The Vice Presidential Debate

This Vice-Presidential debate was the most interesting and juicy debate that I ever remember seeing.  For me, Vice President Joe Biden was the clear winner and although he used a lot of rough techniques, he had a lot of very strong points and it was the combination of the two that really made his performance strong.  There was one moment, about midway through the debate, where the Vice President made what I think is a very key point, but one that has not been made enough: “they talk about this Great Recession if it fell out of the sky, like, ‘Oh, my goodness, where did it come from?’ It came from this man voting… and now, all of a sudden, these guys are so seized with the concern about the debt that they created.”  This is a question that I think is at the core of this election: should we continue with the current president, who is making slow, steady progress, or go back to the republicans, who put us in this position in the first place?  Consistently throughout the debate, Biden made strong, clear points such as this that put forward the Obama/Biden ticket’s platform.  Ryan on the other hand, primarily stuck to the basic empty campaign promises.

While grounding the audience with solid examples, facts, and beliefs, the Vice President also blew me away with his debate techniques.  Generally, I don’t think about Biden as being particularly aggressive, but last night he was.  He rarely let Congressman Ryan complete a statement without interrupting, and he always got the last word in.  If he didn’t agree with something he would interject a ‘that’s not true’ or simply laugh.   Biden, while being intelligent and a strong debater, spoke in a very relatable way and seemed human.  In the last few questions that were more personal, his voice changed from the strong forceful one he was using before to a soft grandfatherly tone.  However, Congressman Ryan, in a very similar manner to his running mate, kept his speech and his words exaggeratedly sincere, highlighting the contrast between the candidates. 

Campaign for Female Debate Moderator

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/high-school-girls-launched-campaign-female-debate-moderator-234222119--election.html

Three high school girls from New Jersey created a petition online to get a female moderator for the presidential debates because there has not been one for 20 years.  They gained 170,000 signatures and brought it into the office of the Commission on Presidential Debates, but were turned away.  However, out of the three debates this year, two of the moderators will be women, so the students believe that they made a difference.  I think that what these students did shows just how much we can impact history and the direction of the country.  Not only that, but students who can’t even vote yet can also make a difference.  Women should have more of a representation in politics, and I think that we should make more things like this happen to change that, but this is a great first step. 

CEO to Workers: I May Fire You if Obama Wins

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ceo-workers-youll-likely-fired-131640914.html

This article talks about the CEO of Westgate Resorts, David Siegel, who told his employees in an e-mail that if President Obama won the presidential election, many of them would be laid off or the company would be shut down entirely.  In the e-mail, he goes on to outline “a few facts that might help you decide what is in your best interest.”  He claims that because he made good decisions he shouldn’t have to pay for people who didn’t, in essence saying that everyone who is not as successful as him or got hit harder by the recession simply didn’t work hard enough or made ‘wrong decisions.’  However, he is currently building the largest new house in America while saying that if taxes were raised at all he would have to lay off employees.  I find this highly aggravating, because if he has enough money to build a mansion, he should be able to maintain his business.  In addition, he makes many hypocritical statements such as claiming that “every dime I earn goes back into the company,” while conceding that he lives a lavish lifestyle and is building a “big home.”  Beyond disagreeing with his viewpoints, I think that it is highly unprofessional to send an email in essence telling his employees to vote for Mitt Romney.  He says that it is not bribery and he is just trying to educate them on his situation, but it still puts employees in a tough and uncomfortable situation. 

Obamacare

Obamacare mandates every American (with a few exceptions) to have healthcare, denies healthcare companies the right to reject someone because of preexisting conditions, among other things.  While this may seem like it is encroaching on our rights, it is actually constitutional.  The commerce clause that delineates what Congress can make laws about says that they have the power to regulate interstate commerce.  Healthcare providers do business over state lines, engaging in an exchange of services and finances, thus conducting interstate commerce.  Because of this, Congress has the right to regulate the healthcare industry and individuals who interact with it and the interstate commerce. 

First Amendment Video

Hey! This is a video about our ability to say 'I Love You' to whomever and whatever we want because of our first amendment rights that my group and I made! Please check it out and view, like, and comment!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0mCa1Z1g2k&feature=youtu.be

The 1st Presidential Debate

I think that during tonight’s presidential debate, both candidates performed very well, though in very different ways.  The President was very calm and charismatic, for the most part staying on topic and addressing the issues in a clear and amicable way.   Governor Romney on the other hand, tried to keep his cool but oftentimes got caught up in the debate, speaking fast and passionately about the topics and against Obama’s policies. 

In addition, Governor Romney and President Obama spoke with many logical fallacies and empty rhetoric.  You can see quite clearly that each candidate came in with a set of things that they wanted to say, so they avoided the questions, simply saying what they wanted to but never really getting to the point.  To spice up their speeches, they oftentimes would refer to people they met on the campaign trail, telling relatable stories in order to make us connect with that candidate.  In addition, ideas were talked about in the abstract, never really getting into specifics but leaving you with only the idea of what they were going to do but not how they were going to do it. 

I think that debates are a mixture of political theatre and substance, this one in particular.  I find it very valuable to know what the candidates stood for, what they intend to do, and what their differences are.  However, the lack of evidence is striking: there are never any specific plans mentioned, not to mention the promises they make and the endlessly articulate warping of words, policies, and plans that leaves you not knowing where the truth lies.

The Democratic Platform

The Democrats’ position on education is important to me because it affects me more directly than a lot of other issues being discussed in the current election.  They basically believe that improving education from a young age all the way through graduate school is important to building a stronger economy and workforce and for innovation.  They have worked towards this goal in many ways including trying to take down ‘No Child Left Behind’ and making incentives for teacher and school systems to work towards innovation and excellence.  Then, at the higher education level, they are trying to make it easier for people from all backgrounds to get the job training necessary for a career by increasing competition and making it easier to get college loans. 

Question for Alex Pena: What were some major changes in Colorado specifically that came out of ‘Race to the Top’?