Cross-Cultural Blog

While I do agree that the elections have a large impact on the rest of the world, we cannot say that John McCain would have been just like Bush and we also do not know how good of a president obama will be. While McCain is a Republican, he is not running on the same platform as Bush. He wanted to change our country but not necessarily exactly like Bush. This video could also be slightly out of context and McCain could have been referring to something else when making that comment. Futhermore, who is to say that the change that obama proposes will be good for our country? Obama has a history of having socialist ideas which are not the right views for America. Our country is founded on ideals of competition bringing out the best of everyone and with obama's ideas about "wealth redistribution", he is taking us in the wrong direction. The change that obama wants will cripple our spirit and lead us closer to the socialist societies of Europe and away from the ideals that make our country the best place to be in the world.

While I do agree that the elections have a large impact on the rest of the world, we cannot say that John McCain would have been just like Bush and we also do not know how good of a president obama will be. While McCain is a Republican, he is not running on the same platform as Bush. He wanted to change our country but not necessarily exactly like Bush. This video could also be slightly out of context and McCain could have been referring to something else when making that comment. Futhermore, who is to say that the change that obama proposes will be good for our country? These are all unknowns and we will not come to realize the ideas about obama until he is in office and begins to run the country. While I did not vote for Obama, I hope he help our country through the war and our current economical situation.

While I do agree that the elections have a large impact on the rest of the world, we cannot say that John McCain would have been just like Bush and we also do not know how good of a president obama will be. While McCain is a Republican, he is not running on the same platform as Bush. He wanted to change our country but not necessarily exactly like Bush. This video could also be slightly out of context and McCain could have been referring to something else when making that comment. Futhermore, who is to say that the change that obama proposes will be good for our country? These are all unknowns and we will not come to realize the ideas about obama until he is in office and begins to run the country. While I did not vote for Obama, I hope he help our country through the war and our current economical situation.

While I do agree that the elections have a large impact on the rest of the world, we cannot say that John McCain would have been just like Bush and we also do not know how good of a president obama will be. While McCain is a Republican, he is not running on the same platform as Bush. He wanted to change our country but not necessarily exactly like Bush. This video could also be slightly out of context and McCain could have been referring to something else when making that comment. Futhermore, who is to say that the change that obama proposes will be good for our country? These are all unknowns and we will not come to realize the ideas about obama until he is in office and begins to run the country. While I did not vote for Obama, I hope he help our country through the war and our current economical situation.

No one doubts that Barack Obama has a certain notion of change. Everyone knows he'll try to effect that change too. The world, however, may refuse to change. Or if it does change, it might do it very slowly. Obama himself noted in his acceptance speech that change might take more than a term. Maybe more than two terms... But at that point, he won't be in office anymore (unless he pulls a Cleveland presidency). Luckily, all America needed was to elect Obama for change to occur. Just the sheer power of his election so changed America that change will be inevitable. Furthermore, that notion of change got Obama elected, so clearly the nation wants change, since, as you certainly know, the viewpoints of the elected president are the exact viewpoints of every man woman and child that calls himself an American. It's not like anyone wanted things to stay reasonably stable, so it's no wonder attacking McCain's lack of "change" (no not money, just ask how many houses he has!) was a great way to win the election! The only thing they could've done better would have been to distribute copies of "Nailin' Palin" to the whole Democratic Party so everyone could have a nice chuckle at the second woman to almost become vice president. In any case, things will probably work out in the end. If they don't, we'll end up dead anyway. So really, it'd all work out. What a wonderful world. I always knew Liebniz was right!

Pacman, although it is true that we do not know for sure what changes President-Elect Obama will bring to the United States over the next four years, we can begin to get a sense based on the actions he has taken in the past few weeks, specifically in his Cabinet selections. Yesterday even Fox News hailed Obama's cabinet picks as being good for our country and preparing to move us forward in a good direction (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/01/obama-dales-cabinet-picks/). In your comment, the only evidence you offer that Obama will "cripple our spirit" is that he wants "wealth redistribution" as you call it. Let's try to be a bit more accurate here. I believe what you are referring to is Obama's comment to "Joe the Plumber" when he said "I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody." John McCain in 2000, however, made a very similar comment referring to our tax code saying "So, look, here's what I really believe, that when you are -- reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more." It seems then we have ourselves with two options here: (1) either John McCain is a socialist or (2) a graduated tax system where the rich pay more (which is, of course, what Obama was referring to in his now-famous "spreading the wealth" comment) is actually fair. Indeed, I contend that having a graduated tax promotes, rather than inhibits, American values. It is fairly well established in the field of political science that one of the fundamental principles that guides American politics is the idea of equal opportunity - not necessarily equality, but more the idea that everyone should have a fair chance at making a decent life for themselves and their family. Now, it seems to me that if we consider this as an issue of equal opportunity, it makes sense to charge less taxes to those who have less, and to charge more taxes to those who have more. This isn't about socialism, it's about fundamental American values: fairness and equal opportunity.