So, I don't know about you, but as happy as I am about Obama's win, it is tempered by real concerns over what he has ahead of him. As much as I believe in him as a leader, there is a big part of me that would not wish this job on anyone, much less someone I like. So, there it is. I want him to be my leader, but I don't want him to have to deal with all the attendant headaches. There are certainly perks to the job, but in all seriousness, why would someone want to be President of the U.S.? Power, glamour, privilege alongside a devastated economy; tremendous public debt; difficult relations with Iran, Venezuela and even now Pakistan; increasing difficulties in Afghanistan; neverending violence and blood shed in Iraq not to mention all the other skirmishes, humanitarian and ecological nightmares dotting the globe. These are not soft and easy times to run a country, much less the previously acknowledged leader of the free world. Although, frankly, that designation has been tarnished under our current leadership and his freewheeling, unitary ways that have served to alienate longstanding allies and further ignite enmity among our enemies and in some cases among our friends. This is not fun. I wish him and his family the best, but more importantly I choose to pray for him. I pray for wisdom, discernment, good counsel and strength. He will certainly need all these and much more to tackle the job ahead. But, maybe like Esther, "for such a time as this" he has been put in place to show the type of strength and leadership that is necessary to rechart America's course. Only time will tell.
I have had discussions with McCain supporters who, though appreciating the enormity of what it means to have elected a black man as President, feel that he has a huge task set before him due to extremely high expectations as a result of promises made in the campaign and due to his iconic status that is reminiscent of JFK. Certainly he will make some mistakes along the way, but the true test of leadership is how he handles his mistakes: taking responsibility or pointing fingers? hiding behind executive privilege and finding convenient scape goats or owning up to his shortcomings? All in all, we as the American people have a responsibility to allow him to be human although we desperately want him to strive for the best and we must keep his feet to the fire in this, while allowing for grace along the way.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
All about tomorrow
I don't know about you, but I am way curious to see what happens tomorrow. D-day. It will be quite interesting to say the least, but I can't help but wonder if all the pundits will be proven correct or otherwise. Will voters really turn to their basest values once the curtain is pulled closed in the voting booths, where politics of color trump politics of principle? Or will it be the landslide that some are calling for? I'm also curious and slightly worried about the actual voting process--will the lines be crazy? will we have the "chad" issue again? what's up with the provisional ballots? what about all those folks who registered but maybe aren't verified according to the election boards? how many lawsuits will come from tomorrow?
I can hope for the best. I hope that people will actually try to vote according to the issues rather than whoever gives them a "warm fuzzy." I read an article today regarding the fact that many American voters don't vote based on issues, but are instead irrational decision-makers, who actually do vote based on their "gut" feelings or some other subjective issue that does not have to necessarily conform to an objective reality. Gotta love that. But what studies do find, however, is that whoever spends the most on advertising tends to have a significant advantage. Hello Bloomberg, Corzine, and now I guess Obama? We'll see...tomorrow.
I can hope for the best. I hope that people will actually try to vote according to the issues rather than whoever gives them a "warm fuzzy." I read an article today regarding the fact that many American voters don't vote based on issues, but are instead irrational decision-makers, who actually do vote based on their "gut" feelings or some other subjective issue that does not have to necessarily conform to an objective reality. Gotta love that. But what studies do find, however, is that whoever spends the most on advertising tends to have a significant advantage. Hello Bloomberg, Corzine, and now I guess Obama? We'll see...tomorrow.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Affirmative or Negative?
I don't often like to get involved in national political discussions because it usually gets pretty heated and people cling so tightly to their biases that it seems pointless to have started the discussion in the first place. Although this is my natural tendency, I must say that this current Presidential campaign has really created a sense of passion and urgency within me to actually talk about these issues more. So, here goes...
When I was in highschool, I was on the debate team (Lincoln-Douglas value debating). In this setting, we had to come up with 2 arguments on a particular topic: the affirmative and negative. The affirmative argument was always a longer, more detailed case because the burden was on the affirmative to prove a point or make a case for something. The negative had an easier time, in some ways, because it was generally created on the fly in response to the affirmative's case. The negative didn't have to necessarily prove their own case, just that the affirmative's case was flawed. I feel that there are many similarities to today's Presidential race.
To be clear, I am an Obama supporter and have been since he announced his candidacy. With that said, I have appreciated how, on the whole, he seems to have aimed to fight for this position based on his values, beliefs and his plan for the country. In other words, he seems to be taking the position of the "Affirmative," if you will allow the metaphor. John McCain, on the other hand, hasn't presented a coherent, clear plan so much as he has presented a battery of reasons why Obama is a bad choice, ie the "Negative." Based on this assessment alone, I can't really see why to vote for him. It's not enough to say that your challenger is a bad choice, you need to show me why you are a good choice. Moreover, the character assassination and racial/religious/etc slurs are really disappointing.
In the past, I admit with much dismay, I voted for Bush because I (mistakenly) thought he was a man of character who we could trust to run the country. I had also liked McCain for the fact that he did not run with the pack. This campaign, however, has illustrated that he is more concerned with being elected than holding on to his previous values of independence and integrity. Allowing his VP pick to slander his opponent and allowing his supporters to brandish disunifying language and ideas about being "a friend to terrorists" or "anti-American" is hitting below the belt and seems to promote the old way of DC politics where the Republicans try to claim the sole title of "American" and "patriot" and "family values." It's disgusting.
I am one of those swing voters who is not so much about party as I am about the person. President Bush has done a fine job of embarrassing me and the country and raising my gall with his policies promoting torture and the like, while under the flag of God and patriotism. I don't condone torture and neither does God. This is truly the issue that forced me out of any sort of Republican sympathy. Not only that, but his association with Rove and the types of low politics that attack a person's character with unfounded accusations and fear-mongering is not something with which I want to be associated. Now, in this election, it would appear that McCain is following that same strategy, but with far less success.
Here's the deal: McCain doesn't have a real plan, all he can do is lob these underhanded character attacks and misrepresentations in hope that it will buy him some measure of success. Despite Obama's sojourn into the Keating 5 scandal ads, overall, he has been respectful of his competitor and has not sunk to this name-calling and below-the-belt tactics like McCain. Rock on Obama and shame on you McCain.
When I was in highschool, I was on the debate team (Lincoln-Douglas value debating). In this setting, we had to come up with 2 arguments on a particular topic: the affirmative and negative. The affirmative argument was always a longer, more detailed case because the burden was on the affirmative to prove a point or make a case for something. The negative had an easier time, in some ways, because it was generally created on the fly in response to the affirmative's case. The negative didn't have to necessarily prove their own case, just that the affirmative's case was flawed. I feel that there are many similarities to today's Presidential race.
To be clear, I am an Obama supporter and have been since he announced his candidacy. With that said, I have appreciated how, on the whole, he seems to have aimed to fight for this position based on his values, beliefs and his plan for the country. In other words, he seems to be taking the position of the "Affirmative," if you will allow the metaphor. John McCain, on the other hand, hasn't presented a coherent, clear plan so much as he has presented a battery of reasons why Obama is a bad choice, ie the "Negative." Based on this assessment alone, I can't really see why to vote for him. It's not enough to say that your challenger is a bad choice, you need to show me why you are a good choice. Moreover, the character assassination and racial/religious/etc slurs are really disappointing.
In the past, I admit with much dismay, I voted for Bush because I (mistakenly) thought he was a man of character who we could trust to run the country. I had also liked McCain for the fact that he did not run with the pack. This campaign, however, has illustrated that he is more concerned with being elected than holding on to his previous values of independence and integrity. Allowing his VP pick to slander his opponent and allowing his supporters to brandish disunifying language and ideas about being "a friend to terrorists" or "anti-American" is hitting below the belt and seems to promote the old way of DC politics where the Republicans try to claim the sole title of "American" and "patriot" and "family values." It's disgusting.
I am one of those swing voters who is not so much about party as I am about the person. President Bush has done a fine job of embarrassing me and the country and raising my gall with his policies promoting torture and the like, while under the flag of God and patriotism. I don't condone torture and neither does God. This is truly the issue that forced me out of any sort of Republican sympathy. Not only that, but his association with Rove and the types of low politics that attack a person's character with unfounded accusations and fear-mongering is not something with which I want to be associated. Now, in this election, it would appear that McCain is following that same strategy, but with far less success.
Here's the deal: McCain doesn't have a real plan, all he can do is lob these underhanded character attacks and misrepresentations in hope that it will buy him some measure of success. Despite Obama's sojourn into the Keating 5 scandal ads, overall, he has been respectful of his competitor and has not sunk to this name-calling and below-the-belt tactics like McCain. Rock on Obama and shame on you McCain.
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