Presidential Nominees

This blog was originally written in October and posted on MySpace.

Saturday October 4, 2008
Presidential Nominees

These are my opinions in response to both Barack's and John's acceptance speeches at their respective conventions. I've posted both in full on my facebook page if you haven't seen them or are not sure if what I'm saying is factual or not.

Barack's nomination is historical! Never in the history of the United States has a major political party ever chosen a black man as their nominee. As I was watching it, I was experiencing a feeling that is really hard to put into words. It was inspiring, overwhelming and most of all I felt like I had really contributed to a major event in history. I was proud and really hopeful to see what other strides we will accomplish in the future. On the other hand I had this feeling of determination in the sense that I want Barack to win, enforce change and have a successful term (and possibly a second successful term). I don't want it to end up being that 1.) something happens to him --because let's be real here, all other agents of change have died prematurely or have been assassinated or 2.) he has to clean up so many blunders of others that he doesn't get a chance to do what he hopes to --which would leave people to say that everything he's been saying is just rhetoric and that he's just a politician. It's like if you're a woman supporting Hillary, you would want her to be successful because she does represent you as a female. If Barack messes up, in the future, his critics are going to be thinking, "see what happens when you put them in office?" That's how I feel about the whole situation. Right or wrong...my thoughts.

I went back and watched both speeches on Youtube today and took some notes on the amount and specific changes that each candidate wants to pursue. I found that Obama made 34 specific promises and hinted at 8 more possible changes. His changes would affect the economy, energy independence, education, health care, gender issues, foreign policy, gun policies and immigration. McCain made 21 specific promises and hinted at 5 more possible changes that would affect the economy, education, energy independence, foreign policy and pro-life policies. Also, let's not forget that McCain's speech came a week after Obama's. Six of McCain's energy independence policies echoed 6 of Barack's exactly. With the exception of Barack having maybe two more specifics drawn out, both men's energy plans are pretty much the same, so it is safe to say that regardless of what McCain's campaign says, they agree--so it appears for now.Obama pointed out a few points also that I'd like to adress. He said that John McCain agreed with Bush 90% of the time. Also, John's been a Senator for 26 years. On these two points alone I'd like to make a point. If for 26 years, McCain's not been able to affect enough change to keep us from getting into the mess we're in now.. and if Bush sucks so much and McCain's voted with him 90% of the time..the why in the world would we give him executive power?!Obama also said that the troops don't fight for a red or a blue America. They fight for the United States of America. So, true and well said. He mentioned investing in investing in Early Childhood Education, which, for anyone who knows me, knows that I am all for it 100%. I also like that he demands personal and civic responsibilities and ensures that in exchange for service to your community, each person will be able to receive a good and affordable college education. I love how he addressed the importance of the roles of each person in a family, because it's true that the government cannot force parents to be parents but that they should do what they need to do and in doing so, they will strengthen the fibers of our country. I also agree with this renewed fervor for whoopin' on Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants. It was to my understanding that that's what the War on Terror was all about. Oh wait..it was about weapons of mass destruction...so explain to me again why we're not in North Korea and Iran?

In McCain's speech, he began by making mention of two strong marriages/families--George Bush's and George W. Bush's. He followed it up by speaking about being indebted to his wife Cindy and his 7 children. Family values are so important for him. If so, then why did he leave his 1st wife for a younger Cindy? He talks about vetoing all pork-barrel and earmark spending. Do you know what that means? If your elected state officials are looking for funds that would benefit you...it won't happen. If you are in college working on research and you look for federal money for grants, it won't happen. Pork barrel and earmark spending are necessarily a bad thing. Of course, there is some that is out of control but to say NO to all of it is ridiculous. And we'll not even mention the earmark that Sarah Palin wanted in her "great state of Alaska" for the Bridge to Nowhere.

I like the idea that McCain is interested in reeducating and supplementing the workforce so that they'd be able to compete in the global economy, but I think it's equally important to increase jobs in the states first and foremost. In terms of education, if you've tried to become a teacher recently, you know that with the current policies, it's very hard. It does prevent able and good teachers from pursuing the profession. I don't think that getting rid of the barriers is the answer. When you are affecting the lives of other people, you should be educated ,mentored and monitored as to what you need to be doing. I think the barriers need to be changed but not eliminated. And getting rid of teachers who aren't good is a wonderful idea. The final comment I'd like to make about his speech is that he commented on wanting to help families that have lost money in investing in real estate. He believes in taking risks. When you take a risk, it's just that, a risk. You might gain, you might lose. That's the risk. What shouldn't be a risk is the fact that when we apply for a job, they tell us we have a pension, but that might not be true. Or that we pay social security 2x a month but there might not be any by the time we're old enough to need it.

Here's my final point...McCain has 7 houses and 13 cars. Obama has 1 house and 1 Ford Escape Hybrid. How in the world does McCain sympathize with Americans who are suffering to pay for a full tank of gas on 1car and their mortgage on 1 home?