Two more bite the dust!

John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani have both dropped out of the presidential race. While I'm not surprised at Giuliani's departure, given his dismal performance in Florida, I'm still a little surprised that Edwards is calling it quits so soon. His numbers haven't been that great, but a few days prior to his dropping out he issued a statement saying that he "wouldn't drop out, no matter what." Why the change of heart? I'm a little curious. I’m also curious about his decision not to endorse anyone and whether that will change before Super Tuesday. Obviously, his decision to endorse someone would have a relatively big impact, but should the not, I think most of his votes will go to Hillary and only a fair few to Obama. I can’t wait to watch it play out over the next few days. People have been talking about what Edwards will do next, does anyone see him or NOT see him on the VP ticket?
I'm also wondering what the ramifications of Giuliani's endorsement of McCain are going to be. While I think it's going to pick up some votes for McCain, I think it's going to concern the ultra-conservatives who have taken issue with Giuliani for his pro-choice views, as well as some of his other more liberal policies. McCain isn't seen as a die-hard conservative anyway, which may be an appeal to independents and moderates, but being endorsed by a Pro-Choice Republican isn't going to go over well with Evangelicals or ultra-right wingers, who don’t want to be ignored, and who shouldn’t be. Last night’s Republican debate is a testament to that as McCain and Romney essentially waged a “Who’s the true conservative?” debate. We haven’t heard a whole lot about the evangelical vote (which makes up a large portion of the “ultra conservative” category) this primary season but I think on Super Tuesday we’re going to see the evangelicals show up in masses. One thing’s for sure: Super Tuesday is going to be awesome and exciting. I can’t wait!

Bringing Home the Youth Vote

Every four years people complain that voters under 30 are all talk. They like to get involved initially, but then get bored and often don't vote at all.

Prof. G-P and I are doing some research on this topic. What do you all think about this? Based on your newfound knowledge and the awareness of your friends, do you think more young people will vote this year? Is the Obama excitement working?

Please let us know your thoughts on this topic.

Thanks,

JM

Families Divided

I wonder what everyone is thinking about Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Obama. Remember our wonderful visit with the Kennedy children in Nashua (Bobby, Kathleen and Kerry) who support Clinton?

This is not the first family divided over these two candidates. Jesse Jackson and his wife are also split between Obama and Clinton. I know many other couples/families in the same situation. Why is this the case? What resonates about each candidate?

I know that one of Kennedy's reasons for the Obama endorsement was the campaign strategies used by Bill Clinton in S.C. My thought about Bill is that he needs to get out of the way and let Hillary find her voice again. He's too much the attack dog now. He loves campaigning - he was always at his best doing this. This is likely his last big hurrah and if Hillary doesn't win, he'll be taking it very personally.

Anyone watch the State of the Union address last night? Thoughts????

The Scores are Even

With a win in South Carolina on Saturday, January 26, 2008, the Obama and Clinton camp enter into Super Tuesday on a two and two tie. African American’s were the group to pull during their trail throughout the state, especially African American women. Although both fought hard to rally votes, Senator Obama came out on top. In most reports the Senator of Illinois collected 80% overall of the African American vote with Senator Clinton picking up 18%. As the trail moves forward I feel that we will continue to see gender and racial line divides. Obama wins South Carolina, but will he win Florida? As an African American, I often wonder if blacks can have an affect on who becomes the next president? We vote, but not always in large numbers. Will Obama’s skin color bring us out to the polls? Time and time again I have heard from all of my friends and neighbors that I too should vote for Barak, because “ he looks and thinks like me.” He does? Setting aside our “tanner skin”, I don’t see much resemblance between the senator and I. His hair is shorter, legs taller, and age, well lets just say he was not born in the 80’s. As the battle gets tighter, and by now I guess you can tell that I am a Democratic, I find it harder and harder to set aside what the media reports and what I truly feel. My schoolwork is tougher, graduation is nearer, and my concentration on the daily move of the candidates is becoming slim. Like most people, I only have time to read what the news decides to report. Gone are the days of rallying behind the candidates, when all we really needed was picture and a smile.

South Carolina and Fred Thompson

I can’t wait to see what happens with the South Carolina Republican Primary on Saturday, January 19^th. If Fred Thompson wins, the entire Republican field will, in all likelihood, slowly tumble into chaos. With Rudy likely winning Florida, each of the 5 major Republican candidates will have won a race, resulting in no clear frontrunner: Huckabee (Iowa), McCain (New Hampshire), Romney (Michigan), Thompson (South Carolina) and Giuliani (Florida).

Also, when Super Tuesday rolls around:

Every major Republican candidate’s home state will be voting, of which, each of the candidates are expected to win: Huckabee (Arkansas), McCain (Arizona), Romney (Massachusetts), Thompson (Tennessee), and Giuliani (New York).

For the rest of Super Tuesday:

Giuliani will do well in California because of a closed Republican primary. Due to the nature of the closed primary, independents will be unable to vote for McCain, the independent favorite. This would lead the independents to most likely flock to Barack Obama in the open Democratic Primary. Giuliani will probably also win New Jersey because of name recognition.

Huckabee, a former pastor of several Southern Baptist churches, would remain competitive in the Bible Belt.

Thompson, would give Huckabee a run for his money by picking up several delegates in the Southern States and the Bible Belt.

Romney would do well in the heavily Mormon state, Utah. He would also remain competitive in Connecticut, mainly due to name recognition from neighboring Massachusetts.

McCain, currently the frontrunner by about 10 points, will most likely take the rest of the February 5^th states.

If all goes well and Fred Thompson wins South Carolina, there will be no clear nominee and the nomination will come down to the votes of the Superdelegates, making for a most exciting Republican National Convention in September.

I can't wait till Saturday.

Candidate Quiz

I was really surprised by the candidate quiz that I took from the Washington Post website. I always thought that I’m a solid Obama fan who hated Hilary a lot. The result of this quiz was very different than what I believed. I agreed with Sen. Clinton’s policies more than Sen. Obama and Sen. Edwards all together. Although I found out that I agree with most of Hilary’s policies, I still don’t support her candidacy because of the way she alienates people who wouldn’t support her and the way she raises a nasty negative campaign that could undermine her campaign and the Democratic Party. The real problem that I’m currently sensing from the Hilary campaign is that if she would elected as the president, I think she would be much more like George W. Bush. More than half of the country hated him because he is such a great polarizer. If Sen. Clinton would be elected, most of liberals might like her, but the rest of the country, majority of (R) supporters, would not support her presidency, and we would have another 4 to 8 years of divided country. Anyway, I really recommend taking this quiz because like my case, you might support someone but you might not support his/her policies.

My Political Thoughts

Growing up I learned a lot about different political issues in a lot of different ways. My opinions on different issues was influenced by my family and our beliefs and I grew up hoping that politicians I supported would be elected. The politicians I supported were people I thought could help the country, not a certain small group. I know that my reasons for supporting certain politicians are clearly different than other peoples. I always thought it was funny why some people supported a certain position on an issue when it would never impact them. An example is the Bush tax cuts. The tax cut only helped a very small but very wealthy group of people. Growing up in a small town in Missouri there weren’t a lot of wealthy people, and certainly not a lot of people who would benefit from the tax cut and yet people thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I know that my family would have supported and needed a tax cut that helped people who did not make a lot of money. As I reflect on the candidates we saw in New Hampshire and what they stand for I see several positions and policies I agree with and several I do not. One of the biggest ones is the tax cut, I would appreciate a tax cut that would help the those who made below at the poverty line not a continuation of the Bush tax cut. Some candidates would support a flat tax rate but would it be fair? No, the poorest would be paying more and the wealthy would be paying less, how is that fair? Another big issue is healthcare, it is no secret that many people do not have healthcare in this country and for numerous reasons. Premiums are too high, jobs don’t offer it or the health care that is available is horrible. A few candidates proposed taking the healthcare plan that Congress has and opening up to America, what’s wrong with that? If my Congressman can go see a doctor and get his medicine paid for and not worry about what to do when he is sick, why can’t I? My Congressman was elected to serve me and make my life better, not make it harder for me to go to the doctor and get medicine when I’m sick. Education is also very important to me. Growing up my mom and my grandmother always encouraged me to finish high school and go to college. My mom didn’t go to college; in fact she didn’t get past ninth grade. Yet she wanted me to go to college but it is hard when you make less than my tuition is for George Mason. Some candidates proposed programs that will pay for part of school but require volunteer work, fine by me just as long as I can get my degree at a school I want. For me it is really hard to agree that we need to cut taxes for the wealthy, that we need to leave healthcare alone or at least protect the companies who make tons of money from high premiums or leaving interest rates high on student loans. Maybe I’m a little biased, but if the government is supposed to help you then they should help you and not hold you back. I don’t see how cutting government jobs which would increase the unemployment rate helps me. I don’t see how cutting taxes for the wealthiest 5% of our country helps a college who made nearly $8,000 this year and who’s mother only made $4,000 dollars and who has a college tuition of over $25,000 a year. I don’t see how keeping premiums high and protecting insurance companies helps me when I’m sick and need medicine. I don’t see how high interest rates on student loans helps me when I have to go out-of-state for college because I want to follow my dreams and George Mason is one of the top schools in the country for my program. I don’t see how spending over $300 million dollars a day on a war that is poorly organized and we were lead into falsely helps me. So I don’t see why I should vote for someone who wants to protect the wealthy, the privileged, those who don’t have to worry about paying their bills, about not getting sick or hurt and someday graduating but then being in debt over $100,000. I don’t see why I should vote for someone who doesn’t help me, and I don’t know why the American people should vote for someone who doesn’t help them. Sure a tax cut sounds great, or a slight drop in interest rates, or a small cut in premiums or cutting a few thousand federal jobs may sound great. If you’re wealthy and have a house by the water in another country and can afford your kids college no problem and buy almost anything you really need. But if you’re a family of four and you work as a cop and your spouse is a teacher and you have a child that is sick a lot and you’re still paying student loans, do you really benefit? Is your President really helping you pay the bills and make your kids future brighter? More than likely not so why vote for the candidate who is going to do anything for you? Why not vote for a candidate that wants to make this an America for everyone not just a few. Didn’t we fight to make this a land of opportunity, a place to follow the American dream? Not a place for a few to benefit and the rest to work and struggle for their rent and car payment. I wonder almost daily how long I’ll be in debt, how long it will be until I own my own and can have a better future. I wonder when we will have a president that will make this an America for all Americans and how long it will be before we can all follow our dreams and actually be able to achieve them.