I currently don't talk politics much on my blog, but I just wanted to offer a fair warning that this may change. It's not that I never talked about politics on my blog, I tend to do it more during Presidential elections and Alex and I have been anticipating the 2008 election since 2004.
So what brings this up? Barack Obama formed his Presidential Exploratory Committee this past week. I was ready to slap an Obama in '08 bumper sticker on my car back in 2004 after the horrible outcome of our last Presidential election. Alex and I are pretty serious about wanting Barack to run, and if he does run we're serious about helping the campaign in any way we know how. That's huge for us because we don't tend to be the involved political types, we just have a lot of opinions about politics. The following video is Barack Obama's message about forming his committee.
So, on February 10, 2007, Barack Obama will announce whether he will be running for President in Springfield, IL...and Alex and I are going to be there! I'm pretty excited about it too. I also hope to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum again, I love that place! Plus what better backdrop...in my opinion, Abraham Lincoln was this country's greatest President. See more about who Barack Obama is with this video:
I'll probably tone down my political posts from 4 years ago...which I remember, I believe I posted at least one thing a day about politics of some sort. Normally though it was electronic voting machines that got me worked up, I suspect that this topic might come up a few times in the next election too.
I will just throw all this out there now though. I'm liberal but not necessarily a Democrat, I do support the Green Party but I will be likely to vote Democrat in major elections. I would love to live to see a 3 or 4 party governement in this country...I think the 2 parties that we have don't necessarily represent the beliefs of most people, but for most people it's all they're going to vote for. I don't think young people don't vote because they're not interested...young people don't vote because most politicians don't have their best interests in mind as they represent their constituencies. I also believe that most politicians are out of touch with technology...however this is a recurring theme, I can't say this is the first time in history that politicians don't understand technology. After reading up on the history of copyright law in our country though, I realize that now, more than ever, the importance of our public voice when it comes to technology...this soap box is for my copyright paper though, or another blog post ;)
I'm really excited about Barack and I really do hope he runs. I haven't read his new book yet, Alex is still reading it but we did buy a copy shortly after it came out. I hope to get it read soon but I have a ton of other things to read for my classes...I know it's good though!
Not being a US citizen, of course it is not for me to say much on your politics... except for the fact that the US president is a significant figure.
The next presidential race looks interesting - from afar - although we're reading much more about the Democratic options (Clinton and Obama) than about the Republicans. Both are interesting propositions, offering the prospect of either a female or a non-white president. As far as I can tell, both of them are talking more about domestic and social issues than about foreign policy right now?
Glad to hear the politicians are getting people excited. I'll be interested to see how the debate develops.
You're right, the US president is a significant worldwide figure...however I believe that the American people need to hear about domestic issues right now. There are a lot of problems going on at home that need to be addressed. The economic outlook in Michigan just got a bit more bleak with the announcement of Pfizer closing R&D facilities which will have a huge impact on my city and state...not to mention the already dwindling auto industry. It's been a rough time for a lot of people...
Of course we have some foreign policies to contend with too. I would watch what the US Senate does in the next year...also Bush's State of the Union is tonight, I know Iraq is going to be a huge topic. Both Clinton and Obama are Senators so if you really how they're going to be on foreign policy then that's probably where to look...
Sure, sorry, I wasn't trying to say that you folks don't have a range of issues to contend with, or that candidates should focus more on foreign policy than domestic. Just commenting that currently there hasn't been that much press (in the UK) about what these two candidates think on foreign affairs.
As I said, I'll be following the contests with interest.
Oh no, I appreciate your comments Andy...I never really considered a non-American's view on American politics before and I find it very interesting!
I should pay more attention to foreign media, but there's so much media to pay attention to anymore it's difficult. Feel free to comment your thoughts here...I enjoy all viewpoints!
I think from my perspective, the last 6-7 years have been a complete failure in American politics and I was ready for a change in '04...I'm just excited the Bush is almost out of there :)