by Austin Evans
The fast approaching 2008 presidential election was being billed as a breakthrough in modern politics. The democratic primary featured both an African American male and a former first lady. Barack Obama, senator of Illinois, prevailed over Hilary Clinton in one of the most widely anticipated nominations in the history of the party. While the republicans stayed, as always, conservative nominating John McCain to represent them to make a run at keeping the White House in right wing hands.
McCain pitted against Obama. The war POW versus the Hawaii basketball player. Old against young. At the outset of the campaign there was a rush of excitement to see Obama’s eloquent speeches and McCain’s rebuttal that needed to be strong and in the countries best interest in order to keep up with the “it” politician of the moment. Senator Obama preached about hope and prosperity and riled his democratic followers into believing that now was the time for the oval office’s racial wall to be broken through. In the midst of the beginning hysteria of the race McCain gained support from his concrete ideas on health care and taxes. Another advantage for the Senator of Arizona is his experience in not only the government but in aspects of his life despite being irrelevant to a presidential campaign.
Senator McCain, twenty-five years Obama’s senior, has gained support and respect through his toughness and character that he showed as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. His tour in the war was memorable due to his refusal to be set free until his men were able to come with him. A heroic act indeed but not one that particularly lends insight into how he would handle the economic crisis or other large issues if he were elected President. Not to down play the experience factor, McCain has plenty, serving as Senator of Arizona since 1987, which is seven times as long as Obama’s tenure as Senator of Illinois. But, in the end it is the ideas and actions put forth and into action by the two candidates that should decided the presidency not what they have done in their respective states.
After the excitement died down about the party’s nominations there has been a lull in the campaign that has only been broken by the picking of the candidate’s running mates. Who would be the number twos? Obama choose the powerful and well educated Senator of Delaware, Joe Biden. The Democrats were peeved by who Senator Obama did not select, many were calling for Hilary Clinton as the choice to help lock down the in limbo women voters, while the Republican camp shook up the race for a moment by honoring Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as their Vice Presidential candidate.
The choice of Governor Palin for McCain’s running mate interested the voters not only because of the fact that she is a woman but also because of the state which she resides in and her lack of connection to Washington, D.C. Alaska is set apart from the continental United States and besides Hawaii it is furthest away from our nation’s capital. Now these “issues” could have been a one time topic of concern except for the fact that Palin has been labeled as an outsider who is not worthy of being second in command of the most powerful country on the planet. The liberal media and weekly comic acts have bombarded Governor Palin creating an image of a pretty face that hides brains not suitable for the White House.
The election has lost the air and luster that was so promising during the early stages. It has become almost a popularity contest and who ever is seen in the newest fashion on the issues on Election Day will seemingly win. McCain and Palin, while respected as Senator and Governor for there individual states, do not form a formidable enough team to fix the blunders of the Bush Administration or prevent themselves hurting the county more. Barack Obama was criticized for being inexperienced, people said he would be better suited for the next election; he solved that by choosing political main stay Joe Biden as his VP candidate. Senator Obama also has been bashed for his speeches filled with supposed false hope and not enough concrete ideas or information to make the doubters believe in his words. Many believe he can not and will not deliver on his claims. Hope is what the United States needs right now, young men are fighting a war with an unspecified cause, the economy is the worst it has been in our lifetime, and the terrorist alert has never been at this level. To borrow from Senator Obama’s Nashua, New Hampshire speech on the night of the primary, “We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.”
