the quality of life for countless Americans.”
The McCain/Palin ticket is being the whiny kid on the playground who punches you in the face when the teacher is not looking. You are fighting the political battle for the highest position in the United States government. Strap on a helmet, and grow a shell. Speak about the issues, and stop making up controversy.
We are now about to begin the final day of the Republican National Convention. Last night, Sarah Palin delivered a very well received speech, heavy with attacks against Obama. Post-speech, The GOP is singing this woman’s praises. This falls in line with that shiny new Republican message of bipartisanship and hugs & kisses. “We are the Republican Party, we care…want a hug?” The RNC has done a pretty good job so far at uniting the base, and the Palin speech was by far the most poignant. Here is a sort of highlight reel, I can’t find the full version in one video. If anyone else has it, post it as a comment below and I’ll update it.
I have been taking a few shots at Governor Palin lately so I am going to go ahead and say some nice things, take notice it may not happen again. I think she speaks very well and did a fantastic job getting a large group of her voters in the mood for some votin’. Her speech, though heavy on the attacks against Obama and Biden, was still nicely delivered. Though I do think it lacked on key issues and focused more on her being a “hockey mom”, trying to relate to the people on their level. I think Joe Biden made a great point in his response.
“…I was also impressed by what I didn’t hear in the speech. I didn’t hear the word-the phrase-”middle class” mentioned. I didn’t hear about health care. I didn’t hear a single word about what we’re going to do about the housing crisis-college education-all the things that the middle class is being burdened with right now.”
Another thing I am not hearing from the RNC speeches as a whole is “Bush”. The RNC is doing the right thing in setting Bush out as an island unto himself. There is no doubt that George Bush will go down in history as a very disliked president. And if John McCain, who has a 90% voting record in favor of Bush policies, wants to win this election, he is going to need to make clear that what he wants to do, and what he stands for is contrary to the last 8 years. Who knows, it may be too little too late. The damage the Bush Administration caused to the GOP’s favor and reputation may be irreparable. McCain maybe swimming up stream in a hurricane on this one and with Sarah Palin, a woman who some think is unfit for the position, who is surrounded in controversy, is just an additional weight holding him down. The Republican party I think was a bit blind sided by this choice. The Republicans are uniting together under this woman, as if they keep telling themselves that she is qualified over and over again, it might actually come true. ”What she advocates abstinence an no sex education and her daughter got pregnant at 17? No, No, No, she’s qualified!” Sarah Palin can do no wrong. No matter what she does or says the Republicans will spin it as a plus. All I know is if Obama or Biden had a 17 year old daughter who was pregnant out of wedlock, the GOP would have skewered them. Obama showed class for not coming down on Sarah Palin for all of this, knowing full well he would have never been extended the same courtesy. The new Republican message is more a double standard than everything else. So far the message at RNC has been littered with partisan bickering and insults. The Dems are holding back, but I don’t know how much longer Biden can go without fighting back in his own way. It will be an interesting election, lets see how this goes.
This who thing is a supremely large pill to swallow for a 17 year old high school senior, who has the world at his feet, living out the last year of school before college. ”Say that Governor’s daughter is pretty cute!” he thinks to himself as he walks by her in the halls. And so it begins. A long, overly publicized story later, he gets her pregnant. As if things weren’t complicated enough, 5 months later his pregnant girlfriend’s mom gets the vice presidential nomination for the Republican party. Suddenly his situation goes from an isolated incident to a full on media sensation. His MySpace page literally torn to shreds and analyzed bit by bit. “He is listed as ‘in a relationship’, but states that he ‘doesn’t want kids” says the national news anchor. “He also goes on to describe himself as a ‘f*k*n rednek!’.” Further emphasizing the point that you should try real hard not to come off as a jackass on your MySpace, cause you never know who’ll be checkin’ it out. That guy has to be completely freaking out inside. What he once thought was a mistake that will be for the most part contained to his general vicinity has now not only become a national issue, but a hotly debated political issue that plays heavily against what the Republican party stands for. I am sure he didn’t imagine what that one moment would blow up in to. Now he, his girlfriend, and her mother are under the vast and powerful magnifying glass of the media. Not only that, but he has become yet another weapon in the vast Democratic arsenal against John McCain and Sarah Palin. I am sure he could have never expected this was going to be the way it turned out. And in the end, though it will never be said, he probably is being forced to marry her because hell, he’s got to. Some think it’s the right thing to do, some think otherwise, in the end who knows. Do I feel bad for the guy? Absolutely. He is just a kid, who gave in to his hormones (in a state that doesn’t educate in safe sex no doubt) and now he is faced with a situation that has become extremely complicated, extremely quickly. So, if you are having a stressful day, just say to yourself “Hey, at least I didn’t knock up the daughter of the GOP’s Vice Presidential Nominee”.
This recent announcement of Sarah Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy will be some more fuel against Sarah Palin and the McCain Campaign. A McCain aid announced that the Senator knew about this before he chose her, and honestly I think he did the right thing in not letting this be a disqualifying factor. The Palins’ statement was a great one, communicating love and support for their daughter.
“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.”
I hope the Democrats don’t use this as fodder for their attacks. I respect Barack Obama for making a statement about how this shouldn’t be an issue in this election. Much like the mob, in politics I think the family is off limits. This is definitely a private matter for her and her family to deal with themselves, however this brings up some logical points that the democrats will argue.
First of all, if she cannot effectively run her house hold, how can she run a nation? I am sure the Dems are going to come after her with that. A vice presidential candidate chosen largely on her social conservatism, her family values, now has to deal with something that is contrary to that. Now most Democrats won’t dare go there. But as we know, being an asshole is something that transcends party lines. A few people will go there, and WHEN they get there, it will become a valid point.
Secondly, knowing what she knew. Knowing the large amount of public scrutiny that would befall not only her 17 year old daughter, but her family as a whole, why would Gov. Palin agree to this? We all know the media, in their need to report the facts, can more or less tear anyone to shreds. Accepting this type of nomination puts you in a position where every single thing you do and say will be scrutinized and examined. Do I think Sarah Palin and her family can weather the media storm for the duration of this election? I definitely think she can. If her statement is a reflection of her and her husband then yes.
The bad thing about being touted as “socially conservative” is that if even the slightest thing happens contrary to that, well the world ends. But I don’t think it would be fair of any democrat to come after her too harshly for this. People make mistakes, no matter how great your parents may be. Bristol Palin had a lapse in judgement that led to this. If Sarah and Todd Palin treated this in a negative, harsh way it would be far worse. This whole situation, just as it can be spun negatively, can also be spun positively. She and her husband are treating this as two parents who love their kid no matter what, and that I think is highly commendable. I definitely think choosing Sarah Palin was a bad choice. But it was a bad choice for political reasons…not personal. If we are going to criticize John McCain’s choice, do so using her political record, not her personal one.
As you no doubt have heard, John McCain chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Where some believe this is a bad choice, an inexperienced first term Governor next in line to an old, cancer prone preside, others think John McCain is “thinking out of the box”. I think that if John McCain wanted to be considered an exterior box thinker, he’d have picked one of these people…
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime, promoting his movie Transformers
Optimus Prime would have been an excellent choice as Vice President. Not only would he single-handedly clinch the niche group of comic book reading voters, but he would bring a strong presence to his campaign. Optimus Prime has great foreign policy and military experience from battling the Decepticons for the all-spark for so long. Now that Shia LeBouf is safe and the all-spark is destroyed he can focus on a political career.
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Another person John McCain should have considered is Christopher Walken. If one were to speculate why McCain would pick Christopher Walken, the main reason would be “because he is Christopher Walken, that’s why”. Does he have any foreign policy experience? Yes. He is Christopher Walken. Would he be fit to run this nation in a time of crisis? Again, yes. And we all know why.
Walter Sobchak
Walter Sobchak not standing for aggression
A great candidate for the GOP’s VP spot is Walter Sobchak. Walter is not only a party loyal, but also appeals to Jewish voters because among other things, he doesn’t roll on Shabbas. Walter would bring a plethora of military experience to a ticket with plenty of it. However, his no nonsense approach to…more or less everything would have made him a valuable addition to the McCain campaign.
Willford Brimley
Wilford Brimley, staring in to what he calls "the picture taker"
Wilford Brimely would have been a far better choice for VP than perhaps anyone else on this list. Mr. Brimley is not only a well-known Republican and a famed actor but he is a major health care advocate. As you may have noticed, Mr. Brimely has been speaking publically about a new disease called “diabeetus”. Though little is know about this mysterious illness, Mr. Brimley has worked hard to let people know that “If you call Liberty Medical, you can live a normal life.” His nomination would bring much relief to those who think that the GOP ticket needs more of a boost in the health care department.
Sarah Connor
Sarah Connor
Personally if I were John McCain, and I wanted to appeal to female voters, I would have definitely chosen Sarah Connor over Sarah Palin. This Sarah is not only a good mother, but she brings a lot of sound judgement and military experience to the ticket. In the event that highly advanced cybernetic robots travel back in time to attack this nation, Sarah Connor will be ready. Having her as Vice President would definitely raise the American people’s awareness of robotic soldiers from the future, something that in an age of ever evolving technology is VERY important.
As you can see, these are just a few people who would bring more support to an unstable GOP ticket. Where Sarah Palin makes up for in personality and presence, she lacks more or less in everything else. I am sure there are many more candidates who would bring more to the table. Until next time…
John McCain shook the ground by announcing Governor Sarah Pailin as his VP choice. On the surface, Gov. Palin seems like a great choice. She is a hard working person, a great mother and wife to a great family. She is very attractive, confident, and well spoken. But as one delves deeper in to her record and experience, you find that her experience is greatly lacking. And serving under a president who not only is old but has had a long track record with cancer, I can’t possibly believe that she would be qualified to be President of the United States should the unthinkable happen.
Governor Palin is a first-term governor of the state of Alaska. Before that she was the mayor of a town of about 7,000 people. Alaska itself isn’t the most populated of states. And though her track record as governor is I guess acceptable (if I hear “The Bridge To Nowhere” nonsense one more time I might snap) but is it enough? Remember, should John McCain not be able to serve his term, Palin would be responsible for something MUCH bigger than just the state of Alaska. Honestly, I think after her appointment, the GOP shouldn’t be allowed to bring up Obama’s lack of experience anymore. Obama may lack experience as well, however he has not only earned his party’s nomination despite that, he also appointed Sen. Joe Biden, someone who brings a lot of experience in many different areas to the Democratic ticket.
However, Sarah Palin isn’t the problem here at all. The problem is John McCain himself. What does this say about John McCain’s judgement. All of his banners read “Country Comes First” however, this isn’t putting the country first at all. John McCain is 72 years old, and he has had to battle cancer four times. In our histroy 8 presidents have died in office, 4 from assassination, and 4 from illness, making this an unfortunate possibility for any president. John McCain has chosen Sarah Palin after one or two meetings. She is obviously quite in experienced to be so close to the presidency. If the VP were elected by the party I wouldn’t be saying this because, you know, the people have spoken. But this is McCain’s choice, and his choice alone. I am surprised more members of his party are not concerned. He passed over great choices like Tom Ridge, Mitt Romney, Joe Lieberman (a Democratic defector), and Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Senator and most importantly a woman. If John McCain thought that he was going to steal some Hillary supporters with Sarah Pailin, he is wrong. Palin is too socially conservative for Hillary supporters to even consider becoming “McCainocrats”. In the end, Sarah Palin is a first term governor who lacks experience, more so than Barack Obama. I think this decision reflects poorly on not only John McCain, but on the GOP as well. A political party who has had a rough couple of years. I guess time will tell, but speaking as an American voter, I can’t see myself voting for John McCain.
Sorry, but I think I had to eventually. Plus it’s slow around the office so I have time to do write it all out. Before I go on, I want to make a couple of things clear about how I feel, that way you can get a better idea from where I am coming from. I am not affiliated with any party. I believe that political parties skew the fact that one should be voting for a candidate and for the good of the nation and not for the good of the Party. George Washington made a great point in his 1796 Farewell Address. Among other things, he warned against bitter partisanship, and urged men to turn away from division and serve the common good together. That being said, seeing as political parties have become a integral engine in our politcal system, and the fact the politcal candidates align themsleves to these parties based on what they believe, it can be hard to overlook them. Also, my personal and political beliefs are influenced by my faith in God. So when I choose a candidate, I keep my faith in the front of my mind. I completely ignore party affiliations. I look instead at each of the candidates themselves. Issue by issue, what do I agree with, what do I disagree with. Making that informed decision in line with what I feel and believe is important to me. Doing this helps me not only to know the beliefs of the candidate I decide to support, but also on those I don’t support. It all comes back to that informed decision. Cause instead of knowing where one candidate stands, I know where they all stand. And like I learned watching G.I. Joe, knowing is half the battle.
I think in this country, it’s particularly difficult to be a political candidate. Poltics have evolved in so many ways. The way it was done in the 1980’s and the 1990’s is so different than it is today. The Internet 2.0 revolution put a lot of power in everyones hands, not just prospective candidates for office. Look at this very blog for example. I, a lowley business major from Miami can reach anyone around the world basically when ever I want. I joke sometimes and say this is my little corner on the Internet but it’s true! So many YouTube videos and news stories go viral everyday and are seen by millions of people. With things like YouTube ushering in a “Video On Demand” era, everything is front of us for the taking. We have no excuse not to be informed. I can literally go from watching CNN on my TV, then get the streaming news feed on my laptop, and text and video updates on my iPhone. This carries over to campaigns as well, allowing candidates to reach people with the same effect the media can. The YouTube and MySpace debates were the first of their kind, full internet debates. This jump in technology has broadened the media’s reach.
However, the media particularly mainstream outlets, like CNN, MSNBC, etc., are not judging each candidate for their policies or beliefs. Instead these candidates are literally placed under a magnifying glass for their actions and past. Every thing that can be spun in a negative light is, and everything that can be taken out of context will be. A perfect example of this is the situation in which Barack Obama was criticized for not wearing the signature American Flag lapel pin. It seems as though this pin comes in the politician orientation kit (along with a coaster, a free t-shirt and a coupon for a medium, one topping pizza from Pizza Hut). The media billed him as unpatriotic for not clipping on the infamous pin that has adorned the lapel of every political figure since the invention of the camera. I, as a voter, and a person who loves this country, really couldn’t care less. I don’t think a man has to wear a pin to be considered a patriot or a good candidate. But the media, in its need to make nothing in to something, really leaned on the issue. So what happened? Next time we see the Senator, he is proudly wearing his lapel pin. I am sure he sleeps with it now too. Or how about when he called that reporter sweetheart? Come on really? In the context that he used it how is that sexual harassment? The nice elderly lady who I see on cash register #6 at Publix every week calls me sweetheart. Should I be offended? That’s the media again, taking nothing, and turning it into something to throw out there. What a great story it would be if a presidential candidate made a sexist comment? (I wish there was a font for sarcasm…)
Another thing is that I feel pretty bad for John McCain. He is without a doubt my favorite Republican. The man was a Navy pilot, who was shot down in combat, survived as a P.O.W., fought cancer and won 3 times, and is an accomplished Senator and family man. But I think McCain is being over shadowed and under appreciated for a few reasons. First, being more or less the official nominee for the Republican party, John McCain can now start campaigning against his Democratic competition. But sadly, he doesn’t know who that competition might be. And again, back to the media coverage. The battle between Obama and Clinton is taking up the media’s attention span. Even FOX News, a news channel that I would venture to say leans to the conservative end, put Obama and Hillary battles before anything McCain has to say. Secondly, when they do talk about McCain, it’s usually about how old he is. Ok, he is old. Big deal, obviously the man takes care of himself. He is in perfect health and willing and able to lead this nation. Get off it. There have been other old presidents too. Finally, I think that John McCain is campaigning for a party who has been the recipient of its fair share of controversy. Having voted Republican since I was able to vote, I am willing to admit, that the Bush Administration has made its fair share of mistakes, some larger than others. John McCain has to work hard to win over those people within his own party who have lost faith in the leadership. Which will be difficult.
Hillary Clinton scares me. Now, let me make something clear. The reason I don’t like Hillary Clinton is not because she is a woman. I am all for a woman president or an African American president. Either would definitely be a major step forward in our growth as a nation, it really would. But she comes off as calculated, it’s pretty obvious. Every time another candidate says or does something that makes the media go ballistic, there’s Hillary, five minutes later with her response, that is just dripping with this holier than thou smugness. I feel like she lacks sincerity, come on, at least fake it or something. Actually, she does fake it, and you can tell which is the worst part. Of course I know she is just playing the political game like everyone else, but she does it with this sick enjoyment. Great example of that here. Besides, if I were her, I would have stepped down with dignity a long time ago. Give it your all sure, but now what she is doing is diverting the country’s attention from the main event, a politcal debate from both sides of the aisle. She went from the determined candidate to the last person who just won’t leave after a party.
Anyway, I have been working on this for way to long, so I am going to wrap it up. Vote. Vote for someone YOU want. Don’t vote because you are loyal to any particular party, or because your mom told you who to vote for. Make that informed decision and I promise you, you will feel great about it. Your vote is the greatest right you have as an American, don’t just give it to anybody. Peace out.
Welcome to The Jorge Zone! This is my blog, my mental exhaust pipe, slowly filling the atmosphere with my opinions, favorite links, news and the like. This blog is all about the political and social issues we face today. Current events, political & economical happenings, religion & faith, global warming, stuff like ... Continue reading »
I’m back guys, sorry for the long absense, FIU Student Media keeps me busy. Anyway let’s get to it:
Now that the election is over, regardless if your candidate won or lost, just take a deep breath and relax. 
Last night on Meet the Press (R.I.P Tim Russert) Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. If you sit quietly, you can still hear McCain cursing. Colin Powell is without a doubt one of my favorite, if not my most favorite Republicans. The man is one of the most effective and intelligent generals that has ever served this nation, he is a statesman, and in my opinion a true patriot, and someday even a great president. I even did my first book report in the sixth grade on his biography. However, what struck me the most is why he endorsed Barack Obama. 
With the third presidential debate drawing near, I have been noticing the media has been hinting that John McCain is going to be addressing Barack Obama’s link with 
I have been saying this until I was blue in the face, and it has finally come true. I caught 
I can’t watch this woman on TV anymore, she irritates me so much. Her voice, her empty baseless attacks that I am almost positive someone told her to say cause she doesn’t know a DAMN thing. I can’t take this hockey mom, joe six pack, “you betcha!” nonsense anymore. If she winks at the camera one more time I am going to lose my mind. I can’t imagine a world where this woman can be so close to the presidency of this nation. This isn’t a sexist thing. If I get one more woman ask me what my problem is with a woman vice president, I am going to spazz out. I have already gone down the list of women who he could have chosen that would have contributed positively to not only John McCain’s ticket, but also this nation should he be elected. Sarah Palin is outraged at the “evil leftist media” for asking her all these tough questions like “What newspaper do you read?” 
Recently, the bitter partisanship in Washington, among other factors, caused me to lose the little faith I had in our government and the people that we have appointed to run it, on both sides. However, I did however, keep the faith that this bitter partisanship had not trickled down to the common man. 
It seems to me that Barack Obama is loosing the boost he had. Ever since his fiery, historic Denver DNC speech, Barack Obama has seemed a bit boring. He used to have these really swift, well delivered responses to everything. But now, when he isn’t going on and on about something, he gets that look on his face like the Republicans are getting to him. The Democrats are epically well known for loosing elections. Barack Obama needs to do what Bill Clinton did and start going to the mattresses. Go out there and win it, the stage for a Democratic victory in this election is set. The country is reeling from the disaster of the Bush Administration and the “Bush Congress”.
We are now about to begin the final day of the Republican National Convention. Last night, Sarah Palin delivered a very well received speech, heavy with attacks against Obama. Post-speech, The GOP is singing this woman’s praises. This falls in line with that shiny new Republican message of bipartisanship and hugs & kisses. “We are the Republican Party, we care…want a hug?” The RNC has done a pretty good job so far at uniting the base, and the Palin speech was by far the most poignant. Here is a sort of highlight reel, I can’t find the full version in one video. If anyone else has it, post it as a comment below and I’ll update it. 
This recent announcement of Sarah Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy will be some more fuel against Sarah Palin and the McCain Campaign. A McCain aid announced that the Senator knew about this before he chose her, and honestly I think he did the right thing in not letting this be a disqualifying factor. The Palins’ statement was a great one, communicating love and support for their daughter. 
