Will Sandy affect this campaign?

As news of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation begins to be revealed, President Obama has begun to make plans to oversee all government organizational responses and storm monitoring. The Democratic candidate for the 2012 Presidential race has recently decided to cut back on his campaign plans and instead focus on the effects the storm might have on America. Currently this is an issue that will affect both candidates. However as president, Obama that will be making the final decisions on government response and will be responsible for the results. If Obama can carry out a successful response to the storm, it might give his campaign a boost and help swing states’ undecided voters make their decisions. Although the storm is having devastating effects, I predict that Obama’s efforts with the storm will give him an advantage in this race.

Did the Moderator of the Second Presidential Debate overstep her duties?

One of the controversies of the second presidential debate was the moderator’s role. The role of a moderator is to facilitate the debate, while remaining neutral. Moderator Candy Crowley was a subject of controversy after the second presidential debate for correcting a statement made by Governor Romney. In the debate, he asked the audience how quickly President Obama responded to the Benghazi attacks and if he called it an “act of terror”. The moderator argued that Obama had responded quickly and did in fact call it an “act of terror”, which in fact turned out to be incorrect. There were two issues with her comments. First, even if she was correct, she overstepped her duties as moderator by correcting Governor Romney. This could have even been harmful to President Obama if he wanted to correct Governor Romney on the statement. Second, her statement turned out to be false, which she later admitted to on CNN. It will be interesting to see how the moderator acts in the next debate.

Vice Presidential Debates

This past Thursday, the Vice Presidential Debate occurred between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. While I didn’t get a chance to watch the debate, I read about it afterwards and saw several clips. The role of the Vice Presidential Debate to me is not on whether I like the candidate but rather how well the presidential candidates were supported by their Vice Presidential candidates. During the debate, Joe Biden came out attacking Paul Ryan because he wanted to change the image of the weak performance by President Obama last week. On the other hand, Paul Ryan was calm and relaxed, while answering the questions. In conclusion, the main contentious topic that you will remember from the debates was the war in the Middle East and bringing our troops back home.

A Presidential Debate Controversy Debunked

This week the first national debates occurred between President Barack Obama and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. This debate focused around how each candidate would help the middle class and around their economic policies. While Mitt Romney seemed quite relaxed as he attacked Obama, the President maintained a professional demeanor as he struggled to fight back. He seemed more interested in his anniversary with his wife, than he did about the debate. After every major political debate, some analyst or political pundit thinks that a hand gesture is a form of cheating. This year, the controversy started when Romney took a handkerchief out of his pocket and laid it out on the podium. Many mistook it for a piece of paper with potential notes written before the debate. In reality, this handkerchief was nothing more than a thing to blow his nose into.  

Romney's 47% Remark

Recently, all of the media is focused on Romney’s political gaff where he said on May 17th that was interpreted as uncaring about the 47% of voters he knew would vote for Obama, mainly in the middle to lower class. What he was trying to say to a private group of wealthy sponsors was that he was going to focus his campaign on voters who were still indecisive. However, the comment was videotaped on someone’s phone and released to the world on September 17th. While everyone can interpret the comment in any way they want, it is unfair because he didn’t know he was being recorded. Nevertheless, even in privacy, it was a ‘poor’ choice in wording that he should have understood, as a presidential candidate. Romney should know how to conduct himself at all times because the media is always watching. This really hurt his campaign because a lot of underclass people were offended.

The Importance of Bill Clinton to Obama's campaign

Recently, Bill Clinton has been speaking during the campaign rallies for President Obama. Former President Bill Clinton is polling with high levels of favorability, as he is seen as the most spokesperson in Obama’s campaign for reelection. I find it interesting how much has changed since his time as President. Some issues have remained unsolved like all the issues in the Middle East. Other issues like the economy have changed for the worse. Clinton has been able to change his identity from a cheating husband and a liar to a president who was able to maintain the economy and keep our national debt down. Now, with the economy in shambles and our national debt in the trillions, people view Clinton as a potentially important advisor to Obama. The metamorphosis from a liar to potential economic savior is interesting and sheds light on just how nervous people are about the economy.

9/11 movie recap

This week we discussed the effects of 9/11 on America and the world. Over the course of 3 days, we watched a movie about 9/11 from the perspective of the firemen and from inside the actual buildings. The movie was intended to just focus on a rookie fireman but on the day of 9/11. The documentary film makers happened to follow the firemen on the call to the WTC buildings. The movie was intense because there were many moments where one of the brothers making the documentary was caught in dangerous situations. I thought the movie was impactful on my understanding of 9/11 because I had never seen a movie from the perspective of the people inside. Most of the movies I have watched have been about 9/11’s impact on the world, only showing the WTC buildings from a distance, collapsing unlike this movie where the filmmaker actually runs from the collapsing buildings. This other perspective helped me gain insight into the terror and suffering that was caused due to the acts of terrorism.

Michelle Obama in the White House

On September 4^th during the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama gave an eloquent speech in support of her husband. Many political analysts praised her speech because it showed how politically involved she was. As a young First Lady with two daughters, in her speech she discussed how Obama’s presidency affected her family. I can imagine that it would be quite difficult to raise a family in the White House under the national spotlight. One of the main things any mother would fear would be the safety of her children, but she also might not be able to spend enough time with the children as she must be focused on her duties as a First Lady and of course President Obama doesn’t have much time to spend with the kids. Yet somehow, Michelle still wants another four years in the White House. Her dedication to both her duties as First Lady and mother are admirable.

A little bit about Obama...

The President of the United States has many roles. One of them is being the face of America. While in the past many presidents were old men who had graying hair, President Obama has been able to capture the hearts of the youth of America. When he first became president, a fist bump between him and his wife became a viral act that the youth respected. Many presidents had their area of interests implemented in the White House, usually tennis courts, baseball fields or football fields. Obama is the first president to have a basketball court in the White House. Recently, he went to a basketball fundraiser where he made plenty of jokes. Other times like in Iowa, he sang to the crowd in perfect harmony. When White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game, the President, who is a White Sox fan, personally called the pitcher to send him his congratulations. This hip, new presidential style may be an important factor in winning over young voters in the upcoming elections.

My opinion on the Pledge of Allegiance

I agree with the new law passed about the Pledge of Allegiance for the following 3 reasons. First, it supports the idea of patriotism and developing a sense of unity. Second, it helps start the day off with a reminder of how lucky we all are to be in America.   Third, the Pledge of Allegiance follows my belief that there should be liberty and justice for all people. There is nothing I would change about the Pledge of Allegiance because I think each word helps all students and faculty throughout schools in Illinois recognize their connection with the country’s values.

First blog: I saw a movie before school began

Recently I went to go see The Bourne Legacy movie at AMC theatres in Northbrook Court. I have never seen the other 3 Bourne movies, but my friends have basically spoiled them for me anyway, so I know what I missed. As I sat down with my popcorn and beverage, I waited to see what the movie would be about. The first twenty minutes of the movie didn’t make sense to me, most probably because I haven’t seen the other three movies. However, there was a point in the movie where everything I was confused about got pieced together and the movie finally began to make sense to me. When the movie finished, I decided that it was an overall great movie because of all the action. My one complaint with the movie was that every time Aaron Cross managed to ‘save’ the damsel in distress from danger, it seemed unrealistic how he just popped in the nick of time. However, this is just a movie so I shouldn’t be taking it too seriously.