This is a piece that i wrote for my local journalism magazine...it is a breakdown of Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton.
Barack Obama
Official Website: www.barackobama.com
Quote that represents candidate: “In this election – in this moment – let us reach out for what we know is possible. A nation healed. A world repaired. An America that believes again.”
Background Information: Barack Obama is the junior United States senator and a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2008. Born to a black Kenyan father and a white American father, he lived most of his childhood in Hawaii. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before running for public office and serving in the Illinois senate from 1997 to 2004. After an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the Senate in 2003. The following year, Obama wowed the crowd at the Democratic National Convention in August when he delivered the keynote address in 2004. He announced his bid for the presidency in February of 2007.
Money: Obama set a presidential record by raising over $32 million dollars solely in the month of January 2008. As of February 14, 2008, over 450,000 people have donated to the Obama campaign and the numbers continue to rise. He is also outraised Hillary Clinton two to one.
Political Views: Above other plans, Obama envisions:
• Ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home safely
• Taking on the drug and insurance lobbyists to cut health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 and cover every American
• Work to ensure that people receive the pensions they were promised, and create a fair tax system that cuts taxes for the middle-class families and senior citizens
• Increased independence from foreign oil and other energy products
• Universal healthcare system for everyone in the United States
Students Views: A professed liberal, senior Gabriel Laks believes that Obama is just the thing that this country needs in a time of economic recession and unstable foreign policy.
“Obama has a great unifying voice and has the capabilities to bring both Democrats and Republicans together. He can stop partisan bickery, better foreign relations, fight global poverty, and most of all improve our image in the world. “ In theory, Obama has the energy and freshness in order to step across party lines and bring both the Republicans and Democrats together. Junior Stephen Jacobson agrees with Laks, enthusiastically proclaiming, “Obama will win the election. He has the momentum over Hillary! He’s coming back!” But some, like senior Courtney Dotson, believe that Obama’s lack of experience will ruin his presidential hopes. “He is a very nice guy but I feel like he will not be able to accomplish much for the country,” she explains simply.
Hillary Clinton
Official Website: hillaryclinton.com
Quote that represents candidate: “The challenges of change are always hard. It is important that we begin to unpack those challenges that confront this nation and realize that we each have a role that requires us to change and become more responsible for shaping our own future.”
Background Candidate: Hillary Rodham Clinton is the junior United States Senator from New York and also a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She is married to former President Bill Clinton and was the first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She began her career as a lawyer after graduating from Yale Law School in 1973 and later went on to a successful career in the United States Senate. After launching a presidential exploratory committee with intentions to become a candidate for the President of the United States of 2008, she stated, “I’m in. And I’m into win.”
Money: Clinton set early records in fundraising, which Obama then topped in the following months, before Clinton regained the money lead. Compared to Obama’s fundraising in 2008 (450,000+ donors), Clinton has less than half the amount of donor (around 150,000). In the recent weeks, Clinton’s campaign funds have begun to dry up, causing many of her campaign advisors to work without a salary.
Political Views:
• Clinton supports energy conservation, releasing oil reserves, increasing the number of hydrogen-powered vehicles. She opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve and the Bush administration's energy policy.
• On the issue of social programs, Clinton has stressed, "We’ll never accomplish what we need to do for our children if we burden them with a debt they didn’t create…It’s time to protect the next generation by using our budget surplus to pay down the national debt, save Social Security, modernize Medicare with a prescription drug benefit, and provide targeted tax cuts to the families who need them most."
• On October 11, 2002, Clinton voted in favor of military force against Iraq, but later changed her opinions. As of this current time, Clinton charges that President Bush “rushed to war” and “refused to let UN inspectors conduct and complete their mission.”
Students Views: Clinton is not as well received by the students at Issaquah High as Obama is. When asked how he felt about Senator Clinton, Laks suggests, “If Obama gets the win he will have a much better shot that Clinton does because she is too polarizing of a figure. To me, unifying this country is a very important issue and I just feel like she does not have the power to do that.” Jacobson agrees in full, explaining, “Clinton always touts her experience as one of the strong areas of her campaign, yet I think that she may almost have too much experience and this has corrupted her.” Dotson matter-of-factly says, “I just personally don’t like Hillary. I strongly disagree with her viewpoints and I just do not think she is a good person.”
