politics! cont. (Amerikaans verkiezing 2008)

so this isn't about Belgium. or at least not this part. But the US election is in 4 days, and I have a few things to say. I'll try and keep it appropriate, so that in the event that I ever decide to run for public office I won't have a Blogger-gate to do me in. So anyway, my thoughts on the election:

1) I am obviously an Obama supporter. This is not just because he is the Democratic candidate. I have been incredibly impressed by the organization and effectiveness of his campaign. While we were hearing news about the fighting within McCain's campaign, and the $150,000 spent on clothes/ accessories for the hockey mom and her family, I received an email from the Obama campaign with a subject line of "how Maria can change America". I think that's the way we should be looking right now, not pointing fingers and placing labels.

2) Fear: it is what seems to drive the McCain/ Palin rallys (again, this was never going to be a subjective post. I realize it's biased). There's fear of change, fear of terrorists, fear of differences, fear of Obama etc. And the main battle-cry? (aside from calling Obama a socialist, saying that he "pals around with terrorists", that he's Muslim, or that he's inexperienced) They're concerned because "we don't really know who Barack Obama is". Excuse me? He's spent the last 2 years in the public eye campaigning, plus he has two autobiographical books in bookstores. And we supposedly don't know who he is? Right, because Sarah Palin and her family don't have any secrets/suspicious activities and they've been campaigning for a lot longer than 2 months...not.

3) The debates. They're best seen (in my opinion) on one's iPod on the train to Brussel/ Leuven/ Antwerpen. They're also best seen if one is an Obama supporter. Otherwise, one would most likely spend the entire time cringing while watching McCain flounder (I was disappointed by his performance, I remember him as being more forceful and put together). My favorite was the 3rd, because it was really the only one that included interaction between the candidates. However, that whole "Joe-the-Plumber" business bothered (and still bothers) me. We're not voting on Joe the Plumber, we're voting on a candidate who hopefully has views/ policies about the issues we should be hearing about during the debate. And to be fair, Obama also addressed Mr. Plumber...

4) I feel like this election has gotten too partisan. I realize that that's what happenes during elections, but when you have a campaign that distinguishes between "Real America" and "Fake America" then I think you have bigger problems. I also feel like a lot of the election has gotten to be too personal- with one candidate calling the other on their history or something they've done. I think it should be about what they will do, about the state of the country and the world and about the American people and the issues and policies that affect us. That's what ultimately matters. I am, however, very pleased with Colin Powell and the Chicago Tribune's endorsement of Obama. It certainly means something to have two major Republican or Republican-leaning voices endorse a Democratic candidate. Maybe our country can pull together and pull through after all...