McCain - Palin

“Sarah Barracuda” was the name given to her by her high school classmates. She was born in Idaho but grew up in the hunting, gun-shooting, fishing wilderness of Alaska. She has five kids. She’s the first female Governor of her state. She’s confronted and fought corruption face to face. She is the first Republican female Vice Presidential nominee. She, Sarah Palin, is John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 election.

This morning when the news first broke, I initially held different thoughts about his decision, and was willing to clap my hands for what McCain had done in my mind to merely give the election to Obama by choosing this inexperienced candidate. That thought disappeared minutes into her acceptance speech when I saw the public reaction that seemed to give the GOP a positive roar of excitement. However, I was still skeptical.

Let’s first discuss why McCain picked Palin. To start, he definitely needs to persuade swing voters and shake off the preconceived notion that he will not be more of the same. Secondly, after gender has played a role in this election, with a major following of Senator Hillary Clinton until she dropped out of the race. Palin may have solidified her party and the indecisive voters because it showed the Republicans weren’t scared to elect a woman. But what she doesn’t have is a long resume of national experience, which the GOP has often criticized Obama for lacking. In all fairness, I do think it was a very strategic move to choose Palin for purposes of capturing voters, sparking excitement, and closing gender gaps for winning the campaign. However, is this really fair to the country to put one of the most inexperienced candidates as second in line to our Commander in Chief?

This question has had me going back and forth over whether McCain really had the interest of the county in mind or just the interest of winning the campaign in his favor. Because all too often we become enthralled and inspired by the idea of the individual and forget that their experience, ideals, and leadership ability will have to carry our country through prosperous and devastating times. Many have responded by saying that Palin has made the campaign more exciting for the GOP, but I have to ask why? It’s not because she brings more experience as I have touched on already, nor does she bring a credible background of dealing with national issues, which the McCain campaign harped upon Obama for lacking as the center theme of his campaign in recent months. I am afraid people feel this excitement for all the wrong reasons – because she is a woman, she is an unknown, and the decision itself was completely unexpected. These are not good enough reasons for me to thank McCain for making the Republican ticket ‘stronger.’ He may be able to lever this to win the campaign battle, but the question is whether or not the two of them together can win the war of four years in office.

On the contrary, although I do sit on the left side, I do realize that it seems many have been backing Obama for all the wrong reasons as well. And for this, I reach out to the American people to beg of them to pay attention to the issues at hand and not the historical significance whether it is a woman vice president or a black president. Don’t vote for the individual personality, vote for their ability to turn this country into a positive direction.

I find that Palin does have an appeal about her that makes her very likeable. She is a child of the middle class, an avid ice fishermen and moose hunter who can relate to a population that most people cannot. She has a son about to deploy to Iraq and has a family of five children. She brings more of a “close to home” appeal than most politicians. I certainly can’t say I do not like her, but I am still skeptical that despite her likeability factor, she just isn’t ready to make the leap from Juneau to Washington. Overall, we cannot help but feel somewhat empathetic to the courageous Mother and hard working woman that Palin is. But when it comes to John McCain's famous appeal of "country first," did he really live by his own words and put the country first by making this choice?

Obama - Biden

I received the news unexpectedly on Saturday morning around 3:45 am via text message. The text was sent from Obama’s campaign announcing that Presidential candidate Barack Obama has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate.

On a personal level, Senator Joe Biden is a 65 year old, giving him nearly 20 years more in age than Obama. Senator Biden is currently serving his sixth term in the senate, making him Delaware’s longest serving senator. He was born and raised in the town of Scranton, Pennsylvania to a working class family where he was raised Roman Catholic, all before moving to Delaware, where he currently resides. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Delaware and went on to receive his Juris Doctor (JD) from Syracuse University College of Law. Tragically, in 1972, his first wife and infant daughter were killed in an automobile accident. At the time he was running for senate, and he almost decided to not take a seat so he could care for his two sons who were also injured in the accident. He was persuaded to still take a seat in the senate and was sworn in at their bedside. He also suffered from a brain aneurysm and nearly lost his life.

Personally, I was ecstatic because I knew that this choice was a positive move for Obama, considering Biden's working class roots and his foreign policy experience. Senator Joe Biden is a congressional veteran whose strengths will counterbalance the lack of experience that critics say Obama does not have. Mr. Biden's strengths include his familiarity with foreign policy and national security issues, which were highlighted a few weeks ago by an invitation he received from embattled President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to visit Georgia in the midst of its tense face-off with Russia. He is the Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee, which brings even more credibility and strength to the campaign.

The only major drawback noted of Biden is his notorious “off the cuff” speaking that has often led him to making troublesome statements. Originally, he was running his own campaign for Presidency in 2007 when he declared that Obama was "not yet ready" for the presidency. These are among other, harsher remarks he spoke of Obama prior to being chosen as his running mate and has received criticism for.

In selecting Senator Biden, Obama did pass over other highly regarded and credentialed options to be his running mate. The most noted of these was former rival Hillary Clinton. Many have viewed his decision to not choose her as both very strategic and just plain ignorant. Either way you choose to look the handling of Clinton, his decision to choose Biden has given the party the depth it needed in the areas that the GOP had previously argued it was weakest in. And to top it all off, Obama’s top advisers believe that he appears by every measure prepared to take over as President, which is a reassuring element to the American people as second in line to Commander in Chief.

Thoughts For Today

• Happiness is a choice
  
• Luck is where preparation meets opportunity
• You are what you have learned from the past, what you experience today, and what you dream for tomorrow
• The best things in life aren't things
• Take time to laugh, it's the music of the soul
• Everyone smiles in the same language
• An open mind opens the opportunity of dropping a worthwhile thought into it
• A soft answer turneth away wrath
• Refusing to ask for help when you need it is refusing someone the chance to be helpful
• Minds are like parachutes, they only function when open
• If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it
• We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails
• Life is hard by the yard, but by the inch it is a cinch
• He who laughs...lasts
• The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything
• It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow
• Kindness is like a boomerang, it always returns
• Thoughtfulness is to friendship as to sunshine is to a garden
• He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love
• Some people make the world more special just by being in it
• Pray for a good harvest, but continue to hoe
• When you become reluctant to change, remind yourself of the beauty of autumn
• Politeness is a small price to pay for the good will and affection of others
• A memory is a treasure that survives
  

Beijing Olympics 2008

08.08.08. The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. We all watched the grand display of China's prosperity over the past few decades, through its well choreographed dancing, drum playing, light show, and fireworks. All the way to the athlete who ran "in the air" at the top of the Bird's Nest to ignite the Olympic flame, and ultimately, mark the official beginning of the Beijing Olympics.

The opening ceremony in itself was remarkable. The symbolism behind the show was awe-inspiring, as it showed different periods in Chinese history. Although there has been much controversy over the support of these games due to Chinese relations within Darfur and Tibet, which we should undoubtedly NOT forget about, the games still went on with hopes of world harmony and unity. The 2008 Olympic games continued the tradition of the Olympic Motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius. "Faster, Higher, Stronger."

To me the Olympics always seems to be fascinating. An official event that brings together the world in one city, seventeen days (more or less in some years), and countless effort. But with each day during the games, athletes bring their pride and honor to represent their respective countries with great dignity in hopes of bringing home a distinction of the world's best athleticism. While we all know the world is full of fighting and disengagement from one another, these 17 days bring about a sphere of influence on our pessimistic minds. During these 17 days we are able to visualize a world in which we can live and compete as friends and neighbors, and not as enemies. If only we could bring this utopia type of world outside of the Olympic arena and into our everyday lives.

2008 Campaign Ads Turn Negative

Over the past few weeks, the race for the White House has officially turned negative. The McCain campaign has released a negative and controversial ad slamming Barack Obama for his fame and lack of leadership ability. The ad, as many of you have seen, compares Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Why? The McCain campaign believes that Barack Obama is more interested in building international rapport and gaining fame, instead of running a campaign for President. Some have even gone as far as to say that Obama's approach to this campaign seems more like he is promoting a movie than trying to gain support for his leadership. They try to portray him as someone who is very aloof and still unknown to the American people, despite his great fame. They attempt to attack that sense of "unknown" by defining Obama through the definition of their own terms in order to target those American voters who remain indecisive.

Luckily thus far, Obama's campaign has decided to take the high road and not return the negative favor. Sure, the ad will gain great attention, but some view it as an ad that is beneath McCain and his belief in honor, and that it will only backfire on his campaign and what he stands for. This also shows signs that the McCain campaign has changed their strategy in the three months prior to the upcoming election. Could this be a tactic to show that the McCain campaign is worrisome that Obama has gained such grandiose attention in the political arena to the point of needing to attack his worldwide recognition and display it in a negative light?

Personally, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Barack Obama on the same continuum? In recognition, yes, but it stops there. The ad is correct in the sense that he has ever increasing popularity in a "hollywood" sense to the American people, but he is someone with dignity, strong leadership, and ideals that Paris and Britney couldn't even put a finger on. To compare him with the likes of Spears and Hilton is just a pathetic attempt for McCain's campaign to take the limelight off of his weak economic policies (which is one of the most important issues in the current election) and his lack of an ultra conservative stronghold in politics. And for someone who is such an aficionado about honor and dignity through his military pride, he may have just lost his by striking a new low in the campaign. Stick to the issues and your personal beliefs John McCain - stray away from those and it shows weakness and inconsistency.

One definite and agreed upon aspect about this ad is that it will create a forum for discussion and perhaps even spark more fire into those who remain undecided about their candidate choices. While ads like this may be negative, they are at the heart of the modern Presidential campaign, and ignite great debate via one of our country's greatest freedoms - freedom of speech. You watch the video above and decide for yourself what it means to you and how it makes you feel.