(no subject)
This year’s elections turned out to be just as exciting and dramatic as expected. Throughout the country many races for state senators and representatives took place, as well as the presidential election. In Georgia, the run-off for the senate was between Republican Johnny Isakson and Democrat Denise Majette. As predicted by many, Johnny Isakson swept the race with fifty-nine percent of the vote, while Majette only managed to receive thirty-nine percent. Majette put up a good fight, but in the end Isakson came out on top.
Locally, there were many races happening as well. One of the most popular Cobb County races was between Phil Gingrey and Rick Crawford, for the eleventh congressional district. Gingrey won this race putting yet another Republican in the house for Georgia. By the time Election Day was over, more and more Republicans were voted into the House for Georgia. This gave the Republicans control of the state legislature, holding the majority if the seats.
Nationally, the presidential election was a tight one, eventually coming down to one state: Ohio. After reviewing the votes, it became evident that Republican George W. Bush would be serving his second term as President of the United States of America. Before this became evident, Bush was very surprised at the number of votes Kerry was receiving. Bush did seem to be stressed for awhile in worrying about the race, but soon calmed down and assured himself and his family that there was nothing to worry about. Democratic senator John Kerry conceded the race to Bush with a four-minute phone call discussing the need to unify our country and come together for the sake of everybody. Bush won the race with fifty-one percent of the votes, but Kerry was not far behind. I think this small margin of votes reflects how divided our country has come to be, especially after these past four years.
This election is honestly the first one I have followed, and I am glad that I did. I know as I get older the elections not only for president, but for state representatives will be of great importance to me. These people affect almost everything about your life, and you should do as much as you can to learn about them and vote for the one who you think can do the best for your state and your country. I think the most influential part of the presidential election for me were the debates. During the debates you do not only get a clearer view of where each candidate stands and what they believe, but you get to see how each candidate deals with pressure, and how easily the candidates are able to answer questions. You get a better view of the intelligence and integrity of a candidate when you know they are not reading from a teleprompter. The debates this year really told me that Kerry was the best contender for president. He knew where he stood on issues, and did not look the least bit nervous. He held himself well and I would like to see that in the leader of our country.
Though the election was very informing and interesting, there were of course things I did not like. The main thing I dislike about politics is that each and every politician finds it necessary to bash their opponent. In my opinion, grown men and women should not waste their time bashing their opponents, but instead they should spend that valuable time discussing their views on issues, their beliefs, and their plans for a better life for everybody. Of course there must be a derogatory statement made every once in a while toward your opponent, that is life, but it seemed to me in this election and what I have seen from other elections that candidates spend great chunks of their time bashing their opponents. I personally do not think it will change anybody’s mind, and I think it is a waste of time.
The media plays a great role in the election process. When running for office, especially for president, you are aware that the media will be following every single thing you do, and that was no different this year. Each and every step taken by a candidate was observed by some sort of news group, and was published for the world to see. I think this is very influential in how people vote. When you see every aspect of a person’s life you begin to know a lot about who they are as a person, and when voting for a person who will represent you you want to know them and that they will represent you well. Though seeing into the candidates’ lives can help make up your mind, I definitely do not think it should be the main thing you base your vote around. The candidates know they are being watched every second of every day, and surely would not want to send off a bad vibe to any potential voter. The media could possibly cause candidates to not be themselves, and act phony; not all of the time, but nobody is perfect everyday and this is what the candidates are striving for you to think.
As mentioned earlier, this is the first election I have really followed as closely as I followed this one. In doing this, I have learned a lot about not only the election process, but the people involved. No matter how much dislike I may have for a candidate, I have come to realize that they honestly do care about what they are doing. These candidates put more effort and money into their campaigns than we students have put into our Election Notebooks and that is a lot. I may completely hate what a president or other representative is doing to our country, but I will always have some sort of respect for them because of the fact that they do care about what they are doing and put their entire life into their life and this country. I am glad that this project was assigned and I was forced to follow the election, because I learned there is a lot more to worry about in a person than what party they belong to. Not every Democrat agrees on certain issues, and likewise, not every Republican agrees on issues presented to them. Every person running for office is different, and I have learned that I need to research each one and find out exactly what they stand for instead of jumping to conclusions just because of the party they belong to.
For the next four years I hope to see a lot happen in our country. I am not one-hundred percent positive that these changes that I hope for will actually occur. I would like to see our country pull our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible, and I would like to see our economy grow and embrace more of the middle class citizens in the country. For now I can only hope for these changes, but I will keep my eyes and ears open to the news to see if my hopes are fulfilled.
Locally, there were many races happening as well. One of the most popular Cobb County races was between Phil Gingrey and Rick Crawford, for the eleventh congressional district. Gingrey won this race putting yet another Republican in the house for Georgia. By the time Election Day was over, more and more Republicans were voted into the House for Georgia. This gave the Republicans control of the state legislature, holding the majority if the seats.
Nationally, the presidential election was a tight one, eventually coming down to one state: Ohio. After reviewing the votes, it became evident that Republican George W. Bush would be serving his second term as President of the United States of America. Before this became evident, Bush was very surprised at the number of votes Kerry was receiving. Bush did seem to be stressed for awhile in worrying about the race, but soon calmed down and assured himself and his family that there was nothing to worry about. Democratic senator John Kerry conceded the race to Bush with a four-minute phone call discussing the need to unify our country and come together for the sake of everybody. Bush won the race with fifty-one percent of the votes, but Kerry was not far behind. I think this small margin of votes reflects how divided our country has come to be, especially after these past four years.
This election is honestly the first one I have followed, and I am glad that I did. I know as I get older the elections not only for president, but for state representatives will be of great importance to me. These people affect almost everything about your life, and you should do as much as you can to learn about them and vote for the one who you think can do the best for your state and your country. I think the most influential part of the presidential election for me were the debates. During the debates you do not only get a clearer view of where each candidate stands and what they believe, but you get to see how each candidate deals with pressure, and how easily the candidates are able to answer questions. You get a better view of the intelligence and integrity of a candidate when you know they are not reading from a teleprompter. The debates this year really told me that Kerry was the best contender for president. He knew where he stood on issues, and did not look the least bit nervous. He held himself well and I would like to see that in the leader of our country.
Though the election was very informing and interesting, there were of course things I did not like. The main thing I dislike about politics is that each and every politician finds it necessary to bash their opponent. In my opinion, grown men and women should not waste their time bashing their opponents, but instead they should spend that valuable time discussing their views on issues, their beliefs, and their plans for a better life for everybody. Of course there must be a derogatory statement made every once in a while toward your opponent, that is life, but it seemed to me in this election and what I have seen from other elections that candidates spend great chunks of their time bashing their opponents. I personally do not think it will change anybody’s mind, and I think it is a waste of time.
The media plays a great role in the election process. When running for office, especially for president, you are aware that the media will be following every single thing you do, and that was no different this year. Each and every step taken by a candidate was observed by some sort of news group, and was published for the world to see. I think this is very influential in how people vote. When you see every aspect of a person’s life you begin to know a lot about who they are as a person, and when voting for a person who will represent you you want to know them and that they will represent you well. Though seeing into the candidates’ lives can help make up your mind, I definitely do not think it should be the main thing you base your vote around. The candidates know they are being watched every second of every day, and surely would not want to send off a bad vibe to any potential voter. The media could possibly cause candidates to not be themselves, and act phony; not all of the time, but nobody is perfect everyday and this is what the candidates are striving for you to think.
As mentioned earlier, this is the first election I have really followed as closely as I followed this one. In doing this, I have learned a lot about not only the election process, but the people involved. No matter how much dislike I may have for a candidate, I have come to realize that they honestly do care about what they are doing. These candidates put more effort and money into their campaigns than we students have put into our Election Notebooks and that is a lot. I may completely hate what a president or other representative is doing to our country, but I will always have some sort of respect for them because of the fact that they do care about what they are doing and put their entire life into their life and this country. I am glad that this project was assigned and I was forced to follow the election, because I learned there is a lot more to worry about in a person than what party they belong to. Not every Democrat agrees on certain issues, and likewise, not every Republican agrees on issues presented to them. Every person running for office is different, and I have learned that I need to research each one and find out exactly what they stand for instead of jumping to conclusions just because of the party they belong to.
For the next four years I hope to see a lot happen in our country. I am not one-hundred percent positive that these changes that I hope for will actually occur. I would like to see our country pull our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible, and I would like to see our economy grow and embrace more of the middle class citizens in the country. For now I can only hope for these changes, but I will keep my eyes and ears open to the news to see if my hopes are fulfilled.