We are just days away of yet another pivotal day at the poles as North Carolina and Indiana are having their Democratic Primaries this Tuesday. With so much on the line Obama's campaign has announced that it will be playing two minute advertisements primarily the day before both of there primaries, but recently tonight they have come out with the ads and they are on YouTube already.
This advertisement has been said to Obama's "closing statement" for North Carolina and Indiana explicitly explaining to the citizens of these two states what he is about. There is also a portion of the advertisement that touches on Hillary Clinton's newly proposed tax holiday and the implications of how it is basically an awful idea that would only have short term effects.
Indiana Ad
North Carolina Ad
His main message seems to be that he is showing how he connects with most every citizen that lives in both of these states. I don't like however that Obama uses the same clips for both North Carolina and Indiana even though he targets each state individually. I don't think that Indian citizens would be happy if they saw a clip in their ad that was actually a North Carolina farm or town.
Okay so I might be a little overanalyzing this commercial but here are a few things that I found very interesting:
1. At 0:16 into the North Carolina ad there is a person in the audience with an Indiana Hoosiers shirt on.
2. At 0:38 into the Indiana ad there is a University of Indiana banner while in the North Carolina ad at 0:38 it is the same speech but they leave out the clip of the banner.
3. Also the water tower at 0:31 in both ads is from Granville, but the interesting thing is that there is only a Granville in North Carolina.
I hope that everyone enjoyed my blog throughout this semester and helped you cast a better vote in our primary and also I hope that I also can help you cast a more educated vote for the general Presidential Election. Thanks for all your comments
and I hope everyone has a great end of the year and good luck on finals.
May 4, 2008
April 28, 2008
Political Cartoons
During High School receiving the Sunday paper was a blast. Not only was there an infinite amount of reading, but there was also a complete section of comics. Ever since I read the comics I would look for the political comics that most often bashed our system or president. They are very comical and entertaining to read. I have taken this to the next step and now look at a website entirely about comics that people have submitted. Here are a couple comics from the past couple of weeks that I thought were very clever.
April 20, 2008
YouTube Your Candidates
YouTube is becoming a more intricate part of every person's daily life. Less and less people are watching primetime news and getting their daily dose of news from different Internet sources. I am curious as to how many YouTube videos in the first results page of a search are actually worth watching. Since the cyber community is putting out these videos I don't think the probability of finding any powerful videos are likely, but funny indeed.
After searching "Hillary Clinton" and after reading over much of the titles of the movies and watching a handful there was maybe ONE movie that actually made Hillary look good, but to tell you the truth it is a big stretch to say it makes her look good. However when searching under "Barack Obama" almost all of the movies were positive. There were some of Obama's speeches or interviews. Things that also came up on his search was the "Obama Girl" and "Yes We Can" mashup which are two very popular movies that have been seen by millions. There were also some movies that I remembered them showing before Barack spoke at the Kohls Center. It is clear that Obama is represented highly by the YouTube community.
I am really confused as to why Clinton would be projected so poorly by the YouTube community. Also, I really don't understand how movies are ordered when they are searched. There has to be some way to have the powerful and positive videos of Hillary at the top. I really don't hope that citizens are getting their information about Hillary from this online source because much of the videos just make her look awful. Citizens can get information about Obama from YouTube. However, I don't think YouTube is the greatest place to get information to go out and vote. It could definitely have skewed information that will make you cast a poor ballot.
This is one of my favorite YouTube movies I found.
After searching "Hillary Clinton" and after reading over much of the titles of the movies and watching a handful there was maybe ONE movie that actually made Hillary look good, but to tell you the truth it is a big stretch to say it makes her look good. However when searching under "Barack Obama" almost all of the movies were positive. There were some of Obama's speeches or interviews. Things that also came up on his search was the "Obama Girl" and "Yes We Can" mashup which are two very popular movies that have been seen by millions. There were also some movies that I remembered them showing before Barack spoke at the Kohls Center. It is clear that Obama is represented highly by the YouTube community.
I am really confused as to why Clinton would be projected so poorly by the YouTube community. Also, I really don't understand how movies are ordered when they are searched. There has to be some way to have the powerful and positive videos of Hillary at the top. I really don't hope that citizens are getting their information about Hillary from this online source because much of the videos just make her look awful. Citizens can get information about Obama from YouTube. However, I don't think YouTube is the greatest place to get information to go out and vote. It could definitely have skewed information that will make you cast a poor ballot.
This is one of my favorite YouTube movies I found.
April 13, 2008
Obama's "Bitter" Comment
A comment made by Barack Obama may have just given Hillary Clinton the opening she needed to propel her back into the Democratic race, coming at a mere essential time as a must win primary for her in Pennsylvania is less than two weeks away. Obama's comment was directed towards the working class when he stated that these small town workers that have lost their jobs are "bitter." Obama's entire comment is as follows, "It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
This simple remark that Obama claims he miss worded have been projected heavily by the Clinton campaign. The Clinton campaign has made Obama look arrogant and elitist in hope to try to hit the swing voters particularly the working class that the comment was directed towards. Clinton supporters have took actions such as handing out "I'm not bitter" stickers in North Carolina, which has an upcoming primary essential to Clinton as well. Also, supporters from North Carolina have called on Pennsylvania mayors to put down Obama because of these comments, which would definitely be devastating if they listened and took the advice. Clinton has been taking large actions as well going directly to these workers and telling them of what Obama has said about them.
The Democratic party leaders have been indifferent about Obama's comment and some think these comments could be extremely detrimental and called for voters to steer towards Clinton now, even though she is currently losing the race for delegates. I don't know if this is the right thing for these party leaders to do at this point in the primaries. This is just one more example of how the Democratic party is hurting itself by prolonging this primary race.
Obama is even getting hit from John McCain for his comments as being elitist. It is going to be essential for Obama's campaign to immediately diffuse this situation. Obama however is fighting his words saying that they are legitimate because people in these small towns "are angry and feel that they have been left behind."
It was said that for Obama to lose at this point he would have to make a monumental mistake and this might be it. I don't really think that it is still possible for Clinton to logically come back, but you never know. Personally I don’t see how what Obama said about the working class that have lost their jobs as being arrogant. I'm sure that I would be extremely enraged and bitter if I found myself without a job. I really can't speak for these people though since I necessarily am not in their position. What do you think about this comment that Obama has stated?
This simple remark that Obama claims he miss worded have been projected heavily by the Clinton campaign. The Clinton campaign has made Obama look arrogant and elitist in hope to try to hit the swing voters particularly the working class that the comment was directed towards. Clinton supporters have took actions such as handing out "I'm not bitter" stickers in North Carolina, which has an upcoming primary essential to Clinton as well. Also, supporters from North Carolina have called on Pennsylvania mayors to put down Obama because of these comments, which would definitely be devastating if they listened and took the advice. Clinton has been taking large actions as well going directly to these workers and telling them of what Obama has said about them.
The Democratic party leaders have been indifferent about Obama's comment and some think these comments could be extremely detrimental and called for voters to steer towards Clinton now, even though she is currently losing the race for delegates. I don't know if this is the right thing for these party leaders to do at this point in the primaries. This is just one more example of how the Democratic party is hurting itself by prolonging this primary race.
Obama is even getting hit from John McCain for his comments as being elitist. It is going to be essential for Obama's campaign to immediately diffuse this situation. Obama however is fighting his words saying that they are legitimate because people in these small towns "are angry and feel that they have been left behind."
It was said that for Obama to lose at this point he would have to make a monumental mistake and this might be it. I don't really think that it is still possible for Clinton to logically come back, but you never know. Personally I don’t see how what Obama said about the working class that have lost their jobs as being arrogant. I'm sure that I would be extremely enraged and bitter if I found myself without a job. I really can't speak for these people though since I necessarily am not in their position. What do you think about this comment that Obama has stated?
April 7, 2008
Mark Penn
On April 4, 2008 the Wall Street Journal reported in Clinton Aide Met on Trade Deal that Hillary Clinton's chief presidential strategist, Mark Penn, was confirmed by two Columbian officials to have met with the Columbian ambassador of the US to discuss a free-trade deal. The catch here is that this is one of the issues that as a candidate Clinton is opposed to. I'll give you the scoop.
Mark Penn is a CEO at Burston-Marsteller Worldwide a public relations firm and president at Penn, Shoen and Berland a political consulting firm. According to the Wall Street Journal this international communications and lobbying firm already has a contract with this country to promote congressional approval of this trade deal. Under Burston-Marsteller Worldwide Mark Penn met with the Columbia ambassador to the US to discuss this pending free-trade deal. Although Penn was only there taking part in a job and not campaigning this will give a bad wrap for the Clinton campaign, which has campaigned against this deal.
It's quite ironic that Clinton's campaign win in Ohio was credited to Obama's raised doubts on the North American Free Trade Agreement. With trade agreements being one of the most tested issues between these two candidates, this action taken by a campaign leader could prove damaging in the upcoming votes. It wasn't right for Mark Penn to form opinions on two sides of an issue to appease both parties and it bit him last week when reality hit him.
Mark Penn reported to having a meeting with the Columbian ambassador in respect to the trade deal and is making a good decision and stepping down from his position in Clinton's campaign. CNN reported that Mark Penn called his meeting "an error of judgement" and in reponse the Columbian government fired him from their pending agreements due to a "lack of respect towards Columbians." So basically he lost everything by trying to please everyone.
My question to you is: Do you think that the Democratic party is hurting itself by prolonging their presidential candidate campaign and finding harmful things about both candidates? Since McCain has had his spot wrapped up early in the Republican race do you think not hearing about him as much is good for him?
Mark Penn is a CEO at Burston-Marsteller Worldwide a public relations firm and president at Penn, Shoen and Berland a political consulting firm. According to the Wall Street Journal this international communications and lobbying firm already has a contract with this country to promote congressional approval of this trade deal. Under Burston-Marsteller Worldwide Mark Penn met with the Columbia ambassador to the US to discuss this pending free-trade deal. Although Penn was only there taking part in a job and not campaigning this will give a bad wrap for the Clinton campaign, which has campaigned against this deal.
It's quite ironic that Clinton's campaign win in Ohio was credited to Obama's raised doubts on the North American Free Trade Agreement. With trade agreements being one of the most tested issues between these two candidates, this action taken by a campaign leader could prove damaging in the upcoming votes. It wasn't right for Mark Penn to form opinions on two sides of an issue to appease both parties and it bit him last week when reality hit him.
Mark Penn reported to having a meeting with the Columbian ambassador in respect to the trade deal and is making a good decision and stepping down from his position in Clinton's campaign. CNN reported that Mark Penn called his meeting "an error of judgement" and in reponse the Columbian government fired him from their pending agreements due to a "lack of respect towards Columbians." So basically he lost everything by trying to please everyone.
My question to you is: Do you think that the Democratic party is hurting itself by prolonging their presidential candidate campaign and finding harmful things about both candidates? Since McCain has had his spot wrapped up early in the Republican race do you think not hearing about him as much is good for him?
March 30, 2008
The Power of Superdelegates
If anyone doesn't know already, a superdelegate is defined by dictionary.com as being a party leader or elected public official chosen as an uncommited delegate to a national political convention. Although the Democratic Party does not refer to these political elite as superdelegates it is a common media practice, which has transfered to the public as well. This year with the race being so close between Clinton and Obama these delegates could be a huge deal. The superdelegates total up to about one-fifth of all the delegates, which is a quite large portion for being single people.
Like many other Americans I am appalled by the power of the superdelegates. I just don't feel that one person should have the power of a large community when it comes to allocating their delegate. The purpose of voting in America is for the country as a whole to choose a person, all citizens having equal representation. The democratic party is being accused as being extremely undemocratic in the fact that these delegates aren't strictly forced to choose a candidate by the preferences of the community they represent. The Democratic Party has to take a step back and see that they are sort of putting the election in the hands of the most powerful and rich white men. Statistics are showing that one of these allocated superdelegates will represent just as much as 10,000 regular voters.
Although this Democratic election is almost wrapped up by Obama there could have been a huge debate if these superdelegates would have actually made the difference. I think that American citizens have to tell the Democratic party what they think about the process that is currently in place. I'm not hating on all the superdelegates that actually vote with their community, but we just have to eliminate the chance that some might actually vote without taking in consideration to their community thinks. These political leaders might have to think twice because their stay in office could be jeopardized if they are careless with their power. We'll just have to see what happens with this power.
Like many other Americans I am appalled by the power of the superdelegates. I just don't feel that one person should have the power of a large community when it comes to allocating their delegate. The purpose of voting in America is for the country as a whole to choose a person, all citizens having equal representation. The democratic party is being accused as being extremely undemocratic in the fact that these delegates aren't strictly forced to choose a candidate by the preferences of the community they represent. The Democratic Party has to take a step back and see that they are sort of putting the election in the hands of the most powerful and rich white men. Statistics are showing that one of these allocated superdelegates will represent just as much as 10,000 regular voters.
Although this Democratic election is almost wrapped up by Obama there could have been a huge debate if these superdelegates would have actually made the difference. I think that American citizens have to tell the Democratic party what they think about the process that is currently in place. I'm not hating on all the superdelegates that actually vote with their community, but we just have to eliminate the chance that some might actually vote without taking in consideration to their community thinks. These political leaders might have to think twice because their stay in office could be jeopardized if they are careless with their power. We'll just have to see what happens with this power.
March 23, 2008
Political Sex Scandals Month
I hope everyone had a good break and happy Easter. To get back in the groove I'm going to talk about the political sex scandals that have recently taken place.
Elliot Spitzer
Earlier this month Elliot Spitzer, former New York Governor, was reported to have been a regular customer of a high priced prostitution organization called Emporor's Club VIP. It has been said that Elliot Spitzer had paid more than $15,000 over a six month period for prostitution services at this organization and over $80,000 for other prostitutes over a couple years while he was Attorney General and Governor. This investigation was not originally for a suspicion of Spitzer receiving services from prostitutes, but suspicious money transfering. Authorities first believed that Spitzer had been illegally bribing people, but as you can see by using a wire tap found him having illegal confrontations with prostitutes. Elliot Spitzer later resigned as the New York Governor with his scandal projected into the public as the on March 12, 2008.
David Paterson
David Paterson was named the Governor of New York after Elliot Spitzer stepped down. This marked the first time ever that a New York Governor was African American and also legally blind. The day after David Paterson was inaugurated as New York Governor, he and his wife spoke out and acknowledged that they had both been involved in "straying" from their marriage in extramaritial affairs. This just coming days after the prostitution scandal of Elliot Spitzer was devestated the politics in New York.
Jim McGreevey
Also last week a driver for former Governor Jim McGreevey, Ted Pederson, stated that he had had multiple sexual encounters with Jim McGreevey and his wife. McGreevey's wife denied having these threesomes with her husband and their driver. She also rejected knowing that her husband was gay when she married him. Jim McGreevey however admits to having these threesomes. Pederson has claimed that these "Friday Night Specials" had occured before and after their marriage, but ended before MecGreevey became governor.
I hope that our government isn't becoming extremely corrupt with all these scandals currently being uncovered.
Elliot Spitzer
Earlier this month Elliot Spitzer, former New York Governor, was reported to have been a regular customer of a high priced prostitution organization called Emporor's Club VIP. It has been said that Elliot Spitzer had paid more than $15,000 over a six month period for prostitution services at this organization and over $80,000 for other prostitutes over a couple years while he was Attorney General and Governor. This investigation was not originally for a suspicion of Spitzer receiving services from prostitutes, but suspicious money transfering. Authorities first believed that Spitzer had been illegally bribing people, but as you can see by using a wire tap found him having illegal confrontations with prostitutes. Elliot Spitzer later resigned as the New York Governor with his scandal projected into the public as the on March 12, 2008.
David Paterson
David Paterson was named the Governor of New York after Elliot Spitzer stepped down. This marked the first time ever that a New York Governor was African American and also legally blind. The day after David Paterson was inaugurated as New York Governor, he and his wife spoke out and acknowledged that they had both been involved in "straying" from their marriage in extramaritial affairs. This just coming days after the prostitution scandal of Elliot Spitzer was devestated the politics in New York.
Jim McGreevey
Also last week a driver for former Governor Jim McGreevey, Ted Pederson, stated that he had had multiple sexual encounters with Jim McGreevey and his wife. McGreevey's wife denied having these threesomes with her husband and their driver. She also rejected knowing that her husband was gay when she married him. Jim McGreevey however admits to having these threesomes. Pederson has claimed that these "Friday Night Specials" had occured before and after their marriage, but ended before MecGreevey became governor.
I hope that our government isn't becoming extremely corrupt with all these scandals currently being uncovered.
March 9, 2008
Toss Up
-It seems that the "groundhog" has seen his shadow and we are in for another 7 weeks of primaries until there is Pennsylvania with a large amount of delegates. Hillary Clinton gained some momentum back on Tuesday when she won primaries in Texas and Ohio. Although she only gained 4 delegates on Obama that day, she has gained momentum that has been so valuable for Obama. She is now down 99 delegates and it will be very hard for her to win, but she believes she is in the perfect position to win this nomination. What lies ahead is unknown, other than the fact that this election is going to go on for quiet some time.
-The reason for Clinton's great success on Super Tuesday 2 was the fact that she switched her strategy for her campaign drastically. She has changed campaign managers, paid great attention to her campaign finances and had a clearer message about economic issues in our country to better her chances in winning. Although many people look at "new" attacks on Barack Obama as being negative to her campaign, I actually feel that they have been quiet successful in taking votes away from Obama. Obama had been getting extremely cocky after winning 11 straight states and he now has to take into account what Clinton did and formulate new campaign strategies so that he doesn't end up losing the lead he currently holds. Clinton's main strategy has clearly been to win the big states (California, New York, Texas, Ohio, etc.) while caring not much about the smaller states. It has been talked about that this is where Obama can hit Clinton hard because she has stated that she didn't care about losing some of the small states she has lost. It has also been said that Obama should target some of Clinton's foreign policies. Also, now that Clinton has a clear strangle hold on economic policy in a time that the economy could be our worst fear, Obama must give Americans a good look at the unique policies he can bring to the table concerning economics.
-Today political leaders debated the options regarding the situation revolving around the Michigan and Florida primaries. The suggestion was to initiate a mail-in ballot process for each state that had had their delegates striped from the nomination process. These two states have 366 pledged delegates and super delegates together. Clinton gained ground on Groundhog Day and the Democratic nomination may not be settled unless these delegates would be included. Both governors have stated that it would be a disgrace for their citizen's vote not to count, but there is going to be a problem finding someone to foot the bill for this mail-in ballot process. The primary in Michigan would cost approximately 10 million dollars while the Florida primary would cost 20 million dollars. Charlie Crist, Florida Governor, clearly stated that he would not put this large burden on his citizens by taxing them if they were not given money by outside sources. Crist really wants his state to have another chance in the Democratic primary, but said that the only way they would take part would be if the Democratic Committee would pay for it. Although this process could be attainable there may be some problems such as properly counting these ballots and the chance of duplication and fraud of ballots. These problems and the time constraint for setting up these two primaries could ultimately cause these two states to be disenfranchised from this year’s Democratic nomination.
-The reason for Clinton's great success on Super Tuesday 2 was the fact that she switched her strategy for her campaign drastically. She has changed campaign managers, paid great attention to her campaign finances and had a clearer message about economic issues in our country to better her chances in winning. Although many people look at "new" attacks on Barack Obama as being negative to her campaign, I actually feel that they have been quiet successful in taking votes away from Obama. Obama had been getting extremely cocky after winning 11 straight states and he now has to take into account what Clinton did and formulate new campaign strategies so that he doesn't end up losing the lead he currently holds. Clinton's main strategy has clearly been to win the big states (California, New York, Texas, Ohio, etc.) while caring not much about the smaller states. It has been talked about that this is where Obama can hit Clinton hard because she has stated that she didn't care about losing some of the small states she has lost. It has also been said that Obama should target some of Clinton's foreign policies. Also, now that Clinton has a clear strangle hold on economic policy in a time that the economy could be our worst fear, Obama must give Americans a good look at the unique policies he can bring to the table concerning economics.
-Today political leaders debated the options regarding the situation revolving around the Michigan and Florida primaries. The suggestion was to initiate a mail-in ballot process for each state that had had their delegates striped from the nomination process. These two states have 366 pledged delegates and super delegates together. Clinton gained ground on Groundhog Day and the Democratic nomination may not be settled unless these delegates would be included. Both governors have stated that it would be a disgrace for their citizen's vote not to count, but there is going to be a problem finding someone to foot the bill for this mail-in ballot process. The primary in Michigan would cost approximately 10 million dollars while the Florida primary would cost 20 million dollars. Charlie Crist, Florida Governor, clearly stated that he would not put this large burden on his citizens by taxing them if they were not given money by outside sources. Crist really wants his state to have another chance in the Democratic primary, but said that the only way they would take part would be if the Democratic Committee would pay for it. Although this process could be attainable there may be some problems such as properly counting these ballots and the chance of duplication and fraud of ballots. These problems and the time constraint for setting up these two primaries could ultimately cause these two states to be disenfranchised from this year’s Democratic nomination.
March 2, 2008
Groundhog Day
-Many people are calling Tuesday's big primary showdowns in Texas and Ohio the political "Groundhog Day." Either these two states will end Clinton's campaign or give her momentum in the race and basically a restart for her. The reason that this has lately been called the political Groudhog Day is because the next big delegate state is 7 weeks later in Pennsylvania. Clinton's campaign team said she will clinch the race in June, while Obama's campaign thought this remark is mathematically crazy for Clinton. Bill Clinton didn't win his Democratic nomination until June. No one wants to have this prolonged race and the Democratic leader wants April to be the deadline. Howard Dean, Chairman of Democratic National Committee, believes that if there isn't a nominee in March or April they are going to have to get the candidates together to make an arrangement. I really don't understand what this "arrangement" would be, and it is clear by looking around that no one else does either. I didn't know that the party leader could make arrangements to finish the race early.
-Thanks adam for pointing out my mistake about Florida and Michigan. The thing I am confused about what seeding actually intales.
-Also in respect to Nader running as an independent. Nader will not have to run in any primaries since he will be running under his own independent party, not Democratic or Republican. If I'm not mistaken anyone can run for president seeing that under democracy this is possible, but the main thing is that you need the money to run.
-Thanks adam for pointing out my mistake about Florida and Michigan. The thing I am confused about what seeding actually intales.
-Also in respect to Nader running as an independent. Nader will not have to run in any primaries since he will be running under his own independent party, not Democratic or Republican. If I'm not mistaken anyone can run for president seeing that under democracy this is possible, but the main thing is that you need the money to run.
February 24, 2008
Current News
-Obama is definitely on a roll now leading Clinton in response to a string of victories. The delegate race is still close between Obama (1319) and Clinton (1250) to the coveted 2025. Super Tuesday II is coming on March 4 and will inevitably carve the path in each race.
-The Republican race has for a while now been mathematically over but we still see Huckabee on the ballot. If you didn't get to see Saturday Night Live last night, Huckabee was a guest and he actually made fun of himself at his current stance in the race. I thought the funniest part was when he stated that he still had a chance in the race because he could still earn superdelegates. But if you are an educated person about the current election it is clear that he will never earn a single superdelegate because the Republican Party race doesn't have them. I really like that Huckabee is being McCain's fly in this race, but he will be dropping out after McCain secures the Republican bid on March 4.
-With the Wisconsin primary now over I know that many of you have seen a barrage of advertisements for Obama and Hillary. I am very surprised with the successfulness of both candidates’ advertisements. The two advertisements below are the two most successful and talked about.
Barack Obama
This Obama ad is extremely successful due to the fact that he actually instills you with the sense that he can change the world.
Hillary Clinton
This is by far my most favorite political advertisement I have ever seen. It is very successful because you don't actually realize that it is a political advertisement until half way through it. It hooks blue-collar workers into the advertisement and then they will keep watching the advertisement and figure out what she believes.
-If you haven't already heard, Ralph Nader entered the presidential election today as an independent. Nader definitely played a large role in the 2000 election and many Democratic Party members are lashing out at his choice to join this year's election. Nader took many of the votes away Al Gore that would have inevitably propelled him to President instead of George Bush. Nader stated in the 2000 election that he ran because there wasn't much of a difference between George Bush and Al Gore, which looking back 8 years he was completely wrong. Although this is the case Nader should not make too much of a difference in this election. He took 2.7 percent of the popular vote in 2000, but only 0.4 percent in 2004. In 2000 Nader stressed views that weren't stressed by the other two candidates such as lobbying and corporate influence in the government, which have since been picked up by Obama. If Obama wins the Democratic bid Nader will not be much of a distraction to the Democratic Party as he holds the views that Nader shows his uniqueness. Nader is in this election hoping that Clinton will win the bid and in effect taking many of the Democratic Party voters that are Obama enthusiasts.
-Florida and Michigan were recently disenfranchised of the Democratic race due to their illegal action of moving up their primary dates. Both states were stripped of the delegates won by Hillary Clinton. Clinton is now pitching that since she won these delegates she should be granted with them. Barack Obama wasn’t even on the ballot for Michigan. The Democratic Party definitely hopes that they choose a candidate before the election reaches the convention or this action of the two states could end up in a big mess.
-The Democratic election is definitely heading into a very hostile state. There have been many attacks on Obama from McCain and Clinton that he is all about words and not saying much about his policies he believes in. Also Clinton is attacking him for the false Mailers that were sent out to Texas and Ohio citizens. Clinton must attack Obama in their next debate to have a greater chance of winning in the next staes. She definitely will be aided when the media gets into these attacks on Obama. She really can't win much without the media on her side attacking with all the momentum Obama currently has.
-I can't wait until March 4. If we see Hillary get back into this race with wins in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania there will be so much confusion in the Democratic Party. It is said that if this happens there will be a Democratic paid election in Florida and Michigan to make up for the originally thrown out delegates for these two states. If Clinton doesn't sweep these states the race is inevitably over and we will see Obama earn the bid for the Democratic Party.
-The Republican race has for a while now been mathematically over but we still see Huckabee on the ballot. If you didn't get to see Saturday Night Live last night, Huckabee was a guest and he actually made fun of himself at his current stance in the race. I thought the funniest part was when he stated that he still had a chance in the race because he could still earn superdelegates. But if you are an educated person about the current election it is clear that he will never earn a single superdelegate because the Republican Party race doesn't have them. I really like that Huckabee is being McCain's fly in this race, but he will be dropping out after McCain secures the Republican bid on March 4.
-With the Wisconsin primary now over I know that many of you have seen a barrage of advertisements for Obama and Hillary. I am very surprised with the successfulness of both candidates’ advertisements. The two advertisements below are the two most successful and talked about.
Barack Obama
This Obama ad is extremely successful due to the fact that he actually instills you with the sense that he can change the world.
Hillary Clinton
This is by far my most favorite political advertisement I have ever seen. It is very successful because you don't actually realize that it is a political advertisement until half way through it. It hooks blue-collar workers into the advertisement and then they will keep watching the advertisement and figure out what she believes.
-If you haven't already heard, Ralph Nader entered the presidential election today as an independent. Nader definitely played a large role in the 2000 election and many Democratic Party members are lashing out at his choice to join this year's election. Nader took many of the votes away Al Gore that would have inevitably propelled him to President instead of George Bush. Nader stated in the 2000 election that he ran because there wasn't much of a difference between George Bush and Al Gore, which looking back 8 years he was completely wrong. Although this is the case Nader should not make too much of a difference in this election. He took 2.7 percent of the popular vote in 2000, but only 0.4 percent in 2004. In 2000 Nader stressed views that weren't stressed by the other two candidates such as lobbying and corporate influence in the government, which have since been picked up by Obama. If Obama wins the Democratic bid Nader will not be much of a distraction to the Democratic Party as he holds the views that Nader shows his uniqueness. Nader is in this election hoping that Clinton will win the bid and in effect taking many of the Democratic Party voters that are Obama enthusiasts.
-Florida and Michigan were recently disenfranchised of the Democratic race due to their illegal action of moving up their primary dates. Both states were stripped of the delegates won by Hillary Clinton. Clinton is now pitching that since she won these delegates she should be granted with them. Barack Obama wasn’t even on the ballot for Michigan. The Democratic Party definitely hopes that they choose a candidate before the election reaches the convention or this action of the two states could end up in a big mess.
-The Democratic election is definitely heading into a very hostile state. There have been many attacks on Obama from McCain and Clinton that he is all about words and not saying much about his policies he believes in. Also Clinton is attacking him for the false Mailers that were sent out to Texas and Ohio citizens. Clinton must attack Obama in their next debate to have a greater chance of winning in the next staes. She definitely will be aided when the media gets into these attacks on Obama. She really can't win much without the media on her side attacking with all the momentum Obama currently has.
-I can't wait until March 4. If we see Hillary get back into this race with wins in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania there will be so much confusion in the Democratic Party. It is said that if this happens there will be a Democratic paid election in Florida and Michigan to make up for the originally thrown out delegates for these two states. If Clinton doesn't sweep these states the race is inevitably over and we will see Obama earn the bid for the Democratic Party.
February 17, 2008
Obama Rally
On Tuesday February 12 I had a great experience as a volunteer at the Obama Rally in the Kohl Center. I was originally planning on just going to the rally without volunteering until I received a call from my friend that invited me to help. I would never pass up the chance to experience the behind the scenes of a political event and have the chance to get a picture with Barack Obama.
I showed up at the Kohl Center to begin volunteering at about 3:00 and ended up finding about 50 people already in line waiting for the speech that would start about 6 hours later. It's crazy how dedicated some people can be, as to wait that long just to be a little bit closer to the speaker. I am usually content with just being in the building/stadium of any event and not worried about being the closest to the action.
We were lectured a while and then we got to choose which task we were volunteering as. I really wanted to be in charge of taking care of the media, but received my second choice of being an usher. I really didn't have to do much the first 3 hours except watch everyone do their jobs. As soon as the doors of the Kohl Center opened there were hoards of people running to get the closest seat. I was a pretty crazy scene and was definitely not ready to deal with the crowd. I later learned that the section I was to be the usher was for VIP so I actually didn't have to do anything but stand there and make sure no one went in which I definitely was very content about.
After the near 20,000 people got in the building I was relieved and took my seat in the luxury boxes, which we were to sit in and make sure no one else did. But like usual, no one listened and I soon found myself surrounded by people anxious for Obama's speech. I really never would have expected such a great turnout, but I was extremely pleased to see this initiative out of so many students and other wisonsinites.
When Obama finally started speaking I was amazed. Although he didn't go into depth about his policies he will put through (as expected) his charisma was mesmerizing. I have never heard anyone in my life speek with such heart as Obama did.
After his speech I made my way down to the main floor to hopefully meet with Obama. After hearing that he was in 3 interviews at the time and was extremely tired from traveling from Virginia the same day, I was extremely disappointed, but understood his circumstances. Although I never got a picture with him I did get on CNN and had a great experience of how much work is actually put into one of these political events. I hope all of you were at his rally and really enjoyed it as much as me.
I showed up at the Kohl Center to begin volunteering at about 3:00 and ended up finding about 50 people already in line waiting for the speech that would start about 6 hours later. It's crazy how dedicated some people can be, as to wait that long just to be a little bit closer to the speaker. I am usually content with just being in the building/stadium of any event and not worried about being the closest to the action.
We were lectured a while and then we got to choose which task we were volunteering as. I really wanted to be in charge of taking care of the media, but received my second choice of being an usher. I really didn't have to do much the first 3 hours except watch everyone do their jobs. As soon as the doors of the Kohl Center opened there were hoards of people running to get the closest seat. I was a pretty crazy scene and was definitely not ready to deal with the crowd. I later learned that the section I was to be the usher was for VIP so I actually didn't have to do anything but stand there and make sure no one went in which I definitely was very content about.
After the near 20,000 people got in the building I was relieved and took my seat in the luxury boxes, which we were to sit in and make sure no one else did. But like usual, no one listened and I soon found myself surrounded by people anxious for Obama's speech. I really never would have expected such a great turnout, but I was extremely pleased to see this initiative out of so many students and other wisonsinites.
When Obama finally started speaking I was amazed. Although he didn't go into depth about his policies he will put through (as expected) his charisma was mesmerizing. I have never heard anyone in my life speek with such heart as Obama did.
After his speech I made my way down to the main floor to hopefully meet with Obama. After hearing that he was in 3 interviews at the time and was extremely tired from traveling from Virginia the same day, I was extremely disappointed, but understood his circumstances. Although I never got a picture with him I did get on CNN and had a great experience of how much work is actually put into one of these political events. I hope all of you were at his rally and really enjoyed it as much as me.
February 10, 2008
Your Candidates
Super Tuesday was an adventurous day with the Republican race mathematically over (McCain in the driver's seat) as Romney stepped down the next day, but the Democratic bid still up for grabs with a basic split of delegates. With Obama sweeping the weekend though, he has inched ever so closely to Clinton in the democratic race, where he finds himself only 27 delegates behind. After the weekend votes, Obama is now over Clinton in the pledged delegates for the convention, while Clinton still holds the superdelegate edge. With the Democratic race so close and our primary on the 19th it would be helpful to meet the candidate's thoughts on a few main issues surrounding our nation at this time.
HILLARY CLINTON
BUDGET AND ECONOMY
- put 30 billion dollars in an emergency housing fund to help with the rising foreclosures
- a 90 day suspension on subprime foreclosures to work with the mortgage companies and large financial banks in order to keep people in their homes
- freeze interest rates for 5+ years to help stop rising mortgages that some may not be able to pay in the future
- put 25 billion dollars in an emergency energy fund for rising energy bills, in effect lowering cost of commodities
- stimulate unemployment insurance with 10 billion dollars
- put 5 billion into alternative and more efficient energy, which she says may create 5 million new jobs with clean renewable energy while combating global warming
IRAQ
- originally voted for the use of military in Iraq, but that "if we know now what we knew then" she would have voted differently
- voted for spending bill that would have withdrawn most troops by March 2008
- opposed Bush's plan to increase amount of troops in Iraq
- supports phased redeployment
- with the Iraqi government given everything they needed for a bright future, she would withdraw troops in a careful manner of 1 to 2 combat brigades per month.
- this would get the Iraqi government actively thinking about tough decisions instead of the current unactive stance without us withdrawing troops
- also engage diplomatically with other countries in the region
- best way to force Iraq to make decisions is to show them that we are on our way out
ENVIRONMENT
- would develop a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012, which is basically an agreement by every country who ratified it to reduce greenhouse gases by 5% of 1990 levels (ironically we are the last to ratify this agreement)
- focus attention on international deforestation
- move towards energy independence towards more renewable sources
- place market cap on trading to reduce carbon emissions
- she states that with fuel efficiency, fuel standards and her proposal, that the US will contribute 80% less than it had in 1990 towards global warming
- opposes drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
- believes that not dealing with global warming will wreck economy and undermine the standard of living around the world
- it doesn't have to be a choice between the economy and global warming; proposes to fund energy and climate research by taking away from tax subsidies for the oil companies and putting them to work on alternative energy (people can make living doing this in America without outsourcing)
BARACK OBAMA
BUDGET AND ECONOMY
- have a short term stimulus of 250 dollars as a tax rebate for workers totaling 35 billion dollars
- have a short term stimulus of 250 dollars as a supplement for senior's Social Security check totaling 10 billion dollars
- there would be 45 billion dollars immediately going to Americans, but if we continued to see a drop in employment and other indications of further recession there would be additional dollars put in our pockets
- long term there will be a working out of the tax quota that currently burdens working families while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations that find the many loopholes
- invest in education and energy independence
- these long term programs would be paid entirely by the government
- would rather jump start economy than try to balance budget or be stingy on stimulus package
IRAQ
- voted for spending bill that would have withdrawn most troops by March 2008
- opposed Bush's plan to increase amount of troops in Iraq
- supports phased redeployment
- once called for troop withdrawal to begin in by the close of 2006
- will bring troops home within 16 months
- will finish fight against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, which is where we should have focused attention in the beginning
- doesn't just want to end war, but change mindset that got us into war by negotiating with our enemies (Hillary strongly opposed this in one of their debates)
ENVIRONMENT
- would implement an economy wide trade cap to reduce greenhouse gases to scientific recommended levels, charging every bit of pollution that is sent into atmosphere
- this will create a market so that people can make money by saving the environment
- "there is nothing we can not do if the ingenuity and creativity of American's is harnessed"
- make US the world leader in global effort by leading an international partnership on climate change
- would establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard to increase fuel efficiencies on cars
- create a program to help export healthier climate technologies to the developing countries in the world
- create incentives for management in0 sustaining forests globally
- also would create incentives to forest owners and farmers that plant trees and undertake other practices that help in capturing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere
- if we cap the emissions of greenhouse gases, power plants will have to change equipment and in effect charge more to consumers so we will each have to make small steps in making our houses more energy efficient
If anyone has any questions with terminology or anything at all I will be glad to answer. Also if there are any other issues you believe are important please let me know. I will also be talking about the Republican candidates later this week.
I strongly urge everyone to learn more about the Democratic candidates by going to meet with Chelsea Clinton Monday from 3:30-4:30 at the Memorial Union in the Second Floor Lounge or listen to Barack Obama at the Kohl Center on Tuesday where doors open at 6:15.
HILLARY CLINTON
BUDGET AND ECONOMY
- put 30 billion dollars in an emergency housing fund to help with the rising foreclosures
- a 90 day suspension on subprime foreclosures to work with the mortgage companies and large financial banks in order to keep people in their homes
- freeze interest rates for 5+ years to help stop rising mortgages that some may not be able to pay in the future
- put 25 billion dollars in an emergency energy fund for rising energy bills, in effect lowering cost of commodities
- stimulate unemployment insurance with 10 billion dollars
- put 5 billion into alternative and more efficient energy, which she says may create 5 million new jobs with clean renewable energy while combating global warming
IRAQ
- originally voted for the use of military in Iraq, but that "if we know now what we knew then" she would have voted differently
- voted for spending bill that would have withdrawn most troops by March 2008
- opposed Bush's plan to increase amount of troops in Iraq
- supports phased redeployment
- with the Iraqi government given everything they needed for a bright future, she would withdraw troops in a careful manner of 1 to 2 combat brigades per month.
- this would get the Iraqi government actively thinking about tough decisions instead of the current unactive stance without us withdrawing troops
- also engage diplomatically with other countries in the region
- best way to force Iraq to make decisions is to show them that we are on our way out
ENVIRONMENT
- would develop a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012, which is basically an agreement by every country who ratified it to reduce greenhouse gases by 5% of 1990 levels (ironically we are the last to ratify this agreement)
- focus attention on international deforestation
- move towards energy independence towards more renewable sources
- place market cap on trading to reduce carbon emissions
- she states that with fuel efficiency, fuel standards and her proposal, that the US will contribute 80% less than it had in 1990 towards global warming
- opposes drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
- believes that not dealing with global warming will wreck economy and undermine the standard of living around the world
- it doesn't have to be a choice between the economy and global warming; proposes to fund energy and climate research by taking away from tax subsidies for the oil companies and putting them to work on alternative energy (people can make living doing this in America without outsourcing)
BARACK OBAMA
BUDGET AND ECONOMY
- have a short term stimulus of 250 dollars as a tax rebate for workers totaling 35 billion dollars
- have a short term stimulus of 250 dollars as a supplement for senior's Social Security check totaling 10 billion dollars
- there would be 45 billion dollars immediately going to Americans, but if we continued to see a drop in employment and other indications of further recession there would be additional dollars put in our pockets
- long term there will be a working out of the tax quota that currently burdens working families while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations that find the many loopholes
- invest in education and energy independence
- these long term programs would be paid entirely by the government
- would rather jump start economy than try to balance budget or be stingy on stimulus package
IRAQ
- voted for spending bill that would have withdrawn most troops by March 2008
- opposed Bush's plan to increase amount of troops in Iraq
- supports phased redeployment
- once called for troop withdrawal to begin in by the close of 2006
- will bring troops home within 16 months
- will finish fight against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, which is where we should have focused attention in the beginning
- doesn't just want to end war, but change mindset that got us into war by negotiating with our enemies (Hillary strongly opposed this in one of their debates)
ENVIRONMENT
- would implement an economy wide trade cap to reduce greenhouse gases to scientific recommended levels, charging every bit of pollution that is sent into atmosphere
- this will create a market so that people can make money by saving the environment
- "there is nothing we can not do if the ingenuity and creativity of American's is harnessed"
- make US the world leader in global effort by leading an international partnership on climate change
- would establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard to increase fuel efficiencies on cars
- create a program to help export healthier climate technologies to the developing countries in the world
- create incentives for management in0 sustaining forests globally
- also would create incentives to forest owners and farmers that plant trees and undertake other practices that help in capturing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere
- if we cap the emissions of greenhouse gases, power plants will have to change equipment and in effect charge more to consumers so we will each have to make small steps in making our houses more energy efficient
If anyone has any questions with terminology or anything at all I will be glad to answer. Also if there are any other issues you believe are important please let me know. I will also be talking about the Republican candidates later this week.
I strongly urge everyone to learn more about the Democratic candidates by going to meet with Chelsea Clinton Monday from 3:30-4:30 at the Memorial Union in the Second Floor Lounge or listen to Barack Obama at the Kohl Center on Tuesday where doors open at 6:15.
February 3, 2008
An Educated Vote
Now that the Super Bowl is over and another football season has come to a close I need something that I can follow. This is the first time that I will be able to vote for President and it may be for some of you as well. I know that when I converse with my close friends from time to time about the current primaries and caucuses that are taking place I am left in silence or a blunt "Why should I care?" My response is usually something pertaining to George Bush's current presidency.
Many young adults and other stubborn Americans have a simple notion that they shouldn't even bother voting because the chance that they would win the lottery may remarkably be better than the chance of a complete tie in their state. I know that this statement makes a great point, but if the entire community of "voters" that have this notion would actually vote, elections could actually be drastically different, such as the state of Florida in 2000.
The fact that more and more people are voting every election is a good sign of our country becoming more active. More than this though, I hope that all of these voters are well educated about all the candidates so that they are making an educated choice and not just choosing a face or a name. My hope is that by presenting candidates and their views on certain issues, that I can help you and also myself cast a meaningful educated vote.
Below are the current candidates still running for their respective party and links to their candidacy page.
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
REPUBLICANS
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
NOTE: After Super Tuesday, February 5th, there may be a clearer look to each party's race.
Many young adults and other stubborn Americans have a simple notion that they shouldn't even bother voting because the chance that they would win the lottery may remarkably be better than the chance of a complete tie in their state. I know that this statement makes a great point, but if the entire community of "voters" that have this notion would actually vote, elections could actually be drastically different, such as the state of Florida in 2000.
The fact that more and more people are voting every election is a good sign of our country becoming more active. More than this though, I hope that all of these voters are well educated about all the candidates so that they are making an educated choice and not just choosing a face or a name. My hope is that by presenting candidates and their views on certain issues, that I can help you and also myself cast a meaningful educated vote.
Below are the current candidates still running for their respective party and links to their candidacy page.
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
REPUBLICANS
Mike Huckabee
John McCain
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
NOTE: After Super Tuesday, February 5th, there may be a clearer look to each party's race.
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