This is something going around the e-mail world. I altered it slightly to use here at my blog.
Food for thought regarding the presidential campaign...
What if things were switched around? Think about it!
Would the country's collective point of view be different?
Ponder the following (be honest):
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption
in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings
and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?
This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate. It discounts negative qualities in another, emphasizing the distracting attributes that hide the real issues of which we need to be aware.
Educational Background:
Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
This is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. Don't you want some intelligent people with high moral standards in these positions? Do you want a careful thinker as president or someone who shoots from the hip and flies off the handle? Think about it, and vote accordingly.
17 comments:
Great Post Carol! Mind if I borrow it? Have a great time...I can't wait to hear of your experience!
Oh I will vote accordingly. I don't care how anyone votes as long as they vote and only vote once.
Good one!
I would rather read about your quilting than your political views, but since you brought it up. There are double standards on both sides. It's not about who is the most intelligent for the job, the most intelligent professor does not necessarily make the best teacher. It's about left vs right, it's about socialism vs capitalism and people will vote on where their candidate stands on this scale, background info is just an excuse.
Very Interesting!
I think it's healthy to be passionate about politics. It gets a little spicy when opinions differ, but what is life without a little spice?
Heather
Excellent entry. I've gotten so many Obama bashing emails and I'm sick of them.
Well... I have to say that I think discussion and thought is sooo important. Good for you! I think that your point about racism and discrimination is excellently made. Many in our country would like to say that this is not an issue in this campaign. Sadly, it is a searing issue in this campaign. I like that you provoked our awareness of the issue. Thank you...
I can tell from your post who you stand behind. I have to say I do not see any racism in this campaign. I know of many white people who stand behind Barack Obama as their candidate and his color has nothing to do with my decision. So what that Sarah Palin attended five different Universities (she DID graduate) and she has a pregnant daughter. I didn't see any mention of the two offices she held - mayor and governor. Did John McCain actually say that he left his wife because she no longer measured up to his standards or is that your conclusion. I didn't enjoy reading your post because I thought it was bias.
I believe that racism exists in many places, and that people need to recognize it as such. We white people tend to react as if we are flawless. I don't believe we are. Hard as I try to be accepting and open-hearted, I have to also accept the fact that my society has engrained some stereotypes into my thinking. I am not going to deny them, but I am going to work against them and to continue to learn, and to encourage others to do the same. We need to be honest about the racism that exists in America. It is everywhere. I heard a person on the radio just this morning saying he will not vote for Obama because of Obama's race. So while some people who are white support Obama, there are still those who look at his race as their first criterion. It is there, and unfortunately it is not just a few people.
I do feel sympathy for the Palin family whose daughter is pg, and I am trying not to judge... what I think is ironic, however, is that Palin preaches the "abstinence method" and that it be the one birth control method taught in our schools. Her own life shows how ineffective that method is.
I have read elsewhere about McCain and his rejection of his first wife based on her acquired disabilities, but I don't know this for fact.. remember this post is an email that I slightly re-worded here and there. It is not just my thoughts pouring out of my head. I wish I would have created this post myself. I would have worded it differently. It is still a fact that I have read elsewhere in more than one place about McCain's rejection of his first wife at least in part because of her acquired physical disabilities.
I do strongly object to his having had an affair while married. No matter how many times he apologizes for that, it is a moral outrage to engage in that behavior. Doesn't his party stand for "family values?" Where does infidelity fit into that? He had plenty of time to repent and apologize while engaging in atrocious behavior, but he chose not to. I find that reprehensible.
I don't care that Palin went to umpteen colleges. (Again, this came in an e-mail; I would have worded it differently and probably should have as I agree, this makes me sound biased, which I don't want to be.) I support anyone who gets a degree, no matter how long it takes. I do not support having a VP who has only a BA and no other world or job or educational experience that gives her the leadership qualities a VP needs. Mayor of a small town and governor for two years of a small population does not qualify her. My mom was on the school board for 9 years. Maybe she should be VP.
Palin's actions while mayor and governor do not instill confidence in me as to how good a VP she could be. Her state court system just determined that she and her husband acted immorally regarding the firing of the ex-brother-in-law (if I remember the relationship correctly). Doesn't this raise a red flag for the Republicans? It should! I also dislike her record of dealings with native Alaskans.
And in response to an earlier note, I DO feel that intelligence is important in a world leader. Our president needs to be bright, alert, well informed... not just someone you'd like to have a beer with. We need to put some high expectations and standards back into the position of president. Obama fits those criteria.
And just one more point: Obama is not Muslim and never has been, just in case any of my readers think that's a reason to oppose him. He is a Christian and an upstanding, honest, intelligent, kind and caring family man. And while I'm at it let me say this: I do not mean to imply that Muslims are bad or innately terroristic. I do not believe that they are at all. That is another one of those terrible stereotypes we need to eradicate from our national thinking.
Thanks to those who are supportive of healthy debate! I agree, although it isn't always easy to disagree with friends!
What if the writer of this blog began her rhetoric with an open and honest disclosure of her political persuasion?
What if this blog truly queried the reader to be introspective about their upcoming choice for president rather than espouse the writer's political opinion?
What if whites AND blacks voted on the issues rather than on the color of their skin?
What if both candidates were viewed in a light that best suits them rather than one judged against the strengths of the other?
What if we could come together as American's and support whichever candidate was elected through our democratic process?
What if.........
LOL. I think my political persuasion is pretty evident. And this is, after all, MY blog. I can write whatever I want here. I'm not a journalist. I'm mostly a quilter who occasionally posts something about Obama, because I feel worried about the election and want Obama to win.
Go Obama Go Obama! Win Obama Win Obama!
I hope I will not be judged by the mistakes my children make. I hope I have taught my children to form their own opinions and live their lives according to their values and beliefs and not just mimic mine because they are mine. Sarah Palin believes as she does about birth control, but maybe her daughter has different ideas, morals, etc. or maybe she just made a mistake (like a million other young kids do every day). I do think her mother is probably very proud and supportive of her for accepting responsibility for that mistake and not just walking away from it (and I am pro-choice). I know my children have made mistakes and hopefully have learned from them. Unfortunately, there is prejudice and racism in this world and it will never be completely erased because there are fools in this world who enjoy clinging on to their hatreds for no apparent reason. One more thing, our current president is a graduate of Yale and of Harvard Business School - do you respect him or think he is a good leader? Having a degree from an Ivy League College does not necessarily make you a good leader it just makes you lucky to have received an outstanding education. Whoever wrote that "What if" article has to think fools are reading it. What struck me immediately upon reading it was only the bad and negative was written about the right and only the good and positive were written about the left. Fair and balanced is what I like to read.
Purposely did not read the earlier comments.
There is racism in this campaign - especially living in the South where old habits and attitudes have not died and gone away quietly (especially noticeable since I was raised in the Upper Midwest).
Add to this discussion candidate positions on the arts and mental health; and there are even more reasons to support Obama over McCain.
Thanks for a thought provoking post!
I am not a socialist so I will vote accordingly. I am glad I know who I am voting for and why.
Very interesting post, ty!
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