I'm sad that Richardson still hasn't broken into the top tier, but very happy that Hillary took third.
Obama seems like an okay enough sort, policy-wise, but I just don't like his extreme inexperience. I mean, he's been a Senator for less than one full term, having won after his opponent got caught up in a sex scandal, the GOP had a full-blown panic, made fumble after fumble, and fielded Alan Keyes at the last second. I'm sorry, but I could beat Alan Keyes in a general election. He only gained a name for himself because of how badly he annihilated his opposition, mostly due to the media somehow seeing the whole thing as "Wow, look at this hot new contender" rather than "Good Lord, Alan Keyes sucks." His one major accomplishment is somehow keeping that attention for four years and turning it into a sort of "Fresh new face of change" image. (Not that image isn't a powerful tool in American politics, of course; just look at how many people actually liked Ronald Reagan. But still
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I haven't read a lot about Richardson, but what I have read was positive. It's a shame that we can't just give him Hillary's votes. *sighs*
If Obama does go all the way, which at least for now looks more possible than some people thought it would be, I'm hoping that he chooses a running mate from within his current pool of opponents (*crosses fingers* please not Oprah...), with the exception of Hillary, of course. I still think that an Obama/Edwards or Obama/Richardson ticket could be a powerful thing... the drive/goals/experience of the latter mixing with the "fresh and new" image of the former.
I was also a bit surprised at how poorly Giuliani did in Iowa, especially with Huckabee coming out on top. (Every time I see his name, I can't help but think of the movie I <3 Huckabee's.)
How do I look up the voting records of candidates? Obviously education is central to me, as new policy changes directly affect my very job. But I have recently become very interested in gun owners' rights, due largely to my brother's encouragement. It may be difficult to find someone whose stance closely mirrors my own, as I am not a one-issue person.
Check out http://www.vote-smart.org (a nonpartisan site that gives you the biographical information, political stances, and a variety of other bits of information on candidates both currently in-office and running for election.) It's got a lot of info that you'll probably find useful.
One candidate that I'd suggest that you stay away from, though, is Ron Paul. He has a small but growing support group, who are always talking about how anyone who doesn't vote for him is "unAmerican" because he's a Constitutionalist... but a lot of the things that he wants to do could be very bad for some people, including teachers/education. He wants to do away with a lot of the federal programs and put a lot of stuff back under state control; the problem with this is that there are a lot of states that are having financial problems, and without government support for education programs and such then the schools will be in even worse shape than they are now.
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Obama seems like an okay enough sort, policy-wise, but I just don't like his extreme inexperience. I mean, he's been a Senator for less than one full term, having won after his opponent got caught up in a sex scandal, the GOP had a full-blown panic, made fumble after fumble, and fielded Alan Keyes at the last second. I'm sorry, but I could beat Alan Keyes in a general election. He only gained a name for himself because of how badly he annihilated his opposition, mostly due to the media somehow seeing the whole thing as "Wow, look at this hot new contender" rather than "Good Lord, Alan Keyes sucks." His one major accomplishment is somehow keeping that attention for four years and turning it into a sort of "Fresh new face of change" image. (Not that image isn't a powerful tool in American politics, of course; just look at how many people actually liked Ronald Reagan. But still ( ... )
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If Obama does go all the way, which at least for now looks more possible than some people thought it would be, I'm hoping that he chooses a running mate from within his current pool of opponents (*crosses fingers* please not Oprah...), with the exception of Hillary, of course. I still think that an Obama/Edwards or Obama/Richardson ticket could be a powerful thing... the drive/goals/experience of the latter mixing with the "fresh and new" image of the former.
I was also a bit surprised at how poorly Giuliani did in Iowa, especially with Huckabee coming out on top. (Every time I see his name, I can't help but think of the movie I <3 Huckabee's.)
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One candidate that I'd suggest that you stay away from, though, is Ron Paul. He has a small but growing support group, who are always talking about how anyone who doesn't vote for him is "unAmerican" because he's a Constitutionalist... but a lot of the things that he wants to do could be very bad for some people, including teachers/education. He wants to do away with a lot of the federal programs and put a lot of stuff back under state control; the problem with this is that there are a lot of states that are having financial problems, and without government support for education programs and such then the schools will be in even worse shape than they are now.
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