On a side note...I am a huge Barrack Obama fan and have been for about 8 months now. I have read both of his books and I highly recommend reading them. Anyone who really cares about the candidates will actually read what that candidate has to say for himself or herself, and I am making the rounds through their works. The best way to learn about Obama is his books. He puts it all out on the line in all its glory and well at times not so glorious. His website is a pretty great resources, and if interested you could join our group Mormons for Obama!
One of my favorite things about Obama is how well he incorporates the progressive/liberal/democrat agenda with religion and faith. It is such a breath of fresh air to finally find some one working for expanded health care for all, public education, and other social welfare programs, who is also committed to God and speaking my similar language when it comes to faith and religion. Of course, our faith and belief system is different, but at least he gets it. The thing that has really irked me that last few years is how lost the democratic party has been when trying to speak about faith. I feel like Obama just knows how to do it, because he actually feels it. You might say he is just being a good politician, but read for your self and then decide. This link is to a speech he gave about politics and faith.
Link to Speech
And I guess while I am spouting off about politics, let me just say that I am really excited about all of the potential presidential candidates. Never before have I felt that any of the five or six leading candidates would all be pretty good presidents. From McCain, Giuliani, Edwards, Romney, Clinton, and of course Obama...I think any of them would be a pretty good president. And I am leaving off the other 10 or so that have thrown...This election will be such a fresh breath of air from last election when I didn't really care for either of the two finalists.
One more thing...I have been asking around for a while, because I am still having trouble understanding another phenomenon in American Politics. I was on my mission and out of the country during the Bill Clinton scandal, which might have something to do with it. I can't understand the complete hatred towards Hillary Clinton. Why such the malice? When you say her name in most Utah homes, you see Brother and Sister Johnson turn into angry ogres. I mean what exactly has she done that requires the amount of hatred that people feel? I mean aren't there quite a few other people that you don't agree with, but none of them bring out the hate.
Perhaps Hillary-hate originates from the same place as the hate directed to President Bush. I mean, really, these are people, they aren't perfect. I honestly feel that they are doing what they think is best for the country. Why can't we disagree with their politics without all of the anger, malice, and hate??
I don't really want to turn my nice happy blog about mountains and Nepal into a political forum, but any comments would be appreciated.
1 comment:
Very evocative thoughts! I agree with you in the belief that this is/was a refreshing campaign. I would never have believed that such a vibrant variety of minorities would be represented. How satisfying! It's amazing what four years does. Unlike you, I have not taken the time to get to know each individual candidate, but have been impressed with Obama for his strengths as a person, his self-presentation...it would be a refreshing change to have a more polished and "respectable" figure represent the U.S. on the world stage (poor George Bush, bless him, he just didn't have it, did he. The English tore him to bits). But the traditionalist in me cannot wole-heartedly accept his politics. Do you perceive them as idealistic? Something about McCain I find repulsive...heroism in war is not justification for presidency! Addressing Hilary-hate (haha! so true!)--that is an interesting concept on many levels, steeped in potential gender perceptions (so overused, but I think there is something to it). Although I believe Clinton was a viable candidate and taken seriously, perhaps we should look deeper...like Jung deep...for an explanation of Hilary-hate. What is the common man's perception of a "power-hungry" woman? I listened to a political talk show awhile ago and a man was saying, "If she can't keep her husband happy at home [the scandal], how is she going to keep the country happy?" Hmmm. Can we really dissociate the traditional roles and characteristics of woman from political ability? But I cannot believe gender is solely responsible for HH--blaming things on gender feels like a cop-out sometimes--and discussions like this, though fascinating, are ominously difficult because they do not seem to bring any answers, simply conjectures...these comments come from my extremely limited understanding as I am thinking out loud. What a fascinating campaign! Making history. I do think Obama will win.
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