John McCain disappoints me (and a bit on Sarah Palin)

I still need to look into Biden, I know. And there is probably more research that needs to be done on Palin, but I was looking back and it's been almost a month since I was asked what I think of her. I really do not think that much about her. It is more about McCain that I think. I think - why did he put her in this position. In her situation, I can understand why she would accept the offer, but it is obvious that she is unprepared for the national political climate. She is naiive, and knows very little about national issues, let alone to have much of an opinion or direction on them. But I don't think it's her fault, really. I have no idea what kind of governor or mayor she was. She could have been a great one, but I think she is ill-prepared to be the vice president of this country, and I think it shows a sign of desperation by McCain. 

I have also been disappointed with McCain in other areas of his campaign. He used to host a straight talk express. The press could come onto his plane and ask him any question they wanted, and he would answer. In July, he stopped it altogether. He will now only answer the press's questions where the answer will fit nicely on a 30-second clip, and go along with the campaign platform, instead of giving any sort of actual explanation. 

My husband wonders if "the real John McCain" (as we refer to his old self) ever really existed. I still think he did, but I wonder how much of that he is willing to give up to get elected. And after all, I think it is what you are willing to do to get elected that changes you more as a politician than the power that you have. And so while I hope, that if McCain were elected, we would see the return of "the real McCain", I am not sure there is much basis for that hope.

What to do in the face of the politics of today

I found myself in a situation today where I wanted to react, to respond in kind to something that someone said about Obama. I know despite my attempts to be unbiased, I am sure my leanings toward Obama are evident. And today I read something someone I know wrote that called him a moron, and in the same breath she talked about how Sarah Palin was amazing. Immediately I wanted to write a scathing post here about Palin, but then was forced to remember my whole purpose in having this blog, which is to stop the politics of today, and encourage the politics of tomorrow. 

So what do we do in the face of such opposition? I love Obama, I believe in his vision. I also believe in McCain and the good he has done and would like to do for our country. I would probably react the same way to someone calling McCain a moron. When a response isn't demanded, I suppose the best response is to ignore it. But sometimes it is hard to believe that we can fight the forces that want to bring conflict into politics. 

But I think also it is important to understand why such things happen. Perhaps her calling Obama a moron is some residual feeling such as the one that prompted me to want to respond. Because when you attack a candidate that people believe in, you don't just attack the candidate, you attack those people. 

But I think we can rise. I don't have to drop down and become petty and angry, because I believe in an American politics where we can be civil and respectful. I believe in an America where politics can be ruled by friends who disagree, without making enemies out of them. I believe in an America where I can be involved in politics and not have to hate anyone the more for it. Today I felt slapped in the face with the politics of today, but I am trying to turn my cheek with the politics of tomorrow.

Michelle Obama Inspires Me

You know what I love about the Obamas - they inspire me. From the first time I heard Barack at the Convention 4 years ago, to hearing Michelle speak at the convention on Monday. They are inspiring people, and they have a vision of America - a vision that includes me, includes you. It is a vision where we are all working together to make it a better place.

Michelle Obama expressed something that documents the change exactly that has taken place for me. She talks about seeing America not just as it is, but as it should be. I used to only see it as it is - and I was cynical, and didn't want to think about politics. And now I see it as it should be, and I cannot help but feel responsible for making a change. I can't think of how I think America should be and not try to make that happen. And as I have come to view America as it should be, I have also come to realize the process whereby cynicism about politics comes. And it is mainly because there is no money to be made for the media in reporting the great things that politicians are doing. And also that mudslinging works, but that is for another post.

It is the Obamas belief in me that has made me believe in me. And I think it is amazing. Because they are giving the country back to us - the everyday citizens.

I feel like they are doing for politics what Gore is doing for the environment. Getting people to take personal responsibility, to actually think about it, and make a change. The world is better having them in it.

Joe Biden - VP Nominee

I'm sure you've all heard it anounced, but came across this article, and gave a brief overview of Biden, and there's wikipedia. I want to do more research and do a more in-depth post, but though I'd share that for now.

The Link as Promised

Here is a transcript of the forum that pastor Rick Warren had. I am posting it here, because this is the sort of thing I would like to see more of in politics, and the kind of thing that I think can combat sound-byte politics and the aggression with debates.

I'll put a few highlights below, so if you don't want to read the whole thing, you can get a taste for it, and maybe entice you to read more anyway.

Also if you prefer, it is in 10 parts on youtube. (If you want a high quality version, there is one available, you just have to click the button under the video on youtube.)

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Warren: ...we believe in the separation of church and state, but we do not believe in the separation of faith and politics because faith is just a worldview and everybody has some kind of worldview and it's important to know what they are.

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Warren: Now, in America, we've got to learn to disagree without demonizing each other and we need to restore civility. We need to restore civility in our civil discourse and that's the goal of the Saddleback Civil Forum so let's get started.

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Warren: Who are the three wisest people you know in your life and who are you going to rely on heavily in your administration?

Obama: You've mentioned one person I'd -- I'd be listening to and that's Michelle, my wife, who is not only wise, but she's honest. And one of the things you need -- I think any leader needs is somebody who can get up in your face and say, Boy, you really screwed that one up. You really blew that.

Another person in that category is my grandmother who's an extraordinary woman. She was -- never went to college. She worked on a bomber assembly line during World War II when my grandfather was away, came back, got a job as a secretary and worked her way up to become a bank vice president before she retired. And she's just a very grounded, common sense, no fuss, no frills kind of person. And when I've got big decisions, I often check in with her.

Now, in terms of the administrations or how I would approach the presidency, I don't think I'd restrict myself to three people. There are people like Sam Dunn, a Democrat, or Dick Luger, a Republican, who I'd listen to on foreign policy.

On domestic policy, you know, I've got friends ranging from Ted Kennedy to -- to Tom Colbert who don't necessarily agree on a lot of things, but who both, I think, have a sincere desire to see this country improve.

What I found is very helpful to me is to have a table where a lot of different points of view are represented and where I can sit and poke and prod and ask them questions.

McCain: First one I think would be General David Petraeus, one of the great military leaders in American history who took us from defeat to victory in Iraq. One of the great leaders and I'm so proud to know him.

Fourth of July a year ago, Senator Lindsey Graham and I were in Baghdad. 688 brave young Americans whose enlistment had expired swore an oath of reenlistment to stay and fight for freedom. Only someone like General David Petraeus could motivate someone like that.

I think John Lewis. John Lewis was at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Had his skull fractured. Continued to serve. Continues to have the most optimistic outlook about America. He can teach us all a lot about the meaning of courage and commitment to causes greater than our self-interest.

Meg Whitman. Meg Whitman, the CEO of eBay. Meg Whitman. 12 years ago there were five employees. Today, there are one and a half million people that make a living off eBay in America in the world. It is one of these great American success stories. And in these economic challenging times, we need to call on the wisdom and knowledge, background of people like Meg Whitman who have been able to make such a great American success story part of the world's folklore.

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Warren: ...tell me in a minute why you want to be president.

Obama: You know, I remember what my mother used to tell
me. I was talking to somebody a while back and I said, The one time that she'd get really angry with me is if she ever thought that I was being mean to somebody or unfair to somebody. She said, Imagine standing in their shoes, imagine looking through their eyes, that basic idea of empathy. And that I think is what made -- what's made America special is that notion that everybody's got a shot. If we see somebody down and out, if we see a kid who's -- who can't afford college that we care for them too.

And I want to be president because that's the America I believe in and I feel like that American dream is slipping away. I think we are at a critical juncture economically. I think we are at a critical juncture internationally. We've got to make some big decisions not just for us, but for the next generation and we keep on putting it off.

And unfortunately, our politics is so broken and Washington is so broken that we can't seem to bring together people of goodwill to solve these common problems.
I think I have the ability to build bridges across partisan lines, racial, regional lines to get people to work on some common sense solutions to critical issues and I hope that I have the opportunity to do that.

McCain: I want to inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than their self-interest. I believe that America's best days are ahead of us, but I also believe that we face enormous challenges, both national security and domestic, as we have found out in the last few days in the case of Georgia.

And I want to be -- make sure that everybody understands that this is a time for us to come together. Throughout my life from the time I was 17 and raised my hand and was sworn in as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, I've always put my country first. I put my country first when I had the honor of serving in the military, and I had the honor of putting
my country first as a Member of the House of Representatives and in the United States Senate.

America wants hope. America wants optimism. America wants us to sit down together. I have a record of reaching across the aisle and working with the other party, and I want to do that, and I believe, as I said, that Americans feel it's time for us to put our country first, and we may disagree on a specific issue, and I won't review them now, but I want every American to know that when I go to Gee's Bend, Alabama and meet the African-American women there who are so wonderful and lovely and an experience I'll never forget, and when I go to places where I know they probably won't vote for me, I know that my job is to tell them that I'll be the President of every American, and I'll always put my country first.

Thoughts on Gore's Campaign

When Gore was running for president, he was advised that he should not make a big deal out of his passion for the environment, but should try to focus on other things to get elected, and then once he was in office, he could let his passion for the environment drive real policy changes. And the source of this advice -- the polls.

His campaign advisers were looking at the polls, and people were telling him that people didn't really care about the environment, that it wasn't an issue that they would vote for him on, and that is why he shouldn't focus on that.

This is an issue I touched on in my post about McCain - how it is the duty of politicians not just to pander to us a voters, and make sure what we care about is being taken care of - but there is also an extended role that they should have of telling us what we should care about. When I watched Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, it made me care about the environment. That along with a book by Jared Diamond I read around the same time called Collapse.

And to me, it is much more important to have a political leader who cares about the environment (or campaign finance, as I mentioned with McCain) than that I personally care about it. My small steps to help the environment are nothing compared to the legislative impact that a president can have.

This is an issue that I feel more at a loss of what to do about, though. This has more to do with how campaigns are run, being so based on polls and such. But I think it does relate to the issue of the difference between electing a political leader who shares your views on issues, and electing a political leader who you think will do a good job creating legislation needed for the nation.

Unless anybody has ideas of what we can do? I suppose we could start a letter-writing campaign to the poll companies to give them ideas for better questions, or something like that. So have at it with the ideas!

Different Directions

My next person to blog about was Mary Landrieu, and I would still like to. I like her. But as I was lying in bed, trying to get to sleep, and thinking about writing, my mind wandered over to this blog, and it made me think about a few issues, and how to deal with them, and I thought, hey, it's a blog, I can ask my readers, and not just decide myself!

So readers...though you may be few in number, you can still make great contributions!

I'll have to ask my husband to find me a link to this pastor discussion that went on last night, because I think anyone interested in my blog would be interested in the kind of discussion that the pastor had, instead of the typical debates where nothing real is actually said.

But the real thing that brought me to writing today was considering John Edwards. I guess I don't get the big deal of the whole sex scandal, and I don't understand how political careers are ruined by sex scandals. Careers being ruined by taking bribes, sexual or monetary, that I understand. Careers being ruined by people stealing or in other ways using their power unethically, that I understand. But I do not understand how we as a nation expect more from our political leaders than we tend to expect from ourselves. It is hard to find statistics on infidelity that are reliable, but it doesn't seem all that uncommon to me.

I suppose to me, honesty in a politician is much more important than fidelity in his/her marriage. I would rather the politician announce to the world that they had an affair, and go through whatever process of penance that they do with their spouse, rather than feeling obligated to try and hide it. But I suppose there are arguments for doing so.

My husband pointed out that we don't get honesty in politics anyway, so the point is moot. I, however, being idealistic as I am, would like to think that we can at least have more honesty in our politics, and I think our nation would be the better for it.

I suppose my new aspiration is to be able to use this blog, at least in part, to discuss the problems that we as citizens see with the world of politics, and what we can do to combat those problems, and what you guys want me to do with this blog.

So I suppose my first issue for discussion - what is the cause of dishonesty currently in our political system? How can it be combated? How can we as voters and constituents show that we value honesty? Is honesty a concept that even matters that much to other people in a politician, or are other values or attributes more important?