Have you registered to vote?

The youth vote matters, but only if they actually vote. The 1st article on political engagement gave statistics saying that youth voters just do not get to the polls like they could. Why try and appeal to a group that doesn't vote? We have to rock the vote, vote or die, but mainly we have to register. Barack O'bama signs are all over campus and around Chapel Hill/Carrboro informing people to register to vote early in the upcoming primary. It may not be the general election, but for the democratic party and nominees this primary is becoming more and more important.
There was a knock at my door the other day. Who could it be? Its not like I have any friends...at least coming over to my house. After yelling at the door for whoever it was to just come in, I decided to answer it. If it wasn't two lovely young ladies trying to spread the word about Barack Obama and get me to register for the primary. Technically, I am still registered in Boone so I was curious about switching it over to Orange Country. As I stood there in nothing but some gym shorts I decided to make the ladies feel more comfortable in their efforts to help campaign by asking them a few questions. I asked them about some of the issues they felt were important, what makes Barack better than the other candidates, what was their phone number, and when the last possible day was to register for the general election(sometimes setting the bar low is better than never setting it).
It was nice to be apart of the door to door strategy the Barack Obama supporters are using to increase voter turnout for the upcoming primary. I even referenced our class a few times and told them how cool Letia is, and how I would talk about this in class. The amazing video we've been watching in class probably is the reason I've forget to bring it up...I sure hope he wins.
Anyways, I am curious to see just how much of an impact the youth vote makes in the general election. It is hard to tell living near a college town, because everyone is young and seems to be politically motivated. But it seems that the youth of America is backing Barack more than ever and that the youth vote could have a record turnout in the election.

National Identity

Our nation is “divided”. President Bush’s term in office has left the United States with many questions. Who will answer them? More importantly, who will the nation choose to try and answer them?
The theme of each of the three remaining candidates seems to be uniting America. But who can unite America? I was watching “The Daily Show” (very academic) and John Stewart asked someone about if a Democrat can unite America? I thought this was an important question. Because if Obama or Clinton is elected into office, will he/she be able to bring the far right to the middle?
It is still early in the process, because the Democratic Party is still far from being united. I feel that this is one of the biggest advantages that John McCain has right now. The Republican Party was not exactly together during his rise to the top, but it seems he now is in complete control of his party. I think that will be the most important piece to a successful democratic run for office. The winning candidate will have to make an outstanding effort to gain the support of the sway Clinton or Obama “losers”.
The “unity” themes of the two parties are different. Obama (of course) speaks of uniting our nation through “change” and peace. Clinton offers much of a similar theme. However, McCain offers a slightly different them to “unity”. Uniting through fixing the war, fixing the country, and an attempt to change partisanship. McCain’s ads and the one we watched in class give this reflection on American past and vision of the American future. Mainly through pictures of him in Vietnam, past presidents, and visions of WWII. Obama has used many images of the past when “change” was used to make a better America.
Both will continue to build this National Identity of unity and bringing together our nation. The first task though for Obama (or Clinton) is to bring together their party before they can bring together America.

Partisanship Sucks

Who is the real candidate of change?
I recently read an article about why Sen. Joe Lieberman backs McCain. Because McCain (like Lieberman) wants to end partisanship. How can Washington become united when party politics is involved? Nothing gets done. Partisanship limits the people's choices for candidates (in any election) and it limits the candidates choices while in office for fear of party backlash. No one is thinking for themselves. There are two polar opposites: The Republicans and the the Democrats. Neither is working. How about a neutral and free(r) thinking candidate. Now, candidates who oppose partisanship is common, but normally they come with a shit ton of crazy, but McCain differs because he is respected and proven in the politcal sphere. McCain and Lieberman come from two different parties, the republicans and the democrats. But they agree on several issues (the war in iraq/certain economic things/etc). I think it is nice to see two politicians from seperate parties come together and work together to better america. kinda like what the stupid f------ system is intended for as opposed to what it is doing now. Its for the greater good....the greater good (just watched Hot Fuzz...sorry)
I think you can get my general idea of my post so I won't ramble on, because if anyone else is like me....they won't respond to a post that requires reading over a certain length, and that point is about here-->

Post 1

Let’s see if I do this right…

The most recent topic of debate (according to CNN.com) is the comments being made about Barack Obama. The comments are being made by his Democratic competitor Hillary Clinton and likely Republican nominee John McCain. Each alleges that Barack Obama is merely making promises rather than giving specifics. “I am in the solutions business. My opponent is in the promises business” –Sen. Clinton

Each of the other two remaining president hopefuls has been through their hazing period of attacks (which won’t stop), but it seems the media/candidates have avoided attacking Obama. Obama has become the front runner of the Democratic Party as well as the front runner for the entire election. With this new development, the bad mouthing of Obama seems to be just beginning. Sen. Clinton is getting desperate and John McCain is preparing for the head to head battle, but what specifically has taken so long for an attack? Excluding the Muslim rumor (that doesn’t count for me). Is this a race issue? Rush Limbaugh seems to think that is why it has taken so long (Donovan McNabb likely will back Obama). Former President Clinton has made several remarks and in return received a backlash of disapproval. Has that played a factor for others?

The pressure early on was clearly on Hillary Clinton. The pressure derived from being a woman, Bill’s wife, reputation for being cold, and the pressure as being the front runner for the White House. We had several classes talking about the “extra” pressure placed on Hillary. Last class we talked about how she formed her campaign to look as though she was the incumbent and I think that has been her downfall. She was the candidate being “ganged up” on by McCain, Romney, Obama, and Edwards. Now that she has taken a step back to Obama in the publics’ eye does he receive the same scrutiny? He seems to be the “darling” candidate and likeable to everyone. We went over the likeability poll in class and he was way ahead of the other two and Hillary being in last. There is always a bull’s eye on the favorite’s chest and now that he is the guy we will see how he is brought back to the pack or runs away from it. Obama has run a great campaign so far, but will it be able to continue?

Here are some links:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/13/2008.hopefuls/index.html

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_021308/content/01125107.guest.html

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_021308/content/01125115.guest.html

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8a25c39215cc1d860115ce8320190014