Sunday, October 10, 2004
Tomorrow is going to be a great day
Normally, I hate Mondays. But ever since Friday, I can hardly wait for this one. That's because tomorrow, instead of going to school like usual, I will be going to Hobbs, New Mexico. But what really makes this cool is that I won't be the only one going to Hobbs. Who is going to be there, you ask? Think really hard...
Who is the one person I would rather see than anybody else in the world?
Who is my political idol?
Who is the coolest person in the country?
If you guess George W. Bush, then you are... correct!!! : D : D : D
Yes, it's true, G.W. is going to be stopping in Hobbs, New Mexico, tomorrow, October 11, for a campaign stop, and yours truly snagged some tickets to see him!! So 3 of my friends and I are going to jump in my car and drive less then 2 hours to see our favorite person ever!!
It almost didn't happen, however- I got a recorded call at my house on Wednesday night saying he would be in Hobbs on Monday and I could get free tickets to see him if I went to the Republican Headquarters in Hobbs on Thursday. But see, I have rehersal on Monday nights for my school band, and us having UIL contest on Saturday, I knew I couldn't miss it. On Friday, I found out that Bush was going to be in Hobbs in the morning, so I could still go and not miss band. Unfortunately, by that time, all 10,000 tickets were gone. So a friend and I did some plotting, and with the help of one of our teachers, found some phone numbers for the Republican Headquarters in Hobbs. I called them and explained to them that my friends and I were dying to see the President and that we were practically his fan club. And when I told them that we were high school studends, they asked, "How many tickets do you need?" YEA!! My persuasive speaking skill paid off. : )
So tomorrow, one of my dreams will come true at last!! Watch Fox News tomorrow evening, and who knows, maybe you'll see me.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
The Great Debate
It should be of no surprise that I stayed home on Thursday night to watch the presidental debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry. After all, to do otherwise just wouldn't be me.
So who won? Well that's a matter of personal opinion, and I can't make that decision for you- but I can talk about the high points of the debate and offer MY opinion.
Bill O'Reilly of the O'Reilly Factor received an e-mail on Friday saying something along the lines of "John Kerry was the superior messenger but George Bush had the superior message." This is pretty much the way I felt about it. There was no doubt that Bush was not completely on his game- he seemed kind of nervous, I thought. And John Kerry is a good speaker, very articulate, and appears to know what he's talking about.
So from a speaking stand point, I think Kerry did better. However, as far as getting his message across, I believe the George Bush emerges as the winner.
Bush was very clear on his stance- specifically that America is safer now that Saddam is no longer in control. And there were certain points that he repeated several times- but this too is an effective debating technique. I think people sitting at home who don't really know much about the issues would think, "That Kerry, he's pretty smart, but George... well I think he may be right."
What I considered to be the high points of the debate:
George Bush: "My opponent says help is on the way, but what kind of message does it say to our troops in harm's way, "wrong war, wrong place, wrong time"? Not a message a commander in chief gives, or this is a "great diversion."
As well, help is on the way, but it's certainly hard to tell it when he voted against the $87-billion supplemental to provide equipment for our troops, and then said he actually did vote for it before he voted against it.
Not what a commander in chief does when you're trying to lead troops."
(This was my very favorite part. John Kerry was saying that he was in Wisconsin and came across two members of the military. They said something to him along the lines of "You gotta do something about Iraq," and he said "Help is on the way." Oh gag.)
George Bush: "Plus, he says the cornerstone of his plan to succeed in Iraq is to call upon nations to serve. So what's the message going to be: "Please join us in Iraq. We're a grand diversion. Join us for a war that is the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time?
I know how these people think. I deal with them all the time. I sit down with the world leaders frequently and talk to them on the phone frequently. They're not going to follow somebody who says, "This is the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time."
John Kerry: "...When we went in, there were three countries: Great Britain, Australia and the United States. That's not a grand coalition. We can do better."
>strong>Jim Lehrer: "Thirty seconds, Mr. President."
George Bush: "Well, actually, he forgot Poland. And now there's 30 nations involved, standing side by side with our American troops."
(Incidentally, I thought it was kind of funny that he chose to mention Poland rather than some of the other countries. However, other than Great Britian, Poland is probably our best ally in terms of loyalty and support.)
A couple of things I think Bush should have pushed harder:
-Kerry voting against the $87 billion. I think this shows a lack of support for our troops.
-Kerry voting for authorization of the war.
-Finally, something I really thought Bush should have hit on. John Kerry kept saying that the war was bad because we don't have enough multi-laterism. But concerning North Korea- it can only be bi-lateral? That just doesn't make any sense. Just another example of Kerry-esque flip-flopping; it's just too bad Bush didn't take advantage of it. But, I know from experience that it's a lot easier to pick up on things like that when you're watching rather than actually at the podium.
So overall, I thought it was a really good debate and I'm looking forward to the next one- especially if Bush can pull it together and debate like I know he can.
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