Young Writers Society

Obama is a great speacher. But....

He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk.

If I could I prefer Military experienced apoused to "PeaceMakers"

If America was controled by a peacemaker we would be demolished by other countries.
If america has a War Hungry guy sorta like bush, it would fall.

That is why we need a mix of both of them.

Believe it or not I got that from South Park

Take it as you wish. Just keep calm -- I don't mean to hurt you. You have your opinions, I have mine.

Palin made Craig Ferguson an honourary citizen of Alaska.

She wins in my book.

[yeah, I'm Switzerland as far as politics go.]

-:pirate3:

For those who need to see the awesomeness of the Craig Ferguson awesomeness, here's a link!

Naughty Alaskan Librarian

That was pretty funny.

I find the whole choice interesting. We'll see what she's made of in the next few weeks.

I haven't done much research yet, but it seems like a good choice. She brings the gender card that was removed when Hilary lost the nomination back in, now in McCain's favor. That will win over some of the female voters and unhappy supporters of Hilary Clinton. Her age also contrasts McCain's, which is always nice. Also, she's more conservative, by the looks of things, so that should win over most of the Rebulican party.

Based on what research I have done, I'd actually feel more comfortable with her than Obama in the President seat. I mean, she has more experience, which is actually kind of sad. Still, I think it was a smart choice by McCain.

I want to say that I didn't mean 'stupid' as in uneducated. Obama certainly is an educated man, no denying that.

I just think that he's 'stupid' when it comes to politics because he seems to have no foundation. It's all just what the people want. To be honest, McCain is the same way, but not to the same degree. Sure, he wants peace and for the world to be just one big nation, but what else? Is that really the only reason he's running for president? To get us out of Iraq?

Obama doesn't seem proud enough of America to be the president. All he talks about is how bad we are. What about the good things?

Ohdearrr, Craig. XD

This isn't meant to spark a debate, but it's me being curious--why is it that people think that simply because a candidate is female that women will vote for her? Women have been voting for men since the dawn of suffrage.

Let's get this straight. Palin does not have more experience in government than Obama. She was mayor of a small town for several years (which you can't say counts for much) and governor of Alaska for a couple.

Obama was a state senator for eight years and was a U.S. senator since 2005. That is easily more experience. Some may argue that she has more "executive experience", but that argument is pretty lame since you could argue that she has more than McCain as well.

I think she would be a marvelous choice if there wasn't the threat that McCain could become incapacitated in office, which is a very real threat. I just really don't see her taking on world leaders the way McCain, Obama, or Biden could. And yes, I believe Obama has the guff to do it.

Sam - Media outlets like CNN have been encouraging that sort of thing forever. They're dying to group different demographics in ways that aren't logical at all. One time I was watching and they were talking about which way independents were going to go. And I was like, "Isn't the point of being an independent NOT being part of an easily lumped group?"

Bah.

That said, I think it's a possibility that some strong Hillary supporters who were not fans of Obama will in fact be swayed by this....they're not a large group, but there are people who have said they'll vote for McCain now that Hillary's out.

Sam ->> That may be what the chattering classes are saying, but that's not the reason per se that McCain picked her.

As many have mentioned, and as I heard everywhere I went today, women aren't going to vote for a McCain - Palin ticket simply because Palin is a woman. However, what it does do (and this why McCain picked her) is make people take a second look at McCain. YWS is a great example of this; did Biden get talked about here? Has anyone even mentioned Obama's acceptance speech? Yet, how many people are talking about Palin?

It's true everywhere I went today. I got lunch at Clydes in Friendship Heights (an upscale place in DC) and half the tables were talking about McCain-Palin. The same was true when I went to Annapolis for dinner, and Annapolis is a decidedly outside the beltway type place. Most of the conversations weren't friendly to McCain, but that's not the point; they were talking about McCain, and that's what he needs in order to win. Picking Palin is a game-changing move.

The question remains, though, whether or not Palin is ready to assume the Presidency should something happen, which is a fair question to ask given McCain's age. However, that question will not be answered today, tomorrow, or next week. It won't be answered until October 2, which is the date of the VP debate. I suspect it will, for once, be closely watched. If Palin holds her own against Biden, then I think the experience question will be answered in a favorable way for her.

Edit

For those interested, here are some good, short analyses:

Ed Rollins at CNN
Jay Cost at RCP
Ramesh Ponnuru at National Review

Her first test is next week at the Republican Convention. After that, it's the VP debate. This pick has a lot of risk, but the converse of high risk is high reward. If McCain wins, then today was the turning point.

To be honest, I'm still in disbelief...

Also, what this did was make the conservative base enthusiastic over voting Republican. A lot of us consider McCain a gutless leftist weenie who is a complete RINO(Republican in Name Only). We felt that our values really didn't matter to anybody because the grassroots conservative values were not being followed in the GOP, who were mostly people who followed special interests and cowtowed to the almighty Republican Party (gag me).

Anyway, I expected him to make a liberal VP. So then, instead of voting for McCain, I probably would have written in Phelps/Lochte (they're not of age yet, but we'll send them to the Chinese government and they'll fix that for us... ) And I know a lot of the conservative base felt the same--just listen to Rush Limbaugh. So when he nominated Sarah Palin, I was thrilled. And the more I looked her up on her values and what's she's done, the more thrilled I was. She's done some marvelous things--she's taken on the GOP of her state and struck them down with ethics violations. Yes, she's having another investigation herself, but she seems to be supportive about it, so I am thinking that somebody in a high place decided to frame her, lol. I mean... nobody high up could have possibly wanted to frame her, considering that several higher ups are having ethics investigations and might possibly be kicked out of office, hmmmm?

Anyway, the fact that she's taken on Big Government and a host of other special groups that were considered untouchable makes her high in my book. She is David conquering Goliath. Or, a more modern example might be "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Except in this case, it's more like "Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington." She seems to be a completely kick ass woman, and I like that. Compare that with Obama, who's done nothing special in his record so far, then you can see why I am enthusiastic about her. Yes, Obama had more experience in the political realm... but he's done largely nothing so far. While he needs to accomplish presidency to implement any change, she's been able to implement change in the little roles she has. And that is awesome. Even though she's only would be vice president, if McCain is elected, you can be sure that she'll still be slaying dragons. <3

Me? Rant? Never!

Anyway, McCain's choice was a political move to appeal to the conservatives out there. There is a HUGE conservative fan base, and we're growing more and more, so it's important that he connects to us. Otherwise, we won't vote for him, and that would be bad for him. If it connects to the women voters, then that's just an added bonus.

Holy cow, get a room, Snoink. XD

Pork

Oh boy, time to lay the wood to some non-believers. To start, I'll admit I'm uniquely biased, not only am I an Obama supporter, but I give about 30 hours a week volunteering with his campaign. So, I'm not exactly an independent or whatever. I think this is a very interesting, but ultimately stupid choice by McCain. Here's why:

1. It takes out the inexperience card from McCain's deck. This is HUGE. Who cares if democrats can't hit Palin as hard on her inexperience, there are plenty of inadequacies that can be picked from. On the other hand it removes the ONE major attack the republicains have. I'll take a trade off of a vice president (who, let's face it, aren't all that important at winning over voters) for a president on the experience issue.

2. Palin, how do I put this, isn't very... impressive. Let's see, former beauty pageant runner-up, a bachelors degree in JOURNALISM from the university of Idaho, worked as a SPORTS reporter, was on the city council and was mayor of some burg in ALASKA, and has served about a year and a half as governor, again of ALASKA. And... that's it. I'm uh, not intimidated by that resume. Say what you want about Obama's background but this is fundementally different than the career path he's had. He's worked as a community organizer, he has a law background, he's served for eight years in the state legislature, worked in D.C. and has (limited yes, but) actually foreign policy experience. You know, things that are helpful when you're in line to be president. Other nations love Joe Biden, they love Barack Obama, they love John McCain. 'But who is Sarah Palin' they ask?

3. Her policy stances and why they won't win her Clinton backers (Frankly the biggest reason she's up there, it's what McCain sees as his attainable 'swing' voting bloc). Abortion- Pro-life to the point where she doesn't even consider it okay in rape cases. Gun control- Who needs gun control? Environment- wants to drill in ANWAR and keep polar bears of the Endangered Species list. Energy policy- Drill, drill, drill, drill, drill, and oh yeah, drill. Has someone explained to her that even the energy people (The DOE) say drilling in general WON'T lower oil prices more than a few cents a gallon and not for almost 20 years? Economy- *Chirp chirp. Chirp, chirp* Hear the crickets? Scientifically she believes in Creationism, and denies the existence of global warming.

Know what Hillary Clinton supporters think about every single one of these issues? Here's a hint: it's the opposite of what Sarah Palin thinks. Is the GOP really SO stupid that they think women will vote for anyone with a vagina? Clinton backers are pissed but the one's who are voting McCain are an overhyped minority (especially after her excellent speech endorsing Obama on Tuesday).

4. No way she flips a state for McCain, Alaska is going red anyways. As a resident of Michigan, Mitt Romney scared the BEJEEBUS out of me because for unknown reasons he's insanely popular here and could've nabbed Michigan and its 17 electoral votes for the GOP. I've heard similar sentiment about what Romney could've done to New Hampshire and a few others. Not too mention he could've bolstered McCain's awful economic cred. But now? Yeah, not happening.

5. Biden will poop on her in their debate. If I have to explain why this is, I'll never be able to convince you otherwise. But it's just true.

6. One heartbeat away. Look McCain is an old dude. If he has health problems, raise your hand if you want Sarah Palin to have to keep Russia in line, or organize a response to a natural disaster, or handle an economic crisis. Now raise your hand if you would feel comfortable with Joe Biden in this position if something were to happen to Obama? God forbid if anything happens to either of them, but it IS a real possibility.

7. Turns off independents. It's seen as a strange move, risky at best, and catastrophic and desperate at worst. She's embroiled in a corruption scandal which is a pretty big deal. Wins McCain some of his 'base' vote but he would get them eventually anyways. What it won't do is win him swing states.

8. Trades long term for short term. Yes, everyone is talking about her now, and conservatives love the pick now. Give it a month. Then get back to me.

So yeah, not so hot. I like that McCain picked her, it's about time the GOP gave women their due. It's really fascinating and it makes the race a lot more fun. But he signed his death warrant with this.


SECOND, some popular criticisms debunked.

Obama isn't a socialist. Come on people, really? He's not raising your taxes unless you make over 250,000 a year in which case believe me, you'll survive. 80% of the country gets over three times MORE in tax cuts more Obama than they would from McCain ($900 vs. $200) His 'socialized' medicine isn't like Great Britain, you don't pay for everyone's health care, rather everyone has ACCESS to healthcare and has help in getting an insurance policy. You know, the way they should?

Obama has gotten things done in the Senate. He's had his name on two major bills in three years, one about nuclear proliferation and one about ethics reforms. In Illinois he gave workers tax breaks, stopped shifty mortgages from being handed out, and reformed profiling and death penalty laws. What do you all expect from him?

Obama has substance. If you heard his convention speech he laid out his plan for change pretty clearly. His website (barackobama.com) has a section entitled issues with dozens of pages on the meat and potatoes of Obama's different policy stances. He's not all flash, he's got a plan for every goal which is more than I can say for most politicians. In contrast to the McCain line of 'balancing the budget by 2013.' "Yeah? How?" "Uh... We'll get back to you."

Obama loves America. If you don't believe this I have some speeches you can watch, and a life of action and compassion towards his citizens and his country that you can review. You're grasping at straws if this is your justification. If you want to get in a nuanced debate over this I'm happy to, but if you're going to toss out warrantless opinions then so shall I.

He isn't FOR abortion he's for the choice. He's very clearly stated that he wants their to be less abortions and more education about contraceptives and safe sex which isn't pro-life. You can champion abstinence all you want but empiricism isn't on your side. In countries where abortion is hard to access their are actually more and more dangerous and unclean abortions preformed. Look into something called the Mexico City policy, denying family planning care and abortions paradoxically leads to more aborted babies. People will try to get them anyways, shouldn't we make sure the procedure is safe for the mother? Isn't that pro-life?

In addition if you really are 'pro-life' (what a stupid label) you'd realize withdrawing from Iraq is a pro-life policy. Accessible health care is a pro-life policy. Getting our economy back on track is a pro-life policy. He simply doesn't want the government to invade people's rights to their bodies. But ultimately people will believe what they will about abortion and I'll never change that. I can't argue with faith.

As you all can maybe tell by now, I LOVE to debate politics and look forward to some back and forth on this and other issues pertaining to the '08 election. Congratulations anyone that read this far!

O'Biden 08!

1. The experience card wasn't working anyway. Let it fall out!

2. Look at what she did in office. That's a lot more than Obama did. Yes, Obama wasn't in a very high position of power, but he could have done more, but he didn't. Don't blame Bush--it's his fault. He's led a commission that he hasn't had a single meeting for. Intimidation from Bush? Laziness? I don't know. Either way, he's not showing leadership skills and I don't want him for a president.

3. She wasn't picked because she's a woman. She was picked because she is an extremely conservative Republican that shares many of the beliefs of the staunch conservatives that John McCain was in danger of losing, simply because we hate his liberal politics. Since she is a dragon slayer of corruption, which her record clearly proves, she is easily identified with by the conservative voters who want a real change in office. They look at her record, which, though small, proves that she is a small woman who can achieve a great deal. Don't be so shallow as to think people will vote for her because she's a woman, especially conservatives! Conservatives are a great deal smarter than they are portrayed to be.

4. As stated before, McCain was in danger of losing the entire conservative base. By having her as a VP, he is likely to keep all the red states, which have a huge amount of electoral votes. Also! Mitt Romney is probably going to endorse McCain at the RNC Convention, so I wouldn't worry too much about his state.

5. I wouldn't be too sure on this. Biden is known for saying ridiculous things and then having to stick his foot in his mouth while she is known to be a smart debater and very fluid. In her speech, she didn't read from a tele-prompter or anything... she is a very good speaker. But we shall see!

6. Funnily enough, I would trust Palin. She looks like an incredibly fast learner and she doesn't compromise what she thinks is right. She's a stickler for ethics. Biden, as mentioned before, is known for saying ridiculous things and then having to stick his foot in his mouth. As a president, he would have to discuss terms with other countries and do other diplomatic measures. Why would I want him to hold the fate of our nation in his hands, especially foreign policy? O_o

7. The independents will likely weigh both candidates fairly and figure out who they will vote for from there. If they like us... fine. If they don't? Then oh well, I suppose the nation didn't want us at the time. But at least we presented our conservative ideals unwaveringly. And that's what matters.

Politics is finally just a game. We've endured many horrible presidents before and we've still survived, somehow. We'll survive this one too.

Also, remember, this race is not Obama vs. Palin. This race is Obama vs. McCain. Don't check him in the funeral home yet.