And the Winner Is....

Barack Obama.

Today my students constantly asked me who I voted for. I'm hesitant to talk about these issues in the classroom environment because I think people should decide for themselves who to vote for, not throw away their vote in mimicry of someone they look up to (teacher, parent, etc.). Though, often, the people you look up to have the same ideals as you, so voting along those lines would make perfect sense.

I did ask a couple people who they voted for, and always followed up with, "Why?" The "why" is important.

One student said they "voted for McCain because Sarah Palin is hot."

Another student said they "voted for Obama because he's black."

Neither of these are good reasons. Obviously.

As I try to tell people when the subject comes up: I do not personally care, or judge, based on who you vote for. I judge you based on how well you can defend your reasons. If you think McCain was the better candidate because of his policies, and can identify which ones you agree with, good for you. Same with Obama. Be informed!

America made the right decision today.

More commentary after the cut.

Who you vote for should be based on what you value the most. I think McCain is better in almost all military affairs, but I think our economy, energy sources, and diplomacy are more important. Electing Barack Obama shows progression. Electing John McCain would have shown repetition. And had McCain been elected, America would have shown repetition.

A few people I know have said that the economy is going to fail now. Sorry, but the economy is already failing. Yes, it could get worse. But the policies that have been around are what brought us here, and if it's broke, I'm definitely going to try to fix it.

As a person, I almost like McCain. Almost. Sure, he's only a mediocre public speaker (and a horrible debater), but he means well. Unfortunately he had a huge handicap in Sarah Palin. I've made a couple posts about her before, so I'll refrain. I'll just say that she was the incorrect choice as a running mate.

I don't want to get overly political on the blog, so if you want more details on what I agree/disagree with from the candidates, ask me in person.

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Sarah Palin is Done

I see no way in which the Republicans can win this election. John McCain is a decent guy and if he was President I really wouldn't mind too much. Sarah Palin, however, is a complete idiot.

Check out this article from CNN.

In quick summary, the article states how Palin has been going against party advisers to further her own agenda, aiming for prosperity of her own in 2012. Not only that, but it mentions what I've thought about her SNL appearance but haven't been able to express so articulately:

"She's no longer playing for 2008; she's playing 2012," Democratic pollster Peter Hart said. "And the difficulty is, when she went on 'Saturday Night Live,' she became a reinforcement of her caricature. She never allowed herself to be vetted, and at the end of the day, voters turned against her both in terms of qualifications and personally."

Political figures go on talk shows all the time--no problem there. Not only is the Tina Fey impression getting monotonous itself, but Palin going on SNL was a new low point. It didn't relate a feeling of, "Oh that's funny, they're embellishing how I act for comedic value." Instead, it seemed more like she supported all of the exaggerations. Why fuel the fire?

In non-SNL related commentary, the article also points out how she went against the party's statements, for example she claimed robocalls were "irritating" while the campaign defended their use. Now, was she trying to be candid with us? Bond as a human being? Possibly. But if that's the case, at least make sure you and the rest of your party are on the same page. Apparently no one knew this was how she felt.

So either: A) She's deliberately going against Republican advisers, or B) she's just dumb and doesn't pay attention. Whichever way, I think she should stay as far from any political office as possible (maybe this is why she's out in Alaska and not in the continental U.S. Haaaaaaha).

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Palin Really Bugs Me

An article on Yahoo! says that Sarah Palin is getting a lot of attention because of $150,000 spend on her wardrobe and hair.

I'm not going to debate whether that is excessive or not -- whether it is or is not is up to you to decide.

But in the article, the first thing she says is:

"I think Hillary Clinton was held to a different standard in her primary race," Palin said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune posted on the newspaper's Web site Thursday night. "Do you remember the conversations that took place about her, say superficial things that they don't talk about with men, her wardrobe and her hairstyles, all of that? That's a bit of that double standard."

So her first point is that it's a double standard -- that we criticize women and not men on their wardrobe and hairstyle. Sure, maybe. But I guarantee you that if a male politician came to a debate in khaki pants and a polo instead of a suit, or his hair wasn't combed just right, he would get as much flak as Sarah Palin would. But yes, sure, no one pays attention to how much men spend on clothes. Fine.

But then Palin says:

"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," Palin said.

Whoa! So first you want to pull out the double standard card, which basically admits that you did spend that much but so do men so people shouldn't attack you. Then you change the argument, saying that people don't have "all the facts." Really? What facts are we missing? Your hair and wardrobe is expensive.

What Sarah Palin is trying to do is play offense and defense. She's defending herself by saying that it's a double standard and she shouldn't be under the microscope on her spending, while playing offense and stating that your facts are WRONG! Not a bad tactic, except for the fact that claiming a double standard admits to the facts being correct. If they were incorrect you would have a bogus comparison and not care about the double standard -- also, you would correct them. Sarah Palin does neither.

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