For a Friday night, our debate watch party turnout was great. We had 15 kids show up and I thought the debate was a great success.
It was clear that Sen. Obama has the upperhand when it comes to the economy--the issue I think will ultimately lead to Sen. Obama being elected president. This issue is first and foremost on voters' minds and it's not going to go away anytime soon. With Sen. McCain's Keating 5 ties (which just because it happened 10+ years ago doesn't mean it's not relevant or important) and backwards "trickle" down ideas. which clearly haven't worked the past 8 years, the American people are looking for a stronger plan that will help them NOW. And they don't have to look far to find it. I would have like both candidates to have stronger answers about their plans and ideas about the bailouts as well as what they will need to sacrifice in their administrations in order to fund it.
I was worried going in that Sen. McCain would show a true advantage over Sen. Obama when it came to foreign policy and the war in Iraq. But Sen. Obama stayed calm and collected (while his opponent often came across as angry, and when he wasn't angry, it was kind of creepy how he never looked at Obama) and presented his plans and ideas and I think it will resonate with the American people. While media pundits always like to call everything a "tie" to keep people watching right until election day, I expect to see Obama get a boost from this debate.
I have to say, I miss the old John McCain. I've always really respected him (especially because of his work with Russ) but there is nothing "maverick" about him anymore. He is clearly playing into the hands of base (do I even need to talk about Palin?) and I really miss the guy who people genuinely couldn't count on to vote straight party. Oh well. I guess that's what a presidential race will do to you--but perhaps at the cost of the race. The maverick thing would have worked well, I think, if he'd actually been a maverick recently. But you can't vote with Bush 90% of the time and expect people to think that you "buck the party" and think for yourself.
10/6/08
9/26/08 40 Days
Well, I've decided to chronicle the last 40 days of the election. I wrote a few blog posts from September 26th-October 6th (but I'm just finally putting them up on a real blog site) and will continue with (hopefully) daily commentary until November 4th. Enjoy!
September 26th (40 days)
Well, thanks to my most wonderful friends and family members, the debt of my trip to Denver for the Democratic National Convention has been paid off. It was such a relief to me and has allowed me to throw myself even harder into this election without the worries of debt hanging over my head.
A little recap of my involvement thus far:
-I attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August representing Ohio as the Secretary of the Ohio College Democrats and Wittenberg as a Chapter President. I met some amazing students from all across Ohio and got to experience politics at its best! Sen. Obama's speech at Invesco field was INCREDIBLE but I really enjoyed seeing Sen. Clinton, Gov. Patrick, Sen. Boxer, Gov. Kunin, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, and many others in more intimate settings like the "Health Care First" forum and the Women's caucus. The women's caucus was especially inspiring and after a rousing speech from former Vermont Gov. Madeline Kunin, I am inspired to run for office as soon as I can! The women in power at the convention were unbelievably supportive of the young people, especially girls, at the convention and are doing their best to get us to run for office (and win) as early as 2010! Aside from the speeches and workshops, the top of the line watch parties with the Ohio delegation were outstanding!
-I started a voter registration drive September 1st and it will continue until October 6th. Our goal is to register 300 (of 2000) students at their campus address. Registering voters is one of the more rewarding parts of my involvement--it's so wonderful to get students involved in this simple, powerful way.
-In addition, I'm in talks with Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's son Jason to have him bring his OUTSTANDING documentary "Swing State" to Wittenberg. The film is about his father's and Gov. Ted Strickland's gubenatorial race in 2006 against Ken Blackwell (you may know him better as the Secretary of State responsible for destroying the 2004 elections beyond recognition). I saw the film in Denver and it made me proud to be a part of Ohio politics...I'd love to spread that pride to the rest of campus!
-We'll also be hosting debate watch parties for each of the debates. Commentary to follow each!
-I'm also sponsoring an issues series, where the College Democrats will be discussing one key issue a week and how Obama hopes to solve the problems associated with that issue. Our first event was yesterday and we discussed the economy--it was really successful and I was so happy to be able to present the problems on Wall Street in a more accessible way for students on campus. Next topic will be health care.
September 26th (40 days)
Well, thanks to my most wonderful friends and family members, the debt of my trip to Denver for the Democratic National Convention has been paid off. It was such a relief to me and has allowed me to throw myself even harder into this election without the worries of debt hanging over my head.
A little recap of my involvement thus far:
-I attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August representing Ohio as the Secretary of the Ohio College Democrats and Wittenberg as a Chapter President. I met some amazing students from all across Ohio and got to experience politics at its best! Sen. Obama's speech at Invesco field was INCREDIBLE but I really enjoyed seeing Sen. Clinton, Gov. Patrick, Sen. Boxer, Gov. Kunin, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, and many others in more intimate settings like the "Health Care First" forum and the Women's caucus. The women's caucus was especially inspiring and after a rousing speech from former Vermont Gov. Madeline Kunin, I am inspired to run for office as soon as I can! The women in power at the convention were unbelievably supportive of the young people, especially girls, at the convention and are doing their best to get us to run for office (and win) as early as 2010! Aside from the speeches and workshops, the top of the line watch parties with the Ohio delegation were outstanding!
-I started a voter registration drive September 1st and it will continue until October 6th. Our goal is to register 300 (of 2000) students at their campus address. Registering voters is one of the more rewarding parts of my involvement--it's so wonderful to get students involved in this simple, powerful way.
-In addition, I'm in talks with Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's son Jason to have him bring his OUTSTANDING documentary "Swing State" to Wittenberg. The film is about his father's and Gov. Ted Strickland's gubenatorial race in 2006 against Ken Blackwell (you may know him better as the Secretary of State responsible for destroying the 2004 elections beyond recognition). I saw the film in Denver and it made me proud to be a part of Ohio politics...I'd love to spread that pride to the rest of campus!
-We'll also be hosting debate watch parties for each of the debates. Commentary to follow each!
-I'm also sponsoring an issues series, where the College Democrats will be discussing one key issue a week and how Obama hopes to solve the problems associated with that issue. Our first event was yesterday and we discussed the economy--it was really successful and I was so happy to be able to present the problems on Wall Street in a more accessible way for students on campus. Next topic will be health care.
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