Here we go again
After 2004, I swore I wouldn't get involved in this crap again, didn't I? I was broken-hearted and disenchanted and pissed off. But I just can't help it. How could I not? This is my country, where I was born and raised, and will more than likely live in for the rest of my life. How could I just sit idly by when I have a chance to influence and be a part of the direction the country is taking - particularly when I so strongly disagree with the direction it's been heading in the past 8 years? I just can't. I can't do that. When I have an strong opinion, I need to express it. So, for anyone who reads this and isn't interested in politics, or doesn't agree with me - sorry about that. But there will likely be more than a few entries on this subject between now and November 4th. Deal!
I watched parts of both the DNC and the RNC the past two weeks. Jason gave me crap about "equal opportunity watching", and I do legitimately want to hear what John McCain has to say. For his part, his speech touched on his issues, and he did mention specifics. For people who agree with his ideas, it was a pretty good speech, content-wise. However, his speaking style is a little stiff and boring, so I don't think that would win over a lot of the undecideds. If you want excitement, watch Sarah Palin. She's exciting, all right. She did get me quite riled up, which I suppose is her purpose.
When I first heard about McCain's decision, I was obviously quite shocked. My initial thought was "Damn, he's smart". What a perfect way to capitalize on a rift in the Democratic Party and pick up a boatload of disenchanted Hilary supporters. But then I delved a little deeper into it, and my thoughts were more like "WTF?". This woman has very little experience. She's almost completely unknown, and literally has ZERO experience on a national scale. I thought for sure that they would no longer be focusing on Obama's "lack of experience". Of course, I forgot that blatant hypocrisy is acceptable in politics. Oops.
I didn't know what to expect from her, so I tuned in to her speech on Wednesday night. She was fiesty, all right. And really, really irritating. Her speech had very little substance to it. It was pretty much her talking about her family life, bashing Obama, and delivering way too many one-liners that her speechwriters came up with. For some reason, I guess the speechwriters had an easier time coming up with one-liners than they did putting together a cohesive speech, so they just strung all this quick little barbs together, and figured that would suffice.
The one that stood out to me the most, and was also reflected in a few other speeches that night, was her making light of Obama being a community organizer. OK, let's think about this. Obama is a highly educated man with a Harvard Law degree who could have easily sold out to some big firm and made bazillions of dollars helping large corporations make slightly more money, mingling with bigwigs, drinking champagne and eating caviar. Instead he chose to hang out in the slums of the South Side of Chicago, helping to make life better for the poorest of people who didn't have the means to do it for themselves. How many of us would do that with a Harvard Law degree? Meanwhile, Sarah Palin was the mayor (a largely symbolic postion, at least where I come from) of a town that has more moose than people! Seriously, lady. Where do you get off?
Anyway, I don't think that most diehard Hilary supporters are stupid enough to fall for this. Sarah Palin is the complete and total political opposite of Hilary Clinton. She opposes almost all of the issues and ideas that Hilary supports and vice versa. I think the vast majority of people will not just be blinded by her gender. Sarah Palin has been the governor of one of the least populous states for less than two years, and people would want to put her a "heartbeat away" from the presidency? And like I said, not just any heartbeat away, but John McCain's 72 year-old heartbeat away.
All right, I think that's enough for now. I actually do want to talk about the virtues of Obama at some point, because I actually really like him, as opposed to 4 years ago where I really just hated Bush and thought Kerry was a decent alternative. I keep thinking, how exciting would it be to see someone in office who I really liked, and in some small part, helped to put there. Also, I'm thinking of doing some phone-banking or canvassing in the near future, because I want to be involved a bit more. I really don't think I could stand to get my heart broken like that again, though. We'll see, though. I also don't think I could stand just being silent on an issue that's so important to me. So, off I go again.
I have a crush on Obama.
~J
I watched parts of both the DNC and the RNC the past two weeks. Jason gave me crap about "equal opportunity watching", and I do legitimately want to hear what John McCain has to say. For his part, his speech touched on his issues, and he did mention specifics. For people who agree with his ideas, it was a pretty good speech, content-wise. However, his speaking style is a little stiff and boring, so I don't think that would win over a lot of the undecideds. If you want excitement, watch Sarah Palin. She's exciting, all right. She did get me quite riled up, which I suppose is her purpose.
When I first heard about McCain's decision, I was obviously quite shocked. My initial thought was "Damn, he's smart". What a perfect way to capitalize on a rift in the Democratic Party and pick up a boatload of disenchanted Hilary supporters. But then I delved a little deeper into it, and my thoughts were more like "WTF?". This woman has very little experience. She's almost completely unknown, and literally has ZERO experience on a national scale. I thought for sure that they would no longer be focusing on Obama's "lack of experience". Of course, I forgot that blatant hypocrisy is acceptable in politics. Oops.
I didn't know what to expect from her, so I tuned in to her speech on Wednesday night. She was fiesty, all right. And really, really irritating. Her speech had very little substance to it. It was pretty much her talking about her family life, bashing Obama, and delivering way too many one-liners that her speechwriters came up with. For some reason, I guess the speechwriters had an easier time coming up with one-liners than they did putting together a cohesive speech, so they just strung all this quick little barbs together, and figured that would suffice.
The one that stood out to me the most, and was also reflected in a few other speeches that night, was her making light of Obama being a community organizer. OK, let's think about this. Obama is a highly educated man with a Harvard Law degree who could have easily sold out to some big firm and made bazillions of dollars helping large corporations make slightly more money, mingling with bigwigs, drinking champagne and eating caviar. Instead he chose to hang out in the slums of the South Side of Chicago, helping to make life better for the poorest of people who didn't have the means to do it for themselves. How many of us would do that with a Harvard Law degree? Meanwhile, Sarah Palin was the mayor (a largely symbolic postion, at least where I come from) of a town that has more moose than people! Seriously, lady. Where do you get off?
Anyway, I don't think that most diehard Hilary supporters are stupid enough to fall for this. Sarah Palin is the complete and total political opposite of Hilary Clinton. She opposes almost all of the issues and ideas that Hilary supports and vice versa. I think the vast majority of people will not just be blinded by her gender. Sarah Palin has been the governor of one of the least populous states for less than two years, and people would want to put her a "heartbeat away" from the presidency? And like I said, not just any heartbeat away, but John McCain's 72 year-old heartbeat away.
All right, I think that's enough for now. I actually do want to talk about the virtues of Obama at some point, because I actually really like him, as opposed to 4 years ago where I really just hated Bush and thought Kerry was a decent alternative. I keep thinking, how exciting would it be to see someone in office who I really liked, and in some small part, helped to put there. Also, I'm thinking of doing some phone-banking or canvassing in the near future, because I want to be involved a bit more. I really don't think I could stand to get my heart broken like that again, though. We'll see, though. I also don't think I could stand just being silent on an issue that's so important to me. So, off I go again.
I have a crush on Obama.
~J