August 31, 2008

• Weighing in on the Political Convo

  I have never been very interested in politics — until this year’s presidential election.  It started out pretty interesting, and then it got more and more interesting to me.  To be honest, before the primaries here in CA, I wasn’t really sure who I was going to vote for.  But I was open.  Though I’m a registered republican, I found myself being open to ‘the best candidate’ regardless of party.  I’ve been following the campaigns rather closely, and here are some of my thoughts on various subjects.  These are, obviously, just my opinions, so please feel free to comment – agree or disagree!

  About wealth
  I just read a short blurb on ABC news that quoted Cindy McCain as saying that she was very offended by Obama and others for continually slamming McCain for answering “not sure” about how many houses he owns.  (In case you’re wondering why he said that, it’s because he doesn’t really own the houses anyway; she does.)  She says that the attacks on her family’s wealth is unfair and offensive.  “My father had nothing. He and my mother sold everything they had to
  raise $10,000,” she said. “I’m proud of what my dad and my mother did
  and what they built and left me.  And I intend to carry their legacy as
  long as I can.”  I quite agree.  Most of the popular news I read seem to love to tear Cindy McCain to shreds — but I don’t see how they can blame her really for the fact that she inherited money?  I guess middle class people have a tendency to be suspicious of rich people (I’m one of them), but we should probably examine if our suspicions are well-founded.  Sure, she’s rich, but the question is, what does she do with her money now that she’s been given it?  Does she squander it or is she a good steward of it?  Reports say she and John McCain gave 27% of their annual income to charity last year (compared to the Clintons who gave 15% and the Obamas who gave only a meager 6% of their income).  I think how much a person gives away is very telling about a person.  To the annoying press I’d like to say, “Lay off of the lady already, it’s not like she got her wealth from shady dealings!”

  Senator Biden
  I was up late that Friday night refreshing my screen every few minutes, waiting anxiously for Politico to tell me who Obama’s VP pick was.  And then it finally happened; it was confirmed that after all the hype and all the buzz about this or that possible person, Barack Obama, the so-called change agent, had picked good old boys’ club Joe Biden.  I couldn’t believe it!  Obama went for the safe, status quo.  Here is a man who had to withdraw from the ’88 presidential race because of his accounts of plagiarism.  Here is a man who criticized Obama for not being ready for the presidency only a few months ago.  Here is a man who only got 2% of votes when he was in this race.  What could he possibly bring to the ticket but more political gaffes and blunders and off-color remarks (did you hear the one where he said that his wife was gorgeous and her only problem was her doctoral degree?  sure, he was trying to be funny, but I think it came off as sexist more than anything else.)  Well, ok, he’s got experience with foreign policy… but what does that really say about Obama?  “Vote for me (Obama) because he‘s (Biden) got the experience”?  Good job highlighting your inexperience, Obama.  Needless to say I was disappointed by Obama’s pick.

  Governor Palin
  I read all the speculation about McCain’s possible VP picks.  At the top of the list was Joe Leiberman, which made my stomach churn every time I thought of it, because of how his pro-choice stance would alienate McCain’s conservative base.  That seemed like political suicide to me — why would he want to anger his party like that?  Romney was also on top of the list.  Romney’s economic experience seemed like a nice complement to McCain but at the same time all the bad blood between them during the campaign would give Dems too much fodder for attacks.  Tim Pawlenty was a nice, good, safe choice — but despite that, I wasn’t sure that it would help McCain with independents or swing votes.  He needed someone different.  One of the people on the veep short list was Governor Sarah Palin.  I looked her up on Wikipedia and thought to myself, “He should pick her.”  But it seemed like such a long-shot so I forgot about it… until Friday morning when Sam called me, “Guess who McCain picked?”  I couldn’t believe it!  I was so thrilled, I wanted to dance.

  Yes, she was definitely a gamble, but I still think it was a good choice.  Here’s why:  she has over 80% approval rating in her state — there’s gotta be a reason for that, she is a true reformer (she does what she says, she stands for what is right — even when that means standing against people in her own party who are involved in shady dealings), produces results and not just empty promises — she is definitely not the status quo politician.  She has run commercial business, she’s a mom… a regular American who loves her family and wants what’s best for them.  She’s a fresh, new voice, who will energize the Republican party (and is already doing so).

  Plus, she’s a woman.  I don’t think that she’ll win over Hillary Clinton votes persay, but she’ll win over the moms out there, the working moms, conservative women — who may have been previously apathetic about the elections (I read a few comments on news articles where women said exactly this and that they are now running to the polls to vote for McCain/Palin).  And what this pick says about McCain is that he’s progressive.  He’s not usual old boys’ club; he values women’s voice and contribution to the world, and his choice proves it. 

  McCain’s choice is also backed by the conservative base.  Interesting facts:  the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission encouraged McCain to choose Palin — as did Rush Limbaugh.

  Lotsa people are wondering about her experience though.  Does she have enough experience to be one heartbeat away from the presidency?  The answer is yes!!  I’m sorry to say but Palin has more experience with governing than Barack Obama.  Obama has been 3 years in the senate, in which he spent 18 months of it campaigning for president.  He didn’t even show up to vote for 75% of senate votes in 2007.  (Incidentally, Biden missed a lot of votes too.)  See here also.  Meanwhile, Palin has been in public service for 16 years.  She was busy running a state while Obama was busy not doing his job.  She was mayor of a town while he was a community organizer.  She has been running and managing things.  She’s in the executive branch of the government — exactly the kind of experience you need for being in the executive office.  And aside from all that, she’s at the bottom of the ticket, while Obama is at the top.  I’m confused why more people aren’t concerned about Obama’s qualifications for being able to govern since he has no experience with that. 

  The other big one is about foreign policy.  But did you know she’s been to Iraq as many times as Barack?  I do not think she has less foreign policy experience than Obama.  In addition to that, she’s been governing a state that borders two foreign countries – Russia and Canada — and the state’s got resources which forces her to think of the global dynamics all the time.  And anyway, McCain has a ton of foreign policy experience and the focus should be on McCain vs. Obama on foreign policy anyway. 

  It’ll be interesting to see in the coming days if McCain truly made a phenomenal choice (as some say) or a colossal mistake (as others denounce!).

  On Gustav
  I just watched the video clip of Obama addressing Hurricane Gustav.  He didn’t say much that was audible which I felt was such a contrast to all the moves the GOP is making in light of the seriousness of Gustav (for the RNC).  Before a rally in PA, McCain said, “I would like all of us, obviously, to keep in our thoughts and our
  prayers the people of the Gulf Coast, especially New Orleans, that are
  threatened by this terrible natural disaster, the hurricane. They need
  to know — and I know that they know — that they are in our hearts and
  prayers as this impending hurricane approaches.  The great God, that he could spare — at a minimum — the loss that
  might result from this natural disaster. So my friends, as we enjoy
  this great rally, we will keep them in our thoughts and our hearts and
  our prayers.”  I appreciate McCain’s attention to what’s going on and his concern for the people.  My heart really goes out to the people of New Orleans right now too.   

  Adoption
  I love the fact that the McCains adopted a little orphan many years ago, one who had a cleft-palate.  Obviously, they didn’t do this to win votes.  They did it because that little baby needed parents and they were able to provide a loving home for her.  That’s awesome!  I also love that the Palins chose to keep their baby despite the fact that they knew that he would have Down’s syndrome.  I think this is what it means to be pro-life.  We value life — and so we love and cherish and care for all those that God has chosen to knit together and give life to — even if they are not ‘perfect’ by the world’s standards.  God loves us even though we are not perfect.  That’s the standard we have to live by.

  • 5:59 am
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