So the official election results have been available for several days now:
http://www.washco-md.net/election/2008Gen.htm
And to no surprise the McCain / Palin ticket won the majority in the county. What amazes me though is the fact that so many people in this area thought they would actually benefit from John McCain. I read the following in an article in the Herald Mail a few days ago:
David Peters, 27, of Hagerstown, disagreed. He said a majority of Washington County residents voted for McCain because the Arizona senator had more experience.
“(McCain) knows more about politics,” Peters said. “Obama didn’t know a lot. All he wanted to do was raise taxes. I wouldn’t have liked that. Now, it’s going to happen.”
I would love to know if David actually is making more than $250,000 per year. My money is on he is not making even a third of that. The simple fact is that Western Maryland average incomes have never benefited from republican policy. The vast majority of people out here are not executives but working class folks that need all the breaks they can get. When the median household income hovers around $35,000 per year, I find it hard to believe why someone would support a candidate whose tax plan pretty much only reduced capital gains taxes on people who make a lot of money with investments.
The fact is that most people did not choose McCain because they thought he "is the better man" as the article suggests. People in Washington county chose McCain and Palin because they hold much more conservative religious beliefs and he has Military service on his record. While there is nothing wrong with either, it is hard to say if they make him a better man than Barack Obama for leading a country. The presidency is about making policy, not determining Military strategy and tactics on the ground, nor is the presidency about setting the religious standards in this country.
When it comes down to who is the better person for the presidency, the better person is the one who can energize people, talk eloquently, rally the support of foreign nations and present a much more inviting face to the rest of the world. Not to mention make intelligent policy decisions without relying on only one strength to guide them such as military experience. It's time for America to realize that in order to be effective, we must utilize diplomacy but maintain the threat of military force, utilizing it only sparingly as needed. As Teddy Roosevelt said, "speak softly and carry a big stick."
Better to have people fear what you could do, then show what you can. I think Barack will understand this along with the rest of his military and policy team. I think this is something that someone not so ingrained in the military culture of the country can truly understand and utilize to great effect.
So do we have the best person from the candidates possible entering the White House? Yes, I think we do. Is he young and somewhat untested on the world stage? Absolutely. Is this such a bad thing? No it is not. Barack has a lot to prove and a lot to live up to, but bringing a non-insider attitude to the White House is a plus. He also has the presence of mind to surround himself with some of the greatest political and military thinkers of this era which will provide him with advice for the situations he has never faced in his own life. This will be a collaboration, a truly team effort and one that should make us all proud since pooling the strengths of individuals is what makes America so strong. I believe we will be proven to be strong once again in the coming four years as well.
So John McCain needed to pick someone that offset his age to ensure people felt like there was continuity plan for the presidency. Unfortunately, he picked a corrup governor from Alaska with daughters that appear to be trying to match Jamie Lynn Spears for teen pregnancies.
Both Bloomberg and the AP are already running stories about how Sarah Palin's own supporters are saying she in unqiuallified for the job. I especially love the CNN story about her daughter's pregnancy and how they are so happy she is going to have the baby and become grandparents. Whatever. No one goes to their 17 year old daughter and says "I'm so proud of you for having a baby even though you are unmarried, clearly have no common sense and we are going to be grandparents at 45!" The fact is that now she has put McCain in a tight spot already since apparently the uber-conservative right doesn't teach the abstinence only method very well at all and now his vice president's daughter has gone and gotten herself pregnant at 17. Yep, things are starting off well for the GOP in this race already.
Now I am just waiting for the connections between her and Ted Stevens to be reported on and she really will become the dead weight that she clearly appears to be. Honestly, what the heck was John McCain thinking when he did this? I don't think this is quite as brilliant as some conservative pundits were saying if you ask me.
It was, in this reporter's opinion, the most interesting moment in today's Clinton campaign phoner with reporters. Responding to the release of HRC's new TX TV ad, which asserts in no subtle terms that only she has the experience to deal with a major world crisis, and, relatedly, to keep your children safe, Slate's John Dickerson asked the obvious question:
"What foreign policy moment would you point to in Hillary's career where she's been tested by crisis?" he said.
Silence on the call. You could've knit a sweater in the time it took the usually verbose team of Mark Penn, Howard Wolfson and Lee Feinstein, Clinton's national security director, to find a cogent answer. And what they came up with was weak -- that she's been endorsed by many high ranking members of the uniformed military.
Take a listen ...
Hotline On Call: Pregnant Pause
Was there ever any doubt that Hillary Clinton didn't actually have any foreign policy experience or any crisis experience? Just because she worked for a giant corporate law firm and then sat in the White House for 8 years being the cold witch that everyone know she is at the time does not mean you have any real experience. Her actions after her husband left the White House have only emphasized her cold, calculating attitude of doing anything that will get her ahead whether or not it is morally or ethically right. This kind of experience should make you worry that she will do the same thing if she were to be elected, once there she will just continue to do the same old thing.
There is no experience here, there is none to be found. The fact is that she does not really have any more experience of her own than Barack Obama. The only experience she has is sitting and watching her Husband get impeached in front of the entire world and then staying with him so her own political ambitions could be realized. This is exactly the kind of experience that we should be running away from as fast as we can, after all, would you want someone answering the phone in the middle of the night cutting a deal that only advances their own personal agenda?
There are reasons why Hillary Clinton thinks that her experience is such a valuable asset but all you need to do is look at this from the opposite direction to realize what John McCain is going to do to her should she get the nomination. She may have had 30 years of experience, but she has also had 30 years of near constant scandal and controversy that makes her an easy target for both McCain and her other rivals.
Between going through Bill Clinton's Impeachment, Whitewater, the clear political maneuvering in NY state to get elected to the Senate, etc. She also clearly stuck with a guy who any self respecting woman would have divorced if for only to use him for his political clout in an election.How hard do you think this kind of experience is going to make it on the republican party to paint Hillary Clinton as one big mistake? Not too hard, this is why this country doesn't need some one with experience like this running it or making any decisions about important policy. If she keeps up her streak, the only decisions she would make would be those that would land her the best book deals after she gets through with the presidency because they would be great fodder for stories. If you want solutions, vote for someone that might actually get the right people together to come up with them rather than sit down at the table and realize no one else showed up because of your personality and mindset.
If you vote for Hillary Clinton in the primaries, you are voting for experience that will unite the republican party and cause democrats to look at John McCain before they would think about voting for her. When scandal is your only source of experience, I would not go around publicizing that as she does as it is only a matter of time before that experience becomes a huge liability to both her and the country. If you want solutions, don't vote for a person that has experience causing problems and dividing people, vote for someone that inspires and motivates people to find a common ground and solve their problems. Vote for Barack Obama, vote for change, vote for hope, vote for inspiration, vote because you know there is more to the presidency than scandal and big business interests.
Rock the Vote 2008: Maryland votes February 12th! Don't forget to get out there and do your part in Washington county! No matter who you are voting for it is important that we all make our voices heard as it is our civic duty to elect who we feel is best to run our county, state and nation.
Polls are open from 7 AM through 8 PM and yoour employer must allow at least 2 hours on within this time frame for you to vote if you are scheduled to work and you would not normally have that amount of time off in between those hours.
For those of you voting in the Democratic primary, please consider Barack Obama for your party's nominee. Hope inspires us all to do more to further ourselves, our country and the world. Don't underestimate the power of this new found energy to move the United States in a new more positive direction that has not been seen since John F. Kennedy.
