If we were to vote for a presidential candidate based solely on the cuteness of his or her family, Obama's little crew would have that vote more than locked up. Maybe it's just because he has a good-looking wife and two adorable daughters and I have a good-looking wife and two adorable daughters. Whatever it is, he's got a really nice looking family.
"Grrr, vote for me before I snap! I'm hungry. What time is it?"
17 comments:
He is an angry, angry little man isn't he.
I still don't get why Obama wasn't at the convention. Isn't he essentially the new leader of the party? That whole phone scene was weird.
I want a baseball cap with that photo of McCain on it. It pleases me.
You might remember, it was me who called him the dread pirate McCain . . .
Arrrr, avast ye mateys! Prepare to board the SS Rove! We're takin' her for our own, we are!
I should probably not tell you that I have a McCain bumper sticker on my sweet grandma car. But I do.
If that bumper sticker is accompanied by the photo on my blog and another bumper sticker that says "John McCain: Four More Years of George W. Bush," I think that's perfectly fine.
Also a sticker asking to support Rage-aholics or perhaps for Alzheimer's research would be appropriate too.
Just for my curiosity; are you for Obama? If so, why? I'm interested to hear how he appeals to you.
Well, he's a politician so I'm not really "for" him exactly. I think of him, like any politician, as the lesser of evils.
However, I will still more likely vote for him rather than McCain. I kind of liked McCain the last time he ran because he focused on his own independence and honesty. I liked that he was a bit of a crank. It seems to me though that he figured since W won, he had to become W in order to win - which means being an obnoxiously conservative, dogmatic, "the old ways are the best ways," my-way-or-the-highway warhawk. I don't like his temper or his seeming eagerness to fight. In these volatile times, it seems we need more of a thinker and a diplomat than a "decider" and a bully. I don't like McCain because I really feel like it will be just more of the same. Our country is poorer, less safe, and less respected than it was 8 years ago and I feel that a lot of that has to do with W's cowboy mentality. I don't want that any more.
My interest in Obama largely has to do with what he is not. However, his intelligence, his interest in diplomacy, and his ability to inspire and uplift are definite positives to me.
I should make myself clear and point out that I don't love McCain either, but like you see Obama, I see McCain. As my best choice at the time.
I agree with you about the country being poorer and less respected than it was eight years ago. The war in Iraq has drained us immensely, however it is not the only culprit. The mortgage industry and big oil have also played a huge part in the problem, which then inspired the democratic party to step in with legislation and burden the country with even more debt.
As far as less safe, I'm not sure how you mean this. Do you mean that the crime from within has grown so much that we are less safe, or are you talking about terrorists? I assume you are talking of terrorists, only because that is the only safety of ours for which "W" can really speak. And, we are much safer than we have been. We haven't had an attack on our soil for the longest period of time, than any previous gap for quite a while.
In the case you are talking about less safe in a domestic way, go slap your stupid mayor and the leaders of the major car manufacturing companies. Since their lack of forsight caused the loss of so many jobs, which in turn caused a crappy detroit economy for everything, and general lawlessness in the streets.
As for not wanting more of the same, i suppose that means you support change. Well, Mr. Obama will bring you some change: I stole these from the washington post;
1. Special interests In January, the Obama campaign described union contributions to the campaigns of Clinton and John Edwards as "special interest" money. Obama changed his tune as he began gathering his own union endorsements. He now refers respectfully to unions as the representatives of "working people" and says he is "thrilled" by their support.
2. Public financing Obama replied "yes" in September 2007 when asked if he would agree to public financing of the presidential election if his GOP opponent did the same. Obama has now attached several conditions to such an agreement, including regulating spending by outside groups. His spokesman says the candidate never committed himself on the matter.
3. The Cuba embargo In January 2004, Obama said it was time "to end the embargo with Cuba" because it had "utterly failed in the effort to overthrow Castro." Speaking to a Cuban American audience in Miami in August 2007, he said he would not "take off the embargo" as president because it is "an important inducement for change."
4. Illegal immigration In a March 2004 questionnaire, Obama was asked if the government should "crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants." He replied "Oppose." In a Jan. 31, 2008, televised debate, he said that "we do have to crack down on those employers that are taking advantage of the situation."
5. Decriminalization of marijuana While running for the U.S. Senate in January 2004, Obama told Illinois college students that he supported eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana use. In the Oct. 30, 2007, presidential debate, he joined other Democratic candidates in opposing the decriminalization of marijuana.
It seems the only change he's brought so far, is alligning his views with those who are already in office.
I agree, he seems very smart and thoughtful. He can certainly bring an audience to their feet. I just want somebody who will do something, instead of talking about all his great ideas for doing it.
P.S.-you know I love you. I just don't agree with you.
oh goodness...political rantings...get me off this crazy train!
You opened this window, Mark, and it is now your responsibility to close it. I love you, too, but I'm voting w/your bro out of fear and with the hope that McCain will pick Mitt. Not the perfect ticket, but a whole lot better than Obama/Biden which is very scary, economically speaking.
Love the debate, just wish it could also be in person around our kitchen table. Love the exchange of ideas and views!
Love our choices this election year....finally. I'll have to agree with Mark on Obama's girls - very cute. I wonder if the younger one "just wants to eat ice cream but stranded (with her family)!"
For me, I refuse to vote for McCain because 1. he keeps saying "my friends" over and over and 2. he has that little fat roll along the back of his collar.
And Obama's cool.
Well, here I am closing the window. I'm not a fan of political debates simply because they often create more heat than light. I've never known anyone to come out of a debate saying, "You know what? I've changed my mind" but I've known plenty who have come out of them not talking to the other person ever again.
I'll say these few things and then this blog will return to it's regular schedule of funny cartoons and stories about my kids:
I could isolate any five votes or decisions or actions of any political figure in the country (particularly those of our brother in the Gospel, Mr. Mitt) and demonstrate flip-flopping, political pandering, going with the flow, etc. Politics is a byzantine, complicated animal fraught with compromise and collusion. In some cases, it may be a matter of a candidate changing what he says in order to get more votes. In other cases, it may be the meaningful evolution of thought that smart people experience when they learn more. Either way, to point out that Obama changed his mind or voted in accordance with Bush here and there doesn't really affect my view of him because #1 - I never thought he would do anything otherwise and #2 a candidate is more than the sum of individual parts, especially where he is concerned.
As for being a man of action and "doing something" rather than just talking about it, I think taking the office of the President pretty much will make that issue take care of itself. The President, whoever he is, is required to do more than just talk. What concerns me is the sort of action that will be taken. You can ACT all you want but if the actions are wrong or misguided, if they are selfish or destructive, if they are driven by unrighteous desires and the intention to dominate others or curtail individual agency, then being a man of action isn't really a virtue.
As for the possibility of taxes being raised and the financial concerns the people treat like the ultimate boogeyman and cardinal sin of Presidential candidates: there are worse things a President can do than raise taxes. Lots worse.
Of course, I'd rather not give more of my money to the government if at all possible and I'd certainly rather not help bail out banks or give breaks to big oil. But at the same time, we enjoy all the priviledges of living in this country and we complain about potholes, the homeless, the cost of education, etc. Are we willing to put our money towards these causes or do we just want a utopian world without having to pay for it? Any big business, free market capitalist will tell you that it takes money to make money. And yet when it comes to financially feeding the country that allows people the freedom to work and to earn as they please, no thanks, right?
With proper leadership, we're less likely to get involved in misguided, wrong-headed wars that will siphon billions and billions of dollars from our budgets and cost the lives of thousands of soliders who never should have been ordered to fight in the first place.
With proper leadership, the brains of the country will be encouraged and enabled to develop energy sources that don't require us to rely on countries that revile us.
With proper leadership, our status in the world can be built back up and, rather than being thought of as arrogant and unilateralist, we might be thought of as leaders and protectors again. I can be safer as an American traveling other places in the world because people know I come from a country where the leaders care about human rights and about observing both domestic and international laws.
Anyway, enough of that. Now back to our regularly scheduled frivolity.
Hey, love your response. That's one of the reasons I both love and hate debating you, you actually have good, thought out answers. I promise not to turn your blog into a political forum again, it's to good for that. Thanks for indulging me. And, if I offended any, I sincerely apologize.
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