After watching the Republican convention last night and tonight, here are a few of my thoughts:
- It's very weird to see grown people in suits shouting "U-S-A" every minute or so like they were at football game.
- I have come to really dislike the overuse of the word "Maverick".
- The more I see and hear Palin, the more I like her. Strategic choice. Risky, but it just may pay off. I actually enjoyed hearing her speak.
- The more I see and hear of Biden, the less I like him. I would be second guessing my choice if I were Obama. Did you see Biden cut Obama off as he was talking to a reporter? The guy needs to shut up and realize that HE is not the Presidential candidate. I think that if they're elected, he will undercut Obama's ideas and decisions and that he will try and run the White House as a back seat driver. Sure he "makes up for" Obama's lack of experience, but I also think it really emphasises his lacking experience.
- Don't most of these speeches feel like someone running for a High School office? It feels like people promise a lot of stuff they'd never really be able to deliver.
8 comments:
That last bullet point you made is exactly what I've been thinking. I feel like a seventh grader that has been promised a walk-in locker, a 2 hour lunch break and chocolate milk in the drinking fountain by the class president hopefuls.
Hehe...I like that class president idea. And I find myself agreeing with it: It's like the candidates are prone to making glowing but impossible promises, just like a class president candidate might promise that if he's elected, he'll do away with homework or something.
I watched the Palin speech part of the convention last night, and I, too, was impressed with her. She seems to be the most down-to-earth of all the pres/vp nominees. And I think that might appeal to a lot of people. She just seems so...so...normal. You know? And I suppose that's the image she and McCain are wanting to push, but it's coming off pretty well, in my opinion.
Also, the word "maverick"? Definitely getting overused. If I hear it one more time, I'm sure my eyes will roll to the back of my sockets and get permanently stuck there. Kind of in the same way the word "change" used to promote this election campaign is already doing that to me.
Okay, we watched part of it last night and it seemed like a buncg of lines that had no validity to them. I do like Palin, and she is about the only one I can stand.
McCain was on Ellen this week and of course she is one of the most left leaning talk show hosts out there and same sex marriage came up. He couldn't even hold his head up straight and explain his views, like he was ashamed of them. I don't trust him and everything he says sounds so made up.
I agree that a lot of the speeches are very immature. I was getting sick of Guiliani's bashing. It frustrates me that I have to sit through all that junk to hear one word or sentence that makes a difference to me. Both conventions were full of way too much hot air!
I also liked Palin. I thought she was tough without being overly dramatic. Some of the points she made really hit home with me.
Biden drives me crazy...and I'm a former Delawarean! My main questions are: If he's so great, why didn't he get the nomination? or Why didn't someone choose him for VP sooner?
The part I liked most about her speech was when she was telling how she changed their debt into a surplus.
When you're in personal debt you have two choices of getting out of debt: increase income or cut spending. Well, cutting spending is almost always the way to go.
I'd much rather they cut out the expensive "fluff" (like the private jet she put on ebay and the personal chef) than hike my taxes. We're already paying the government a hecka good portion of our earnings. And yes, lindsay, it's nice to hear from someone who seems normal.
The two things I fear most about Obama: raised taxes and universal health care. While the idea of universal health care is appealing, there's a real price we have to pay to get there.
I am going to go on the defense for McCain. I have to admit that I really enjoyed this week's convention and was touched by McCains personal story about being a POW and how it changed him. I hope I will never have an experience like that, but this country does need someone who feels an allegence to his country more than to himself or anyone else. I appreciated the vision that he set forth and the specific goals that he touched on. As opposed to the "other" side who can only rant on and on about change but doesn't go in to much detail on how he intends to do that. If it was really clear to all Americans just how much Obama would raise taxes and the effect it would have on small businesses and in sequence ourselves, they would start thinking twice. I for one am poor enough already!
No one is perfect and McCain certainly isn't a very prolific speaker (thankfully he chose a running mate who is!), but I think he is by far superior to the alternative. There are a LOT of things about Obama that I find troubling besides the things that you mentioned. One of those being his EXTREME stand on abortion. It is truly troubling. He cannot even say at what point a human being should begin receiving human rights. The person who runs this country ought to know when it's citizens begin having human rights. It is amazing the contrast between the Republican candidates and the Democrats in this election on almost every stand. Where Obama would not want his daughters "punished" with a baby for making a mistake and getting pregnant out of wedlock, we have Palin who's daughter has made that mistake, but who is doing the right thing. I would rather have someone in office who believes in consequences and making the best out of bad situations, than someone who doesn't think consequences are very important. Don't even get me started on Obama!
To me, McCain is very real. After all the President of the United States is not or ever will be perfect. They will always make mistakes. And of course right now they are going to try to make us feel good and all American so that we will vote for them because they truly believe they are the best candidate and need us to vote for them. I mean who would we know who to vote for if we didn't have these conventions and debates and such. It is important for us to hear what they intend to do with this country if we vote for them. At least I feel like McCain has lived a real, honest, and moral life and has served his country and I have the highest respect for those who put their personal lives in danger to serve this nation and all that this nation stands for. His personal (and family) life is a testament to the kind of man he is. Maybe I am a little naieve or maybe just hopeful, but I truly do think that he means to serve this country well and to change it in ways that he talked about. At least I believe he will try.
okay, so that is my "little" rant. I will be signing off now :)
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The good news about being president is you don't even have to let your veep in the house if you don't want to. Kennedy's Johnson complained all the time that he never got to do anything.
Until, you know, Kennedy got killed.
Marzy-
I actually enjoyed listening to McCain's speech more than I thought I would. I was surprised to hear him suggest more of a "workfare" rather than a "welfare". The idea of people leaching off the system really irks me. I know not everyone on welfare is a leach, but there are a lot that are.
He is considered a moderate and not a very conservative Repub. He has some very democratic stances. That's partially why he went with a very conservative running mate. She's swinging it to be a higher contrast between the repubs. and dems. He's from my home state and my parents have really disliked him the whole time he's been in office there. I honestly don't know all their arguments against him, though.
Matt feels the same way about Obama and doesn't know how any member of the church could vote for him in good conscience. One of my friends brought up the sick irony of Obama's stance on life. For partial birth abortion. Against the death penalty. So he'll allow an innocent life to be snuffed out and let serial murders and rapists live.
As for Palin's daughter, I am slightly disappointed that her daughter is getting married and keeping the baby. She's still a baby. 17! I wish she would have given the baby up for adoption, but I know that I don't really know their situation and it's not my place to judge what would work best. It would be hard to be thrown in the limelight like that. I'm sure she didn't think her mother would end up running for VP when she got pregnant out of wedlock!
Th., in Obama's case that might be a good thing. In McCain's, I hope he wouldn't keep Palin out. She's what's swinging me over to him.
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