Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
September 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
“30 Rock” star and Saturday Night Live Alum Tina Fey appeared on the season premier of SNL to portray Sarah Palin alongside Amy Poehler’s Hillary Clinton. She nails not only the look (no surprise) but the voice and cadence of Palin. This video is funny, but also very very sad.
When I can find a way to subdue my language a touch, I intend on writing up a post on how distasteful and insulting Sarah Palin is in this presidential election… If I never manage to put it together, it’s because I couldn’t find a way to channel my hatred in healthy manner…
Tags: amy poehler, clinton, election, hillary clinton, mccain, palin, presidential election, sarah palin, saturday night live, snl, tina fey
Election 2008: A Vote For Hope
April 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
On October 9th, 2007, I saw Senator Barack Obama speak to a crowd of over 800 in Plymouth State University’s HUB Courtroom. Coming into election season this was the candidate I had the most hope for. After his now famous DNC speech from 2004, I was sure this would be a strong candidate for exciting new and positive directions for America.
Unfortunately, Obama had done little to impress me in his campaign so far. He speaks platitudes without information or actions to back them up. He has done very little as a Senator, except run for president. This does not endear him or his potential as commander in chief to me.
In person, Obama was even less inspiring. His foreign policy experience and knowledge is weak. He even admits this, claiming the Rumsfeld and Cheney have long resumes and a bad track record, so his “lack of resume” can’t be worse. This doesn’t inspire me.
However, when election time finally came, I was left with only hree options: Obama, Clinton, or Edwards. I had come to like Biden, but he’d dropped. Richardson always seemed like a bit too much of a long shot.
Seeing Edwards stuck out for me as terrifying… During his speech he stated that the best approach with Iraq would be an immediate withdrawal which would lead to a complete anarchy, which would lead to genocide, which would force an international humanitarian effort, which would allow the US to get together with the international community to raise a new Iraq from those ashes. Frankly, this stance is entirely unacceptable. There may be problems in Iraq, but genocide should not be your plan. Ever.
I liked Hillary Clinton in person. She spoke well, her policies were well thought out. However, I find her political maneuvering and style distasteful. I find it easier to hate her, than to like her; even when I agree with what she is saying. This causes her to be seen as divisive. We don’t need division in this country. I’d rather see McCain get the nomination than more division in the country.
This leaves Obama. He’s not perfect. I think he needs more experience, but hopefully this can come with a well chosen cabinet. His inspirational nature could be healthy for the nation. So in the end, not sure which way to go even as I walked into the voting booth, I chose hope. Hope that he surprises me and goes the distance. Hope that he can improve America’s image. Hope that what he says is what he’ll do. Hope for change.
Tags: Barack Obama, clinton, election, election 2008, hillary clinton, obama, politics
Election 2008: My Background
October 18, 2007 | 1 Comment
As I live in NH, I get the opportunity to meet a number of presidential candidates and form an opinion using first hand experience. I find that my opinions of candidates can sometimes change in retrospect, so I intend on chronicling my experiences and meetings going forward. However, there is some history I’d like to get out so I have a starting point.
The first national election I paid attention to was the 1992 primary. I was merely 12, but I can remember supporting Tom Harkin in a formal grade school debate. Bill Clinton went on to win that primary and later the national election. During the national election, I was quite curious about Ross Perot. His concise, non-politician sounding, talk was intriguing. His platform was clear and I was a bit torn before finally siding back toward my liberal roots with Clinton.
Eight years later in 2000 I was finally of age to participate. As a college student in NH, I was able go out and meet candidates. Out of the blue I took the opportunity to meet George W. Bush in Lebanon, NH. What stuck out for me most was his odd spin on how to reform education. More mandatory standardized testing and tax credits for enrolling students in private schools seemed insane to me. Later, I saw John McCain speak and realized that not all Republicans were crazy. With this in mind and Al Gore a sure thing on the Democrat ticket, I’d oppose Bush in any way possible way. This led to me voting for McCain in the primary, which he ended up winning in NH, even though he would go on to lose nationally.
By the time the election came around, I was uninspired by Al Gore and had lost faith with the two party system. I then dipped my toe back into the third party concept and threw my support behind Ralph Nader. When the election was eventually awarded to Bush, I felt somewhat bad about not having supported Gore, when he was electable and superior to Bush. With this in mind, I was more passionate in my opposition of Bush and certain that in the future I would only support candidates I feel are electable.
In the 2004 campaign I met Howard Dean. For the first time, I had found a candidate who truly resonated with me. I vowed to do anything possible to help him get elected. This was the first time I got involved in helping a candidate’s campaign. Beyond participating in the campaign, I took the opportunity to see him speak two additional times before the election, each time reassuring me that this was the strongest person to lead America. When his campaign imploded, I remained faithfully hopeful, but was heartbroken to see his hopes of the White House dwindle. The primary was eventually won by John Kerry.
This left me forced to put my support behind John Kerry, in continued resistance to Bush. Without a doubt this was a better choice than George W Bush and I would not make the mistake of refusing to choose the lesser of two evils in a close election again. Of course everyone knows how this election eventually turned out, Bush getting four more years in Washington.
This leads us to Election 2008… With George W Bush out of the equation, I feel like any candidate will be an improvement, leaving me very hopeful for the future. This also has the side effect of me needing to look at each candidate equally, on both side of the aisle. Over time, I’ll post my impressions of each that I get to see. Of course keep in mind… I’ve never supported any candidate who has gone on to win the presidency…
Tags: 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, america, bill clinton, Bush, clinton, college, dean, election, george bush, george w bush, harkin, howard dean, john kerry, kerry, new hampshire, nh, politics, primary, ralph nader, tom harkin