Is It Over Yet?

As many of you know Barack Obama aired a thirty minute multimillion dollar infomercial on over seven different television stations on October 29. Why would he do such a thing when it seems as though he has already locked up the 2008 presidential election? Perhaps it is because democrats have a reputation for losing on election day when it previously seemed clear they had shored up the victory. Or maybe it is because the Democratic party still has a bad taste from Florida in the 2000 election. But I believe that the real reason Barack Obama decided to run this thirty minute infomercial is because of doubt. The doubt that his campaign intelligently recognizes still exists in many voters minds. Barack Obama is an untested man when it comes to executive experience, rightfully so some people are hesitant to vote for him because they don’t know enough about him. That is why he chose to air this infomercial. His performance clearly erased the doubt that might remain in potential voter’s minds. He achieved this by identifying one by one the different issues at the table and telling people what he would solve them.

Do I think that this infomercial is going to help Obama edge out a win? Probably not. I think Obama would still win regardless because he has run a very good campaign while McCain has not. Obama has been criticized for not having enough foreign policy experience so he put Joe Biden, who has lots of foreign policy experience, on the ticket as VP to compensate for this. John McCain is thought to lack on economic policy, but instead of selecting a VP candidate that would counter this weakness he chose to nominate someone with hardly any experience at all. Someone he thought would help pull in votes but might actually be hurting his campaign more than helping it. Obama has made all the right moves and has surrounded himself with the proper people to be successful in the Presidential race. McCain hasn't quite done this.

This is why the infomercial isn’t going to help that much. If Barack Obama wins this election, I believe, the only purpose his infomercial would have done is increase the margin of victory. Barack Obama doesn’t want to just win. I think he wants a landslide victory, to make a statement that the Democrats ARE the right party for change.

Regardless of who wins I hope that the next president is actually the right person for change.

McCain is Out

The article I chose, Is John McCain Losing It?, by Robert Parry touches on Senator McCain’s performance at the third debate and examines why he is already out of the presidential race. I believe Parry hit the nail on the head with this article. McCain showed the signs of defeat in the third debate.

I very much agree with Parry’s statement that McCain “appears to lacks a sense of balance or even reality.” It amazed me that John McCain would claim that he is the “victim” of negative attacks when his running mate is making ridiculous statements and even McCain’s supporters are making absurd remarks about killing Obama at his campaign rallies. As for Sarah Palin it appears she does know how to speak, she just doesn’t know how to think before doing so. To associate Obama with terrorists is very inappropriate especially these days with the bitter taste from 9-11 still remaining in the public’s mouth. John McCain lost a great deal of face value with me by not refuting these remarks. The remarks against John McCain have been minor compared to what has been said about Obama, McCain’s claim as the “victim” looks like a last desperate attempt at some sympathy votes.

I found the section of the article entitled Defensiveness very interesting. Prior to reading this article I had heard of John McCain’s temper however I had not yet seen an example of this. During the third debate it appeared that McCain was visibly angered. I would not consider hotheadedness a good trait for president. The leader of the Free World should not be flying off the handle and making rash decisions.

Going into this presidential race I would have given the upper hand to McCain based on his experience. However I believe McCain has made an enormous amount of tactical errors and in doing so essentially locked up the win for Obama.

Sarah Palin for VP?

The article I chose was written by New York Times opinion columnist David Brooks. In the article Brooks discusses Governor Sarah Palin’s performance at the Vice Presidential debate and what she needed to accomplish there to keep the Republicans in the Presidential race. According to Brooks, Governor Palin had to achieve two things. First, survival, she had to prove that she was “capable of completing an extemporaneous paragraph — a collection of sentences with subjects, verbs, objects and, if possible, an actual meaning,” because apparently she has struggled with this in the past. Second, she needed to bring about a shift in momentum towards the republicans. Brooks argues that she easily accomplished the first, but that it depends on who you talk to whether or not she attained the second goal. I would have to say that I do agree with Brooks in that Sarah Palin proved she has the ability to complete a sentence and she did so with flying colors. However I find it very disheartening that completing a sentence is a needed goal for one of our country’s Vice Presidential candidates. For the second goal I disagree with Brooks. I don’t think she gained any additional support for the Republican ticket what so ever, she might have even lost some. Brooks gives points to Governor Palin for making it clear that “she was not of Washington, did not admire Washington and knew little about Washington.” Maybe it would be smart for Sarah Palin to distance herself from Washington during these hard times but she still needs to have adequate knowledge about Washington and how it works. Without this knowledge Palin just looks ignorant. Although I am not a fan of Joe Biden I would have to easily give the debate victory to him. Through out the night he schooled Palin on every subject that was covered.
I am a big fan of John McCain, but I think that Sarah Palin is not be the strongest choice for VP. It appears to me that she might have only been selected as VP in order to pull in more votes for the Republicans, not because she is the best person for the job. I think that this was made clear during the VP debates. It saddens me that David Brooks is praising Governor Palin for surviving the debate. In my opinion a good Vice Presidential candidate should never be praised for surviving a debate, they should be praise for being dominate throughout the debate and putting their opponent on defense.