Saturday, January 5, 2008

Political Ponderings

I am sure Indian Jones is just cringing when he reads the title of the blog. To even have anything to do with politics come out of my mouth makes him nervous. I am quite the political virgin. Yes, I am a registered voter. Yes, I voted in the last presidential campaign. Yes, I am pretty sure I messed the ballot up and my vote did not count. There were so many directions and lines and when I handed the lady my voter registration card she yelled, "WOW, this looks so new and crisp!" and I had to draw all these lines and I got all confused and voted straight ticket and then saw that there were other choices and it was in sharpie marker and I started to sweat and get dizzy and I could tell everyone was giving me a scornful stare because I was a first time voter and I might as well be like Michael Vic at a Peta convention. So I ran out of the overcrowded church crying and wailing and wondering who was Ralph Nader and should I have voted for him? And what if George Bush lost by 1 vote? It would be all my fault. I had single-handedly torn apart the very fabric of the electoral college system with my connect the dots ballot.

Well, let me first start by saying that I will be voting -- both in the primary and the "Final Episode" I am sure there are technical terms here, but my government teacher in high school let me down. I am just saying that the whole voting process is a little behind the times. They all complain that the 20 and 30 year olds are not voting. Well, I am going to just say that if they made it a little more user friendly I think they would. We are an online society. We bank online, pay our bills online, fill out SS cards online, do all our Christmas shopping online, why can we not vote online? Now I know that the presidential choice for the United States of America SHOULD be more important to us all than amazon and ebay, but if you look at the statistics.....that is all I am saying. I am all for texting my vote in this year. Like Obama is there flashing the two fingers and George Snuffleuphagus (he so reminds me of Big Bird's best friend) is saying, "If you want to vote for Obama, text 2 to the number at the bottom of the screen. Remember voting starts after the debate and is open until 11 pm EST." I am just saying, if they want more voters.....

But, I am just going to be honest here. I am an average 30 year old American woman. I am going to say the things about the candidates that a lot of people are thinking but no one wants to sound shallow and say it, well by golly...I have never minded embarrassing myself and sounding shallow, so here it goes.....

Obama -- I like him. When I saw him on Oprah he was well spoken and I love his wife, Michelle. I met her is Minneapolis and listened to her speech. It was very superficial, but it was like two girlfriends sitting down over coffee chatting about kids, our husbands, and party supplies. I liked her. His name bothers me..OBAMA...seriously, it is so like terrorist name. Just my opinion and I think some others were thinking it too. I mean who else do you know names Obama? That is all I am saying.

Clinton -- She seems like that girl in high school that would be mean to you and spread nasty rumors. I mean she just looks mean to me. I think she would bully me and try to steal my boyfriend.

Edwards -- I love his hair. Really, really great hair. His accent it a little too thick for me. I think he should work on it. It distracts me. It makes me want to drink sweet tea.

McCain -- Okay. I am just going to say it...throw it out there. Sling it into the conversation. His one check is huge. I mean like chipmunk big. And I think he either had cancer or has it or is getting it or something. But I do not hear what he is saying because I am staring at that goiter on his jaw. BUT I cannot say anything bad about a POW. I mean I have the utmost respect for him in that matter and think he is one heck of a man and patriot. I want to hug him, kiss him on his small cheek side, and tell him thank you.

Huckabee -- He is cute. He ran Arkansas. We already had someone recently from Arkansas and I think they have had their turn and should let another state try. Although I LOVE and I mean LOVE the Chuck and Huck messages. Really, it had me swayed for quite some time. I also think he values education and that makes me give him a big pink fuzzy heart with glitter!

Romney -- Okay, he is Mormon and although I do not dislike Mormons, I do know they wear purity underwear and that is kinda weird. Although there are these two Mormon teenagers who are on a mission trip here (poor kids) and come visit us every couple of weeks and I love them and they came over for dinner and they are the nicest most polite kids I have ever met. And they eat pork. BUT Romney always has these video clips on his site bashing McCain. I think that is mean and nasty... I mean he was a POW and don't you want to use your time to tell us what YOU are about instead of how bad others are?

Giuliani -- I will be honest, I had to look up how to spell his name. Okay, I like him. I know he has had like 42 wives and all but I still like him. I like how he handled 9/11 and I like his book and he seems like a strong leader. And his wife loves him, I saw it on Barbra Walters. Plus, I think he makes sense when he talks about the issues and I think he has proven himself. I do not blame him for the dirty cop thing, we could all tell he was dirty -- he had a bad man mustache. I wish Rudy would have called me, I would have told him.

I know there are other people running, but no one I know. And let's face it, if I (politically ignorant girl) have not heard of them, they ain't makin it to the finals.

Well, I am sure my dad will disown me after this post and my husband will change his last name, but I honestly think I am not the only one out there thinking these things. I am watching the debates tonight so I will write a more educated response tomorrow (maybe, kinda). Maybe, if McCain's check does not draw my attention away from the issues and Edwards does not flip that GREAT hair and Clinton does not try to spread a nasty rumor about me. We will see how it goes. You can text your vote here so I can have an unofficial poll.

Tell me your thoughts, I really can be persuaded.

16 comments:

chocolatechic said...

Barak Hussein Obama~~wouldn't vote for him for 2 reasons...1. His name and 2. He refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. What kind of man is he, running for President of the US, and REFUSES to be patriotic? and say the pledge...nope...not gonna happen.

Billery~~I do not think that a woman should run this country....I don't care which side of the fence she is on. She doesn't have the bullocks to do it.

McCain~~don't like him.

Romney~~liked him at first...he sounds very articulate. Much better than Bush, but he has waffled on many different issues.

Guillani~~RINO

Huckabee~~has a funny name too.


I have no clue who I am voting for.

justgottalaugh said...

Ooh, you actually want my opinion?? Can I cast my vote here and you'll still be my blogging buddy... no matter what I say??? Well, here it goes (I'm getting cold sweats and hives because I just don't like to put myself "out there" like this but since you asked...) I vote for people who value life. Period. If they don't value life (every aspect- from conception to very wrinkled) then I don't think they have any right governing a country full of, well, people. That's what life is... people! So unless Hillary spreads nasty rumors about him and they are found to be true, I'm proudly casting my vote for the man who reads his Bible and knows what God has to say about life. I'm voting for HUCKABEE.

The Wades said...

You're too cute! Your comments sound pretty right on to me. Found you through Ree's blog. (esp love the 42 wife comment!)Thanks for entertaining me. :) Michelle

Jubilee on Earth said...

You know what? You are SO right! I purposely do all my banking online because I don't have the time or desire to go into a bank. I hate waiting, and will go online and put in my carry out order so that I don't have to wait for it. Why CAN'T we vote online? It makes total sense! Okay, let's say they're worried about hackers and don't want to go there... can they AT LEAST have touch TV screens in the voting rooms that resemble "Self-check out lines?" You know... "touch here to begin" and then "touch the button of the name of the person you want to be president." Hello??? Everyone knows how to do that. I have a fear of those silly ballots because they remind me of the horrid Scantron tests back from school.

LOL -- Great post. I'm probably going to vote for Huckabee, who is promoting doing away with income tax. I pay 40% of my paycheck for taxes (I'm in sales, so they tax commissions at a higher rate). It drives me crazy that almost half of what I make goes to the government. It's just ridiculous.

~Maria

lindafay said...

I appreciate the detailed political analysis and feel certain that I can now make a well informed choice in the upcoming election, thanks for all the time you put into researching these candidates for us ;)

Kila said...

I like Huckabee, and Thompson and Romney.

TheNormalMiddle said...

Well, now...texting. A mighty fine idea for our generation.

But here is one caveat, I'm too cheap to pay extra for text messaging, so it would have to be free.

And you know the gov't does NOTHING for free. :)

Alicia said...

Your analysis had me laughing out loud - I've thought many of those same things myself. I'm voting for life and liberty and the Constitution - Ron Paul. Google him. :^) Or check out my blog if you like.

Hannah Marie said...

I second Alicia... Where's Ron Paul? that's who'll be getting my vote!

Kristy said...

Google Ron Paul!!! :)

The Ramblin' Rat said...

I like your way of thinking. I have no idea who I'm voting for, so your line of logic make complete sense to me!

I just stumbled to your blog today and I love it! Your sense of humor is right up my ally.

Pam's Place said...

A friend mentioned your Political Ponderings to me today, knowing that I'm a bit of a political junkie. Enjoyed your comments -- yes, we all think those things, but hopefully make time to do a little more research.

I could vote for Ron Paul EXCEPT for his isolationist philosophy and pledge to bring our troops home from Iraq. Gotta finish what we started. Can't vote for him in the Primaries for this reason.

Guiliani would be great for keeping the country safe -- would be great in a national disaster, and knows how to get things done. Not too excited about his social stands, tho. Not that they matter, because other than nominating justices to the Supreme Court, he doesn't have a direct influence on abortion or gay marriage. If he's nominated, I could vote for him without too much angst.

Thompson's views are pretty close to my own, but in all honesty, he just lacks any enthusiasm for the job. That and his age concern me. If he won the Primary, I could vote for him in the General Election without batting an eye.

After the first few debates, I was really excited about Huckabee, but after researching his record, I find him to be too liberal for me. He's soft on immigration (a big issue for me), and his claims about how much he cut taxes in his state is true or not, depending on how you look at what happened there. Eliminating the income tax is certainly tantalizing, until you learn that you would still be paying taxes, maybe less, maybe more, depending on how much you spend and on what. He doesn't have any control as Pres as to whether or not that happens. Laws are written and passed (or not) in Congress, not by the President. Maybe he should run for the Senate... I will not vote for Huckabee.

Ditto on McCain. He may have been a POW, and I admire and respect him for the service he gave our country, but he, too, is way too liberal and I will not vote for him.

I think Romney has a background in business and global commerce that gives him experience in financial matters that often others don't grasp. He has earned his fortune, not inherited it, which shows that he knows how to run a business. He also is good at listening to people who are experts in their respective fields when he has a decision to make. I'm not concerned about his supposed "waffling" because his record shows in all matters that came across his desk as governor, he acted conservatively. I would bet that he wouldn't be re-elected in MA for that very reason. I would vote for Romney in a heartbeat.

As you may have guessed by now, I am a trueblue (red) conservative, so I don't even consider the democratic candidates. The country cannot afford any more social entitlements. This country became great because its people were willing to work for what they got. Giving someone something for nothing (at the expense of people who ARE willing to work) doesn't help anyone, and will destroy our country. The Social Security and Medicare programs are all but broke, there's no way we can add socialized medicine to the docket for billions of dollars a year. That's insane. I don't want to live in a socialist regime. Strongly recommend the book, The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes for a much better picture.

That's probably way more than you wanted to read, but hey, you asked. I hope you will use the internet to really research the candidates and their positions before you vote. I'm no expert. But I read alot.

And by the way, there are touch screen voting machines. Our precinct has them. The people who are at the election places are there to help. Don't hesitate to ask. There is no such thing as a stupid question in the voting booth.

Dreams of a Country Girl said...

Hello Pam, you are my new bff. Wow would I love to sit down with you for coffee. I am planning on researching MUCH more. I watched the debates Sat night and have been glued to the TV, although I am finding the media is quite biased. hmmm.....I will keep you all posted on my "coming out politically" party. PS. IF I do not vote Republican, my dad might disown me.

Pam's Place said...

Country Girl, I tried to leave you another comment earlier, but it didn't seem to go thru. If this is a duplication, please delete, delete, delete.

Fox Cable News is having a debate amongst the Republican candidates tonight (Thursday), but I don't know what time, maybe 9 EST. Brit Hume, a good guy, will moderate, and I think he will be fair and not try to work an agenda.

You might want to get your Dad's thoughts on the candidates as well.

I admire your efforts to get more information about the candidates before you vote. If all voters did that, we'd be in much better shape as a country.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at pwarren627 at comcast dot net. Again, I'm not an expert, but I can probably point you in the direction of a few good websites that might be of help.

Pam

Monnie said...

Just happened across your blog today and this looked interesting!

I'm voting RON PAUL all the way and encouraging EVERYBODY to do the same. It was his idea to abolish the income tax (anyone else who totes that line learned it from him)... and his voting record backs him up! (He has never once voted to raise taxes.) He is for personal liberties and states' rights.

Some accuse him of being an isolationist, but that's not at all what he's about. He wants to trade with other countries, but sees clearly that the war in Iraq is wreaking havoc on our economy/the national debt. He is actually addressing the fact that Social Security (Uncle Sam) is bankrupt. I think that those who think he is an isolationist misunderstand. Just because he wants to bring the troops home doesn't mean he would seal up the country. He has twenty years experience in Congress... I'm sure he has the prudence to bring the troops home gracefully.

Who can deny that the economy and the war are two of the MOST important issues on everyone's mind?
I'm going to vote for the only candidate whose voting record proves his integrity and who will save this country. Ron Paul.

http://ronpaul2008.com

MommyLydia said...

Problems with touch screen voting: Ever think about how often your computer crashes? On new Year's this year, Seattle didn't even have their all-put-together fireworks show because the computer crashed and scrambled the program!

What happens if the voting machines crash on election day? How about if it was midway through the day? (after some people have voted) Even without fraud issues, (how do you go back and do a "revote" when all the votes are electronic? To prove that the computer is noting the vote as the same thing the person voting thinks it is?) The reliability is a huge factor! Can you imagine losing all the "open polls" voters' votes because the machine crashes between when they vote and when it is downloaded off the machine? Yikes!