Posted by Whitney on Nov 5, 2008 in
Uncategorized I just finished watching Barack Obama give his speech and I started crying. And before I go to bed, exhausted and exhilarated, I thought I’d write few quick words.
This election has been about the triumph of ideas, hopes, and aspirations over negativity.
It’s been about bringing people together, rather than driving them apart.
It’s been about participation, not apathy.
It’s the triumph of community, communication, and the power we all have when working together.
It’s about building something new.
It’s getting rid of the fear. It’s getting rid of the paranoia and name calling.
It’s about dreaming of a new tomorrow, and constructing a path to make it so.
It’s about showing our children that the only limits on your success are those you put on yourself.
It’s the success of education, brains, and smarts over ignorance and fear.
I so hope this means our Country has turned a new page. That racism is closer to being a thing of the past. That America will be about the power of the “melting pot” and what everyone brings to the table to share, rather than about greed and taking all that you can get or grab.
We all want to succeed, but when all ships rise, we all do better. And right now, after this election, I believe it can happen. Each person who did a small bot for the campaign, or even voted for Barack Obama, can own a small piece of this great day and victory, and will be able to tell their grandchildren they saw the day when America became its better self.
Tags: election, hope, Obama
Posted by Whitney on Oct 31, 2008 in
Uncategorized Today I attended a Obama-Biden campaign rally at the University of Delaware, featuring Joe Biden. I’ve long ago decided I was voting for this ticket, but I attended the rally to hear Joe speak on the campaign trail, and to see how he connected with the audience as well.
I was struck by a number of things- the diversity of the crowd, in particular- young people, old people, union workers from the local auto plant, racial and ethnic diversity, and people just wanting others to get out there and exercise their right to vote.
I recorded the speech, and it’s here at the bottom of the post as an mp3. I was particularly moved by the ability of Joe to inspire people to be their better selves, to help our Country by doing things- helping others, and putting verbs into those sentences.
I cam away feeling that good leadership is not just about pointing everyone in a particular direction- it’s about inspiration. The reason why community organizer is actually a great job pre-requisite for President in that Obama and Joe Biden will have to inspire our national community and the international community to work together to make things better. The devil is always in the details, but people move mountains when inspired. People will go to the ends of the earth for things they believe in. And for one of the first times in my adult life, I feel truly inspired by this election and the possibilities it holds.
Click here to listen to Joe Biden’s speech from the University of Delaware, October 31, 2008
Tags: barack obama, biden, election, election08, inspiration, leadership, Obama, rally, speech, university of delaware
Posted by Whitney on Oct 24, 2008 in
election,
politics I was checking ou the news on the election this morning, and there’s a “rush transcript” of the interview Sarah Palin did with Sean Hannity. In it, they talk about whether or not Barak Obama should “disavow” ACORN and its voter registration drives. This got me thinking abou thtis whole “disavow” trend in this election.
There have been numerous incidents of candidates misspeaking, saying something dumb, or their supporters doing something imflammatory. This has led to calls for candidates to “disavow” this person or that- as if throwing a person and their views under the bus is equivalent to taking a shower or purifying the campaign. More often, I think the question of disavowal or repudiation of someone other than the candidate’s comments is being used to try to trap a candidate into saying something about this person, to get them to acknowledge or separate themselves from one extreme view or another. And I think it’s silly and distracting.
It’s election season. People are talking smack everywhere. Heck, I just put a bumper sticker on my car that states “Please make all the scary republicans go away.” Regardless, I don’t expect that this is something that Joe Biden or Barack Obama will have to repudiate on national television, even if the republicans in my neighborhood insist that they aren’t scary and I am making too big a deal of it anyway, by publicizing my views so openly.
I think the biggest mistake we are making as a Country, in large part because of the 24 x 7 news cycle, is that we can’t differentiate news from people shooting off their mouths in public anymore.
For example, I am glad McCain put a lid on things like the grandmotherly-type woman who said at one of his rallies that Barack Obama was an Arab. I am glad McCain set the record straight. But does he have to do some huge mea culpa because the people at his rallies are out of touch with reality? Well, when the organizers or people on stage are lying or trying to gin up the crowd with stuff like this, yes. The loons in the audience? Not under his control, and he shouldn’t have to apologize. Setting the record straight was great, and made me respect McCain more because of it.
The same goes for Obama supporters who are wearing t-shirts using less than polite language regarding Sarah Palin. We still live in a Country with a first amendment, and we don’t strip off the clothes off of someone’s back just because we don’t like the message they communicate. While I think a campaign would be wise not to feature these people front and center, or immediately behind the candidate during a speech, Obama can’t control everyone who supports him, and there are loons on the left as well as on the right.
There’s a fear of the other, a xenophobia, a “two americas” mentality that the news media seems to love. They seem to be fostering a sense of the Country being divided into the one we like, and the people that support Group X, and all the rest of the disillusioned maniacs out there who don’t have a clue because they don’t see it our way. This kind of division led to a civil war in this Country. While it’s really unlikely that another civil war will occur, (just imagine Pennslyvania asking Ohio to “bring it on”…or more absurdly- a Delaware versus Rhode Island cage match?) the polarization of sentiment prevents a lot from being accomplished.
I understand that in a 24 x 7 news cycle, you do finally run out of things to say. But I really hope that people can find better things to do than try to hang the albatross of regular people and their widely differing and sometimes lunatic fringe views on the candidates. The candidates are both reasonable, smart people and should have more respect for themselves than to deal in this “repudiation/disavowal” game and instead focus on the serious problems we have as a Nation and how to solve them.
Tags: 24 news cycle, disavowal, election, McCain, media, Obama, sarah palin, sean hannity
Posted by Whitney on Sep 23, 2008 in
Uncategorized There’s an interesting article over at Time magazine about Barak Obama’s 50 state strategy to win the election. In a nutshell, it says that by campaigning in all 50 states Obama has made the case that everyone and every vote counts. But as the election draws near, time and money become increasingly more dear, and every candidate has to start thinking strategically about what States are most likely to be “in play”, and which States are critical to winning the election, therefore deserving of more time, money and boots on the ground.
Reality states that the candidate and his surrogates can’t be everywhere at once, and they have to make choices about how to spend their time and finances. Strategy to win makes them think very carefully about how to spend those resources.
Strategy requires a game plan, and a calculation of how likely it is that a candidate has a State’s votes sewn up, essentially conceding the race to the other party before a single vote has been cast.
This may be a reality, but it annoys me to no end.
I don’t think there is a person in this Country who thinks their vote should be taken for granted as a done deal. I am a person, with real thoughts and feelings and opinions on the issues facing our Country today. I happen to live in a “battle ground” state, but I would be equally annoyed if I lived in a “slam dunk” state. I simply don’t think anyone should be getting the message that their address may make their participation in this election irrelevant.
As a citizen, I am charged with a duty in November- to go vote, and submit my ballot, indicating who I think will best be able to lead this Country for the next four years. I will only have two “realistic” choices. I will choose one of them, but not without some hesitancy.
Maybe it’s the 24 hour news cycle. Maybe it’s the Ghost of Karl Rove. Maybe the strategy of elections has always been part of the mix, but it took place behind closed doors. Now it takes place all day, every day, on each and every cable news show out there. Who’s ahead? Who’s behind? What should they do to get more votes? How can they game the system better than ever before? I feel like I am watching a football game, and all the news anchors are in the booth, second guessing the strategy of the coaches from above. And I am getting more and more sick of it, despite the fact that the issues facing our country are more critical than ever.
John McCain and Sarah Palin, despite their mission statement to be straight talkers and mavericks, have given some of the most “content-free” speeches I have seen as of late. McCain is incredibly reactionary to news, and seems unable to take a moment to reflect or to say “The situation is rapidly changing and I don’t have enough information right this second to give you a definitive answer- let’s talk in a few hours when I have more information to go on.” I have a hard time trusting someone who is unwilling to think before he acts. I also have a hard time trusting someone like McCain who is clearly ready to do anything to win this election- the election, this year more than ever, is not a giant game of Risk or Monopoly, nor is it Trivial Pursuit. (Choose your Board Game of Choice)
This Country needs to come together, NOW. The politicians need to stop dividing us up and encouraging polarization of view points. We need them to acknowledge what I hope people take away from Obama and Biden’s 50 state strategy- that everyone counts. Everyone and their vote is valuable. And everyone is probably not dogmatic and ideological to the extreme, but sit in the center of the curve, thinking and deciding based on who they trust- who tells the truth, who thinks things out, who will be able to bring us together, rather than focus on dividing us apart.
Extremism- fostering fear and distrust- may win elections, and make it easier for people to distinguish you from the next guy. But the day after the election, and after being sworn into office come January, the President will have to lead all of us towards common goals, and inspire all of us to help each other achieve those goals, even if some of the steps along the way cause temporary discomfort. No one said this would be easy.
I trust Joe Biden, because he told us the truth the other day- in order to solve the financial crisis, we may have to pay more taxes. That is simply reality, and in our heart of hearts, we know this. not easy to say, not easy to hear, but a reality, none the less.
And I hope Americans are grown-up enough to realize that turth is preferable to fiction. Heck, the $7.0 Billion bailout of bankers on Wall Street equals $7,000 for every man woman and child in the Country- that means the bill to my family alone, assuming no interest accrues as well, would be $28,000- that’s a nice new car, a ear of college tuition….all to save people who made crazy, silly bets on Wall Street. I think not.
I don’t trust McCain, who insists if we cut taxes, somehow the Debt will go down. In my budget, if I have less money, I can’t pay off my debts; if I have more money I can. That’s called basic accounting and budgeting- like the kid I hope my kids will learn in eighth grade Home and Consumer Science.
In the aggregate, we are all just one more vote. In the aggregate, voters are treated like commodities, or numbers on a roulette wheel. Candidates have to decide how to spend their time and resources. they need strategies. They need strategies to deal with our problems as well. And I really hope that strategy is about bringing us together, not dividing us apart with partisan politics and venom. We deserve better than that.
Tags: barak obama, campaign finance, democrats, election, Joe Biden, john McCain, money, palin, politics, rality, reality, reform, republicans, sarah palin, strategy
