state of the union.

immediate reaction. he did well. he did not slur his words (or make them up for that matter) and he was able to bring some form of cohesion to his presidency. he stated the issues of iraq with diligence and passion similar to the way he first spoke of invading the middle east. he also brought some reality to iraq. in his inaugural address to the country january 20th 4 years ago he said that he wanted to end tyranny worldwide. in his last address before the end of his legacy he said he wants to spread the hope of freedom. have the last 7 years of war brought a realistic slap to bush. i hope so.

he addressed stem cell research. my passion issue. he said he wants congress to pass bills to expand research within the "moral boundaries." this was the most heart wrenching line of the whole speech. it's completely predictable but it churns my stomach when i hear it. i am a fairly strict catholic and apparently curing my disease is outside of moral boundaries. god has given me the disease that will eventually be my demise and apparently we should not fund researchers to save my life and the lives of others.


clinton and obama did not greet eachother. the two of them act as if they are 8th grade girls fighting over the same n'sync member. both candidates are strong. they are intelligent. it is time for them to start acting as CNN calls it "presidential." competition is great and all but as i see it my country is being to unravel. i want a leader not entertainment. i want someone to look me in the eye and tell me they are doing what is necessary to lead this country. clinton and obama have not stepped to the plate. instead of looking into the teleprompter and visually giving me comfort as an american - they stare at each other with disdain. president george w. bush stood up to that plate. he was not a great president - he wasn't even a good president but he is a leader. he has lead our country into a dark time of recessions and war but he lead.

this is a blog post that will never reach our candidates but if you happen to hand your baby to obama to kiss please tell him to grow up. it's time to get out of the minor leagues and get into the majors. i am sick of the foul shots and heartbreak.

smackdown.

i was in my political science presidency class today and my professor used the term "chuckabee" and that got me thinking. take every candidate's most popular celebrity backer and stick them in the ring. ladies and gentleman its a smackdown.

the line-up

-representin' mike huckabee- the strong, the brawny, the slightly outdated CHUCK NORRIS!
-in for barack obama - the media savvy, the powerhouse, the former roach owner OPRAH!
-hootin' for john mccain - the italian stallion himself with or without the cane SYLVESTOR STALLONE!
-closing our match for hillary clinton - the nose with the bro(lin) BARBBBAAARRAAA STREISAND!

the prediction

i'm going to knock out chuck norris immediately for those internet quotes that premature boys enjoy to quote (even though when you mention delta force - they have no idea what it is). sylvestor will take out barbara because lets face it stallone is the underdog and barbara's backed by the majority of gay men in this world. leaving us with a match which i like to imagine to be a cage match between oprah and stallone. it's a tough one to predict. the big o might have to bust out her old school detroit ways to take out rocky.

thoughts, feelings, and predictions are appreciated.

ain't 2008 great?

barack obama has been said to be the reincarnated john f. kennedy. i should preface that statement by saying it was said by my aging political science professor who live through kennedy's 3-year term and is still in mourning over his assassination. his statement has been in the back of my brain since it woke me up as i was drifting away in my constitutional politics class.

let's compare. both men are handsome. by any standards the charisma of kennedy and the spirited voice of obama are attractive to most americans. but the attraction of kennedy was combined with his 1920's gruff hollywood looks and his articulation of how to change the world. kennedy is my second favorite president (no one trumps wilson). he had imperfections that made his presidency and campaign appealing. granted i was not alive when he ran for the presidency but through transcripts of speeches and old black and white presentations of debates i can say i would have voted for kennedy.

situationally the political climate seems similar to the 1960 election. the economy seems to be stagnant and falling faster and faster into a recession - similar to the 1960 economy. the shaky relationship of nixon and eisenhower can be compared to the relationship of mccain and bush or bush and the republican party. the challengers to the bush campaign do not seem to have the desire and the want to defeat the existing party. kennedy had the ability to look into the camera and passionately say, i want the presidency. our democratic candidates do not look the camera or the american people in the eye, instead clinton gives her infamous death stare to obama and obama bickers with clinton. instead of arguing with eachother why not attack the bush administration. why not attack their previous employers or the house for not utilizing the separation of powers and passing bills that would help the american people they allegedly work for? why not charge dick cheney for treason for the way the iraq war has been fought?

obama is not kennedy. clinton is not roosevelt. mccain is not lincoln. and huckabee does not deserve to share a sentence with a great man. i can't type romney without gagging. i do not know who to support. the beginning of this campaign season i was with mccain. i thought he was the only powerful candidate that would rise above the bickering and become a leader. he has disappointed me. mccain's iraq plan doesn't sit well in my stomach. i support my troops and i disagree with a withdrawal but permanent stations are not the answer. i wish i could support clinton's politics but i just can't. i cannot ignore the blank check she gave president bush in the senate for the iraq war. i don't enjoy basing my vote on one vote in the senate but this is my generation and i can't support the woman who votes one way and then demands immediate withdrawal.

i want to support and back obama. i want to with all of my person. he represents my state. he's a family man. he doesn't support universal healthcare. but for some reason maybe its the tax increases that prevents me from saying lets barack and roll. it's the iraq thing again. obama demands complete troop withdrawal in 16 months. i can't support it. i can't consciously support leaving a country in a little bit over 2 years with a defined plan of how we are leaving a country we invaded. then there is his experience. but that i'm ok with. i think the inexperienced will save this country. cheney had a beautiful resume and well we all know how that worked out.

a surprising turn of events.

since this is my first blog and the majority of surfers in the blogosphere have no idea who i am - the first couple of entries need to be read as if we grew up neighbors, we played in the same AYSO soccer league and we graduated with the same naive ideals. i never thought i could say the following sentence and putting it into print will immortalize it in the technological world. so here it goes [insert deep breath]...i could actually vote for hillary clinton. all those that do know me just fell out of there chair with complete and utter shock. like many moderate americans that support the troops and gasp at the idea of raising taxes, clinton does not have much appeal. she stands on a soap box squawking about reformed government, universal healthcare and affordable education but does not have (or at least does not articulate) an actual stone cold plan on how to fund her ideals. that being said, after starting carl berstein's "a woman in charge" i can give clinton credit for her ideals.

again me and those americans hating on gun control cringe at clinton's stone cold face and her exceptional way of molding a question into hatred of the bush administration or a glove slap to obama's campaign. the credit i can offer comes in the form of clinton's vague past. the americans and i quickly jump to despising clinton based on her politics and do not formulate opinions based on character. this could be for two reasons. the first is that the character of so many other politicians becomes the forefront and clinton is cast aside because of current good behavior. the other is simply clinton does not tell the american people about her past successes and more importantly failures.

when clinton cried in front of the nation, her delegate numbers went through the roof. the new clinton supporters said the tears "humanized" her. my jealously of clinton's successes immediately claimed those tears not as heartfelt but as a cheap political ploy that so many state senators and representatives in michigan use to be reelected in their districts of 70,000 or less. after reading the first 200 pages of berstein's book i can state (with limited ummpfs and cringes) that clinton's tears were heartfelt. if her campaign team wanted to use a tactic they would bring up clinton's years in college and her years working to reform the lives of children.

this book has completely changed my perception of clinton. she came from a psychologically abusive household and overcame depression to become a leader of the free world. before i read berstein's exquisite words i wrote clinton off as a former first-lady who saw a vulnerable opening in the democratic party and used it to her advantage. as i read through these pages and watch her overcome sexist qualms on the debates i'll say something for the second time that i thought i would say only if tortured...i may vote for hillary rodham clinton.