I watched the debate last night and tried to go in unbiased. Obviously I’m for Obama, but I wanted to give other candidates a chance to convince me. Here’s my rankings and thoughts on the candidates:
9) Bill Richardson: Don’t like him. It’s no accident that he was all the way to the right on the stage. The NRA’s favorite candidate is my least.
8) Chris Dodd: Don’t like him either. He strikes me as a cookie-cutter politician. The mannerisms, the tone of voice, the haircut and the cash from lobbyists all give me that sick feeling.
7) Mike Gravel: This guy is insane, but at least he tells it like it is. He’s an old-timer, and not a good fit to be president. “Who are you scared of?” You, Mr. Gravel.
6) Hillary Clinton: Sure, her answers are polished, she’s got great ideas, and she’s got experience. Problem is, she’s got too much experience. I mean, what was she thinking when she voted for the Iraq war!? Of all the people in the Senate SHE should’ve known Iraq was no threat. Her husband just got done being president and she knew Iraq was contained. She knew that every spy satellite in the US knew if Saddam so much as farted in the wrong direction. She should’ve known that there was no way possible Saddam was making a nuke and there was no way Saddam was working with Al Qaeda. I think she did know all that but she gave in to George Bush’s media drum beat with an eye on….. you guessed it, 2008. I love her as my senator and I think she should stay there.
(By the way if nobody got to see Bill Moyer’s Journal Wednesday night on PBS, I highly recommend you go online and watch. Link The man is a brilliant journalist and he picked apart how the media was used to sell the war in Iraq. Our country’s history took a turn on Sunday, September 8th, 2002 when New York Times published the Aluminum Tubes article on the front page of the Sunday edition. Sure enough there was Dick Cheney on Meet the Press pointing to that very article. Funny thing was, Dick Cheney’s office was responsible for the leak to Judith Miller about those aluminum tubes. If that’s not an evil genius manipulation of the media, I don’t know what is.)
5) Brian Williams: Is he a robot?
4) Dennis Kucinich: As a native of Ohio I’ve always had a soft spot for him. But, seriously, he’d never get elected and I can’t even think of a role he’d serve in the executive branch. He’s a great congressman, and he should stay there.
3) Joseph Biden: Can you say Secretary of State. He’s the kind of guy I like. He’s smart, loud, funny, and right about most things. He’s an excellent negotiator and trustworthy. His mouth is too much for him to be president.
2) John Edwards: He was my choice in 2004, and he still impresses me. He’s got great ideas and he’d unite the nation. “It’s time Americans were patriotic toward something other than war.” Good to hear. Too bad he voted for the Iraq war also with an eye on 2004 and 2008. Everyone knew that vote was monumental and too many people didn’t show the guts or judgment to make the right choice. John Edwards for Attorney General.
1) Barack Obama: Who did you think I was going to put number one. Obama got a little bloodied in that debate. The minute-response format isn’t his best either. His opponents want to be where he is so they ganged up on him. He took the onslaught like a man though, held his own, and didn’t return any attacks. Thomas Friedman wrote a spectacular article about him on the 18th.
“I believe that what has propelled his candidacy up to now -- more than anything -- is that many Americans have projected onto him their hunger for community, their hunger for a president with the voice, instincts and moral authority to make it so much harder for foreigners to be anti-American or for Americans to be anti-one-another.”
Amen.
I don’t know what ‘it’ is, but Barack has ‘it’. I’m 28 years old. My children would likely be born during an Obama administration. He’s a man children can look to as a leader, a visionary and a role model. I’m comfortable with and excited about what an Obama lead generation would look like.
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