Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Two Of Their Best Speeches
Here are the two speeches I have selected as the best to present as these campaigns come to a close. Here is how I chose these speeches.
1. Length: I chose speeches that were long, but not too long. Obama had another speech that I would have used instead but it was over 30 minutes.
2. Time: These speeches were given relatively early in these campaigns, so they do not contain anywhere near as many attacks and finger pointing. Though note that McCain's still has a good deal of it (let me also say that at Obama's speech he did not know he would have the nomination or be facing McCain). By looking at these older speeches we can see where these candidates came from and how their campaigns have changed, for better or worse.
3. Message: I chose speeches that had a good general message, and one that the candidate, at least for some time, used as their main argument. I was not looking for specifics, attacks, or the usual stump speeches.
4. Popularity: McCain's speech here was the most viewed, nearly full length speech of his on Youtube. Obama had a couple more popular speech videos but they did not fit the criteria I set out to use.
The quotes I give highlight the lines in the speech that I used to fulfill the criteria.
McCain (Broken up to remove attacks and specifics):
"The decision facing Americans in this election couldn't be more important to the future security and prosperity of American families. This is indeed a change election. No matter who wins this election the direction of this country is going to change dramatically. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change. Between going forward and going backward. America has seen tough times before, but we have always known how to get through them, and we have always believed that the best days are ahead of us....
......Now you'll hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, in every interview, every press release that I am running for president Bush's third term. You'll hear every policy of the president is described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does senator Obama believe it's so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it's very difficult to get American's to believe something that they know is false......
........They know I have a long record of bipartisan problem solving. They've seen me put our country before any president, before any party, before any special interest, before my own interest."
Obama:
"We will restore out moral standing in the world, and we will never use 9/11 as a way to scare up votes, because it is not a tactic to win an election, it is a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century. Terrorism and nuclear weapons, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease. All of the candidates in this race share these goals. All of the candidates in this race have good ideas. And all are patriots who serve this country honorably. But the reason our campaign has always been different. The reason we began this improbable journey almost a year ago. Is because it's not just about what I will do as president. It is also about what you, the people who love this country, the citizens of the United States of America, can do to change it. That's what this election is all about. That's why tonight belongs to you."
1. Length: I chose speeches that were long, but not too long. Obama had another speech that I would have used instead but it was over 30 minutes.
2. Time: These speeches were given relatively early in these campaigns, so they do not contain anywhere near as many attacks and finger pointing. Though note that McCain's still has a good deal of it (let me also say that at Obama's speech he did not know he would have the nomination or be facing McCain). By looking at these older speeches we can see where these candidates came from and how their campaigns have changed, for better or worse.
3. Message: I chose speeches that had a good general message, and one that the candidate, at least for some time, used as their main argument. I was not looking for specifics, attacks, or the usual stump speeches.
4. Popularity: McCain's speech here was the most viewed, nearly full length speech of his on Youtube. Obama had a couple more popular speech videos but they did not fit the criteria I set out to use.
The quotes I give highlight the lines in the speech that I used to fulfill the criteria.
McCain (Broken up to remove attacks and specifics):
"The decision facing Americans in this election couldn't be more important to the future security and prosperity of American families. This is indeed a change election. No matter who wins this election the direction of this country is going to change dramatically. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change. Between going forward and going backward. America has seen tough times before, but we have always known how to get through them, and we have always believed that the best days are ahead of us....
......Now you'll hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, in every interview, every press release that I am running for president Bush's third term. You'll hear every policy of the president is described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does senator Obama believe it's so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it's very difficult to get American's to believe something that they know is false......
........They know I have a long record of bipartisan problem solving. They've seen me put our country before any president, before any party, before any special interest, before my own interest."
Obama:
"We will restore out moral standing in the world, and we will never use 9/11 as a way to scare up votes, because it is not a tactic to win an election, it is a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century. Terrorism and nuclear weapons, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease. All of the candidates in this race share these goals. All of the candidates in this race have good ideas. And all are patriots who serve this country honorably. But the reason our campaign has always been different. The reason we began this improbable journey almost a year ago. Is because it's not just about what I will do as president. It is also about what you, the people who love this country, the citizens of the United States of America, can do to change it. That's what this election is all about. That's why tonight belongs to you."
Football and Politics
Fox News (yes I watch it sometimes, just to see what the bias is saying) is reporting that ESPN will be interviewing McCain and Obama and then showing snips of those interviews during Monday night football next week. How great is that?
If nothing else it will be another reminder for people to go vote.
If nothing else it will be another reminder for people to go vote.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Why I Miss Tim Russert
Well, this is just one of many examples.
Let me add that McCaine as on Meet the Press (with Brokaw) again today. I will have it up when I can.
Let me add that McCaine as on Meet the Press (with Brokaw) again today. I will have it up when I can.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Charisma and Character
This is a spam e-mail I got:
I responded with this:
There are plenty of people like this on both sides. The fact of the matter is that for a long time many people have cared more about character than content. I think much of the blame can be attributed to politics itself, not the people. Here are a few reasons why.
1. The 2 party system means people don't need to even pay attention. They can just align themselves to one side and always vote that way.
2. Campaigns are run with an emphasis on character. Look at McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin. She stands for many things that McCain has fought for much of his career, and has little experience in public office, but she was chosen simply for her character. Look at how McCain's campaign is attacking Obama's character. Biden has, rarely, attacked McCain's character too. They run negative campaigns because they are statisticly known to have a bigger impact. Remember Bush's attacks on Kerry's service in Vietnam? That is widely believed to be the reason Bush won in 2004.
3. Television. There are a million reasons why TV has exacerbated the problem. I don't think I need to explain all of them. TV could have been a tool to get the issues out, and it still can be.
4. Promises. Even if we judge the candidates by where they stand on the issues and their promises, we have no reason to believe promises will be kept, and we have no reason to believe these candidates won't ever change on any issues.
So we can't judge a candidate based on their promises, and the majority of messages we get from the campaigns are attacks. Why WOULDN'T people vote on character?
If you think voting on character is something bad, then I would be surprised you are a McCain supporter. For weeks he has done nothing but attack Obama's character. If character is something that doesn't matter to you, then I see no reason why those ads would effect you.
Heres an example of 2 attacks, 1 from McCain, 1 from Obama.
McCain - Obama "pals around with terrorists."
Obama - McCain "has voted with Bush over 90% of the time."
McCain's attack is about character, and is a perfect example of the kind of politics that cause people to focus on character INSTEAD of issues. Obama's attack is about voting record, which is one of the only good ways to make a decision in my opinion.
I do not vote based on charisma or character. Whether those are important things to consider when voting is debatable. My vote is based on the voting record of these two candidates, as well as how they have run their campaigns. McCain is running a negative campaign about Obama's character, and Obama is running a campaign about McCain's voting record.
McCain's record is that he voted with Bush 90% of the time. I do not like Bush's policies at all, so I also would not like 90% of Bush's policies either. Bush gave tax cuts to the rich, reduced funding to science, wire-tapped, went to war without any other country and without UN approval based on false intelligence, allowed that war to last for years, tortured, created Homeland Security, authorized the extensive use of military contractors from private companies instead of actual federal employees and US military, and failed with Katrina.
McCain agreed with all of these things that Bush did with the exception of torture. Obama disagreed with most of them. These are simple facts. These are records. These are not promises or charisma or character arguments.
This short clip of black voters being interviewed in Harlem is clean in content, even though it comes from Howard Stern. It's worth listening to because it's probably a good representation of voters across the US. Most people do not vote on the issues, but on charisma – which is sad for the rest of us who worry about the reality of day to day life and not whether someone is warm and likeable. Please pass this on to others.
http://www.bpmdeejays.com/upload/hs_sal_in_Harlem_100108.mp3
I responded with this:
There are plenty of people like this on both sides. The fact of the matter is that for a long time many people have cared more about character than content. I think much of the blame can be attributed to politics itself, not the people. Here are a few reasons why.
1. The 2 party system means people don't need to even pay attention. They can just align themselves to one side and always vote that way.
2. Campaigns are run with an emphasis on character. Look at McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin. She stands for many things that McCain has fought for much of his career, and has little experience in public office, but she was chosen simply for her character. Look at how McCain's campaign is attacking Obama's character. Biden has, rarely, attacked McCain's character too. They run negative campaigns because they are statisticly known to have a bigger impact. Remember Bush's attacks on Kerry's service in Vietnam? That is widely believed to be the reason Bush won in 2004.
3. Television. There are a million reasons why TV has exacerbated the problem. I don't think I need to explain all of them. TV could have been a tool to get the issues out, and it still can be.
4. Promises. Even if we judge the candidates by where they stand on the issues and their promises, we have no reason to believe promises will be kept, and we have no reason to believe these candidates won't ever change on any issues.
So we can't judge a candidate based on their promises, and the majority of messages we get from the campaigns are attacks. Why WOULDN'T people vote on character?
If you think voting on character is something bad, then I would be surprised you are a McCain supporter. For weeks he has done nothing but attack Obama's character. If character is something that doesn't matter to you, then I see no reason why those ads would effect you.
Heres an example of 2 attacks, 1 from McCain, 1 from Obama.
McCain - Obama "pals around with terrorists."
Obama - McCain "has voted with Bush over 90% of the time."
McCain's attack is about character, and is a perfect example of the kind of politics that cause people to focus on character INSTEAD of issues. Obama's attack is about voting record, which is one of the only good ways to make a decision in my opinion.
I do not vote based on charisma or character. Whether those are important things to consider when voting is debatable. My vote is based on the voting record of these two candidates, as well as how they have run their campaigns. McCain is running a negative campaign about Obama's character, and Obama is running a campaign about McCain's voting record.
McCain's record is that he voted with Bush 90% of the time. I do not like Bush's policies at all, so I also would not like 90% of Bush's policies either. Bush gave tax cuts to the rich, reduced funding to science, wire-tapped, went to war without any other country and without UN approval based on false intelligence, allowed that war to last for years, tortured, created Homeland Security, authorized the extensive use of military contractors from private companies instead of actual federal employees and US military, and failed with Katrina.
McCain agreed with all of these things that Bush did with the exception of torture. Obama disagreed with most of them. These are simple facts. These are records. These are not promises or charisma or character arguments.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
US Missle Hits Pakistan School
A suspected US missile strike has killed at least eight students at a religious school in north-western Pakistan, witnesses say.
The school, in North Waziristan, is close to the residence of a fugitive Taleban leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, witnesses told the BBC Urdu Service.
At least two missiles, reportedly fired by pilotless US drones, hit the school early on Thursday.
The Pakistani army is investigating the incident. The US has made no comment.
The attack comes hours after the Pakistani parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the government to defend its sovereignty and expel foreign fighters from the region.
Article at BBC News
Imagine for a moment what would happen if a US school was hit by missiles from a foreign country.
What is the cost we are willing to pay to fight these terrorists? Aren't these Pakistani civilians just as valuable as those lost on 9/11?
You may argue that Pakistan is not doing everything it can to help track these people down, but that should not be an excuse for this.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Lets Have Some Perspective
This presidential campaign is amazing. With all of the latest soundbites, ads, interviews, and debates streaming into our heads, I think it helps to take a step back and admire what a crazy run this is.
It all starts with Bush. George Bush has had a very low approval rating, for various reasons. After such a disparaging run for the republican Bush, many said that a democrat would likely easily win in 2008.
So how did Bush shape the election?
The democrats elected one of the most liberal senator who was willing. Obama can clearly be seen as the opposite of Bush. On the other side the republicans elected McCain, who is very much in the center compared to many of the other possible nominees. The fact that the republicans chose a "maverick" instead of a plat-former speaks volumes about this election. The republicans simply were not confident that a very conservative pick could face the democrats, considering Bush.
So how have these picks played out? Obama is leading in the polls, but this was to be expected. Still, the credit does not all go to Bush's low approval. The fact that this election is still winnable for McCain proves that McCain is still a formidable opponent despite Bush.
This is where things get muddy, and only speculation can follow.
Obama is ahead by about 9% according to many polls. Is this 9% a product of Bush? Did Bush actually move people off their party platforms, or only move some independents? Is the 9% all the work of Obama? Is it the fault of McCain? Or perhaps Obama would have an even greater lead if not for McCain?
These are questions that we may never get the answers to. However, I think it helps to remember where we have been, and how it is affecting our choices today. One thing is clear to me, in my own opinion. McCain was absolutely the best choice the republicans could have made. McCain is definitely a worthy opponent, and perhaps only someone like Obama could ever have a lead this big.
It all starts with Bush. George Bush has had a very low approval rating, for various reasons. After such a disparaging run for the republican Bush, many said that a democrat would likely easily win in 2008.
So how did Bush shape the election?
The democrats elected one of the most liberal senator who was willing. Obama can clearly be seen as the opposite of Bush. On the other side the republicans elected McCain, who is very much in the center compared to many of the other possible nominees. The fact that the republicans chose a "maverick" instead of a plat-former speaks volumes about this election. The republicans simply were not confident that a very conservative pick could face the democrats, considering Bush.
So how have these picks played out? Obama is leading in the polls, but this was to be expected. Still, the credit does not all go to Bush's low approval. The fact that this election is still winnable for McCain proves that McCain is still a formidable opponent despite Bush.
This is where things get muddy, and only speculation can follow.
Obama is ahead by about 9% according to many polls. Is this 9% a product of Bush? Did Bush actually move people off their party platforms, or only move some independents? Is the 9% all the work of Obama? Is it the fault of McCain? Or perhaps Obama would have an even greater lead if not for McCain?
These are questions that we may never get the answers to. However, I think it helps to remember where we have been, and how it is affecting our choices today. One thing is clear to me, in my own opinion. McCain was absolutely the best choice the republicans could have made. McCain is definitely a worthy opponent, and perhaps only someone like Obama could ever have a lead this big.
Fareed Zakaria Endorses Obama
Fareed Zakaria's show is by far my favorite show on CNN. His intelligent focus is something that is sometimes missing in the media these days.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Obama Suspends Campaign
Obama has suspended his campaign stops for Thursday and Friday to visit his grandmother in Hawaii, who is very ill.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Powell Endorses Obama
Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama, citing McCain's negative campaign, and Palin, as two of the main reasons.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Alfred E. Smith Dinner
Anyone who has paid attention to the political campaigns for the past few weeks should find both of these speeches hilarious.
McCain went first.
The videos are not split up well, as this is very recent, but you can find the rest of McCain's speech here starting at 5:12.
Then Obama.
You can find the rest of Obama's speech here starting at 4:07.
Edit: Additionally Hulu has half of McCain's and all of Obama's speech in one video here.
McCain went first.
The videos are not split up well, as this is very recent, but you can find the rest of McCain's speech here starting at 5:12.
Then Obama.
You can find the rest of Obama's speech here starting at 4:07.
Edit: Additionally Hulu has half of McCain's and all of Obama's speech in one video here.
The Third And Last Presidential Debate
Watch it on Hulu. Easily the best of the 3 debates, in my own opinion. A much better format.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Palin Booed
Palin was booed at a hockey game. Fox used a different bootleg, low quality camera, who's angle does not show the fans with their thumbs down in the background, and with sound quality so bad that you can barely tell a boo from a cheer.
Here is the original broadcast footage (NOT the Fox footage)
Here is the original broadcast footage (NOT the Fox footage)
Jack on Palin
This clip is weeks old, but I was surprised by how many views it has gotten (over 2 million) and I have great respect for Jack Cafferty.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Second Presidential Debate
Watch it on Hulu if you missed it. Still want more specifics and less mudslinging, but it was more acceptable in those regards than the previous one.
Sean Hannity (Fox) Outdone
Robert Gibbs, a Obama supporter, shows Sean Hannity why guilt by association is ridiculous, using Hannity's own style of accusation against him.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Keating 5 Scandal
I have mentioned it before, but recently a video was made that will explain it better, for those who don't have the stomach for reading the long wikipedia article.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Palin Reads 'em All!
Palin says she reads every newspaper, but she can't mention the name of a single one.
And her answer, silence, then repeated answer to Rick Davis.
The VP debate is TONIGHT AT 9 PM ET.
And her answer, silence, then repeated answer to Rick Davis.
The VP debate is TONIGHT AT 9 PM ET.
Roe v Wade and........
Palin with Couric again, being asked if she knows of any other Supreme Court case other than Roe v Wade. She can't answer.
Palin Contradiction
Gotcha journalism! Palin was asked by a random citizen in front of cameras about her position on Pakistan, at which point she said nearly an identical statement to what Obama said in the debate, which McCain attacked Obama for, saying "You don't say that out loud." Palin did.
I don't know what "gotcha journalism" is to McCain, but either Palin lied to the face of a voter, or she doesn't know her own ticket's position on this issue, either of which is unacceptable.
I don't know what "gotcha journalism" is to McCain, but either Palin lied to the face of a voter, or she doesn't know her own ticket's position on this issue, either of which is unacceptable.
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