Since Baby Johnson hasn't decided to grace us with her presence yet, I thought I'd try to revive our blog with some heated political debate!
Here's my latest thoughts on the election:
If I had to sum up my feelings in one word, it would be "conflicted." You see, I used to be a big John McCain fan. I remember hearing him on NPR back in '06 talking about how we needed a troop surge and thinking, "Wow, this guy really sounds like he knows what he's talking about." Then, as the primary circus started, I grew to like him more and actually voted for him and NOT Mitt (please don't take away my recommend). My reason was simple: I felt he had more (yes more) integrity. Take his stance on two policies: torture and immigration. He was a POW, so he had the courage to oppose torture and wanted to close Guantanamo—good for him! He lives in Arizona and has first-hand knowledge of the realities of the plight of Hispanic immigrants, so he did the unpopular thing and backed immigration reform without giving in to right-wing xenophobia like Brother Romney. That won big points with me.
But now I'm starting to have serious second thoughts and they've come in the form of our favorite Tina Fey look-alike. I know McCain wants to win, and maybe some ends justify the means, but this one doesn't for me. I don't object to her b/c she is a working mom (I hope I'm not that self-righteous) or because she doesn't interview well and is a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT to the campaign. Hey, remember Dan Quayle? What I object to is that McCain only chose her to win votes. Maybe the VP doesn't do all that much. But couldn't he have had a shred more of integrity and chosen someone a bit more . . . more . . . ? Help me out here, folks.
So this leaves me with the question of who to vote for, now that my hero has fallen from grace. The more I watch the debates, the more I'm leaning towards . . . Obama. But am I really? Or am I just being seduced by the "cool" vote? Now that the economy has put all other issues on the back burner, including my pets—immigration and torture—I am at a loss. They both promise to cut taxes and help Main Street (which, if I hear another sound byte about Wall St. vs. Main Street, I'm going to throw my radio out the window). But would a liberal really reign in government spending and CUT taxes? But can I trust McCain to do any of the things he says he'll do? Help!
So feel free to post all your liberal/moderate/conservative/libertarian/communist/greenparty ideas so I'll have something to do besides sit around and wait for this baby. Maybe an especially inflammatory comment will send me into labor . . .
13 comments:
Wow, I think Sara Palin is the best thing about this race. She's the only thing that makes me believe that not all politicians are corrupt, power hungry liars. He didn't pick her b/c she wins votes. He picked her because she actually stands for something, unlike anyone on the Obama ticket (except for maybe abortion rights and government handouts). She's smart and she's strong. She values marriage and children. And she understands the struggles of the middle class and the need we have to use our own sources of energy. She's fought and cleaned up corruption in Alaska and I bet she'd to the same thing in Washington and on wall st. I didn't see much of the network interviews but I've seen her in the debate and on some cable interviews she seems really strong to me. I think it's great that the liberals are afraid of her. They hate that she's a strong, accomplish woman, who's from small town America, loves religion and isn't willing to terminate a pregnancy for convenience. She's amazing. I wish she were running for president.
Oh, and btw, I can't believe you still haven't had the baby? Are you dying? Is there any labor at all? You've gone way longer than I ever have. Hang in there. Hope she comes soon.
Well, I definitely dislike Sarah Palin, but not for the reasons listed in the previous comment (I'm a liberal and I'm definitely in favor of strong, accomplished women). But I do disagree with almost all of her policy opinions, and I think she's uninformed and mean-spirited. I feel your pain with wondering if you can trust ANY political candidate to do what they say. I'm a confirmed cynic, but I'm letting myself be hopeful about this election at least. And one thing I'm really glad about: health care seems to be a big issue for both candidates, so hopefully whoever is elected will feel compelled to do something about it. Although I definitely know who I prefer...
P.S. Any inflammatory comments in the above paragraph are intended solely for the purpose of hurrying along the arrival of Emily's baby!
I like Obama quite a bit. One of the rather random things I like about Obama is that he is far more interested in maintaining the balance of powers in the government than McCain. He has spoken out more forcefully against Mr. Bush's unprecedented transfer of power away from the legislative and judicial branches than Senator McCain has. He has indicated that he will review the Bush administration for indications of abuse and such. I don't delude myself into thinking that he would ever pursue charges of war crimes against Mr. Bush, but at least he's willing to acknowledge that many of Bush's policies were unethical and probably illegal. McCain I think will only continue Bush's policies in regards to secrecy and executive power.
I don't expect Mr. Obama to undo what Bush did but I'm confident that he won't make it worse. I can't say I feel the same about McCain.
But does Obama actually do things? That's my big dilemma. He is by far the coolest candidate running; he is younger, fresher, and a far better orator (sounds like a song I know). But I had this thought this morning. Is Obama popular because the younger voters are more involved in this election? And are they going to be louder this election, perhaps to say that they aren't interested in age, wisdom, and experience because we just want change. I'm not fully invested in McCain's politics either, but I just worry that we are doing what feels fresh. In every election there is a 'cool' canidate, remember Kerry, but I hope we are trying to make the decision based on who we feel will lead best and do what's best for the country.
OK, so I actually like Sarah Palin, Emily. I don't like her because she's a rock star, I like her because I feel like she is more in touch with "the people" then anyone else in the race. Who says you have to have been a 20 year politician to run for office? In fact, I think that's one of the cool parts of our system. When I see someone who hasn't devoted their lives to their political careers, and has other interests, I think that person might know what it is like to be an everyday American and to struggle like an everyday American, which, I'm sorry but neither Obama nor McCain have been brought up an everyday American, despite what they claim. What help can Palin be as a VP, I don't know, and therefore don't know if liking her is the reason to go Republican.
I am not a huge McCain fan. There are several issues he supports I disagree with. However, for me, it's the choice of "the lesser of the two evils." And in my situation of life, Obama's ideas for the future SCARE me! The scariest of all to me is his healthcare plans, and taxing the rich.
Healthcare- recent experience has told me that the whole nation on one united healthcare system WILL NOT WORK. And I need to stop there on this one, I'm afraid or say more than I want to.
Taxing the Rich- I'm far from a rich person myself (trust me!), so I believe I can say, with no invested interest, that people should not be punished for their success. If you earn money, you should be able to decide what to do with that money. And to say that this plan is not going to affect more than 95% of Americans is flat out lying to the American people. Do people actually think that their employers salary is going to go down (due to increase of their employer's taxes) and the people's incomes will remain the same? No, my friends. This will trickle down to us all. And EVERYONE's employer makes more than $250,000 a year. You might think not, but employers have all kinds of extra fees they have to pay, including small businesses, that may make what kind of spending cash they have low, but most all businesses make over $250,000 a year. This isn't taxing individuals only, but businesses, as I understand it, correct me if I'm wrong, and that's just scary.
Anyway- my thoughts. I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me, but there they are.
By the way Emily,
UGGGGGHHHH!!!! I can not wait to here about the arrival of this little one. Does she have a name picked out yet?
"Melanie said...
Wow, I think Sara Palin is the best thing about this race. She's the only thing that makes me believe that not all politicians are corrupt, power hungry liars."
Melanie, I have some news for you:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/10/palin.investigation/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/palin-repimanded-over-abuse-of-power-as-alaska-governor-958120.html
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/10/07/palins_unamerican/
oh and also http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/21/palin.travel.ap/index.html
Yes, Bardhi H. I know all this. Thanks for the info though (really, no sarcasm intended). But it's my belief that a questionable personnel decision or excesses in travel expenses for children (she's actually saved the state thousands by flying commercial and getting rid of the previous governor's private jet) don't compare to electing a man to the white house whose friends with an American hating terrorist who has no problem bombing our country and in fact wishes he'd done more, as well as Obama's contributions to Acorn.
But do be honest, none of that really bothers me (so much). Palin's alleged abuse of authority or Obama's associations with a terrorist and other radicals - none of that matters. What makes me angry is that Obama, if elected is going to do his best to turn America into a welfare state, creating large numbers of welfare dependents and funding it all on the backs of the middle class ("Spread the wealth around"). He says 95% tax cuts for all Americans. But he's either naive or he's flat out lying. How is 5% of the population (as well as his other budgeting proposals) going to shoulder the burden of highly government subsidized universal health care and public preschool (babysitting) for ages 3 and up, $4000 dollor tuition checks for volunteer service, etc, etc, etc.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/08/nation/na-obamaplans8
and
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/2/14/obamas-trillion-dollar-spending-plan.html)
So the big thing for me isn't so much the questionable pasts of any of the candidates. It's the issues and the future of America. I like Sara Palin because she's interested in keeping government out of our lives and I agree with her on most issues (that's what it's about for me). And if those articles you cited are the worst they could come up with, with all the digging they're doing, she doesn't seem so bad (compared to Obama anyway). Here's an article for you and anyone else who's interested. It paints a dark picture of our country's future under an Obama Presidency. But then again, if anyone's a socialist, it may not seem so bad.
http://townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2008/10/22/the_consequences
And I also must clarify that a candidate's character and past indiscretions are of course important. I meant only to say that in the cases of Palin and obama, I think the things the media is trying to hype regarding each one's past are not as important as their stances on the issues and where each ticket aims to take this country in the future.
Thanks for that last post their Melanie, It always makes me feel a little sad when I hear regular people repeat the demagoguery they hear from political candidates. Of course the sad truth is that campaigns are dirty and full of lies because that's what wins a campaign. The only way the politics will change is if we change.
That said I just wanted to make a quick correction, you referred to "Palin's alleged abuse of authority" but of course it's not alleged. A bipartisan Alaska legislative panel determined that she abused her authority in a Jerry Springeresque game of familial intrigue and political one-ups-manship. I'd go so far as to call it maverick-y in it's complete disregard for ethics.
Of course if Obama goes all socialist that would suck, next thing you know he's going to be nationalizing the banks or something. I mean his plan is so terrible and impossible that he's only convinced like 150 million people and the majority of the electoral college to support him in it. I mean, come on Obama, anybody can dupe 150 million people, I mean really, you probably got the stupid half of the U.S. What are you going to pull out of your hat next? Better be good if you want to pick up anything above the dregs.
I sit in the same place. McCain has lost my good favor as a result of his campaign choices; whereas I do not trust my leaning toward Obama because he is hot ticket. I think that I have chosen to be passive aggressive with my vote: since Cali will go to the Dems in the electoral college, I am going to vote for the Old man/SNL star ticket.
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