I have many friends and acquaintances who are avidly supporting Obama for president. Many of the people I know supporting Obama are members of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and are proudly tying their support for Obama with the denomination's "God is Still Speaking" comma.
From soon after I began noticing campaigns related to the presidential election, part of me was temped to jump on the Obama Comma bandwagon and support his campaign. After all I had friends supporting him, I hadn't heard anything bad about him (at least not anything realistic), and he even has ties to my church denomination. Nearly everyone I knew seemed to be picking their presidential candidate, and I wanted to be a part of that, but I kept my opinions to myself. I liked what I knew of Obama, but I didn't really know much about him, and I knew even less about any other candidates. Also, while the denominational ties tell me he probably shares at least some of my personal values, I don't think that alone is a very good reason to vote for someone.
I didn't want to be the uninformed voter who casts their ballot without knowing who it is they're voting for, so I put off even registering to vote. I thought about registering Democrat so I could vote for Obama over Hillary, but besides a general uneasy feeling about her and knowing people that liked him, I didn't know why I would vote that direction, so I didn't register then. Eventually I registered to vote, after getting tired of people asking me if I was registered and why not, but that only led to more questions of who I will vote for. It would be fairly easy for me to say "Obama" without really thinking about it, and a lot of my friends would be happy to hear I'm voting for him, but every time I see one of my ProU friends (or anyone for that matter) say if you're not going to take the time to educate yourself on the candidates and the issues it's better if you don't vote, I feel guilty about how little I know about the candidates.
I've gradually learned more about Obama. There's something about the way he gives his speeches that makes me actually want to pay attention, and I've found info about him online, as well as hearing some of my friends reasons for supporting him. Despite the Republican Party's efforts to make him look bad, I haven't found any substantial reasons not to like Obama. In fact the worst thing I've heard about him is that his VP pick is an old white guy. The more I know about him the better I feel about supporting him, but I still know very little about his opponent, so I feel like I'm only half informed.
If one is to be truly informed about something, one needs to hear both sides of it. I've heard a lot of the Obama side of the presidential election (partly because I couldn't help it, and partially because it interested me), but I've heard very little of the McCain side. I know there's information out there, but I can't bring myself to look for it, when the only things I've learned from his campaign ads is that he's another old white guy, and he's not above resorting to personal attacks. It's been easier to motivate myself to learn about his VP pick then to learn about him. Perhaps I have learned enough to make an informed decision, after all using personal attacks to try to make a point is one of the most immature and irritating things I can think of, and I do like what I've heard about Obama.
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Are the only issues you care about?
I ask, because they seem to be the only ones you mention.
Is being old, white, and male bad?
Why?
Age and gender aren't really an issue, at least not a deciding issue. Being old, white, and male is only bad because it's hard for me to relate to as a young woman, and it seems to describes a much high percentage of politicians then it does the general population.
I consider Obama choosing a old, white, male VP a negative because it seems more like he's playing politic power games then thinking about the political change he's advocating for or what's best for our future, but I'll admit I haven't really looked into Biden's politics yet. I mention McCain's age and gender only because my knowledge of him is mostly limited to the obvious.
I didn't mention specific issues because that's wasn't the point of this post, but some of the issues that are important to me include equality, education, and health care, all of which I consider far more important then age and gender.
"Live above money; put your heart in front of you and follow it."
Unknown
I consider Obama choosing a old, white, male VP a negative because it seems more like he's playing politic power games...
Well, I think that the reason Obama picked Biden was because he wanted someone with more experience than him to reassure voters and to balance out his ticket. And its hard to find someone with a lot of experience in the government that isn't an older white guy. So his pool was kind of limited. Yes, he could have chosen Hilary Clinton, or another woman, or a person of color like Bill Richardson (gov. of New Mexico), but Hilary Clinton probably would have over shadowed Obama and made voters lose respect for him and any other woman or person of color currently in a higher position in the government would have had much less experience than someone like Biden.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
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This was an interesting piece. There are good people supporting each candidate--that's something I often forget. Then there are people like you who are not the political junkies but want their slice of the information pie. You seem very balanced, which is almost comforting to hear days after conventions that weighed heavily on ideological pleas to jumpstart their bases.
What would you like to hear about McCain and preferably where would you like to learn your information? The internet, friends or friends on the internet?
Would you like a portrait of his character, the old Maverick, or his slow transition from Maverick to corporatist hack?
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If there were something specific I wanted to hear about McCain I would google it. It's more that I want to hear enough of a balance of information to make an informed decision, then that I want to know anything in particular.
As far as where I'd like to learn from, I tend to get politics best when I hear from people I know why they support a particular politician or take a stance on certain issues, so I guess from friends.
Is there anything you think I should know about McCain?
"Live above money; put your heart in front of you and follow it."
Unknown
As I read your blog It sounded to me like your choice of President is mainly influenced by the views of your friends. You say that the proper way to make the decision is to research both candidates and then make an informed decision but then you go on to say that you have learned about one candidate and have not bothered to learn about the other.
Did you actually look into the positions of the two candidates on the issues?
Did you look at their legislative records?
Did you look at their experiences and records of accomplishment?
Sheesh! .....People should have to take a civics and current events test before they are allowed to vote.
You are pretty much right in your assessment of what I said.
My friends have greatly influenced my views of the presidential candidates. Many of my friends are far more politically inclined then I am, but I've talked with friends about most of the issues I have an opinion on, so I know which of my friends values correspond to my own, and thus can get a pretty good sense of which politicians are likely to share my values based on what friends say about them. I'm sure this is an imperfect plan, but it has helped to make politics seem more accessible to me.
I do believe it is important to know what you're talking about before you form an opinion on something, but you are right, I have not thoroughly educated myself on both side of this issue. Learning about Obama has been fairly easy for me, because I can't help but hear friends talking about him, and I find his speeches and website inspiring and relatively easy to understand. Learning about McCain has been harder, since I don't have friends talking about him as much, and I've found his website dry and harder to read. I have also found it very difficult to find the motivation to research McCain, because I am very put off by his campaign ads attacking Obama.
I have looked into Obama's position on several issues, and am slowly trying to learn more about McCain as well. I have not really looked into either of their records or experience, mostly because I'm not sure how to find such information. I have no intention of voting for anyone until I know more about both candidates.
"Live above money; put your heart in front of you and follow it."
Unknown
I wish everyone was as politically inclined as Jack, but it's not necessarily a problem as you've illustrated. Isn't your ability to converse with friends about politics truer to our democratic principles than is CNN and their round-the-clock coverage? Isn't it more engaging and sensible?
I submit that by comparing and contrasting values and opinions with friends, you're probably able to paint a more accurate picture of the candidate who should represent you.
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We get the government we deserve.
When people don't bother to get informed they make dumb voting decisions for dumb uninformed reasons and we get awful government as a result.
People who don't bother to learn what the candidates are all about should do the country and the rest of us a favor and refrain from voting.
Are you saying that the majority of the public in 2000 and again in 2004 voted for this president because they weren't informed? Could it have had something to do with the repeated use in speeches of rhetorical fear?
For the record, I wasn't advocating an uninformed public...
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As I recall, the majority of the overall popular vote in 2000 went to algore. Thank goodness that a slight majority of the Florida popular vote went to Bush causing him to win the electoral college vote.
But it was a close one. The 2000 Florida election was a classic example of what I am talking about. It turned out that a substantial number of the voters in that election (mostly Democrats it turned out) were too stupid to figure out how to interpret the "butterfly ballot" and then doubly too stupid to properly punch the chads out of their ballots. They did not bother to inform themselves enough to even review the sample ballots that were published in advance.
Rhetorical fear is only effective if people fail to inform themselves of the truth. There is plenty of demagoguery coming out of the candidates in both political parties. People who actually dig a little cast their votes on the basis of knowledge rather than fear.
I think we would have a lot better government if stupid people and people who were to lazy or uninterested to inform themselves about the candidates and the issues would refrain from voting. I'm not even sure why anyone would argue with that notion. It seems obvious that an informed electorate is a necessary ingredient to a successful democracy.
You have mentioned the fact that McCain has attacked Obama what about the many negative ads that Obama has made about McCain. Both of these two candidates are doing their fair share of mud sling. You should also be careful due to the fact that people not connected to either Obama or McCain are spouting out nothing more then lies about the person they are attacking.
If you want to know more about McCain listen to Talk Radio (the AM stations) or Fox News Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity would be able to give you the info about McCain. If you would to know more things about Obama just watch NBC or MSNBC. The media is all in the tank of one or the other candidates. The last I heard while listening to the O' Reilly Radio Factor was that 80% of the media was for Obama and less then 20% was for McCain.
Now I am going with McCain. Why? I want less government control over my personal life and McCain will do that. I want a government that I could drown in a tea spoon. In the end it is all a matter of how much you actually care about your country. I am not saying that by not voting for my candidate that you do not love your country but by not taking the time need to come to a fare and balance decision about who you are going to vote for you have shown that you are a automaton and will jump off the cliff if a lot of people are doing it. The key to making a good decision is research and lots of it. Have a good day and I hope that you make a good choice.
Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, 1749
I mention the ads attacking Obama, and not the ones attacking McCain, because I've seen significantly more ads attacking Obama. For a long time the only ad I heard or saw supporting Obama that attacked McCain was not even one that had the tag line saying "I support this message" that ads sponsored by the candidates all have.
I find it highly offensive anytime a candidate feels the need to personally attack their opponent instead of focusing on their own strengths and/or the real issues. Because of this, I quickly took a disliking for McCain, as he seemed to be airing negative ads about Obama before Obama was even officially declared the democratic candidate, where as I liked Obama for the simple fact that he focused on what he could do instead of focusing on what his opponents couldn't do. I can't say I haven't seen any negative ads from Obama, but I haven't seen very many, and even what I have seen doesn't come across as quite so attacking or personal as some of the negative ads I've seen from McCain.
I cringe at the thought of listening to Talk Radio (Too much time spent sharing office space with a guy who always had on Talk Radio and was constantly ranting in agreement with things I couldn't disagree with more.), but checking out what Fox is saying about the elections is probably a good idea, since I typical watch NBC.
Also thanks for sharing why you support McCain.
"Live above money; put your heart in front of you and follow it."
Unknown
I've been watching CNN lately. They have a feature in which they flesh out the truth behind the ads, and I have to say...so far McCain's ads have had the hugest distortions.Some of them have been exposed as outright lies, and the rest have been grossly spun. Obama's ads have been found to be truthful, but maybe a little overheated.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Yeah man, Karl Rove has come out to say he does not condone the use of negativity and lies in McCain's advertisements. KARL ROVE! That blows my noggin, man. They must be downright bad, right?
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Take this into consideration. The day after the DNC gave Obama the nomination to run for President McCain congratulated Obama for doing something very historic. Also McCain during his speech at the RNC again congratulated Obama for winning his party. Where is the love in return McCain? He has as much chance to win as Obama and McCain has the chance to make history as well but did Obama give any statements of congratulations for McCain choice in VP. No he did not the only thing Obama has done is negatively attack her and send investigators to Alaska to find anything that they can use against her.
I dislike negative campaign as well. Also McCain attacked Obama before he won his party and before Obama had defeated Hilary because Obama attacked him first. McCain was going to let the democrats finish and choose someone first but Obama wanted to act like he was the winner of his party.
I thank you for being willing to watch Fox. I can understand your reluctances to listen to talk radio.
Having been poor is no shame, but being ashamed of it, is. Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanack, 1749
I would point out that what is said on the news isn't necessarily what is true... particularly if the outlet has an objective other than to dispense information. Those outlets that support McCain are likely going to spin things in his favor while those that favor Obama will do the same. They aren't exactly pillars of unbiased information, so relying on them as a primary source of reliable information on issues and candidates is bound to cause problems.
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I'm glad that you're taking the time to consider candidates, but I have to disagree in part with your methods. Friends can be a good way of getting information... but even they can have some really odd methods.
I have a really good friend that is very vocal politically. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we do not. I've found during the course of our relationship, however, that while she's vocal, she also does her research haphazardly far too often. If something unfavorable comes up in the media about her candidate, it cannot possibly be correct. Instead of doing the research to see what the truth is, she dismisses the claims out of hand. Palin is the recent example of her methods.
Something came up about Palin on tribal issues and instead of checking the information that was provided, she simply said that Palin's husband in part Yu'pik and therefore everything that had been said in the article was wrong. In her view, the article was only written because Palin was a woman and no one would dare question the other candidates on such issues. Those being her thoughts, she never bothered to check out any of the resources provided with the article to see what was true and what was not; her mind was already made up and for very thin reasons. Your friends may not be like that, but undoubtedly there are a few that don't do the research before making a decision and they pass that faulty information on to you.
If you're listening to your friends, take what they tell you and research it on your own. Check voting records, positions they've held (and what they've done with those positions), legislation they've brought up or supported, etc. If you're researching a proposition or a piece of legislation, make sure your information is as objective as possible, that you read the proposition or proposed legislation, etc. If you've heard something in the news, look it up to get the complete story. There are several fact check websites (ie factcheck.org) out there that are a good starting point for sorting out what is being said. Don't take it as complete truth, as they can get the facts wrong too... but it's a good place to start sorting it out.
For federal issues/candidates, the Thomas site of the LOC is a great place to begin checking legislation and records. (http://www.thomas.gov). The Senate website has Votes on various pieces of legislation listed as well as a crap load of other useful information (http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_tease...) as does the House (http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legvotes.html).
State and local government may also have the pertinent information listed on their sites. And places like Vote411 (http://vote411.org/) try to list information that will make your research easier as well.
Places like Project Vote Smart (vote-smart.org) or On the Issues (ontheissues.org) are also good places to start searching. They, too, can get it wrong, but it's a good place to start figuring out what you need more information on and in many instances, they provide Political Courage Test responses from candidates which you can use as an aid in research.
It takes effort, no doubt, but at least if you expend the effort, you don't go into the polls not at all sure you know what you're doing and don't come up wondering if you made the right decision. Forewarned is forearmed and in politics... that's pretty darn important.
Now, that I've done the whole information overload thing, I'll advise you take it in small doses and will happily shut up :)
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Like writing? So do we!
~Fallon~
"If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don't remove it - I might be writing in my dreams."- Pace
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