What Do We Need?

As I watch CNN and MSNBC each night, I become overwhelmed with the constant debilitating arguments amongst Democrats and Republicans about what kind of President our country needs. With the economy in the dumps and our country in line for a recession, it is clear our new President needs to be a realist, to see things for what they truly are and act on it. Optimism at the moment of defeat is moronic. We need A President that represents all of the American people, not just the poor or the rich, in uniting our country. We are a country of broken politics, scandals, and poverty. While the rich get richer, the poor starve and the middle class begin their decline to becoming poor. Home foreclosures have forced families out of their homes, in turn devastating the economy. We need a President that takes care of the issues at home, before creating tensions on foreign soil. America needs change and hope to believe that we can begin to progress as a country once again. We are a divided nation, separated by politics, racial injustice and social classes. Can we endure another 4 years of "business as usual"? I am afraid not. We need a President to focus on the issues that affect each an every American citizen. Politics as usual just doesn't work anymore and we need to move forward as a country. I ask all of you, what do we need in our next President?

Spouses in Depth: Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama, the wife of Democratic front runner Barack Obama, will continue to play a crucial role within her husband's campaign. In the media, you do not hear much about what Michelle Obama does behind the scenes in her husband's campaign compared to Bill Clinton's role in his wife's campaign. Obama was criticized for her statement that this election was the first time she can say she's proud of this country. Of course her statement was taken out of context and it is clear that she intended to say she was most proud of her country at this particular time in her life. A graduate of Princeton University, Obama has much in common with her husband's opponent, Hillary Clinton. Like Clinton, Michelle Obama is a lawyer who would make a more than qualified first lady. In a 2006, Michelle was slated to earn $273, 618 compared to Barack's $157,082 Senatorial salary. Aside from perhaps Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama has had the biggest impact on her spouses' Presidential bid. She has been less aggressive in her comments towards the Clinton campaign than Bill Clinton has towards the Obama campaign, earning her a lot of respect among voters. The way the election stands now, Michelle Obama may be in the same position Hillary Clinton found herself in 1992.

Clinton: Time to Quit?

I have always been a fan of Hillary Clinton. She possesses the drive and motivation each politician needs to be successful. She is an excellent public speaker and was born to be in the center of the political scene. However, I cannot help but feel that the time has come for her to step aside and allow Barack Obama to receive the nomination. Clinton is hoping for a big showing in Pennsylvania, which I am confident she will get, however it will be virtually impossible for her to catch Obama in the delegate count. The last thing many Democrats want right now is to have this battle go all the way to the convention, leaving whoever comes out with the nomination a short amount of time to prepare and plan a campaign against John McCain. Clinton has the opportunity to exit the race with her integrity and following intact. While John McCain has not take advantage of the time given to him thus far, several more months can only benefit him. If the Democrats prove to be indecisive now, it will hurt them later on. The fact of the matter is, Clinton's approval has reached a new low and even the Rev. Wright issue failed to hurt Obama's campaign in any significant way. Obama appears to have the support of the younger population. The question is, in the general election, will these younger voters actually come out to the polls and vote? This election has received a lot more attention from previous elections and it appears Obama and Clinton alike have made politics interesting again. All in all, it is time for one Democratic candidate to emerge as the nominee and begin the long preparation leading up to the election.

Obama and Bush: The Odd Couple

I discovered something I thought was definitely blog-worthy today. As it turns out, some researcher with a lot of time on his hands conducted a little genealogy of each of the three main Presidential candidates. Believe it or not, Senator Barack Obama is related to his old pal, good ole' George W. Bush. Now once I overcame the laughter inside of me, I thought to myself "this is too funny". The two are not closely related, but nonetheless Obama finds his tenth cousin on the opposite side of the political arena. Perhaps if elected, Obama will have the opportunity to fix all the mistakes his dear cousin has left for him. Senator Hilary Clinton has been tied to Angelina Jolie (Obama is related to Brad Pitt, I know it's too funny), Celine Dion, Madonna and Alanis Morissette and Jack Kerouac. Obama is also related to George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon B. Johnson, Harry Truman, James Madison, Winston Churchill, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Dick Cheney. So technically not only is Obama related to George Bush, but he is also related to Dick Cheney. I do see the connection however, the approval rating of George Bush plus the approval rating of Dick Cheney multiplied by 2 does in fact equal the rating of Obama, small world huh? In all seriousness, the link in lineage is so distant that no emphasis should be taken upon it. I just felt that sharing this little tidbit of information would be of interest to you all. You can visit the actual article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23797072/

Rev. Wrights Comments: Completely Unnecessary

Don't get me wrong here, but Rev. Jerehmiah Wright was completely out of line with his recent comments just as Geraldine Ferraro was with hers. Wright makes a push to point out to us the adversities Barack Obama has overcome to get where he is today. But Mr. Wright, don't you think America is well aware of all Obama has accomplished? I mean, considering his books are among the highest selling in the country, his wide national support and oh yeah, there is the delegate lead. So while your comments may not be deemed racist to me, they are pointless. The comments put Obama on the defensive when in all actuality he should be on the offensive in his quest for the Democratic nomination. Both Wright and Ferraro should familiarize themselves with the concept of silence and staying out of issues that have no concern to them. If race is going to be continuously brought up, how can we, as Americans, put the race card aside? To Hillary Clinton's defense, the world wasn't exactly handed to her either. She, like Obama, used her education to better herself and get her to where she stands today. People fail to realize that there are rich and poor people of every color and overcoming adversity is praiseworthy regardless of skin color. It is comments like these that cause transgression amongst American progress. We do not live in a perfect world, but we live in the same world, breath the same air and suffer the consequences of each others poor decisions.

Random Political Headlines

The Presidential campaign of Illinois Senator Barack Obama has seemed to be rather interesting over the last few weeks. After weeks of being the front runner for the Democratic nomination, things seemed to change a bit after Obama's pastor made some questionable comments. Just a day ago, Obama received a key endorsement by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Richardson, should in all likelihood, help Obama gain votes among the American Latino population. Obama did the right thing standing behind his pastor, no matter the degree of ludicrousy of his comments, Obama showed that there actually is loyalty somewhere in the political world. Let's face it, nobody is perfect, especially politicians. However, it is good to see a candidate stand behind their decisions and not make excuses for their stupidity. If you are looking for a perfect candidate, one without any skeletons in their closet, you are about as dumb as Donald Trump is rich. If you have gazed at CNN or MSNBC over the last few days, you have seen the pastor chaos, Geraldine Ferraro spurting garbage and the faithful New York Governor auditions where two candidates have already been eliminated. Politics is about negative publicity, nobody has ever succeeded in politics praising their opponent. How can I forget to mention John McCain, who received very positive criticism over his well thought out comments concerning Iran. I'm sorry, that was a lie, even I can pretend I am a politician every now and again. It is pretty sad when a Presidential candidate fails to remember who the players are in the Iraq war. Perhaps, important knowledge is no longer relevant in politics.

Democrats Underestimating McCain?

The Democrats are indeed underestimating good old John McCain. While they mention him every so often, they cannot completely focus on him with the battle that is currently taking place within the party. John McCain currently has the opportunity to plan a campaign against both Obama and Clinton. While the two favorites are slugging it out, McCain can use the Democratic race to his own advantage. The general consensus is that whichever Democrat earns the nomination, will become President. However, not everyone is ready for "change" to the ultimate extremity. Last time I checked, this is indeed the greatest deal of "change" our country has seen since its inception. When John F. Kennedy became President, Americans looked to his Catholic beliefs as radical change. Well, lets just say that the amount of change religion entails pales in comparison to the change the 2008 election has the potential of representing. Old school Americans are both adamantly opposed to change and heavily in favor of it. Some elderly people have longed for the day of a woman or African American in the white house. John McCain represents the normality that many people, both young and old, are accustomed to. Change, while necessary, is often very intimidating to many. A vote for John McCain assures that change will not happen for at least another 4 years. McCain will reap the benefits of the old school American mindset, so perhaps it would be wise for the Democrats to set their sights on what he does in the upcoming weeks.