|
Monday, 10 November 2008 17:26 |
|
 A couple recent articles have me scratching my head. First, I know that many people are excited about the aspect of an Obama presidency, both in and out of the country. However, it seems that many folks are being caught up in sheer emotions and not looking at things from a big picture viewpoint.'
Barack Obama can be the best President, worst President or somewhere in-between, and he'll be in the history books simply for being the first African-American elected to the highest office in the country.
As with many famous individuals and great accomplishments, there is a surge of babies being named after President-elect Obama because of his historic victory in the 2008 election. Name your child what you feel is appropriate, for whatever reason. But shouldn't we make sure he's a good President first? I'm not saying that he will, but lets say he turns into some sort of pariah - there aren't too many babies named after other world leaders like Hitler. Please note that I don't believe Obama will be a fascist dictator, but the point is clearly that he could be someone who is extremely popular at first, that is remembered in not so nice terms in history. Let him prove that he's worth his salt before canonizing him as the next Saint.
In a similar story, a Kansas McDonald's is supporting plans to push forward a national holiday for Barack Obama, tied in with the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln's birth. Once again, he's done nothing to warrant this sort of attention. Let him serve out his four year term, and if the American public chooses, eight years, and then judge him on his merits. We already have a holiday called President's Day which takes into consideration all leaders in our country's great history. Putting one above that to have a day alone, before even starting the job, is rather foolhardy. With all due respect to President Elect Obama - There are other men in the office of President who are more deserving of a holiday of their own - namely George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Yes, I know they both had separate holidays which were subsequently rolled into President's Day due to a new holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr, but things need to be looked at from a historical perspective, not from blind emotions running wild.
I suspect all of the hoopla surrounding an Obama victory will die down, only to be picked up around Inauguration Day. Once Inauguration Day comes to pass, it'll be time for the new administration to roll up their sleeves and concentrate on the issues at hand. God willing, I was wrong and we'll fix the major economic issues while maintaining the integrity of our country and the spirit in which is was founded.
|
|
Thursday, 06 November 2008 22:40 |
|
Good ol' Chris Matthews. The elation of some on the left is beyond any hope of redemption - that is if those members are in the media. As a journalist, a certain sense of integrity is needed. That's where the line is drawn between being someone who reports the news, and someone who gives opinions. Reporters, and commentators. Chris Matthews, throughout the 2008 campaign, has clearly gone full bore into the commentators category. It wasn't over when he felt a thrill going up his leg, not by a long shot. The agenda of Matthews is more apparent than ever with his latest comments this morning:
No sir, your job is not to make sure that Obama succeeds, but rather that he, along with other politicians, are held to a standard which is beneficial to the country, rather than a specific political party or ideology. By making such an absurd statement, he removes any impartiality and takes away whatever credibility he had remaining during the next administration. This is because, no matter how fair he actually is, the stigma of him rooting for a particular side and going as far to claim it is his job to, essentially, give the new President a constant stream of good PR is not something that any thinking person can accept.
Chris Matthews obviously wants to voice his opinion loudly at every opportunity, but should face reality and call a spade a spade - he's stopped being a reporter much long ago and donned the commentator hat.
|
|
Tuesday, 04 November 2008 22:04 |
|
 Barack Obama has won the Presidency tonight. Tomorrow starts a new day, and while Obama is not in office until January, we'll start with a clean slate, but keep a close eye on things. So for tonight, congrats Mr. Obama.
Some of us are disappointed (an understatement) but realistically know down deep the Republicans couldn't do anything this year. My head is kept high and I'm optimistic for 2010 and 2012. My hope is that my fellow conservatives stay somewhat normal rather than turning into the rabid fringe groups that the left has become.
There's other news culminating tonight. First, one of the best journalists is retiring after this election - that being Brit Hume. Second, as the election comes to a close, so does my favorite channel on XM - POTUS 08.
My wife expects things to settle down politically after the election. It may for some time, but I don't see that happening with a Democratic President and Congress.
I'm holding out a slim bit of hope that Obama moves toward the center and also doesn't get the opportunity to destroy the Supreme Court. Keep the chin up conservatives - with a full Democratic majority, they'll be unable (although they'll try) to blame problems on Bush in four years.
Will Obama keep the promise to withdraw from Iraq, and will that change any sentiment towards us from the Middle East? In addition, with the extreme budget shortfalls and a $1 trillion deficit slated for next year's budget, can he really keep any of the campaign promises? Will he send out checks to all of us, or once elected, will he realize that the cost is too high? Will the fairness doctrine be reinstated, thereby removing any conservative voice of dissent? Finally, will Joe Biden's comments on Obama being challenged come true.
This election, in my opinion, was won on three basic principles:
1 - The media was in the tank for Obama, as all independent studies have shown, and just as much against anything Republican
2 - Obama was able to in essence, buy the Presidency with the shrewd move to bypass public financing, regardless of promises broken.
3 - The Obama campaign was run much more efficiently than the McCain one. There was a clear strategy by the Democrats, where the Republicans simply hoped that McCain could be enough of a Maverick to defeat the Democrats in this election.
It will be interesting how the media reports the reasons for the election results. The major talk I've heard is that it will be blamed on Sarah Palin, attempting to trash her as much as possible, since they know she is an upcoming major player in the Republican Party and can stop her before she gets rolling.
On a state level, it appears that my home state has voted to allow medical marijuana and to expand stem cell research for public funding, both of which I opposed. Going further down on a local level, the results haven't come in yet, but there weren't any major issues on the ballot, although some of the township races could be close.
To my Democrat friends - Congrats again on the victory. Understand the mistakes Republicans made of being too cocky. Having a majority in both the legislative and executive branches ensures you'll be blamed for everything. Remember those who blamed Bush for 9/11 even though he wasn't even in office for a full year. The media will have a short honeymoon, but Americans will expect substantial changes and be extremely watchful.
|
|
Tuesday, 04 November 2008 18:55 |
|
The polls are about to close in some states in a few minutes, so here's how I think it'll play out tonight.
|
|
