I'd like to tell everyone about something that's really scaring me about this election. During the primaries, several female co-workers were supporting Hillary Clinton, saying "it's about time we got a woman in there". Which i'm fine with, Hillary is extremely intelligent, and perfectly qualified to hold the office, although I believe you should back a candidate based on their stand on issues that are important to you, and not on gender, skin color, etc.
Now John McCain had picked Sarah Palin as his VP candidate(see my post on Sarah Palin). The same female co-workers who were backing Hillary, are now very impressed with Sarah Palin and are considering voting for McCain/Palin.
I asked my co-workers, "how can you like Palin, if you like Hillary?? They couldn't be more opposite!!" It turns out they saw her speech at the RNC (obviously, it's the only national speech she's given) and were extremely impressed with her. I can't help but think that they are so desperate to see a woman make history, that it doesn't matter who that woman is or if she's even qualified.
Just to be clear, this post is in no way intended to say that women voters are sheep that will vote for any woman. There are voters however, men and women alike, who vote for a person for alot of reasons other than issues. Remember how people liked Bush because he was the kind of guy you'd like to have dinner with?? Look how that turned out!!
The women of this country have taken a back seat to men for centuries, those days are all but over. There are more female governors, senators, cogresswomen, mayors, and CEOs than ever before, you have a female Speaker of the House, and were very close to having a woman receive her party's nomination for President, you're day IS coming, just not THIS time, and not THIS woman. If Hillary had been nominated, I definitely would have given her my vote, her platform and Obama's are not that different.
I'm just hoping that my co-worker's views are the exception and not the rule. I'm sure most women, and men for that matter, will choose the ticket with the vision, experience, and will to effect REAL change in Washington....Obama/Biden!!!
McCain/Palin the change ticket??? John McCain has been in the Senate for 26 years, I guess he figured it's about time!! The last 8 years he's voted with George W. Bush over 90% of the time.
He's had 26 years to do something about the environment, jobs, alternative fuels, clean energy, and has done nothing. But suddenly, he's the environment candidate. I love the commercials showing the windmills, and solar panels, as if everybody has developed amnesia, and doesn't know he's never been a friend to the environment. I wonder what Exxon/Mobil, who donated millions of dollars to his campaign, think of that commercial. Afterall, clean renewable energy wouldn't be very good for the oil industry.
I might have to look up the word "maverick" in the dictionary, but I don't believe a "maverick" goes along with the crowd, approving anything that GW Bush wants to push through the Senate. Maybe the "change" he's suddenly talking about means that things will get worse, though that's hard to imagine. With all the money his campaign has been given by big oil companies, they're probably looking for something in return, maybe some big tax breaks.
If McCain/Palin win this election, "Change" will be all that's left in our pockets!!!
Once again, my opinion of John McCain has been diminished. A protestor disrupts his speech, and instead of taking the high road and letting security remove the person quickly and quietly, he decides to make a rude remark like "don't be distracted by the ground noise and static".
McCain and the Republicans like to continually remind people of his time in the Hanoi Hilton. Maybe someone should remind him what he was fighting for, things like the U.S. constitution, and Freedom of Speech. Wouldn't he have come off much better by saying something like, "Please don't boo, every American has a right to their own opinion, even if we don't agree". But that's not the Republican way, anyone who doesn't agree with the Republican base is either out of touch, or isn't patriotic.
As a former POW, he knows better than most how precious our freedoms are. I'm not saying he should have stepped aside and gave the microphone to the protestor, but he didn't have to make fun of the protestors. Many of their actions were way out of line, with the destruction of property and disruptions at the convention, nonetheless they have the right to PEACEFUL assembly.
A majority of Americans are now opposed to the war in Iraq, and to call it "ground noise and static" is very dismissive and just goes to show how out of touch he is with what the American people believe and what they stand for.
I will start out by saying that I have a great deal of respect for John McCain. He's gone through what can only be described as hell on earth, and not only came out of it alive with his sanity intact, which is hard to imagine, he came home and dedicated his life to further service of his country.
However, his choice of Sarah Palin as nominee for VP has really lowered my opinion of him, at least politically. I feel his choice is a very transparent attempt to simply win over disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters and undecided women voters. Can he honestly say that out of all of the governors, mayors, senators, and congressman in the Republican party, Sarah Palin is the most qualified?? I really doubt it!! Well, she does have foreign relations experience, Alaska is right up there next to Russia!! Give me a break!!
Alot of the talking heads on TV, especially Foxnews, use the excuse that she's not running for President, she's running for VP. Really, what's the difference?? The VP is only a hearbeat away from being the President. Any VP nominee should be scrutinized as if they were the ones running for President. Let's not forget, and the late night comedians won't let you, that John McCain is 72 years old. If he should get elected and than re-elected he would be 80 years old at the end of his second term. If God forbid something happened to him, this is the person he's decided to leave in charge??
As for Barack Obama's pick, I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a running mate more qualified for the position of VP or President than Delaware's Joe Biden. I wish Barack Obama many many years of good health, but if something should happen to him, I have every confidence in Joe Biden to lead our nation.
Obama's pick is at least genuine, and not just a ploy for votes. You can tell he put some serious thought into it, not just thinking about who could seal the deal for him. Afterall, Joe Biden's state of Delaware only brings with it 3 electoral votes. If he wanted to make a pick simply based on the election, he could have picked someone from a large state such as PA, Gov. Ed Rendell, or PA Senator Bob Casey, or even Hillary Clinton with NY's 31 electoral votes. It's obvious that he chose based on the job that needs to be done in Washington after November. True, Senator Biden was born and spent his first ten years in Pennsylvania, but that doesn't guarantee the Keystone state will go his way in November, though I hope it does, and I think it will. As a Pennsylvanian, I know Obama/Biden will at least get my vote!!!
