Talking Politics: The Ramblings of a Democrat
Okay, so my parents and I were going to see a movie last night but then the New Hampshire debates started and we watched that instead. I haven't really gotten to watch any of the previous debates, so I was glad I watched it. Here are some opinions I formed after watching it:
My first impression about the Republican candidates was that they were a bunch losers. Sorry, but it's true. These guys were so immature...they could let each other take turns talking and instead kept interrupting. And of course I disagree with mostly what they had to say, particularly about the Iraq war and health care. My mom commented that she couldn't understand why they kept backing Bush when they should know how low his approval ratings are.
There were six candidates participating:
Huckabee sort of recently came out of nowhere and won Iowa. I don't understand why (okay, maybe it's because Iowa's horribly conservative). I previously had no idea who he was so I looked him up and found out. Ugh. I disagree with almost all his stances. Oh, and he hates gay people because he apparently said this: "Homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk." A public health risk? Are you fucking kidding me?! My thoughts of him didn't improve during the debate....he just outright annoyed me.
I don't know much about Mitt Romney (and I don't care to) except he's a former Massachusetts governor (don't know how that happened, really). Oh, and he's fairly popular with Idahoans because he's Mormon. I did horribly in the debate...he was one of the ones who kept interrupting.
I think though that Rudy Guiliani did the worst in the debate, though. He was another one who couldn't wait his turn and I hated everything he had to say. I actually laughed when he stated, "America has the best health care system in the world." And then he just kept going on about all the great things he did on 9/11. What an arrogant idiot.
If I recall correctly, Fred Thompson didn't say a whole lot...at least not compared to everyone else. As a person, he seems likable (and I'm sure that comes from his acting background), but as a politician he's way too conservative, so I will say a big fat NO to him.
John McCain seemed at least more mature than these other guys because I do remember him actually waiting his turn to speak. But again, I disagree with his policies; he hugely supports the war. So once again, a big fat NO.
So, the only Republican candidate that was actually bearable was Ron Paul. If we absolutely had to have another Republican as President, I could handle him. All the other candidates there were arguing against him, but he was the only one that was actually making sense, even bringing up some good points.
In the second half, out came the Democrat candidates, which is a pretty good bunch if I can say so myself. These guys actually acted like adults and took turns. Oh, and I really like how the Democrat candidates aren't just a bunch of rich white guys...in the debate, there was a Hispanic, a black man, a woman, and only one white male. Nice. What did piss me off was that there were only four candidates in this debate versus the six Republican candidates. Why wasn't Kucinich allowed in the debate? I know people who are huge supporters of him, so I really wanted to hear what he had to say. Anyways, I think the Democrats' main argument for change is a good one. From recent polls, that's what Americans really want.
Thoughts on individuals:
Obama is definitely a likable guy, and I certainly wouldn't mind having him as President. I enjoyed hearing him talk and I support mostly what he has to say. The only thing I do question is his experience (just like everyone else), because after all he is pretty young and hasn't done as much as the other candidates. Of course, that doesn't mean he isn't capable of being President right now...and I still do like him. But I do sometimes wonder if he'd be better as President four to eight years from now.
Clinton is a very strong and powerful woman...she's definitely capable of handling Presidency. She's got a lot of support, but at the same time a lot of people seem to hate her, which I just don't understand. Anyone who says she's a cold-hearted bitch is just plain wrong. Colleagues say she is very warm hearted and I got that impression when she was able to lightly joke during the debate. And I hate anyone who says she doesn't have experience just because she was the first lady. Excuse me, she was one of the most active first ladies in American history. Plus, she's a senator. She's certainly got a lot more experience than a lot of other candidates.
I honestly didn't know anything about Bill Richardson until the debate; I even forgot who he was. Then when I saw his face I said, "Oh yeah, he's the governor of New Mexico," so apparently I know something about him. I don't know why a lot people dislike him...I was actually impressed. He may not be a better known candidate, but he certainly made his voice heard in the debate. And I thought he made some excellent points. I particularly appreciated when he stated the importance of art and keeping it in our schools. Based on the debate, I actually liked Richardson the best. Unfortunately, I realistically know he doesn't stand a chance for winning the presidential nomination, just because he doesn't seem very popular. But I do think he'd make a great Vice-President and would love to seem him on the ticket.
Edwards was actually my least favourite based on the debate. Each time he answered a question, he kept rambling. And he seems to rely on backing Obama and bashing Clinton in order to gain popularity. I'd choose him over any Republican, but he's definitely not my favourite Democrat candidate. Meh.
Anyways, one thing about all the candidates: all of them, even the Republicans, are eloquent speakers, or at least more so than Bush ever was...
I was really happy that Facebook co-sponsered the debate. A big problem in our country is that even with our growing youth, majority of them do not vote. Yet, Facebook is very popular (and the majority are American students)...so I'm hoping that with the website's involvement with politics, it will help encourage the American youth to be involved as well. Thousands were responding to the debate, which was definitely a good thing. All of you Americans who are eligible to vote come November, please do so. I don't even care if I hate the candidate you choose to vote for, because I'd rather see a person actively participate in politics whether you are a Republican or Democrat. Not enough people in America vote...and it's because we're too lazy! If you're a student away from home, fill out an absentee ballot; I've done it before and it's very simple.
Anyways, I can't decide who I want to support yet. I think it's a tie between Clinton and Obama. I tend to agree more with Obama, but I can't put Clinton aside. It doesn't exactly matter, because I won't be participating in the primary. In Idaho, the Democrats do a caucus (still trying to figure out how that works) and you have to be physically present for it. Since I'll be thousands of miles away on February 4, that's simply not possible. I could participate in the Republican one (it's on May 29)...but I could quite honestly care less about the Republicans.
An off-topic question: Does anyone know how to upload an animated image to either here or the BD? I created an animated avatar on Photoshop and I don't know how to save it as anything but a Photoshop file. If I save it as a JPEG, the animation doesn't work. Help is appreciated...
My first impression about the Republican candidates was that they were a bunch losers. Sorry, but it's true. These guys were so immature...they could let each other take turns talking and instead kept interrupting. And of course I disagree with mostly what they had to say, particularly about the Iraq war and health care. My mom commented that she couldn't understand why they kept backing Bush when they should know how low his approval ratings are.
There were six candidates participating:
Huckabee sort of recently came out of nowhere and won Iowa. I don't understand why (okay, maybe it's because Iowa's horribly conservative). I previously had no idea who he was so I looked him up and found out. Ugh. I disagree with almost all his stances. Oh, and he hates gay people because he apparently said this: "Homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk." A public health risk? Are you fucking kidding me?! My thoughts of him didn't improve during the debate....he just outright annoyed me.
I don't know much about Mitt Romney (and I don't care to) except he's a former Massachusetts governor (don't know how that happened, really). Oh, and he's fairly popular with Idahoans because he's Mormon. I did horribly in the debate...he was one of the ones who kept interrupting.
I think though that Rudy Guiliani did the worst in the debate, though. He was another one who couldn't wait his turn and I hated everything he had to say. I actually laughed when he stated, "America has the best health care system in the world." And then he just kept going on about all the great things he did on 9/11. What an arrogant idiot.
If I recall correctly, Fred Thompson didn't say a whole lot...at least not compared to everyone else. As a person, he seems likable (and I'm sure that comes from his acting background), but as a politician he's way too conservative, so I will say a big fat NO to him.
John McCain seemed at least more mature than these other guys because I do remember him actually waiting his turn to speak. But again, I disagree with his policies; he hugely supports the war. So once again, a big fat NO.
So, the only Republican candidate that was actually bearable was Ron Paul. If we absolutely had to have another Republican as President, I could handle him. All the other candidates there were arguing against him, but he was the only one that was actually making sense, even bringing up some good points.
In the second half, out came the Democrat candidates, which is a pretty good bunch if I can say so myself. These guys actually acted like adults and took turns. Oh, and I really like how the Democrat candidates aren't just a bunch of rich white guys...in the debate, there was a Hispanic, a black man, a woman, and only one white male. Nice. What did piss me off was that there were only four candidates in this debate versus the six Republican candidates. Why wasn't Kucinich allowed in the debate? I know people who are huge supporters of him, so I really wanted to hear what he had to say. Anyways, I think the Democrats' main argument for change is a good one. From recent polls, that's what Americans really want.
Thoughts on individuals:
Obama is definitely a likable guy, and I certainly wouldn't mind having him as President. I enjoyed hearing him talk and I support mostly what he has to say. The only thing I do question is his experience (just like everyone else), because after all he is pretty young and hasn't done as much as the other candidates. Of course, that doesn't mean he isn't capable of being President right now...and I still do like him. But I do sometimes wonder if he'd be better as President four to eight years from now.
Clinton is a very strong and powerful woman...she's definitely capable of handling Presidency. She's got a lot of support, but at the same time a lot of people seem to hate her, which I just don't understand. Anyone who says she's a cold-hearted bitch is just plain wrong. Colleagues say she is very warm hearted and I got that impression when she was able to lightly joke during the debate. And I hate anyone who says she doesn't have experience just because she was the first lady. Excuse me, she was one of the most active first ladies in American history. Plus, she's a senator. She's certainly got a lot more experience than a lot of other candidates.
I honestly didn't know anything about Bill Richardson until the debate; I even forgot who he was. Then when I saw his face I said, "Oh yeah, he's the governor of New Mexico," so apparently I know something about him. I don't know why a lot people dislike him...I was actually impressed. He may not be a better known candidate, but he certainly made his voice heard in the debate. And I thought he made some excellent points. I particularly appreciated when he stated the importance of art and keeping it in our schools. Based on the debate, I actually liked Richardson the best. Unfortunately, I realistically know he doesn't stand a chance for winning the presidential nomination, just because he doesn't seem very popular. But I do think he'd make a great Vice-President and would love to seem him on the ticket.
Edwards was actually my least favourite based on the debate. Each time he answered a question, he kept rambling. And he seems to rely on backing Obama and bashing Clinton in order to gain popularity. I'd choose him over any Republican, but he's definitely not my favourite Democrat candidate. Meh.
Anyways, one thing about all the candidates: all of them, even the Republicans, are eloquent speakers, or at least more so than Bush ever was...
I was really happy that Facebook co-sponsered the debate. A big problem in our country is that even with our growing youth, majority of them do not vote. Yet, Facebook is very popular (and the majority are American students)...so I'm hoping that with the website's involvement with politics, it will help encourage the American youth to be involved as well. Thousands were responding to the debate, which was definitely a good thing. All of you Americans who are eligible to vote come November, please do so. I don't even care if I hate the candidate you choose to vote for, because I'd rather see a person actively participate in politics whether you are a Republican or Democrat. Not enough people in America vote...and it's because we're too lazy! If you're a student away from home, fill out an absentee ballot; I've done it before and it's very simple.
Anyways, I can't decide who I want to support yet. I think it's a tie between Clinton and Obama. I tend to agree more with Obama, but I can't put Clinton aside. It doesn't exactly matter, because I won't be participating in the primary. In Idaho, the Democrats do a caucus (still trying to figure out how that works) and you have to be physically present for it. Since I'll be thousands of miles away on February 4, that's simply not possible. I could participate in the Republican one (it's on May 29)...but I could quite honestly care less about the Republicans.
An off-topic question: Does anyone know how to upload an animated image to either here or the BD? I created an animated avatar on Photoshop and I don't know how to save it as anything but a Photoshop file. If I save it as a JPEG, the animation doesn't work. Help is appreciated...