On cars and politics
I spent the majority of my day today going from one car dealership to another. I decided to take a gander at the Toyota Yaris, the VW beetle, and the Chevy Malibu. Initially the latter was my first choice car but after the tiny Yaris appealing to all things girly about me with its cute, bubbly design, I began to take to it's tiny sticker price and seemed pretty sold on the idea of buying such a cute and affordable car.
However when I got to the VW dealership and test drove my ideal Beetle, I was a little more inclined to pay a higher sticker price for a much cuter and safer car. Safety is my number one interest on this purchase. (Right behind being able to afford it in the first place.)
Lastly we stopped by the Chevy dealer to see this new Malibu I've been dying to check out. Five star safety rating "don't-cha-know!" After looking at the Yaris and the Beetle it almost seemed a little too big of a car for my taste. But after getting behind the wheel I was totally sold. It feels like a luxury car on the inside and it has a sporty sedan look on the outside. It's also very roomy and drives like a dream! So it pretty much seems to fit the bill. If I get it, it'll be in a month I guess since I don't start work till the 17th and thus don't get paid till the end of the month! I'll be using my signing bonus as a down payment.
Anyways... I have been thinking about the primaries for awhile and it wasn't until I'd seen an SNL skit last night that I really felt validated in my thoughts. I consider myself a Democrat (I'm registered as one at least) but politically I'm open minded. If the candidate's good he's good - irrespective of what party he belongs to. I think McCain is just fine and I've like him since the last time he wanted to run for president. But as a registered democrat I've been forced to choose between Clinton and Obama with respect to the primaries. Given my affinity for the Clintons, naturally I'd side with Hillary sooner than I would Obama. However I'm well aware that the differences in their policies are thin and have faith that either candidate could do the job.
That being said, I feel like Obama is outrunning Hillary largely thanks to the media and it's ability to spawn the "herd mentality" moreso than his general ability to do a better job than her. With every state primary that passes that he comes out on top, I feel like it influences voters in other states to rethink their Clinton/Obama position. It also doesn't help that these celebrities feel the need to endorse him. Mostly actors really - and since when is a young Hollywood actor such a pillar of intelligence that anyone should feel the need to vote for a particular candidate simply because they do?
Point being: I honestly feel that if the results of the primaries were kept a secret until every state has voted that the results would be different. Each candidate would have to rest on their policies, campaign efforts, and debate successes rather than the media hype surrounding each state won or lost. I also don't think celebrities should be permitted to lead the mindless towards voting for their candidate of choice. Anyone who votes for a candidate simply because hottie Jessica Alba says that's who she's voting for should just as well not vote at all and leave the decision making up to the people who actually care enough to know what is going on.
Anyway here's the SNL skit.
However when I got to the VW dealership and test drove my ideal Beetle, I was a little more inclined to pay a higher sticker price for a much cuter and safer car. Safety is my number one interest on this purchase. (Right behind being able to afford it in the first place.)
Lastly we stopped by the Chevy dealer to see this new Malibu I've been dying to check out. Five star safety rating "don't-cha-know!" After looking at the Yaris and the Beetle it almost seemed a little too big of a car for my taste. But after getting behind the wheel I was totally sold. It feels like a luxury car on the inside and it has a sporty sedan look on the outside. It's also very roomy and drives like a dream! So it pretty much seems to fit the bill. If I get it, it'll be in a month I guess since I don't start work till the 17th and thus don't get paid till the end of the month! I'll be using my signing bonus as a down payment.
Anyways... I have been thinking about the primaries for awhile and it wasn't until I'd seen an SNL skit last night that I really felt validated in my thoughts. I consider myself a Democrat (I'm registered as one at least) but politically I'm open minded. If the candidate's good he's good - irrespective of what party he belongs to. I think McCain is just fine and I've like him since the last time he wanted to run for president. But as a registered democrat I've been forced to choose between Clinton and Obama with respect to the primaries. Given my affinity for the Clintons, naturally I'd side with Hillary sooner than I would Obama. However I'm well aware that the differences in their policies are thin and have faith that either candidate could do the job.
That being said, I feel like Obama is outrunning Hillary largely thanks to the media and it's ability to spawn the "herd mentality" moreso than his general ability to do a better job than her. With every state primary that passes that he comes out on top, I feel like it influences voters in other states to rethink their Clinton/Obama position. It also doesn't help that these celebrities feel the need to endorse him. Mostly actors really - and since when is a young Hollywood actor such a pillar of intelligence that anyone should feel the need to vote for a particular candidate simply because they do?
Point being: I honestly feel that if the results of the primaries were kept a secret until every state has voted that the results would be different. Each candidate would have to rest on their policies, campaign efforts, and debate successes rather than the media hype surrounding each state won or lost. I also don't think celebrities should be permitted to lead the mindless towards voting for their candidate of choice. Anyone who votes for a candidate simply because hottie Jessica Alba says that's who she's voting for should just as well not vote at all and leave the decision making up to the people who actually care enough to know what is going on.
Anyway here's the SNL skit.