I will not deny about how disappointed I am with the results of this year’s presidential election. The best man for the job did not get the job, and I, along with millions of other McCain/Palin supporters, have no choice but to accept that Barack Obama will be our nation’s 44th president. It is bittersweet, I know, but in this election there are clear winners such as our nation’s minority communities. By electing our nation’s first ethnic candidate, each American, regardless of color, can now look towards the high office and know that even in practice they have the opportunity to be anything they want to be, including the president. Words can never nor will ever express the beauty of this reality, which makes this election truly remarkable.
For every winner there are losers, and in this election cycle the losers are both clear and not-so-clear. It’s a no-brainer to say that the Republicans lost; I accept that. The ineptness of the Bush Administration in recent years to maintain a strong Republican base by deviating from ‘compassionate conservatism,’ to what many people believe was a mission of hurtful rhetoric and even harmful policies directed at small minority communities is clear. This is the tragic legacy George W. Bush will leave to both America and the world for generations to come, and this makes my heart ache.
There is another losing group that neither the Democratic Party nor the media will recognize. Compared to the size of the rest of the American population, the gay community, statistically speaking, comprises about ten percent of the total population and is the most neglected of all minority groups. Many who are gay, lesbian, or transgendered are hard-working people who merely want to enjoy the same peace and prosperity that straight Americans do. However, time-and-time again these people are often the target of hate crimes and are neglected by elected officials of both political parties.
The saddest part of the election night came as I occasionally saw on television what I know to be the gay flag flying amongst the throngs of people eager to hear Obama’s acceptance speech. It was sad to see because the wavers of that flag were wallowing in a vulgar display of false hope and security because I know that their plight will not be a priority during the next administration as it has not been a priority in previous administrations; there are just too many other problems that will supersede any gay, lesbian or transgendered issue. In short, the gay community must, as they have always done, wait and hope that an elected official will exercise compassion and advocate for them. If Obama makes time to support the multi-faceted issues surrounding the gay community such as same sex-marriage, then I will be impressed because I would then see him as a president for all of us.
The aim of this piece is to not take away from the historical significance of this moment in world history. This is a joyous event because, among other things, we told the world that American democracy is alive and thriving. Barack Obama is going to be our next president, and I want my liberal, conservative, and apolitical friends to know that I will rally behind him because when it is all said and done, we are all Americans, and we must support each other, regardless of our background, to help form a more perfect union.
Those who know me know I am politically active. For over a decade now, I have participated in most of the local, state, and national elections as a conservative. I have even volunteered as an official for the nonbiased Norfolk Elections Board. All of my participation has been strictly voluntary because I believe it is important that the freedoms enjoyed by all Americans are contingent on an informed citizenry willing to freely sacrifice themselves for a common good. History has shown that the backbone of any strong government is when its people are engaged with the world around them. My involvement in politics stems from a deep love I have for my neighbor. But, I must admit, I have been disappointed with politics over the past several years because the nature of politics is brutal, and not everyone wins. I have learned that most politicians, especially elected officials, do not care about individual people per se, and the electorate are simply not engaged enough to make informed decisions.
That said, it is important for the readers of my blog to know that, although I am conservative, I do keep an open mind in terms of individual candidates and the ideas they support. I am not the type of citizen who is conservative because I come from a long line of Republicans. I am a Republican because I believe in the basic principles of conservatism, which is less government in the lives of ordinary people and fewer taxes so those same people can use their money the way they see fit. I believe that it is not the role of any level of government to mingle in the lives of people. So, before I cast my vote, I do my homework: in addition to judging whether what the candidate is telling me is the truth, I also peer into their professional lives to see whether their private work reflects their public ideas.
Between our current two candidates, John McCain and Barak Obama, McCain has the longest record of public service, the totality of which transcends his time in the United States Senate. McCain’s entire life, which includes his service as a naval officer has been nothing less than selfless. For me, any man who is willing to freely sacrifice his very existence for a common good deserves special recognition in the annals of glory. If the same conditions presented themselves in Obama’s life, I wonder whether he would demonstrate the same noble deeds as McCain did in the Prisoner of War camps of Vietnam. My instincts say ‘no.’ So, while the distinctions between what constitutes either a Republican or a Democrat eludes millions of uninformed Americans, I encourage each voter to examine the private lives of these two public persons. Readers will learn that it is McCain who has always worked for the greater good, and it is McCain who I endorse as the next President of the United States.
Congress passed the 700 billion dollar bailout bill, which rewards major financial organizations for making utterly disastrous decisions in the subprime mortgage mess. The fact that the federal legislature ‘had’ to step in and use money we don’t have to help organizations that obviously have not helped everyday Americans infuriates me. And, to add insult-to-injury, I became even more disgusted as I watched the national leadership, lead by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wallow in a vulgar display of false security because I understand that the taxpayers will be the ones who will be made to suffer.
As the events leading up to the bailout revealed themselves, I tried to wrap my mind around what truly happened. Beyond the corporate greed that is the true cause of this mass misery, we have millions of Americans who invested their retirement and IRA accounts into organizations such as Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and the AIG Company believing it was a good outlay of money. So, we have average Americans using their asset allocation principles to squirrel away funds to be used as their retirement, which is smart thinking. However, investing for a strong retirement is something that takes decades. Now, we have a population who did that which they knew to do and are now told that not only have they lost their next egg, but they are now told they must pay into the massive bailout plan. Where’s the justice?
Both Congress, who allowed this to happen, and the corporate managers, whose main interest was their personal bottom line, have much to answer for, but it will be the hard-working people who will suffer the brunt of this catastrophe. Just like the two wars we are waging in Afghanistan and Iraq: It’s a rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight. It’s reminiscent to the song I’ve embedded with this blog entry, the Federal government is looking into the eyes of the American people and saying, “You can’t win.”
On Election Day, the nation will vote for the next President of the United States. Unlike any other time in the history of this nation, this is the first election were the entire country seems to be actively engaged in what each candidate has to say as well as what they will bring to our people. Not only will we have a new President come January 20th, 2009, but we will have a new First Lady.
Historically, the First Lady has been the intellectual shadow of the President. Indeed, it hasn’t been until just recently that many scholars have begun to seriously study the contributions of presidential spouses and their role in American history. One book, Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts, stands out in my mind because her work chronicles the lives of particular “Founding Mothers.” In short, practically all of these women were powerful in their own right. Jackie Kennedy, for example, was a dynamic woman who brought elegance and grace to the White House while at the same time preserving the furnishings so that future generations can enjoy them.
Now, we have two more extraordinary women: Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. The latter is an incredibly beautiful woman who has attended two of the best schools in the world: Princeton and Harvard, respectively. She is bright, well-spoken, and elegant. Both she and her husband Barack are raising two wonderful girls, and the mass media has covered them extensively. Should Barack be elected, I am positive she will make an excellent First Lady. Cindy McCain’s credentials, while not as spectacular as Michelle’s, are impressive. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and a Master’s in Special Education from the University of Southern California. Both she and John have four children, one of whom is adopted. But the thing that won me over isn’t what she does with her family; it’s what she does with her extra curricular activities.
Cindy McCain works actively with Operation Smile, a most noble organization. After studying facts for this article, I began to realize just how selfless this woman is. She has a personal fortune of over one hundred million dollars, yet she chooses to use her resources to help children in third world countries. Indeed, while Russia was invading the small democracy of Georgia, McCain was in that region helping with humanitarian projects for that country’s victims, amazing. She is a testament of American generosity, and what I found further extraordinary is that she does not live the life of the super rich. In the embedded YouTube clip below you will see that she also spends some of her time on trash heaps in Vietnam trying to help babies with medical conditions. I am in awe of this unassuming woman.
So, between these two very dynamic women, I believe Cindy McCain has a slight edge over Michelle Obama. If John McCain is elected our 44th President, his wife’s contribution to Operation Smile will be even further highlighted because the platform of the First Lady is great. The children whose lives were directly affected by Operation Smile will have someone to look up to, not just in our nation but globally because Cindy’s work will bring it to the world’s attention. While it is safe to say that taxes are an unfortunate truth for the next administration regardless of who it is, what is uncertain is how the First Lady will contribute to her husband’s appeal. My thought is that any selfless act of kindness will be of tremendous help.
When our future president, John McCain, selected Alaska’s governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate, I thought it was a politically savvy move on McCain’s part to choose someone who is outside the Washington mainstream. Unlike Obama’s 35-year Washington insider pick, Joe Biden, Palin is an NRA card-carrying “soccer” mom who has a vested interest in the outcome of Iraq because her enlisted son will soon be stationed there. Then it occurred to me: That is exactly what our country needs. All the candidates—Obama, Biden, and McCain—are each part of the Washington establishment who know little about how everyday people live. I’m sure if you were to ask any of the three candidates how much a gallon of milk costs, they could not give an answer.
Heck, if you were to add up the years both Biden and McCain have been in Washington, you would have a collective total longer than either Obama or Palin have been alive. The difference is that Palin doesn’t seek anything other than doing the right thing for the nation whereas Obama has demonstrated that he wants to be president for the sake of the presidency. Obama has provided only rhetoric and empty promises without any means on how America will pay for his programs. Palin, on the other hand, is a believable candidate because it is clear she knows how Americans (women in particular) actually live.
She is a mother whose son will soon see combat in Iraq, and she is a mother whose youngest daughter has Down Syndrome, a fact that she and her husband knew long before her birth. Palin has demonstrated that she is not interested in fancy dresses and would rather wear outdoor garb as opposed to anything luxurious. She is not “Ivy league” the way the Obama’s are, and she appears not to be interested in what all of that upper class snobby stuff brings. In short, we should listen to what she has to say because she seems to understand the way in which people live.
Her only “vice” is that she looks like Megan Mullally from the 1990s hit television series Will and Grace. My only fear is that after a couple of months in the Washington fish bowl, Palin may just turn out like Karen Walker, Mullally’s character. This is to say that Palin might turn out to be a pill-popping alcoholic. However, I believe that Alaska’s governor is made of strong stuff and can survive anything the Democrats can dish out.
When our future president, John McCain, selected Alaska’s governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate, I thought it was a politically savvy move on McCain’s part to choose someone who is outside the Washington mainstream. Unlike Obama’s 35-year Washington insider pick, Joe Biden, Palin is an NRA card-carrying “soccer” mom who has a vested interest in the outcome of Iraq because her enlisted son will soon be stationed there. Then it occurred to me: That is exactly what our country needs. All the candidates—Obama, Biden, and McCain—are each part of the Washington establishment who know little about how everyday people live. I’m sure if you were to ask any of the three candidates how much a gallon of milk costs, they could not give an answer.
hat she has to say because she seems to understand the way in which people live.