While hilarious, John McCain was right when he said that the only poll that matters is the one on election day. I read today that Barack is up ten points in Nevada, which is good. I think i'll put my prediction map on here soon... just to see how close I am!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Only Poll That Matters
While hilarious, John McCain was right when he said that the only poll that matters is the one on election day. I read today that Barack is up ten points in Nevada, which is good. I think i'll put my prediction map on here soon... just to see how close I am!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
10 Days
There hasn't been a lot of juicy stuff for me to talk about lately, so here's a recap of the goings on: there's been some big endorsements, some campaigning, Obama visited his ailing grandmother, and the stock market is still rocky. The big day is fast approaching and I'm pretty excited. I've found myself lately in heated debates with people I know well, and some I don't know at all. For me, that's what the entire election has been about. Passion. Passion for change, passion for leadership, passion for a positive standing in the world.
I read probably around a hundred political articles a week, on all sides of the spectrum. From Baldwin to Barr, McKinney to McCain and everyone in between, I look for things that stand out. Some of the most frequently repeated statistics I've found, are the world polls for who they want to see win the election, and if the election were held today worldwide, Obama would win in an exponential landslide. I think that deep down, even when so many in the world have a negative view of the United States, they all know, and long for, the beacon that the USA has been in the past. The flame that has been held here for centuries has considerably dwindled in recent years, but the world sees this as the opportunity America needs to redeem itself. The Iraq war was a huge blow to the world's view of America, so it's no surprise that it's a big reason for the support, but the economic crisis having affected the entire world, has also shaped the view of the candidates globally.
I read recently in Readers Digest that of 15 major countries around the world, America was the only country with over 25% supporting John McCain.
Well Barack may have the lead for now, but I don't want to get too optimistic. There's still a lot of time left. I just hope that America makes the right choice, not just for ourselves or our own personal beliefs, but for the sake of the world.
I read probably around a hundred political articles a week, on all sides of the spectrum. From Baldwin to Barr, McKinney to McCain and everyone in between, I look for things that stand out. Some of the most frequently repeated statistics I've found, are the world polls for who they want to see win the election, and if the election were held today worldwide, Obama would win in an exponential landslide. I think that deep down, even when so many in the world have a negative view of the United States, they all know, and long for, the beacon that the USA has been in the past. The flame that has been held here for centuries has considerably dwindled in recent years, but the world sees this as the opportunity America needs to redeem itself. The Iraq war was a huge blow to the world's view of America, so it's no surprise that it's a big reason for the support, but the economic crisis having affected the entire world, has also shaped the view of the candidates globally.
I read recently in Readers Digest that of 15 major countries around the world, America was the only country with over 25% supporting John McCain.
Well Barack may have the lead for now, but I don't want to get too optimistic. There's still a lot of time left. I just hope that America makes the right choice, not just for ourselves or our own personal beliefs, but for the sake of the world.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Endorsements
You may have heard that Secretary General Colin Powell just pledged his support for Barack Obama. I think that's pretty big news! I decided to put together a small list of other people and organizations that have endorsed Obama, mostly ones that I've heard of and/or respect and like.
Will Ferrel
J. J. Abrams
Bill Maher
Jack Black
Morgan Freeman
Samuel L. Jackson
Will Smith
George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
Michael Jordan
OK Go
Stephen King
The PC guy from the Mac Commercials (John Hodgman)
Christopher Buckley
Tim Johnson
Jimmy Carter
Bill Clinton
Al Gore
J. K. Rowling
The Boston Globe
The Denver Post
The Los Angeles Times
The New Yorker
The Washington Post
The Seattle Times
That's only a tiny fraction of the massive list. I got these from Wikipedia.
Will Ferrel
J. J. Abrams
Bill Maher
Jack Black
Morgan Freeman
Samuel L. Jackson
Will Smith
George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
Michael Jordan
OK Go
Stephen King
The PC guy from the Mac Commercials (John Hodgman)
Christopher Buckley
Tim Johnson
Jimmy Carter
Bill Clinton
Al Gore
J. K. Rowling
The Boston Globe
The Denver Post
The Los Angeles Times
The New Yorker
The Washington Post
The Seattle Times
That's only a tiny fraction of the massive list. I got these from Wikipedia.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Sign From God?
I was on facebook this evening, when suddenly a captcha popped up to verify that I was a real person. I assume it was because I put this blogs' URL in the status update, so it was making sure I wasn't some spammer. But I found that the captcha seemed to be telling me something.....
Friday, October 17, 2008
Debate Update
So the final presidential debate just took place a few days ago, and the fur flew.
It was without a doubt John McCain's best debate thus far. He was aggressive, which is what he needed to be, but I think his aggression may have come across quickly as anger. And while Obama was on the defensive for a while, he pulled himself into a comfortable stride, leaving McCain nipping at his heels.
It was without a doubt John McCain's best debate thus far. He was aggressive, which is what he needed to be, but I think his aggression may have come across quickly as anger. And while Obama was on the defensive for a while, he pulled himself into a comfortable stride, leaving McCain nipping at his heels.
Time (A Facebook Status Update)
Blake is watching time stand still.
good answer, although the fact that you were able to witness this phenomenon contradicts the initial claim
Mat
lol wut
not quite... time was standing still..but there were just alot of battery-less clocks in the area when time stopped.
If time was standing still then it would be imperceptible to humans due to the fact that it takes a small amount of time for images to even reach our eyes
Blake
Blake
time stood still around me... or maybe it would be more accurate to say that my perception was increased due to an increased speed at which my body functioned, thus giving the perception, due to my ability to see and do more things in greater detail in a short amount of time, that time was indeed standing still.
Mat
so really what you are saying is that time slowed down
Mat
or i suppose it would be possible that you speeded up
Blake
speed doesn't rely on time, speed relies on action, time is just a concept of keeping track of how long ago things happened and how much longer one must wait to do others. I suppose that when in relation to speed via distance, time may come into play when referring to a timeframe of action, of course, if i go down this path, speed doesnt really exist either, its just also a concept of how long it takes to do something, which in turn relies on time. So in that aspect i suppose speed relies on time. But my argument is this: To the Flash, time around him would have to seem slow, things around him stay the same and in the same place while he was able to move around them freely? Isn't he going faster, yet in the same amount of time?
Mat
Well it's not really fair to use a fictional character as an example, but I see the flash in much the same way as I see a beam of light. Although they seem ubiquitous to the naked eye they are still bound by the laws of physics, and therefore can only travel at a finite rate. I am not honestly sure what you are asking in your question, but its time for me to go find something else to do. Thanks for providing me with a distraction for about an hour, its been fun.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Smear Campaigning Should Be Beneath John McCain
Fantastic article... and the ironic part..... it's from Fox News!
FOXNews.com - Smear Campaigning Should Be Beneath John McCain - Opinion
William Ayers and voter fraud. Cindy McCain on the attack. Say it ain’t so, John.
The economy is in a tailspin, and so is John McCain. Our retirement plans and college savings accounts are shrinking, and McCain is shrinking right with them. He’s not just on the verge of getting clobbered in the election. He’s on the verge of becoming an object of utter ridicule. It isn’t pretty to watch. Even for a Democrat.
It’s bad enough that 100 percent of the ads McCain is running are negative. That’s a sign of a campaign in free fall, with nothing affirmative to say and nothing positive to offer; a campaign that can’t win with the support it has now, that needs to find some way to move voters out of the other guy’s camp.
What’s worse is the content of the negative ads. They aren’t about policy and issues. They aren’t about what’s wrong with Obama’s economic plans, much less what’s right about McCain’s. They aren’t about why Barack Obama would be a bad president, much less why McCain would be a good one.They’re screaming bloody murder that Barack Obama left a phone message two years ago for a guy who engaged in radical activity when Barack Obama was 8 years old and living in Indonesia. Ayers, who is a neighbor of Obama’s, even had some kind of meet-and-greet for him 13 years ago, when Obama was running for state Senate, making him one of about a million people who’ve opened their homes and their checkbooks to the guy.
Imagine that. We’re in the midst of an international economic crisis and the McCain folks are trying to make hay out of what a guy who hosted a reception for Obama 13 years ago was doing 20 years before that.
Is William Ayers the best the McCain camp can do? The ads claim that Obama’s relationship with Ayres is somehow proof of his dangerous ambition. But it’s McCain’s blind ambition, or his campaign’s bad judgment, that is painfully on display in the newest ads.
U.S. Senator John McCain tried to use his influence to help a crook named Charlie Keating, one of the worst of the saving and loan robbers, a man who ripped off everyone in sight, including American taxpayers. That’s OK. Forgive and forget. But serving on a foundation board with a guy who engaged in radical politics decades ago? That’s a voting issue? Desperate. Dumb. You want to convince voters that you’re totally out of touch with their lives, and their fears, this is the way to do it.
I have always respected John McCain, even if I did not always agree with him. I respected him when, in the wake of his role in the Keating Five mess, he stood up to support reform of the system of campaign finance that gives crooks like Charlie Keating more influence than they should ever have. I respected him for standing up against the politicization of judicial appointments, and for standing up to the talk show hosts who have so cowed Republicans to try to do something sensible and fair on the immigration issue.
I especially respected him in 2000, when he should have been the Republicans’ nominee but for the dirty tricks of the Bush campaign. He was done in by an ugly smear campaign. Now he’s trying to run one.
It should be beneath him. There’s a reason McCain didn’t raise Ayers’ name once in the three sometimes stultifying hours of one-on-one debate between the candidates thus far. It would have made him look small and silly. It does now.
It’s also a waste of time. This isn’t that kind of election. This is the kind of election where worrying about Willie Horton would be a luxury for most people, let alone William Ayers. Does McCain not understand that? Is he really so out-of-touch? Being out of touch in the midst of a crisis that is destroying our economic security is a whole lot worse, politically speaking, than being on a foundation board with a '60s radical.
Then there’s voter fraud, which seems to be Item No. 2 on the Republican talking points, right behind William Ayers. John McCain should be so lucky that voter fraud could be a decisive issue. He’s looking at being humiliated, not being robbed.Obviously, voter fraud is a bad thing. Election officials should do everything they can to make sure that this is a clean and fair election. But elections are a little like criminal trials. Defendants deserve a fair trial, not a perfect one. Perfection is not a realistic standard. You don’t need a perfect trial to have a fair result. Ditto for elections, especially those that are not going to be decided by razor thin margins.
If ACORN gave a guy cigarettes to register to vote more than once, by all means, punish ACORN and the guy. By all means, scrutinize suspicious entries on the voter rolls. But let’s get serious. This election is not going to be decided by people voting early and often, or by scamsters selling out for cigarettes.
It’s going to be decided by millions of Americans who are worried about gyrations in the market, not in the voter rolls. John McCain and his supporters should be focused on what they’ve got to offer to legitimate voters who are legitimately worried about their economic futures, not about votes for cigarette scams.
Finally, there’s the matter of the wives. You don’t need to read the polls, or even follow the collapse in the Dow, to know which way the political wind is blowing.
Just listen to the wives. Michelle Obama is the model of good will. Was she offended that John McCain called her husband “that one”? She barely even heard. She was paying attention to the undecided voters. She doesn’t let phrases bother her. Her husband likes and respects John McCain, and always has. Do you know what confidence sounds like? It sounds like that.
Cindy McCain is another story. Accusing Barack Obama of endangering her son by voting against one of the military funding bills doesn’t make all that much sense, given that her husband also voted against one of the funding bills, in his case because it included a timeline for withdrawal. It sounds mean-spirited, and desperate.
It’s one thing to lose an election. That happens to half the people who get as far as McCain and Obama have. It’s another to lose your integrity in the process. John McCain has worked long and hard to build a reputation as a man of honor, a man who puts country first. He’s in danger of losing all that in the process of losing this election.
It’s too bad, not for Democrats, but for a decent man. And it’s a waste, given that McCain’s best shot, his only shot, is to prove that he is up to the challenges America faces right now.
Just when he needs to be big, he has never seemed smaller.
FOXNews.com - Smear Campaigning Should Be Beneath John McCain - Opinion
William Ayers and voter fraud. Cindy McCain on the attack. Say it ain’t so, John.
The economy is in a tailspin, and so is John McCain. Our retirement plans and college savings accounts are shrinking, and McCain is shrinking right with them. He’s not just on the verge of getting clobbered in the election. He’s on the verge of becoming an object of utter ridicule. It isn’t pretty to watch. Even for a Democrat.
It’s bad enough that 100 percent of the ads McCain is running are negative. That’s a sign of a campaign in free fall, with nothing affirmative to say and nothing positive to offer; a campaign that can’t win with the support it has now, that needs to find some way to move voters out of the other guy’s camp.
What’s worse is the content of the negative ads. They aren’t about policy and issues. They aren’t about what’s wrong with Obama’s economic plans, much less what’s right about McCain’s. They aren’t about why Barack Obama would be a bad president, much less why McCain would be a good one.They’re screaming bloody murder that Barack Obama left a phone message two years ago for a guy who engaged in radical activity when Barack Obama was 8 years old and living in Indonesia. Ayers, who is a neighbor of Obama’s, even had some kind of meet-and-greet for him 13 years ago, when Obama was running for state Senate, making him one of about a million people who’ve opened their homes and their checkbooks to the guy.
Imagine that. We’re in the midst of an international economic crisis and the McCain folks are trying to make hay out of what a guy who hosted a reception for Obama 13 years ago was doing 20 years before that.
Is William Ayers the best the McCain camp can do? The ads claim that Obama’s relationship with Ayres is somehow proof of his dangerous ambition. But it’s McCain’s blind ambition, or his campaign’s bad judgment, that is painfully on display in the newest ads.
U.S. Senator John McCain tried to use his influence to help a crook named Charlie Keating, one of the worst of the saving and loan robbers, a man who ripped off everyone in sight, including American taxpayers. That’s OK. Forgive and forget. But serving on a foundation board with a guy who engaged in radical politics decades ago? That’s a voting issue? Desperate. Dumb. You want to convince voters that you’re totally out of touch with their lives, and their fears, this is the way to do it.
I have always respected John McCain, even if I did not always agree with him. I respected him when, in the wake of his role in the Keating Five mess, he stood up to support reform of the system of campaign finance that gives crooks like Charlie Keating more influence than they should ever have. I respected him for standing up against the politicization of judicial appointments, and for standing up to the talk show hosts who have so cowed Republicans to try to do something sensible and fair on the immigration issue.
I especially respected him in 2000, when he should have been the Republicans’ nominee but for the dirty tricks of the Bush campaign. He was done in by an ugly smear campaign. Now he’s trying to run one.
It should be beneath him. There’s a reason McCain didn’t raise Ayers’ name once in the three sometimes stultifying hours of one-on-one debate between the candidates thus far. It would have made him look small and silly. It does now.
It’s also a waste of time. This isn’t that kind of election. This is the kind of election where worrying about Willie Horton would be a luxury for most people, let alone William Ayers. Does McCain not understand that? Is he really so out-of-touch? Being out of touch in the midst of a crisis that is destroying our economic security is a whole lot worse, politically speaking, than being on a foundation board with a '60s radical.
Then there’s voter fraud, which seems to be Item No. 2 on the Republican talking points, right behind William Ayers. John McCain should be so lucky that voter fraud could be a decisive issue. He’s looking at being humiliated, not being robbed.Obviously, voter fraud is a bad thing. Election officials should do everything they can to make sure that this is a clean and fair election. But elections are a little like criminal trials. Defendants deserve a fair trial, not a perfect one. Perfection is not a realistic standard. You don’t need a perfect trial to have a fair result. Ditto for elections, especially those that are not going to be decided by razor thin margins.
If ACORN gave a guy cigarettes to register to vote more than once, by all means, punish ACORN and the guy. By all means, scrutinize suspicious entries on the voter rolls. But let’s get serious. This election is not going to be decided by people voting early and often, or by scamsters selling out for cigarettes.
It’s going to be decided by millions of Americans who are worried about gyrations in the market, not in the voter rolls. John McCain and his supporters should be focused on what they’ve got to offer to legitimate voters who are legitimately worried about their economic futures, not about votes for cigarette scams.
Finally, there’s the matter of the wives. You don’t need to read the polls, or even follow the collapse in the Dow, to know which way the political wind is blowing.
Just listen to the wives. Michelle Obama is the model of good will. Was she offended that John McCain called her husband “that one”? She barely even heard. She was paying attention to the undecided voters. She doesn’t let phrases bother her. Her husband likes and respects John McCain, and always has. Do you know what confidence sounds like? It sounds like that.
Cindy McCain is another story. Accusing Barack Obama of endangering her son by voting against one of the military funding bills doesn’t make all that much sense, given that her husband also voted against one of the funding bills, in his case because it included a timeline for withdrawal. It sounds mean-spirited, and desperate.
It’s one thing to lose an election. That happens to half the people who get as far as McCain and Obama have. It’s another to lose your integrity in the process. John McCain has worked long and hard to build a reputation as a man of honor, a man who puts country first. He’s in danger of losing all that in the process of losing this election.
It’s too bad, not for Democrats, but for a decent man. And it’s a waste, given that McCain’s best shot, his only shot, is to prove that he is up to the challenges America faces right now.
Just when he needs to be big, he has never seemed smaller.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
That one.
So I have a few things to talk about.
- The Debate
- Why is liberal used like an insult?
- Obama Stuff is here!
- Mask
- Victory Imminent
Ok, first the debate. I found it to be for the most part pretty boring. I'll admit I hoped to see a few more verbal punches thrown to keep it interesting, but it was pretty mellow. The strangest comment obviously would have to be "That one." It admittedly bugged me, but John McCain's inablilty to even look at Obama showed a lack of confidence and strength to even consider running this country. Its sad if you can't even look your opponent in the eye. It showed that he's scared. Scared that people have actually been listening, scared that young people are caring like never before, with the majority backing Barack, scared that he's slowly starting to realize that he's not the right guy for this country.
Second, and I've heard it said alot lately, and it just makes me wonder why it's seen as a bad thing, to be called liberal, McCain says it almost daily that Barack is too liberal for this country and that he has the "most liberal voting record of the senate".
Third, finally, after wating for over a month, my Obama apparell arrived. The buttons are all really nice, and the t-shirt is of great quality. I'll post some pictures up her sometime soon.
I bought an Obama mask last weekend up in Fargo, and today for SuperHero Day, I dressed as my hero, Barack Obama. Pictured are myself and Taylor.
And finally, I have to say that I don't believe that there is any way that Barack could lose this election. People see what needs to be done, they see who we don't need and who's failed policies haven't worked, and they see that fundamental change is necessary to bring us out of this downward spiral, and to repair our standing in the world. If you look at Yahoo.com's political dashboard, you can see that even in some republican strongholds, people are starting to take notice, and realizing what this country needs.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Updates....
So a month after placing an order on democraticstuff.com and after multiple emails and attempts to call with no response, I got a notification of a shipped order. Keep in mind that this order was supposed to take a week and a half tops. I have a feeling that when a certain report was filed with the credit card company to flag the order, suddenly getting my order to me was a priority, not before.
Well it's homecoming this week, so after dressin' tacky yesterday, and headin' out in my best western wear this morning I must admit that i'm dissapointedly going to miss tonights debate. I'll tape it, but it's just not quite the same. However, I suppose that my senior year coronation is a fairly good excuse to miss it. If I'm right, and I'd like to assume I am, Barack will do what he always does, and tonight McCain will step up his attacks on Barack's character and insult him over his past aquaintances. I read recently that during one of Governor Palin's speeches, after repeatedly saying that Obama worked with terrorists, people in the crowd shouted for his death. Its crap like that, that you can expect from the GOP. It's just sad that even one of McCain's advisors said that if they don't attack Obama's character and the people he's met in his life, they won't stand a chance of winning the election. But Obama knows what the election is really about, and its good to know that for once, the right man will become president in November.
Thank God for that.
Well it's homecoming this week, so after dressin' tacky yesterday, and headin' out in my best western wear this morning I must admit that i'm dissapointedly going to miss tonights debate. I'll tape it, but it's just not quite the same. However, I suppose that my senior year coronation is a fairly good excuse to miss it. If I'm right, and I'd like to assume I am, Barack will do what he always does, and tonight McCain will step up his attacks on Barack's character and insult him over his past aquaintances. I read recently that during one of Governor Palin's speeches, after repeatedly saying that Obama worked with terrorists, people in the crowd shouted for his death. Its crap like that, that you can expect from the GOP. It's just sad that even one of McCain's advisors said that if they don't attack Obama's character and the people he's met in his life, they won't stand a chance of winning the election. But Obama knows what the election is really about, and its good to know that for once, the right man will become president in November.
Thank God for that.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Dumbing down the GOP
This is a great article that really sums up what is wrong with Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin's debate performance should signal the beginning of the end of her fad. But for the moment it is worth looking at the meaning of her nomination, without the protective varnish of what conservatives usually dismiss as political correctness.
Why should we pretend not to notice when Gov. Palin's ideas make no sense? Having said last week that "it doesn't matter" whether human activity is the cause of climate change, she said in debate that she "doesn't want to argue" about the causes. It doesn't occur to her that we have to know the causes in order to address the problem. (She was very fortunate that moderator Gwen Ifill didn't ask her whether she truly believes that human beings and dinosaurs inhabited this planet simultaneously only 6,000 years ago.)
Why should we ignore her inability to string together a series of coherent thoughts? As a foe of Wall Street greed and a late convert to the gospel of government regulation, along with John McCain, Palin promised to clean up and reform business. But when her programmed talking points about "getting government out of the way" and protecting "freedom" conflicted with that promise, she didn't notice.
Why should we give her a pass on the most important issues of the day? Supposedly sharing the fears and concerns of the average families who face the burdens of mortgages, healthcare and economic insecurity, Palin simply refused to discuss changes in bankruptcy law and proved that she didn't know the provisions of McCain's healthcare plan.
All the glaring defects so blatantly on display in her debate with Joe Biden -- and that make her candidacy so darkly comical -- would be the same if she were a hockey dad instead of a "hockey mom." In fact, the cynical attempt to foist Palin on the nation as a symbol of feminist progress is an insult to all women regardless of their political orientation.
There was a time when conservatives lamented the dumbing down of American culture. Preservation of basic standards in schools and workplaces compelled them -- or so they said -- to resist affirmative action for women and minorities. Qualifications mattered; merit mattered; and demagogic appeals for leveling were to be left to the Democrats.
Not anymore.
Actually, the Palin phenomenon is the culmination of a trend that can be traced back to Dan Quayle, the undistinguished Indiana senator whose elevation onto the Republican ticket in 1988 had nothing to do with intellect or experience and everything to do with the youthful appeal of a handsome blond frat boy. (That was how Republican strategists thought they would attract female voters back then, which must be why they believe Palin represents progress.) Quayle too was unable to articulate, let alone defend, the policy positions for which he was supposed to be campaigning. He too had to undergo the surgical stuffing of stock phrases into his head as a minimal substitute for knowledge and thought. And in the same sad way, he too benefited from the drastically reduced expectations applied to anyone whose inadequacy is so obvious.
Quayle deserved more pity than scorn, however, because he seemed to know that he was fighting far above his weight class. Palin evokes no such sympathy, with her jut-jawed, moose-gutting confidence in her own overrated "common sense" and her bullying insistence that only "elitists" would question her expertise.
As Biden showed quite convincingly when he spoke about his modest background and his continuing connection with Main Street, perceptive, intelligent discourse is in no way identical with elitism. Palin's phony populism is as insulting to working- and middle-class Americans as it is to American women. Why are basic diction and intellectual coherence presumed to be out of reach for "real people"?
And why don't we expect more from American conservatives? Indeed, why don't they demand more from their own movement? Aren't they disgusted that their party would again nominate a person devoid of qualifications for one of the nation's highest offices? Some, like Michael Gerson and Kathleen Parker, have expressed discomfort with this farce -- and been subjected, in Parker's case, to abuse from many of the same numbskulls whom Palin undoubtedly delights.
The ultimate irony of Palin's rise is that it has occurred at a moment when Americans may finally have grown weary of pseudo-populism -- when intelligence, judgment, diligence and seriousness are once again valued, simply because we are in such deep trouble. We got into this mess because we elected a man who professed to despise elitism, which he detected in everyone whose opinions differed from his prejudices. That was George W. Bush, of course. Biden was too polite and restrained to say it, but the dumbing down is more of the same, too.
Why should we pretend not to notice when Gov. Palin's ideas make no sense? Having said last week that "it doesn't matter" whether human activity is the cause of climate change, she said in debate that she "doesn't want to argue" about the causes. It doesn't occur to her that we have to know the causes in order to address the problem. (She was very fortunate that moderator Gwen Ifill didn't ask her whether she truly believes that human beings and dinosaurs inhabited this planet simultaneously only 6,000 years ago.)
Why should we ignore her inability to string together a series of coherent thoughts? As a foe of Wall Street greed and a late convert to the gospel of government regulation, along with John McCain, Palin promised to clean up and reform business. But when her programmed talking points about "getting government out of the way" and protecting "freedom" conflicted with that promise, she didn't notice.
Why should we give her a pass on the most important issues of the day? Supposedly sharing the fears and concerns of the average families who face the burdens of mortgages, healthcare and economic insecurity, Palin simply refused to discuss changes in bankruptcy law and proved that she didn't know the provisions of McCain's healthcare plan.
All the glaring defects so blatantly on display in her debate with Joe Biden -- and that make her candidacy so darkly comical -- would be the same if she were a hockey dad instead of a "hockey mom." In fact, the cynical attempt to foist Palin on the nation as a symbol of feminist progress is an insult to all women regardless of their political orientation.
There was a time when conservatives lamented the dumbing down of American culture. Preservation of basic standards in schools and workplaces compelled them -- or so they said -- to resist affirmative action for women and minorities. Qualifications mattered; merit mattered; and demagogic appeals for leveling were to be left to the Democrats.
Not anymore.
Actually, the Palin phenomenon is the culmination of a trend that can be traced back to Dan Quayle, the undistinguished Indiana senator whose elevation onto the Republican ticket in 1988 had nothing to do with intellect or experience and everything to do with the youthful appeal of a handsome blond frat boy. (That was how Republican strategists thought they would attract female voters back then, which must be why they believe Palin represents progress.) Quayle too was unable to articulate, let alone defend, the policy positions for which he was supposed to be campaigning. He too had to undergo the surgical stuffing of stock phrases into his head as a minimal substitute for knowledge and thought. And in the same sad way, he too benefited from the drastically reduced expectations applied to anyone whose inadequacy is so obvious.
Quayle deserved more pity than scorn, however, because he seemed to know that he was fighting far above his weight class. Palin evokes no such sympathy, with her jut-jawed, moose-gutting confidence in her own overrated "common sense" and her bullying insistence that only "elitists" would question her expertise.
As Biden showed quite convincingly when he spoke about his modest background and his continuing connection with Main Street, perceptive, intelligent discourse is in no way identical with elitism. Palin's phony populism is as insulting to working- and middle-class Americans as it is to American women. Why are basic diction and intellectual coherence presumed to be out of reach for "real people"?
And why don't we expect more from American conservatives? Indeed, why don't they demand more from their own movement? Aren't they disgusted that their party would again nominate a person devoid of qualifications for one of the nation's highest offices? Some, like Michael Gerson and Kathleen Parker, have expressed discomfort with this farce -- and been subjected, in Parker's case, to abuse from many of the same numbskulls whom Palin undoubtedly delights.
The ultimate irony of Palin's rise is that it has occurred at a moment when Americans may finally have grown weary of pseudo-populism -- when intelligence, judgment, diligence and seriousness are once again valued, simply because we are in such deep trouble. We got into this mess because we elected a man who professed to despise elitism, which he detected in everyone whose opinions differed from his prejudices. That was George W. Bush, of course. Biden was too polite and restrained to say it, but the dumbing down is more of the same, too.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Calm Before Storm
So Barack is up in the polls, he's leading in the swing states and he and Joe have won the first two debates. But its about to get negative out there with the desperate Republicans itching to take back some ground. When asked when he'd take the gloves off, McCain replied, "How about Tuesday night?" Rumors coming from the republican party indicate that some very negative and personal ads are on the way. Desperation is a stinky cologne.
I have to say that I too have been having what feels like the calm before the storm. I know whats coming, even though I know the challenges it will pose, mostly challenges for myself. I rushed into something and now I regret it, especially thinking about the same old dreams. Even if these dreams don't come true, i've realized that time is running out to take these kind of chances.
If you're readin this.... thanks. You might be the only one.
I have to say that I too have been having what feels like the calm before the storm. I know whats coming, even though I know the challenges it will pose, mostly challenges for myself. I rushed into something and now I regret it, especially thinking about the same old dreams. Even if these dreams don't come true, i've realized that time is running out to take these kind of chances.
If you're readin this.... thanks. You might be the only one.
Nader hurting McCain???
This made me smile...
CNN Fla. poll: Nader hurting McCain???
By George Bennett Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 04:27 PM
It’s usually Democrats who are distressed by perennial minor-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader because the liberal consumerist is seen as siphoning votes from the Democratic presidential nominee.
But a new CNN/Time/Opinion Research poll suggests Nader takes votes from Republican John McCain in Florida rather than Democrat Barack Obama.
Asked about an Obama-McCain matchup in a poll taken Sunday through Tuesday, 51 percent of likely Florida voters favor Obama and 47 percent favor McCain.
When minor party candidates such as Nader, Bob Barr and Cynthia McKinney are thrown into the mix, Obama still gets 51 percent and McCain’s percentage drops to 43 percent. Nader polls 3 percent in the survey.
CNN Fla. poll: Nader hurting McCain???
By George Bennett Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 04:27 PM
It’s usually Democrats who are distressed by perennial minor-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader because the liberal consumerist is seen as siphoning votes from the Democratic presidential nominee.
But a new CNN/Time/Opinion Research poll suggests Nader takes votes from Republican John McCain in Florida rather than Democrat Barack Obama.
Asked about an Obama-McCain matchup in a poll taken Sunday through Tuesday, 51 percent of likely Florida voters favor Obama and 47 percent favor McCain.
When minor party candidates such as Nader, Bob Barr and Cynthia McKinney are thrown into the mix, Obama still gets 51 percent and McCain’s percentage drops to 43 percent. Nader polls 3 percent in the survey.
Friday, October 3, 2008
VP Showdown
Last night the first and only debate between the Republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden, took place. This debate was a source of concern for many members of the Republican party, who feared a continuation of the embarrassment and lack of knowledge Governor Palin recently showed in interviews with Katie Couric. From stating that her foreign policy experience was strong due to Alaska’s close proximity to Canada and Russia, to inadvertently agreeing with Barack Obama’s stance on Pakistan, a position that John McCain strongly disagrees with. However the Republican Party was able to breathe a sigh of relief when the debate was over. It seems that during her three days in Arizona undergoing intense debate training, Mrs. Palin was able to memorize her “facts” well. However, while she didn’t make outright statements showing her lack of experience, she repeatedly chose not to not answer some questions and instead would state that she wanted to talk about something else. That in itself showed, in this voter’s opinion, a stark lack of knowledge, and an inability to give any examples as to how John McCain’s policies differed from that of President Bush.
Joe Biden on the other hand, having the experience of 30 years of senate work under his belt, showed time and time again that with his experience and knowledge of the facts America would be in good hands under an Obama-Biden administration.
While Palin resorted to using her drawl with a barrage of “Darn Right’s” “You Betcha’s” and hockey and soccer mom lines to push home that she was one of, us normal Americans, Senator Biden was willing to admit that he’s better off than a lot of Americans now, but became choked up when he spoke about knowing the difficulties of raising two kids on his own, referring to the death of his wife and daughter and the injuries his two sons obtained in a car accident in 1972.
In conclusion, Palin did what she was supposed to do. That being, repeat the same sound bytes we've been hearing throughout this election from John McCain, and try not to look stupid. Well even if she didn't say anything outright stupid, it was still obvious that she didn't know what she was talking about.
Biden on the other hand, like Obama before him, came off as comfortable and with a greater understanding for policy and the difference between right and wrong. Again the Obama-Biden ticket won this debate, and are just one step closer to winning the most important election the nation has faced in decades.
Joe Biden on the other hand, having the experience of 30 years of senate work under his belt, showed time and time again that with his experience and knowledge of the facts America would be in good hands under an Obama-Biden administration.
While Palin resorted to using her drawl with a barrage of “Darn Right’s” “You Betcha’s” and hockey and soccer mom lines to push home that she was one of, us normal Americans, Senator Biden was willing to admit that he’s better off than a lot of Americans now, but became choked up when he spoke about knowing the difficulties of raising two kids on his own, referring to the death of his wife and daughter and the injuries his two sons obtained in a car accident in 1972.
In conclusion, Palin did what she was supposed to do. That being, repeat the same sound bytes we've been hearing throughout this election from John McCain, and try not to look stupid. Well even if she didn't say anything outright stupid, it was still obvious that she didn't know what she was talking about.
Biden on the other hand, like Obama before him, came off as comfortable and with a greater understanding for policy and the difference between right and wrong. Again the Obama-Biden ticket won this debate, and are just one step closer to winning the most important election the nation has faced in decades.
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Blake not actually watching time stand still, but because he is moving really fast, everything else around him has the appearance of being slowed down to a halt. 10:51pm - comment