Friday, October 31, 2008
Obama or McCain?
OK....I know I am risking a lot by even mentioning the names of the Presidential Candidates but I am interested in being a part of the wealth of knowledge I know moms can bring to a forum such as this. A forum like this, when used responsibly for gathering information, can be a fantastic way to inform and educate.
I know I am even MORE risky to tell you that I can't stand the whole political thing. I am not a dunce, I know it is of the utmost importance for people to vote, so please don't leave me comments about how un-American I am if I am not jumping out of my skin and throwing on my red-white-and-blue lipstick on voting day.
I think my reservations lie in respecting grown men (and women in 2008's case) who play the mud-slinging game for months before the election. Why can't the candidates simply state their qualifications? Why must they take the "Oh, yeah? Well guess what HE did?" stance...at a podium....for the whole country to see? Are they embarrassed later when they watch the out takes? I just don't get it. When I watch the debates, I don't see grown men, I see little kids dressed up like grown men and it makes me so angry.
Our schools want us to let our children watch so they will learn how to be informed voters when they are of age. But when my 10 & 11 year olds say, "Mom, if we said bad things about someone TO THEIR FACE the way they do, you would ground us." what is my answer to them? "You bet your BIPPY I would!"
Maybe it is the teacher in me. Maybe I have seen, one too many times, the way a group of high school kids handle an Student Government election without ANY mud-slinging. These 16 and 17 year olds who are asked to handle themselves like adults (and apparently NOT like politicians) put on a beautiful example of people I WOULD VOTE FOR. They are mature and responsible in word and action. Should we have candidates take a class prior to The Race?
I am curious what our opinions would be if we could not SEE the candidates or hear their voices. If Americans just got a list of information regarding their platform, their "yeas" and "nays," their expertise, their experience and of course their (lack of) criminal record. Would we feel differently? Would we SEE them differently? Would we vote differently?
I will vote. I know WHO I am voting for and WHY. I just wish I had the respect for the adult candidates that I had for high school ones.
Please feel free to GIVE INFORMATION about candidates below. NO MUD-SLINGING or NAME-CALLING! If possible, please leave a link to your source.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
Amen to all you have said. I grew up as the "Alex P. Keaton" in my family, fascinated in all things political (and Reagan, LOL!). As I grew I was kind of party loyal and pretty much supported Republicans. I voted for and loved "W" (at least the first 5 years or so), but now I am so discouraged.
I will not vote for Obama simply for his stance on abortion and the way he votes in the Senate on certain things, but I am no big McCain fan either. What's a poor Republican girl to do, LOL!?
So I will vote as I should, but frankly, I want to write in "Dave Ramsey". At least then we would have a balanced budget (Senators would probably have side jobs delivering pizzas!) and no mortgage crisis whatsoever!
Great topic!
I think of Obama as "big weevil" and McCain as "little weevil" - and I'm voting for the lesser of two weevils.
All joking aside - I find Obama's ideas for more government spending and programs to be a little scary, and his position on abortion is not one shared by me. That, and I don't trust lawyers. (no offense to anyone who's a lawyer) He comes across as arrogant and superficial to me. He speaks out of both sides of his mouth. He's slick, and that very well may win him the White House.
McCain isn't my favorite choice for the position of president, either, but his positions on issues important to me and my family are similar to mine. I believe a huge drawback to McCain is his lack of communication skills.
I do find it interesting that several of the states that are totally floundering in a poor economy have Democratic leadership (MI being one), and some of the states that are doing the "best" financially are run by a Republican. Coincidence? Maybe. But I doubt it.
I feel EXACTLY as you do!
I haven't been able to figure out if my total discouragement this year is due to the candidates or, more likely, because I've paid more attention.
I'm not thrilled with either candidate, but I know I don't want Democrat Domination, either, and that's what will happen with Obama. That, more than anything, scares me!
While neither of them leaving me feeling warm and fuzzy about ALL of their policies...Palin scares the daylights out of me. She is too extreme for my taste. I want the decisions that affect my life to be left there...in my life.
While the current economic situation is beyond worrisome, I feel that McCain's solution isn't the right one for "us" (I mean MY family). I don't want my current employeer having more money in their pockets that they won't ever pass down to me. I will get my raise/promotions through hard work and dedication, not because my government has given them more tax breaks. I'm not a fan of the trickle down effect, nor, if you look at the previous stimlus package, is our government. It rarely trickles down to 'middle class'.
I'd also like to say that McCain was my choice 8 years ago, had he made it to the general election.
I voted early and my daughter wore my "I voted" sticker into the grocery store yesterday. The bag boy asked her who she voted for and she replied, "My Daddy!" I agree, I wish I could vote for her daddy :)
Terrye in FL
Amen sister, well said.
Sad, but true. Sad that most voters will be voting for the lesser of two "weevils" rather than who's best for the country. Even the phone calls I'm getting are telling me why NOT to vote for the other guy, instead of telling me why I should vote for them.
It's no wonder so many people choose not to vote.
I can't wait for Christmas...hopefully stores haven't learned from politicians because if I start hearing Target tell me why I shouldn't buy from Walmart, instead of why I should buy from them, there's gonna be slim pickins under the tree this year, lol.
When Palin talks about the patron at a restaurant stiffing the waitress and giving her tip to the bum outside it really has nothing at all to do with what Obama is talking about in his tax plan. Under Obama's plan the waitress would have MORE money to take home not less. The truth is that John McCain wants to take the waitresses tip and give it to his well-heeled friends. What is frustrating to me is to watch the same machine that tarred McCain in 2000 use the same brush to tar Obama. The lies and innuendos are nothing short of incredible and if the American people buy their propaganda then they deserve what they get in spades. God gave you a brain to use for more than a hatrack. No political candidate is perfect... there are too many issues and too much diversity, but it is obvious from the attack campaign of McCain and Palin that they are not what we need to pull this country back together. The most interesting conclusion I am able to draw from this campaign is that when people say "I'm voting for the lesser of two evils", what they really mean is that their party has not produced a viable candidate but they're going to vote for them anyway.
Joe the non-plumber never did have a chance in hell of being hurt by Obama's tax plan, but McCain is happy to use him to conjure the socialist label. This is a basicly using an uneducated bum to fool and influence other uneducated/uninformed people. Folks if they can use this kind of manipulation to get into office, they will continue to use the same methods once they're in office. Present administration is the best possible example of this fact. Do you want four more years of that??!!! Throw the bums out.
Peace, Tim the factory worker
Evedently Tim the factory worker has his facts backward. The democrates aka Obama will take your money and distribute the wealth to the wealthy, the ones who gave them millions of dollars for the campagn which he has hidden who actually gave most of it. They OWE those contributors and believe me WE will be paying them back for Years under the Democrates!! McCain/Palin is the the only way to go for our people to prosper and get our country back
"Taxes are the price we pay for civilization."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Tim the factory worker can spell...
"evidently"
"democrat"
"campaign"
...so you must be one of the uneducated/uniformed people he was taking about. Finish your fourth grade spelling words before you go to the polls.
Hi folks,
Since the average campaign to the Obama campaign has been under $100 (mine included), it seems improbable that Obama can do anything but try to work for all the little guys who made his campaign come together. To ignore us would be political suicide.
BTW, the spelling comment was uncalled for & I sincerely apologize.
source for the $100...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96403125
Peace, Tim the factory worker
http://www.neverfindout.org/
Over here in the Netherlands, your elections are all over the news...
What amazes me (and a lot of other Europeans) is that some voters take ONLY the abortion point of view of the candidates into consideration and make that their one and only issue deciding on whom to vote for. In your country where problems arise that are HUGE and URGENT, I find it strange that some people make this election only about being pro-life or not.
That said, I wish you all a great election night and may the best team win!
I will be turning on the news early tomorrow morning to find out how it went!
For Dutch Momma - I personally believe that if someone doesn't care about protecting the life of an innocent baby, they sure aren't going to care what happens to me.
I don't like to follow the political stuff either - I get a brain freeze just thinking about it...I do vote after making up my own mind, but usually try toleave the political interests to my hubby,
Tim the Factory Worker, you rock!
Post a Comment