Elizabeth Gotsdiner, 24
Home Town:
Iowa City, IA

Occupation:
Student
The introduction to politics in this past year has not only changed me, it has inspired and motivated me to do my part in a democratic society. I now know that as a citizen of this great country I ha ... See full Bio

McPalin vs. OBiden
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Biden barked at me.
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Sir Samuel Wurzelbacher
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CONVINCE ME!!!
CONVINCE ME!!!
October 23rd - 12:20 pm

 

Over the past year, I have made a drastic difference in the way I view politics.  Now I care.  I would like to consider myself intermediate, I understand the basics, but as no professional.  I began as a, and I will quote the Des Moines Register, "superficial democrat".  Initially I was totally offended, but now I will own that description.
 
The issues are heavy, as is my heart.  
 
On January 3, 2008 I caucused for Senator Barack Obama in Clive, Iowa.  When he took Iowa, I felt a sense of pride, and credited myself for his victory (wouldn't you?).  After seeing him in Iowa, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Iowa again, and Michigan, I had the opportunity to ask him questions that concerned me.  I asked him general questions, his environmental plans and his position on off-shore drilling.  His responses were direct, and he's sharp!  After asking him a question in a crowd of probably a thousand, I made my way up front to shake his hand, and he thanked me for my great question.    Since that rally, the crowd sizes have heavily multiplied.  In the streets of Austin, Texas 30,000 people waited for hours to see him speak for minutes.
 
From the start, I didn't know who Senator John McCain was.  My parents were Gov. Romney and Gov. Huckabee supporters, so his name wasn't mentioned much in my household.  The first time I saw him speak was in Nashua, New Hampshire (which I returned to last week to see Senator Kerry).  I asked him about the independent vote, and he had the whole crowd in laughter, including me.  If only I was sharp enough to say something witty.  Microphones can be extremely intimidating.  I then went on to attend his rallies in Florida and Michigan.  Any cast or crew was there anywhere else?  The war is a big concern of mine, and I thought it necessary to ask Senator McCain if he would ever reinstate the draft to sustain our military forces.  His response to me was absolutely not.  He would never force a citizen to endure what he had to, and it should always be a choice.  That settled me a bit.  I agree with his position to use our natural resources while we seek out alternatives. 
 
My complaints... starting with Senator Obama.  This inconsistency of his campaign has left me asking myself, "so what are you going to do?"  He's changed his position on drilling, the war and NAFTA.  I actually agree more with his switch in position than his original stance.  However, I'm very uncomfortable that he has switched his position to battle his opponent's battle.  What can I trust he will do?  How fluid would his presidency be, seeing how runny his campaign has been?  It's all over the place!  I give it to him he selected a great VP, even though he spit on me.  Universal healthcare, not my bag.
 
As for Senator McCain.  War.  war war war war war.  Um.  Little scary?  What I have appreciated about McCain is his brutal honesty.  I can take brutal, just give me the truth.  He has not at any moment spared feelings of a concerned citizen on the campaign trail.  He doesn't try to deliver glossy responses. He simply tells it like it is.  Blunt.  Gives me a chuckle every time.  I don't feel like McCain's healthcare plan is any better from the situation we have now, but according to yesterday's NYTimes front page McCain will not hurt the economy as much as Senator Obama with his healthcare plan.  (Granted, this statistic was funded by McCain).  I'm concerned with NAFTA, and Senator McCain's innate hope to spread free trade.  I agree with trade, it's impossible to neglect.  BUT... we should neglect the hard working people of America, like Bert.  I sense Senator McCain is capable of this neglect.
 
So where do I stand?  Right in the middle.  Uncomfortable.  Heavy-hearted.  After all, it's up to me!
 
Any suggestions?
 
Comments:
 
New Mexico
November 25th - 8:59 pm
Hey, Elizabeth remember my comment on RealId or as I refered to them as National ID card, well, here is the latest. New Mexico is one of 30 states that decided to contest this National ID, so we will be showing Passport at the airport from Jan 1st 2010.
Below is an article regarding it.
Passports Will Soon be Required for New Mexico Air Travelers
November 26, 2009
Posted In: Immigration News

By Collins & Collins on November 26, 2009 3:54 PM | Permalink
Beginning January 1, 2010, New Mexico air travelers may be required to present a passport to get through airport security. This will include domestic air travel.

New Mexico has not been expelled from the United States, nor is this a result of failures in education. It is not even the result of the general unavailability of maps to the public as once suggested by Ms. South Carolina. Instead, it results from New Mexico's refusal to adopt the federal REAL ID Act.

The REAL ID Act is federal legislation that was passed during the Bush years. The REAL ID Act is aimed at preventing undocumented aliens from obtaining drivers licenses. New Mexico has stood firm in its position that it is better to have the undocumented individuals properly licensed to drive than to have them driving the New Mexico roads without a license.

New Mexico recognizes that without a driver's license, a driver cannot obtain auto insurance. In New Mexico, there is a very high percentage of drivers that lack auto insurance. In fact, this situation poses great public safety concerns for New Mexicans as it is just as likely as not that a New Mexico driver involved in an auto accident will have no insurance. New Mexico has adopted the policy that it is better for the New Mexico public to have drivers licensed and insured than to have them driving illegally. The REAL ID Act will essentially encourage unlicensed uninsured drivers on the New Mexico roads.

The REAL ID Act may satisfy the many anti-immigrant groups that believe every measure no matter how irrational or unsafe for the public should be implemented to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. Of course, the REAL ID Act will have no such effect. Immigrants will continue to come to the United States illegally and when they get here they will not hesitate to drive illegally. After all they are illegal. Is it really going to deter them from coming to the United States that they are now slightly more illegal?

 
Carl Teglund
ANetliner
November 2nd - 6:54 pm
ANetliner: That was probably one of the most elitist BS I have ever seen. Doesn't democracy belong to everyone? Does everyone who exercise their democratic right have to be well-read and well-informed?
I suggest you read more about democracy and what it is. I think you react to her writings negatively just because you dislike her views. It's sad and pathetic, to say the least ...

//tegis.wordpress.com
Tanya
ANetLiner
November 1st - 7:56 pm
Are you familiar with the term "Citizen Journalist"? That means we are not professionals or experts, nor are we required to be. The goal of this project is for average Americans like Lizz to share their own experiences and thoughts as they observe the political process. So, if you are looking for facts or news coverage, I suggest you consult other sources.
You said, "It is unsettling to see you offering political perspectives to others in a highly public forum." Why is it unsettling? Did you expect a "Citizen Journalist" to be a card carrying member of the press with years of political experience? If you did then I think you missed the point of the project.
Elizabeth
October 31st - 2:17 am
ANetLiner: It's been a learning experience. And I'm not done learning.
 
ANetliner
Your Recent Washington Post Chat
October 30th - 7:55 pm
Just read your recent Washington Post chat. Bert, you've got a long-term perspective on the political scene, so I appreciated your remarks even when I didn't agree with you.

Liz, it's a good thing that you state candidly that you have a lot to learn-- because you do. You are at best marginally informed on the issues and, because of this, it is unsettling to see you offering political perspectives to others in a highly public forum. I hope that you will supplement your traveling and blogging with some hard study on economic policy, health care issues and foreign policy. You are certainly entitled to your views, but it would be nice to see them based on a firm factual foundation, rather than on half-digested media reports and superficial impressions. Please do the hard work of studying up on the domestic economy and international matters in preparing for the 2010 mid-term elections and for 2012. This might involve reading some fairly detailed and technical information, but it will be well worth it. You are clearly a talented writer with great initiative, but you owe it to yourself and your readers (at least the thoughtful ones) to bone up on the substance of the political issues that you are covering.
Bert
It is not just a Clinton thing
October 28th - 7:08 am
Every one of the major party candidates espouses "free trade" where the president gets to make trade "deals" with individual countries instead of one comprehensive plan that would protect the citizens of this country and our once rich consumer markets.

Ross Perot predicted that NAFTA would produce a "giant sucking sound" as it pulled middle class jobs out of our country. I voted for him, and I also heard the sucking sound loud and clear from my corner of the field. Too bad the giant suck didn't pull out any of the supporters of this deal, that concentrated huge profits to the top of our society while eliminating many of the opportunities that led to the "American Dream" middle class lifestyle.

I would suggest that if you want to see the future you could just look to the past at any nation that consumed more than it produced, tried to hyper-regulate the economy, and went into debt far beyond it's ability to pay back. This combination of events would suggest that we as a nation will be poorer, unfortunately we as a society go down much like the Titanic, with the ones at the wheel being the last to get their feet wet.

This recent adventure with Purple States suggests to me that the current two party system maintains the lock that the elite hold on our Government. Only some sort of uprising will produce any meaningful change.
Elizabeth
October 27th - 4:02 pm
BERT: I am pretty disgusted with Clinton signing our country away. It's not fair. I guess my questions for you are for many Americans in your shoes... what's next? How can we sustain economic growth if we aren't creating anything?

CARL: Thank you sir. I'm trying to spread the bug of enlightenment as best I can, and you've done quite a job at spreading it yourself! That sounds like I'm talking about STD's. I'm not.
 
Carl Teglund
...
October 27th - 10:04 am
Sis, you're brilliant. With subordinates like you there wouldn't be any tyrants. You have reached for new knowledge, found it, ceased it and analyzed it - and got confused and thrilled at the same time. This is wonderful! Just take your time to make up your mind. I think you have been very ambitious and I love the fact that ordinary people that you wouldn't maybe think care much for politics start to get enlightened. It is great because it increases my already strong faith in mankind :).

I think, after listening to you, you should vote Obama or Third Party (LP).

tegis.wordpress.com
Bert
Thanks liz,
October 27th - 7:16 am
I reread your earlier post and am very flattered by your comment about being brilliant. However I have lived with me for a long time and I can assure you that I am average, just sorta more interested maybe, and watching.

The thing about me losing my job, and my industry is actually bigger than that, because I was involved with what was arguably, the USA's industry, the one that made us a wealthy country, the one that made us a super power, the one that the leadership of our nation and our industries sold because they lost their vision of our country. This has ramifications far beyond my career and my retirement, it was the engine that fueled the economy of the "Richest Most Powerful Nation on Earth" as the US was described to me in my school days. I watch our duel deficits increase year after year. The trade deficit and the Federal Deficit, the national debt goes up and up as no new industry steps up to replace the huge wealth generator that was the manufacturing might of the USA.

I mourn not only for my personal loss, but for the loss my my countrymen (like the ones you met in Michigan), and the loss to future generations of Americans who will own the debt that our greedy and uninspired leaders prepare for them now.
 
Robert Hecht
Liz -- in the end, Obama is your man
October 25th - 4:17 pm
Liz,

I appreciate your concerns. But in the end, Obama is a much better choice for the things you care about. On energy and environment in particular, Obama has a correct long-term view of the climate change and oil dependency issues and has a comprehensive plan to address them. He will really do something about promoting clean energy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will follow through with measures to cut our dependency on imported oil. Don't be overly-focused on the offshore drilling discussion -- all of what he and McCain are saying is ntohing more than short-term political rhetoric. Obama knows that offshore drilling is environmentally risky and won't solve our oil problem -- McCain and Palin don't. It's sad that Obama cannot afford politically to be against offshore drilling, but that's a reality of our current testosterone charged politcal scene. In the end, he's the guy that will do what is right and needed to move the US and the rest of the world onto a solid course toward clean energy and a solution to the perils of climate change. McCain doesn't have the policies or the commitment to do this. So vote for Obama -- he stands for the things you care about.

Sincerely,

Rob
Bert
I could care less about my "job"
October 24th - 11:08 pm
The crappy trade deals (that have nothing to do with "free trade") caused several of my jobs to go "off-shore" and then the whole industry atrophied to a point where there is no longer any call for "Engineering Model Makers" or "Prototyping Technicians" as were my titles. I trained out of high school as a Tool and Die maker, and went to college for engineering while I worked. I received an Associates Degree in Engineering with honors and worked as a Prototype Development Model Maker, basicly bringing new designs into the physical realm. The introduction of the PC moved the business right along and it became "Rapid Prototyping" with Stereolithography and Selective Laser Sintering being new technologies that I had the opportunity to be involved with from early in their commercial applications. Three axis computer numerical control machining from solid models was another way that I produced components for use in the build up of devices for evaluation and new products for development and marketing purposes.

This was a good business, it required a high level of skill coupled to a willingness to do hard, sometimes dirty, work. It paid above average wages, not enough for a house on the lake, but not trailer park either.
I enjoyed the challenging nature of the work, the absolute "no bullshit" results that are required when presenting finely made items for critical review. I also enjoyed paid holidays, paid vacation, subsidized health insurance plan for my family, and the chance that my 401k might fund my retirement.
Currently I try to obtain a similar position in a much reduced market, many of my positions can be traced directly to Japan. I have already been told that I may be too old to be marketable.

I do home inspections, paint houses, fix cars, and am currently doing free lance architectural drafting (on the PC) for a local builder. None of these pursuits provide benefits, steady work, or High pay. I also heat with wood, grow as much as I can in my Garden for personal consumption, and rely on my wife's job for our family health insurance plan. I cannot complain, I live in a beautiful place with very nice people. It would be even better doing the HARD WORK that I have extensive training and experience in, and getting well paid for it!

The bigger problem that I see has to do with basic economics, there are three basic sources of wealth,

1) Agriculture, including forest products and harvesting seafood.

2) Mining, including Oil drilling, coal, metal ores, sand, and rock.

3) Manufacturing, where value is added to raw materials by the application of labor.This includes pharmaceuticals, computers, autos, clothing, anything that is "made". This is where the "middle class" that grew so large in this country after world war two came from.

All other activities are service oriented, requiring the basic wealth to fund them, this includes, banking, health care, insurance, government, legal services, education, travel, these are all industries that grew upon the wealth brought about by the three basic activities.

We have given over our manufacturing, to other nations, including all the ingenious mill equipment and other tools that were developed here to achieve our prominence that was recognized world wide. And I do not mean just engines of death.

Without the ability to produce value via manufacturing we have become the worlds largest debtor nation, all this since I was a teenager in the seventies when we had our last surplus of trade.

The trade deals of the nineties really accelerated the heavy infiltration of our markets with cheap foreign made products, people didn't care about environmental detestation, child or prison labor, as long as it was cheap, and trendy.

So I am bitter, not only has my career been sold down the river, but others in our society got rich doing it wall street bankers made fortunes as bottom lines fattened with the prospect of cheap labor, and no environmental constraints, promising immediate jumps in profits. Out-sourcing became a part of the curriculum at Harvard Business School and was seen as the way to "transform" a Manufacturing company that employed thousands in this country into a get rich quick concrete and glass corporate headquarters, housing the patents and the board of directors. Countries around the globe were only too happy to assist in this transition, glad to become the holders of the ability to produce, glad to sell into the lucrative markets of the USA.

One detail no one seemed to work out was how our society would be able to continue in the "American Fashion" (ie Too Much) once they had no good jobs.

Then in the nineties Alan Greenspan, along with our elected officials, decided that cheap credit would excite our now mostly consumer based economy.

The meltdown of world markets (including my retirement fund) are the easily predictable result.


NOW remember...........YOU ASKED!
Elizabeth
October 24th - 2:26 pm
BERT: I hope you don't mind me asking you some personal questions, feel free not to answer, and if you want me to remove this let me know.

What credentials do you have? You are a brilliant man, and I've heard on many occassions that you studied this and that, and I trust your opinions and your expertise. I've heard you complain about having your job taken for this entire journey, and it wasn't until now I realized that I believe you are capable of working many jobs. Your passion was taken. But isn't there other work you can do? I'm not trying to attack or be aggressive, I just know what you are capable of, and I wonder if being stubborn plays into not seeking out other opportunities. I agree with you that the way you lost your job and the industry you worked in was pretty lame. But the world keeps turning.

I'm just wondering what's next for Bert?
Elizabeth
October 24th - 2:22 pm
MOCKSTAR: Thank you for the very kind words. I accept them with humility, and it means a lot to hear those kind words from someone that has followed us on our journey. I know where to start this one…

Stevie!! I don’t have a television, I only have a record player, and one of my favorite records is Stevie Wonder’s “Talking Book”. He’s the man! I’ve never really read too much into “Big Brother” until now. Wow.

I’ll change if you vote me in as the pres
The President of your soul
I live in the ghetto
You just come to visit me round election time

I could write out the whole thing, and it would stand as a great point. But this stanza makes the point.

You think you know who I’m voting for, huh? It made me chuckle you dubbed me both an idealist and a realist. I’d say that’s a good place to start to claim myself an Independent. Priorities speak loudly. The hesitant trust I have is the prioritizer. You hit the nail on the head, whoever I do vote for I vote for imperfection. I don’t believe in perfection, nor would I want it as the President. Perfection has no flaws, and in that I would see a disastrous mixture of ego and self-righteousness. Nixon? Anyone?

This election is not about me. This election is about my country. In that I can remain selfless. My concerns may sound selfish when I begin discussing tax. I will not stand for the makings of a socialist nation. I do not want to be socialist, I want to remain capitalist. I believe in hard work and earned ways. That’s how I was raised, that’s how I see things. The examples my parents set for me taught me in America you can be whatever you want to be with HARD WORK, and don’t ask anyone to help. At the end of the day, if you did it yourself, you can rejoice in your own achievements.

LOL! No, I am not glued to FOX. I actually think that because I watch zero television I have been able to explore ideas I otherwise would not have. I’m forced to think for entertainment, or just listen to Stevie :).

I will not vote for a third party. I understand momentum behind movements. Women’s oppression, civil rights… but right now I am unfamiliar with, as most of the nation, third party candidates. You make an excellent point. How come third party candidates only come out during election season? Where was Nader in the primaries? Cop out. Hate to break it to y’all. (I know Bert’s about to give me hell for it).

I will check out both those movies, I really know nothing about Redford, but if I remind you of him than he’s my new favorite! Hey, if Palin’s got a shot at the White House, maybe I do, too. Hell, anyone does! I actually like her very much, just makin a funny!

Thanks again MOCK
Bert
Mockstar, now is the time to vote third party
October 24th - 6:54 am
Libertarians and Greens have already passed "Your" test of local success.

The Reds and Blues are getting more alike every day, no change is coming from either side there, more contribution directed government, disregarding the will of the majority, in favor of the funded.

Mockstar, You obviously enjoy are current system and direction, I suggest you vote for either major party and continue to enjoy the ride.

I will vote otherwise, and the rising tide of voters like me will scare the crap out of the current power brokers who rely on sheep like you to validate their farce.



The national debt should be the biggest issue of all, average (earnings wise) people will be the ones expected to pay this buzzard down while the average annual income is on the way down. With the "New Global Economy" comes new low pay jobs that do not include Health Care Insurance or a retirement plan.

Even if you are in the top %5 of earners in this country and have a safe haven for your wealth, you rely on money coming up from the grass roots in the USA (the Asian stock markets recognize this truth) to buy your products, pay the countries taxes, buoy up all the social institutions that make this country what it is. A poorer populace will be hard pressed to keep the money flowing up the channels to the top.

I would like to see the financially secure professionals who have been "shaking the money tree" for the past couple decades, try to thrive at the same rate in the new economic giants, say India, China, Japan, or South Korea, I am sure that your skills in management, marketing, litigation, will be unnecessary as these societies have there own systems, already filled with there own "best and brightest". Starving the middle class in this country may seem like a good plan for the short term, but I guess that is all that matters anyway.
 
mockstar
The future is green, the president's black
October 24th - 4:26 am
Dear Lizz,

I know who is getting your vote, and so do you.

But I'm amused you still see shades of gray when clearly the future is green and the next president is black.

The idealism you've displayed throughout the Purple States process is rare, refreshing and inspiring.

It is also idealistic -- which is not inherently naive, but the idealistic rarely win in a field like politics, the art of compromise.

It's too bad, but maybe not surprising that the unique access you've had to the campaigns seems to have left you doubting the integrity of the entire process, or at least the candidates' approach to it. You remind me of Robert Redford in that movie "The Candidate." (I think you would like it. I also think you'd like Jack Black in "Bob Roberts.")

I agree that the US needs a credible third party (or 4 or 5, as other countries have.) Maybe the upshot of your newfound political expertise will be to help organize or even create a third party where you live.

As a practical matter, any third party will first have to thrive on a local and state level before it will ever produce a candidate with a realistic shot for the presidency, right? If the Green or Libertarian parties want to have a president someday, they would do well to first elect mayors, House reps and governors (hopefully not like Jesse Ventura, the pro wrestler who became governor of Minnesota and tanked.) Until then, any third-party vote will be more of a reflection of the voter herself than of the makeup of government.

Still, some third-party voters seem to think it's all about them. And as much as politicians in election years -- especially Barack -- want to to tell you that this election is about you, it's not.

After all, you're a smart beauty, you've got both dreams and options, you're an Internet personality unafraid to speak truth to power. You'll do fine!

This election is a referendum on an illegal war. It's about addressing climate change in a real way. It's an answer to whether or not you think a rich nation should be able to care for it's poor, old, sick or in distress citizens. It's about the future of the law. It's about the lives of others, in Iowa and Iraq and Islamabad.

Presidential third-party votes haven't ever elected their candidate, but they can help sway an election: Ross Perot's indie candidacy helped bring home Bill Clinton's first win; some argue that Ralph Nader's candidacy hurt Gore in his tight race against Bush.

But we don't hear much from indie candidates when there's not a presidential race. Maybe you can work to change that; maybe you've got a better idea. Point is, this presidential election is not one to throw down a protest vote for some dude with no chance of winning. It won't register anywhere except with you and God -- and that's not a vote, that's a prayer.

Do you know that song "Big Brother" by Stevie Wonder? I think you might like that, too.

So we're all faced with this choice:
a) vote for one of two guys ... or
b) Don't vote (lame) or
c) Vote third-party (principled but ultimately meaningless.)

Your faith may have been tested by this process, but I can tell you still have hope.

You're not a cynical gun nut who has lost trust in people and the social contract.

You're not a religious extremist who wants morality to be legislated.

You're not an armchair patriot glued to Fox.

In your videos and posts, you seem more like a realist with a lot of compassion and an innate sense of fairness.

You may have to face this vote with the grim resignation that it will be cast for a candidate you deem imperfect. But I know who you're going to vote for, because I know at the very least you will consider the alternative.

And I hope you'll feel ok with it.

But more than that, I hope he will be the good president we need.







But if, after going the places that most of us have not and archiving the process here you still haven't been able to make a decision
Tanya
Lizz
October 23rd - 10:56 pm
Don't vote for either of them, vote third party! No more crack for the crackheads!
Elizabeth
Hey Guys!!
October 23rd - 4:30 pm
NATE: I do get a little fed up with the race and age issues. I'm over them. If the "old white man" is more qualified than the "young black man" then I want the first. It is sad if the world would view us simply on race and age as well. In regards to "hope and change", and EVAN mentioned as well, these are not new words in a campaign. Bill Clinton was spouting the same sound bites back in 92. I didn't see the world spin the opposite direction when he was elected.

EVAN: I do agree with you on mind-changing. I guess I contradicted myself a bit, because in the past I have said I would respect honesty, and here he is being honest, and I respect that. It just makes me gage the level of knowledge he does have on the issues. As far as Palin goes, you're right. I don't see that at being any more than a strategy to steal Clinton supporters away from the democratic ticket.

As far as healthcare goes... I'm very uncomfortable with universal health care. It's not even so much the money, which I still don't view as being totally fair. Anyone can recieve care if they need it. That's what county hospitals are for. My concern is the quality of care. People travel from around the world to recieve US healthcare, and if we jeopardize the system we will jeoparidize the quality. This is a point I've made before, and I will venture to make again. Why should we turn every hospital into a county hospital? Plus, I can only imagine what this plan would do to the doctors salaries. These are people who deserve the money they make.
 
Evan Williams
Not a bad choice
October 23rd - 2:12 pm
Liz,
I'm planning on voting for Obama, but I don't think either candidate is a bad choice. I like McCain's "pluck" and I like Obama's mind. I think both men are genuine, qualified leaders, not like George Bush. I think Obama is the right person in our time though. You mentioned he changed his mind on some issues like offshore drilling--that doesn't bother me. I think he assimilated some new information and came to a different conclusion. Whichever candidate is elected, they'll have to deal with new information coming in all the time, and the way it effects how they see things, in the same way your view of candidates might have moved around during the election. But I think his values are the same--to get a really really good tax plan, save the environment and help the economy with new sources of energy and get healthcare for all. But I think McCain genuinly wants to serve the public in those areas also. What sealed the deal for me was the campaigns. I think Sarah Palin was a heavy handed, and maybe brilliant move to regain control of the election, that actually kind of worked. But I have a hard time believing that John McCain actually thinks she is the best person for the job. I have just never believed he really thought that was the right choice. I can't respect that. Also, Joe the Plumber isn't even a real person. He was created by the McCain campaign as a symbol of a demographic that they say would be hurt by Obamas tax plan. As far as I know, there is no such person as Joe. The "negative" campaigning doesn't really seem like that big a deal, I guess. I don't buy that Obama is a terrorist though. That seems ridiculous to suggest. That's just desperate campaigning maybe. I guess I have to choose Obama in the end because I like his big ideas about healthcare, I like his tax plan more (but then, I fall in to the category of someone who would get tax breaks under his plan), and I really like his idea that healthcare should be available for all. I also think he is a symbol of hope and change--I admit, I buy in to that. The fact that he represents hope and change in powerful yet superficial ways--that he's youngish, black, idealistic, "real"--won't last, but I think right now it's just what we need.
 
Nate Loewentheil
The rest of the world
October 23rd - 1:40 pm
If you thought that McCain and Obama were equal on their policy stances, or felt equally unable to trust either of them, Obama would still be the best choice because of the message it would send to the rest of the world. Most other countries around the globe are deeply distrustful of the United States--they see our country as rapacious, greedy and destructive. And they see our government as controlled by vested interests with narrow perspectives. if we elect John McCain, we put another old white man in to office, one who is part and parcel of the Washington system. In contrast, if we elect Obama (who I believe is absolutely the best choice in terms of policy stances and temperament as well) we give teh rest of the world hope; hope that America's promise of a diverse, equal society is a reality; hope that we can bring a more sophisticated perspective to our foreign policy; hope that our executive branch will understand (or at least try to understand) the rest of the world. Obama has a uniquely diverse background that brings together different parts of the world--It will say an awful lot to the rest of humanity to put him in to our highest office.