Genius or suicide?

September 1, 2008 at 5:46 am | Posted in politics | 1 Comment
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As expected the day after Barack Obama’s acceptance speech in Denver John McCain announced his running mate. However, he unexpectedly named Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin his running mate. This was shocking to me. I had expected Mitt Romney, Joe Liberman or if he did pick a woman it thought it would be Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson. I’m sure I was one of many American who thought Sarah who?

 

The pick of Polin was either a genius move by John McCain or a suicidal move.

 

I think it is very clear why he picked Palin. It is a clear move for all the Hillary Clinton supporters who still feel robbed by Barack Obama getting the nomination. On Tuesday night Hillary asked if they were in it for her or if they were in it for the issues. Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of women, and gay men, who voted for Hillary Clinton in the primaries in large party just because she’s a woman. And I fear that these same people will vote for John McCain because they want to make history by making Sarah Palin the first female vice president of the United States. I hope this isn’t true but I’ve learned never to overestimate the intelligence of the American public. My first thought when I hear that John McCain had picked a woman was that he had just won the election.

 

However, Palin is incredibly unqualified to be Vice President. Yes, she’s a governor but she’s the governor of a state who’s population is less than that of Aurora, Colorado. For those of you who don’t know Aurora, Colorado is a eastern suburb of Denver and it is not big at all. So basically Palin runs a moderately sized city. Plus she’s been Governor less than two years. How can Barack Obama’s four years in the U.S. Senate not be enough experience but Palin two years as Governor of Alaska is? Before becoming Governor Palin was in the city council and then major of her small town of about 8,471 people. I am from a town whose population is around that size and believe you me running a town that size does not prepare you to be Vice President to 300.000 people! So again Barack Obama’s eight years in the state legislature in Illinois isn’t enough experience but being major of a town that the size of three big city high school is? When Palin is running for Vice President not President. But the Vice President is just a heartbeat away from the Presidency and when the President is as old as John McCain could be you need somebody who is ready on day one…And I don’t want to hear that John McCain isn’t too old. He may be of sound mind and body today but he has had cancer in the past as a person’s health after the age of seventy can take a drastic turn at a moments notice.

 

So if the American public is really paying attention to this race Palin’s choice shows how desperate John McCain is and how the Republicans are tied to big oil and how they still only have three cards to play…Guns, God and Gays…But the question remains is the American public really paying attention or are they as easily swayed and distracted as they were in 2000 and 2004? Only time will tell.

 

Bye Bye Mitt

February 8, 2008 at 5:46 am | Posted in politics | 4 Comments
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I HATE Mitt Romney! How he managed to bamboozle the very liberal state of Massachusetts to elect him Governor in 2002 I will never know.His relentless efforts to stop gay marriages from being enacted in that state were enough to make me despise him. But he didn’t stop there. Once same sex couples started to marry he enacted an almost hundred year old law. That prevented same sex couples from other states from getting married in Massachusetts. Luckily couples from Rhode Island and New Mexico can still get married in Massachusetts because those states don’t’ have defense of marriage acts. Then my hatred for Romney reached a new level when in his lat days as Governor he called on the state legislature to put a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage on the 2008 ballot.I was so happy to see him go as Massachusetts’ Governor. And thankfully the new democratic Governor of Massachusetts combined with the state’s democratic leadership were able to keep the amendment off the ballot.

But Mitt did not go gentle into that good night. He decided to run for President.

As much as I hate him I found myself rooting for him to the Republican Presidential Nomination over John McCain. I think McCain is going to be very hard to beat. I thought the fact that Romney is a Mormon and that he flip flops more than a pancake would make him very beatable, despite the fact that he did look presidential. I was right…those things did make him beatable, in the Republican race!

So for one afternoon I didn’t worry about McCain. I just enjoyed that fact that Romney is dead.

Bye Bye Mitt. We won’t Mitt you much!

Leaning Clinton but still undecided

February 1, 2008 at 6:36 am | Posted in politics | 3 Comments
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The last two days have been very confusing for me politically. Being a John Edwards supporter I seriously doubted that this country was ready for either an woman president or an African-American president. I still do doubt that. I am frustrated with the democratic party that so badly wants to show how progressive it is that it ignored the more electable candidate. What’s funny is that four years ago I was so positive John Kerry would beat George W. Bush that is was possibly one of the most devastating things in my life when I was wrong. This year I’m more realistic. I think that John McCain will be virtually unbeatable (which I why I am really rooting for Romney). I was at a gathering with some friends yesterday and I said something to the effect of that it will be great to have a Woman or an African-American nominated when we loose. My friend said “We aren’t gonna loose”. This was the second time yesterday that a friend tried to assure me that we won’t loose. Don’t be so sure. I’ve seen the Republican machine. I can only imagine what they are going to pull out the second the clear democratic nominee is chosen.

So what will I do on Tuesday? All day today I looked at data, endorsements and video clips trying to come up with a decision. Everytime I decide to vote for Hillary I feel like a bit of a coward for hiding behind the better known candidate and not a true progressive for siding with a DLC democrat. Then every time I decide to vote for Obama I feel bad for abandoning a strong woman and siding with somebody who is weak on education and is pro-nuclear energy.

I looked at the poll numbers. Both of them look to have a tough time against McCain (in seven different polls is 5-2 McCain against either one) and both of them look to have an easy time against Romney (it‘s -7 Romney against either one), no help there.

So what to do. If I go with my number one issue, LGBT rights I have to go with Hillary. I also feel that Hillary is better on the economy. But I believe Obama more when it comes to Iraq.

However, Hillary comes with so much baggage. The GOP has been waiting for her to run since she was elected to the Senate in 2000. They’ve been building their case against her and sharpening their knives for almost a decade now. She is know, that’s her strength and her weakness. I know what I would get with a Clinton presidency. Some progress, some compromises I wouldn’t be happy with and her being hounded at every turn….I don’t know what I’d get with an Obama presidency. I think he speaks pretty but I don’t really know if he understands what he’s getting himself into…I feel bad for wanting to go with what I know. I heard people use that argument when they voted for Bush in 2004.

I’m with Hillary on more issues. But I think Obama is a touch more electable…However, Clinton has a lot of support among Latinos, a key (if not the key), voting block.

I am leaning Hillary and the kicker is that it’s Obama supporters, not Obama himself, that are cementing that status. My friends that are Hillary supporters would like to vote for Hillary but they don’t make me feel bad for being undecided. However, my friends that Obama supporters act like Hillary is the devil.

Still four days to decide. We’ll see. I just don’t want to see another map that looks like this…

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