Obama Pulls Ahead

As of today, Senator Barack Obama has pulled ahead of Senator Hillary Clinton in the democractic preliminaries. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows Illinois Senator Barack Obama is at 32% while Clinton trails at 30%. John Edwards holds his position at third with only 17% support. The surveys were conducted between April 23-26, 2007, which means that the first debates in North Carolina did not affect the results. The survey also shows that more voters are leaning toward a Democratic President due to the hottest issue out right now, Iraq. "Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Likely Voters either want to bring home the troops from Iraq immediately or have a firm timetable for withdrawal. In the showdown over the Iraq funding bill, most Americans favor the legislation passed by Congress. Fifty-two percent (52%) oppose a Presidential veto. Looking down the road, just 33% of voters now believe history will judge the U.S. mission in Iraq a success."

Forty-three percent (43%) of voters believe that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign. Fifty-seven percent (57%) favor raising taxes on the wealthy.

Rasmussen Reports has also recently released poll results on the Supreme Court's ruling on partial-birth abortion, gun control and Global Warming.

These surveys show that more voters are ready to bring in a Democrat for President and want change in all these issues. You can find these polls at http://www.rasmussenreports.com/

I don't want to brag, but I knew this was coming. As of now at least. People are so fed up with being disappointed in the decisions the President has made. At times, the President has made a few good decisions, but only under specific circumstances. The long term effects of his decisions have not been handled nicely. It could be too early to see if the voters will sway their views, but as of now Democrats have the lead. Its just like the time in 04' when people were ready to vote for John Kerry just because people were fed up with Bush. If you think about it, Kerry's views on some things weren't that much different than Bush, and voting Kerry for the wrong reasons could have made our current situation somewhat worse. Just a thought, don't quote me.

Edwards Tax Rich

While campaigning in San Diego, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said he would raise taxes for the rich in order to accomidate for a health care plan he is promoting. This health care plan is estimated to be $90 billion to $120 billion and would eliminate the tax cuts President Bush implimented for those making over $200,000 a year. Edwards also said that for those who make more than $200,000, there could be a possible tax on top of that. Quoting Edwards: "I think it is worthy of consideration," he told a news conference. "We have gone from a record surplus to a record deficit and I think there are some judgments the next president will have to make."
This is a very democractic approach to tax reform. Republicans usually protect big business and the wealthy. They promote equal taxation among all citizens whereas democrats usually see it fit to tax citizens based on their payroll. It seems as though Edwards promise to eliminate the tax cut made by Bush, just because it was made by Bush. So many people have been unhappy with the decisions made by Bush that any alternative would make it sound better than the decisions that have already been made. Any candidate who takes a stab at a policy made by Bush will sound appealing to the public. Especially the war in Iraq and domestic policies he has made. Many seem to forget that the War in Iraq is not the only thing Bush will be remembered for. His policies dealing with domestic issues has also been criticized as very poor and lacking.

Who's That?

This blog is supposed to be about the Presidential candidates and their views on certain issues and policies, but it seems like I've been mostly talking about the mainstream candidates. Most people don't even know the other candidates and I feel as though I should at least plug some of the underdog candidates. This could take a come of days, but I'm going to start to write about a few no name candidates. Starting with...

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore. He calls himself a true "Reagan conservative" who has the experience to deal with the nation's security issues. He was nominated as the in 2001 to be head of the Republican National Committee, but resigned a year later after conflicting views with the White House. With virtually no campaign funds and no name recognition, this ex-prosecutor and war veteran decided to run for President on Thursday stating that he has proven conservative credentials that stand in contrast to the shifting views of the GOP front runners. With Republican activists stating that the front runners in the Republican party are too liberal and might not be backed.

Gilmore is trying to run for President with virtually no money? Are you serious? Rudy Guilliani and Mitt Romney both have about $11 million in their campaign fund while McCain has about $5.2 Million. Does this guy think he can be the new Howard Dean? There are too many big name candidates for this guy to get in the mainstream. Even with the support of the internet, the big name candidates also have websites and site teams to get shit out on the internet too. Then again, who knows. This guy could be the darkhorse and come out on top a couple of months later.

Rudy's Got Balls

Today, Republican Candidate Rudy Guiliani stated that if a democrat were elected in the 08 elections, another terrorist attack would occur. He stated that if a republican were elected, they would stay on the offensive and anticipate an attack. He didn't necessarily state whether he would keep troops in the Middle East, but he did say that Democrats do not understand the threat posed by terrorists. Democrats blasted Guiliani on the comments he made. Senator Barack Obama stated that using the terrorists attacks to create a punchline for a political attack is uncalled for. He believes that the public will not buy into Guiliani's statements. Finally, quoting Senator HIllary Clinton, protecting the country from terrorism "shouldn't be political football." Senator John Edwards said that Guiliani knows better than to claim that there is a "superior republican way to fight terrorism." It is somewhat true because it was a Republican regime that led out country into the war with Iraq. It made us feel less safe from Al Qaida who continue to send tapes to America. Sending our troops and reporters to the Middle East has done nothing but up the death toll and now, the Republican regime is trying to send more troops in to Iraq to finally "end the war" which has gone on for more than 4 years. Although Rudy was there at the 9/11 attacks, he can't possibly think that being a republican helped him through the hard times and being a repulican sure didn't prevent the attacks from happening either. This attack on the democrats gives Rudy minus points to the public and to me. No matter how brave and honorable you were during the biggest terrorist attack on our country, using it to bash other candidates and using the fear of the American public to pick up more votes is not honorable.

McCain too old???

If John McCain were elected president in 2008, he would be turning 72. The oldest president to ever take on the role was Ronald Reagan at 69. If McCain were to run again in 2012, he would be 76 and by the time his 2nd term was over, he would be 80. Questions of his age are bringing a negative stigma to voters around the country, even older citizens. Statsitic have shown that voters, especially older voters, would not vote for a candidate over 70. Being the oldest candidate running for president, McCain is often known for working long hours in Washington. When here's there, he works 16 hour days, and sometimes 7days a week. McCain plans on releasing his medical records soon to the public and there are some things you may not know about him. For example, he has had surgeries regarding his melanoma (skin cancer) which left a scar on his cheek. He has a slight limp and has limited use of his arm due to the Vietnam War. He was also a POW (prisoner of war) for about 5 and half years.
It's quite true that the pubic wouldn't want an old president. But its all about how McCain shows himself. If he's shown as slow and un-energetic, then the public will see his age catch up to him. He has to be on top of everything and show the public that his age has nothing to do with his views and drive. For example, when Bob Dole ran against Bill Clinton in 96', Dole's age wasn't a factor until he took a slip on stage one time and took quite a long time to recover. Being exposed like that in the public will devastate one's image regarding age. However, McCain shows no signs of slowing down on this campaign trail, and he can't afford to. This month he was ranked 3rd in the Republican party.

Earthday and Democrats

Yesterday, Clinton, Obama, and Edwards campaigned in Iowa (at seperate times and venues) to push their views on the environmental issue to the public. Ever since Vice President Al Gore released his movie, "The Inconvienient Truth," the issue of protecting our planet has become a primary initiative for candidates. Each candidate had plans for the country in terms of renewable energy, and alternative energy. Clinton wants to get 20% of the nation's electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020. She has become the democratic front runner and criticized the Bush administration on the environment and the war in Iraq. Edwards wants to the 25% of the nation's electricity from a newable energy source by the year 2025. Obama said he has offered specific proposals on the environment, ranging from toughening fuel efficiency standards to cutting back on carbon emissions.
Earth day was a great opportunity for the candidates to focus on one issue and make it stick to the public. The state of our environment has become such a hot issue that it can make anyone look good if they say the right things. "Lower carbon emission, renewable energy, recycle, the future." That's everything needed to catch the attention to the public. But if you throw in a few numbers (which are exaggerated) and throw out some ideas which "could" work, people will love you. However, realistically, these plans for 2020 and 2025, are unrealistic. The country and the planet has been dumped on so much that we need a 50, and even 100 year plan. We can't undo the damage caused by humans, but we can slow down the process by some life changing alternatives. The polar ice caps are melting, we can't stop it, but there's a way to slow it down. We can't patch up the O-zone layer, but we can prevent it from getting worse. These are the realities the candidates need to show to the public. Fancy numbers and unrealistic time tables won't impress us.

Edwards needs billions...not for haircuts

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said that he would invest billions into the state of Michigan. Edwards wishes to invest billions into the automotive capital of the United States so that new technologies would be developed. He hopes that the future of our country and our world could be changed by new automobiles which do not rely on fossil fuels. He intends on investing billions into new technology and a billion into the state of Michigan itself. As the first primary elections are only nine months away, Edwards is trailing Clinton and Obama. However, his new new plan for Michigan has him favored from the labor heavy voters.
It seems as if Edwards is trying to take a strong position that he can be known for. When he was a Senator for North Carolina, he voted for the war, and now has changed his views to appeal to the public. He states that if he is elected President, he would bring the troops back and close down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. He has also been recently criticized for 2 haircuts which costs his campaign $800.
$800 is more than an unemployed Michigan citizen can recieve in a week.

McCain, Beach Boys, Vegas

A day after John McCain's rendition of the song Barbara Ann, he ended up in Las Vegas for a fundraiser, and retorted against news reporters to, "lighten up, and get a life." Yesterday, McCain was at a convention where he changed the lyrics the song "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys to "Bomb Iran." The intial response at the rally was laughter, but after a day of ridicule on the net, there has been an ill reception to his song. By publically displaying his song, it shows McCain's view on Middle East politics and how he views these problems. Sure, news reporters and bloggers around the nation are going to use this against him, but at the same time, candidates need to come out to the public and showcase themselves. Then again, a lot of political figures and politicians have had their reputations destroyed by bloggers around the country. Maybe McCain's little song has offended many who take Middle East politics seriously, and McCain could be another causualty.

VA Tech Aftermath: Day 1

After a day of mourning and shock, the whole country could not get enough of the VA Tech shooting massacre. The shooter has been identified as a South Korean male who immigrated in the early 1990's and was in the country legally through a green card. He was described by many as the loner, quiet type and in his creative writing assignments, it was shown that he had very disturbed and violent thoughts. Given medication and therapy, people thought it would be enough to keep him sedated.
Anyways, there have already been stories on the internet on how the shooting would affect the presidential race, or rather, lack the infuence on the race. The shooting rampage would not affect the presidential election because most top candidates already favor gun control laws. The strongest advocate for gun control is Hillary Clinton. Not only do the top 3 democratic candidates favor gun control, Rudy Guiliani and Matt Romney of the Republican party favor gun control as well. Gun control is such a hot topic in politics, but to come out and use gun control as their main focus would be detrimental to their campaign right now. Unless the issue of gun control would be considered a vote winner, instead of a vote debater, then the candidates shouldn't be jumping on gun control laws yet. Well, not until Congress does. Congress hasn't done anything about it yet either.

Country in Mourning

Early this morning, a student at Virgina Tech University killed 32 people as well as himself. This disaster was the worst shooting rampages in U.S. history and news coverage of the event has been non-stop. For those of you reading, I'd ask for a moment of your time to greive for those people whose lives have been taken.
Even though this is a political blog, the events that occured today will be used for debates such as gun control, immigrations, and civil liberties. The shooter was a Chinese nationalist who was here on a student visa. Even without this catastrophe, immigration (illegal and legal) has been a topic of debate by the President. The candidates will have to take a stance on whether or not to tighten our boarders towards the legal immigrations that come over on worker and student visas. Another topic for debate is going to be the issue on gun control. The shooter had two pistols and multiple clips were found at the site of the shooting. Hand guns are permittable for purchase by anyone, but seeing that he wasn't an American citizen, and how accesible firearms really are, will be a hot debate topic. Finally, this topic is kind of sketch, but the topic of civil liberties could be at hand. Like the Patriot Act which was initiated after 9/11, another act which could give the executive and legislative branch more power in order to "secure" the saftey of the American people could come about. With a new act which could pry into people's civil liberties, the American people could feel less safe, and more paranoid. I'll try to see which topics are most common throughout the week and what the candidates have to say about each topic.
Once again, I'd like to give my condolences for the families and loved ones of those who were killed today.

James.

P.S. The Hilary health care reform is going to have to wait.

Hillary and Health Care

In 1993, Hillary Rodham Clinton's national healthcare reform was shutdown by congress. Fourteen years later, she is running for President and wants to bring back the national healthcare reform. However, she is also pushing a reform in government as well. She wants to improve government by curring back on no-bid government contracts, and bannign former Cabinet officials from loggying their former colleagues. By doing so it will make a more compitent and reliable government. Hillary's stance in reforming the government is a good tactic to turn heads in her direction. With so many people being skeptical about the government we have today, many are looking for a new, refreshed outlook on government. With a candidate who is confronting the problems we have with government, Hillary is trying to become that "breath of fresh air" people are looking for. We'll see how far she gets with that angle.

Obama, Imus, Rappers

After the Rutgers Women's Basketball team accepted Don Imus's apology today, presidential candidate Barack Obama compared Don Imus's derogatory terms to the way some rapper speak about women in their lyrics and videos. He said that when rapper degrade women that it doesn't inspire him. He also criticized Imus earlier in the week about his behavior. Even though everyone else is comparing Imus to the rappers in the industry, Obama is just using this as a campaign pusher. I'm not trying to say that everyone is using Imus as a stepping stone for more votes, it just seems that the whole Imus fiasco is dying down. He got fired, he got publicly tarred and feathered, and now he has no future. Its also true that rappers use derogatory terms when referring to women and it makes it seem OK to their listeners to do so. There won't be a change anytime soon, but I guess everyone will be a lot more careful at the expense of Don Imus.

McCain and the War

Today on washingtonpost.com, its posted that Senator John McCain, presidential hopeful for the Republican party, supported the war in Iraq saying that it was "necessary and just." With the lowest popularity rating among the candidates, it seems as though he's taking a stance on the war to directly tackle an issue that is current with Congress/Presidential politics. McCain states that even though the country has lost patience with the on going war and the government has failed to gain the nation's trust back on the war, he feels that the fight against terrorism is a just and necessary battle.
I don't mind McCain taking a stance on the war because during these pre-election times, a candidate needs to stand out and make a name for himself. Rudy was the major of NY during 9/11. Hillary was once the First Lady and possible first female president of the US, Obama could be the first Black American to become president, and what is McCain going to be known for? Being a white collar criminal? By establishing his stance on the war, he'll be remembered for it as the elections come around.

Rudy Doesn't Buy Groceries

The other day I read an article about Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani campaining in Alabama. He was doing fine until a reporter asked him if he knew what the price of bread and milk were at a gorcery store. "A gallon of milk is probably about a $1.50, a loaf of bread about a $1.25, $1.30," he said. However, at the grocery store near his house, a loaf of bread is about $3 while a gallon of milk is around 4. This doesn't look good for Rudy. People like a candidate who is in touch with the citizens. If a presidential hopeful doesn't even know mundane facts like how much bread and milk cost, it just looks like he's out of touch with the public. People think that politicians are all power hungry and money driven to the extent where they have lost their focus on why they are running for an office. He'll look like one of those people who have their maids buy their groceries. However, a politician's main focus is to go around and raise money for himself, especially during this time. Then again, you can't give Rudy a hard time. He WAS the mayor of New York during the 9/11 crisis who showed a great amount of courage.

First Political Post

Hey everyone,
I made this blog for my Political Science 129 class called "Blogs, Politics, & Media." We're required to make a blog dealing with politics, so I chose the 2008 Presidential elections. Since the candidates haven't been chosen, I've decided to blog about the Reblican and Democratic Primaries. News about Hilary, Obama, Rudy, and John have been buzzing lately so I thought I'd write a little about it as well as learn a little too. There might be times when I write only about a certain candidate, but it'll depends on what I hear about or research that day. So if you're favorite front runner isn't getting any love let me know. I'll try to keep it informative and of course interesting. Thanks for checking it out.

James