One Canadian’s Perspective on the US Presidential Election
Posted on 07 October 2008 by Rachel Longo-Tosoian
Since I had the right to vote, I have viewed politics from afar. Politics have never really interested me in the least, mainly because I observed it as run-around and empty promises. I have found it hard to follow, or keep interested in laws and bills, campaigns or slam ads. Politics is just not my forte.
However, with the recent presidential election going on right now in the United States, (yes, I am completely disregarding the upcoming Canadian election) I cannot help but stick my nose in this business, and here is why. It is pop culture if it's anything.
Coming from a pop culture background, I am feeding upon all the spoofs and satires that are appearing in the media. I may not know much about US politics, but I certainly know that not many people are taking the election seriously.
Take for example the song that Wil.i.am put out using Barack Obama’s speech. This instantly sent Obama into the pop culture stratosphere, and he had nothing to do with the making or distribution of the song.
I was surprised as you were that Jo Biden was selected as the VP running mate over Hilary Clinton, because quite frankly, I assumed she was a shoe-in.
John McCain claimed that Obama was only a celebrity, compared him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. What was the rebuttal? Paris Hilton creating her own mock campaign message that, like Obama, kicked up his pop culture credibility another notch.
Then, there is Sarah Palin, who is almost like a parody of herself; unintentionally funny and often times tragic. Her public speaking ability is laughable; her debating skills even worse. It was McCain who accused Obama of being a celebrity, but that has come back to bite him on the ass, as Palin is the celebrity. The selection of Palin as his running mate was intentionally sensational. Palin was literally plucked from obscurity and thrown into real world politics by McCain who (in a vain attempt) is trying to appeal to the female voter.
Palin has instantly become a pop culture icon, which has taken away any credibility she may have had. She is on the cover of gossip magazines as a result of her 17 year-old daughter’s pregnancy. She is being mocked on Pundit Kitchen. Most notably, Tina Fey’s offers herhilarious (and dead on) impression of the VP candidate on Saturday Night Live.
Being popular (or infamous) with the mainstream media does not qualify someone to be in charge of something very important, like say, co-running a country. I am finding it a mixture of hilarious and tragic that people are in awe of this woman. She has displayed in her Katie Couric interview that she cannot answer a simple question like “what magazines did you read?”. Or in the VP debate, where she selected the questions she wanted to answer by backtracking and speaking about things she was more comfortable debating. For me, warning bells are going off, and flags are going up. I do not know whether to laugh at the US population or be embarrassed for it.
I didn’t write this to attempt to sway voters, because my say means nothing. I can’t vote in your election. I would just suggest really listening to what each candidate is saying, asking, or promising. Listen to how they speak. Is it inspiring? Can you see that person in office for the next four years? Vote with an educated mind, not because a celebrity does a pretty good impression or because another is more popular amongst your age demographic. This time around, it really does matter.
Popularity: 8% [?]
October 8th, 2008 at 10:09 am
I know very few people in awe of Sarah Palin. Then again, I run into far more liberals at work than conservatives.
I think we need to have a balanced view of Sarah Palin. She is obviously unqualified for office. She can’t engage many of the topics of discussion because she simply has no experience in those arenas. Not her fault, necessarily, until you consider the fact that a person should probably not agree to run for Vice President if she knows she is grossly unqualified. That she is so unqualified only points a terrifying finger at John McCain for making the decision in the first place.
She is an attractive woman/wife/mother who has enjoyed extraordinary success in her political career at a young age. She is young for a governor, not to mention Vice President. But she has the desired camera appeal, which McCain sorely lacked against Obama. It’s fair to say that during the VP debate, Joe Biden looked physically battered and unattractive in the light of his opponent. Palin is even more attractive in comparison to Biden than Obama is to McCain.
That SHOULDN’T matter in an election, but unfortunately it does. Oh, for the days when Presidents were elected regardless of physical appearance, and more for the substance of their positions and qualifications. But those days, I fear, are forever lost.
Truth be told, I would and most likely will vote for someone else. Someone who wasn’t nominated. Someone who actually represents my position on all the issues (if such a person exists).
I will say, Rachel, that I take issue with your statement: “Listen to how they speak. Is it inspiring? Can you see that person in office for the next four years?”
Is this really the criteria for electing world leaders? God, I hope not. I hope we don’t listen to Obama, buy into all his well spoken BS and think that based on said posturing he will make a good President. Don’t get me wrong. Maybe he will make a good President. But his ability to communicate and be charismatic does not impress me. I like it. I’d hire him to be my company’s spokesperson. But I want to dig deeper than any of these debates will go to see how he might actually handle the Presidency.
I know, I know: who has time to actually do hours of research? Well, actually, most of us. We don’t WANT to do the research. We take the easy way out and pick the one who makes us feel good, or the one who upholds the 5-10 issues our church puts on a stupid bulletin insert.
Honestly, I am so disgusted by how little these candidates share during these debates that I feel the urge to publicly disparage both candidates. Circular cliche-speak does NOT answer my questions! Why can’t they understand that? Why can’t they rise above that standard?
I think the answer is simple. As a country, we have set the bar so ridiculously low that they only compete to the level of our expectations. It is not the politicians who are to bear the brunt of the blame. It is we, the citizens of the United States of America, who refuse to care enough to know what is happening. We allow them to speak to us like children. We permit them to get this far in an election without providing real substance. We permit them to answer with cliches and circular speak that just hammers home whatever childish mantra they’ve adopted for their campaign.
I am disgusted by this process.
October 27th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Daniel, you read my mind. I don’t know what your political values are exactly, but like you, I am appalled at how little the candidates say, how deliberately vague they are and how stupid people are to fall for it.
I’m left-wing myself, and I am glad I don’t have to vote in this election (I am Canadian) because I would be stuck voting purely strategically instead of according to my values. Obama is portrayed as this great, progressive voice for change. BS!!! Did people even READ his platform? He is a centrist at best! Not that progressive. And I was trying to express my point of view on a forum I go to and my a guy there, who says he is very progressive and left wing, was twisting my words around trying to defend Obama. I was saying “Obama isn’t very progressive. His stance on economical issues proves it. And he has taken money from companies and lobbyists in his campaign, etc…” and his answer was “Well he is THE candidate that got the most donations from individuals!! He set records!” Well GREAT, if people want to throw money at him, so be it. But just because he got a sh*tload of money from individuals, doesn’t mean he didn’t get any from corporations and lobbyists. Also he was saying how Obama was this strong voice for change “because he created excitement and was able to draw big crowds”. SO WHAT? That is my point exactly! I find it SCARY that he can draw big crowds like that because it means that he’s TOO VAGUE TO SAY ANYTHING THAT WILL UPSET ANYONE!!! (Except for the right-wing people who would vote republican even if a monkey was running for president.).
Sorry, those were my two cents…
Eve from British Columbia.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
I love the South Park cartoon Vote or Die, while it is true that voting is important and all Americans should research the candidates and determine who they feel will do the best, the notion that everyone must vote is silly. If there is someone who is indifferent and will not spend time to learn about candidates they really do not need to vote. If someone is voting for Barack Obama only because he is black then they do not need to vote. On the flip side if you think Obama is a Muslim then you should stay home too.
Get out and research the candidates and vote early if you can. Remember, to make things easier this year regular voting will be split out over two days. Republicans vote on Tuesday November 4th and Democrats vote on Wednesday November 5th. Make sure you remember those days; you would hate to mean to vote for Obama but accidentally vote for McCain just because you showed up on the wrong day.