Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Race to the White House
Here we are almost 4 months into the primaries now, and we still dont have two candidates for the president. With Hilary winning Pennsylvania today, it puts here back in the race. With 780 delegates still to be handed out, Obama is only leading by 138. Since February 12, Obama has had the lead in the primaries, but has not been able to put it away and run off with it. Obama since then has been able to expand his lead, but the door is open for Clinton to swoop in there and take the driver seat. This race probably wont end until the final primary on June 3. But it still might not be finished and might after to be decided at the Convention. The one thing though that Hilary has on Obama is more superdelgates which could help here out if it goes to the convention. Then on the complete opposite side, the republican primary has been over for a while having McCain winning the Republican side after blewing past the competition. Does this democratic race help people get excited in politics again because it has been so close, but will it hurt the democrats later on in the general election which McCain has been able to get ready for and not had to deal with others for awhile now?
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7 comments:
I think the main reason why McCain could have an advantage isn't because the Democratic race is so close, but rather because a lot of our country still is not ready for a female or black president. Living in California as a high school student, the political mindset of America can often be deceptive. California in general is a very liberal and Democratic state, thus some people think that it is unthinkable to even consider having another Republican President. But many people in the middle of the country actually want a Republican President. Also if Hillary, with her win of the Pennsylvania Primary, does get the Democratic Nomination, McCain may be at an even bigger advantage. With so many variables in this presidential race we can only wait and see what will happen Nov. 4.
I agree with Derek, McCain's main advantage is America may not be ready for either Clinton or Obama. Also, both Clinton and Obama can be considered extreme liberals (in certain issues) which may push moderate democrats to vote republican in the november elections
How is the country not ready for a female or black president? Even though we've been voting white guys into office for last 200-odd years, the last 8 prove that that doesn't mean anything. Bush has proved that white people or men in general can suck just as bad at leading the country as anyone else. Americans as a whole can't be stupid enough to let racism or sexism bring them down. If we elect McCain (which I really hope we don't, but then again, I'm a Californian student, right Derek?), it will be because the majority of people think he's the best choice in terms of what his policy is and what stances he takes on issues, not because the 2nd best choice is a faceless woman or black man who can't run the country based solely on that. People will do what's best for themselves and the country.
In my opinion, McCain has the greatest advantage possible for a presidential nominee: a divided opposing party. The democratic race is so intense and controversial that many democratic voters will not vote for the democratic candidate if their preferred nominee isn't chosen. Too many democrats are too stubborn and will vote republican out of spite if their favorite candidate loses the primary race. To me, this appears to be the most formidable obstacle facing the democratic party, and unless we unify and all support one candidate, we will have four more years of a republican presidency.
Regardless of McCain and his certain advantages in having alreayd won the GOP nomination, the Democrats need to get organized.
Is deciding the Democratic nominee so late going to divide the party? That is my concern. Obama and Clinton talk about change, but I get the feeling that if they dont agree, more people will vote for McCain before a female of African-American candidate.
And having Clinton and Obama, or Obama and Clinton, on the same ticket isnt going to help the democrats.
Benji, I did not mean to generalize that all California students are unaware of the political views other people may have in the rest of the country, only that it may be hard for some to get a good picture of what the country on a whole is feeling. I might have been exaggerating while saying that "a lot of our country isn't ready for a female or black president" but I still think that there is a good portion that feels this way. But times are certainly different than they were 20 even 10 years ago, so maybe there is enough of the country that is ready so that McCain will not have an advantage in this particular sense.
I think that this democratic race has been great for America because it has been so competitive. I think that it's a good thing that the democratic nominee hasn't been decided yet and won't be decided until the convention. It has gotten more people excited about politics and the future of America, especially democrats. My only problem is that this democratic race has had a polarizing effect on the democratic parties. Too many supporters of Hillary are attacking Obama and not supporting him, and too many Obama supporters are attacking Hillary and not supporting her. There was a CNN poll that said that only 40-60% of democratic supporters for one canidate would vote for the other if their candidate couldn't win. Democrats should be supporting each other. With McCain already being decided on as the Republican candidate, he already has an advantage. He has been able to advertise himself and talk about how great of a candidate he is while Hillary and Obama are continuing to battle each other. In the end, many democrats might switch their support to Hillary because they think that only Hillary can defeat McCain in the general election. I don't agree with that, but it might happen.
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