Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Let the Political Season Commence!

A few weeks ago, I was talking to my friend Melissa about my need to channel some of my energy toward something other than running (my main focus of late, although in the past couple of weeks, I have shifted my priorities quite a bit...but that's another story) and she suggested I get "back into politics."

I am, at heart, a bleeding heart liberal, and who among us could forget 2008, when the future of humanity seemed to be resting on the United States' presidential election?  My focus on politics was so intense that I not only developed an actual physical disease out of fear of Sarah Palin being in the White House, but I disregarded my introverted tendencies and (with my good friend Megan) stood outside the library registering people to vote, and then went door-to-door to encourage them to do just that after they'd sent the forms in.

Obviously I am a strong Obama supporter; my Obama 2012 bumper sticker has been firmly in place since before he was inaugurated the first time around.  But the Republican primary season, far from revving up my fighting spirit, has left me uninterested and bored (if not annoyed).  Oh my god, GIVE IT UP.  WHOEVER THE CANDIDATE IS, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WIN.  Every last one of you sucks, you have nothing new to offer, and the only people who support you are those who are most interested in reversing the last fifty years of social progress and GET OVER IT.  (Everyone else has.)  Just fucking re-elect Obama already so we can all move on with our lives and he can go nuts with a lame duck agenda.

But the following video reminded me, if just a little, of the ingenuity, intelligence, and sheer enthusiasm of the 2008 election.  It is, in a nutshell, brilliant, and I can't imagine how much time and effort it must have taken the creator to put together.

So even though I am hereby promising to keep political posting only proportional to my interest in what's currently at stake, I do have to say that Mitt Romney looks every bit the ass that he is in what follows.

And even if you aren't interested in politics/aren't able to vote in the U.S., I hope you appreciate the entertainment value of this video (which I unabashedly swiped from a friend of mine).

OBAMA 2012, BABY:

10 comments:

  1. someone had a lot of time on hand *gg*

    personnaly I found it hard to follow... this weird "dingdingding"-music is too distractive and tops the voice.... but for native english speakers I'm sure it's easier to follw

    and on politics: I'm so fed up with it - I don't care anymore. When it comes to US, I hope Obama wins again.... I have a good feeling towards him.

    Sasha

    ReplyDelete
  2. Even as a native English speaker, there were times when it was very difficult to understand. Do you know the original Eminem song? The flow of the song itself is fast enough that it can be hard to catch even when someone is deliberately speaking the words, but when using sound clips, it's that much more difficult!

    But still AWESOME.

    And if I know myself, there will be more posts such as this as the election nears, regardless of my intentions to take it down a notch this time around. :) Fingers crossed for Obama!!!! I just can't *imagine* any of these Republican challengers have a chance, but I may have said something similar about George W. Bush, so you can never be too careful... :-/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brilliant!

    - Megan (too lazy to sign in)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nope, don't know the original Eminem song :/

    I don't mind at all if you post political stuff, because a) it's your blog and you can post whatever you want and b) I do think politics are important.
    Only I couldn't care less anymore, because here in germany it doesn't makes any difference who you vote for. So you can as well just ignore them. They are all ass***** and fuckwits.

    Sasha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sasha, sorry, I meant to give you this link yesterday:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJO5HU_7_1w&ob=av2n

      You don't have to watch it (or care), but this is the original! ;)

      Delete
  5. (CBS News) The National Debt has now increased more during President Obama's three years and two months in office than it did during 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency.
    The Debt rose $4.899 trillion during the two terms of the Bush presidency. It has now gone up $4.939 trillion since President Obama took office.
    The latest posting from the Bureau of Public Debt at the Treasury Department shows the National Debt now stands at $15.566 trillion. It was $10.626 trillion on President Bush's last day in office, which coincided with President Obama's first day.


    It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
    Barack Obama, 2006

    2007 and in 2008, when the Senate voted to increase the limit by $850 billion and $800 billion respectively, Obama did not bother to vote.

    Obama White House, 2011:
    A refusal by the Senate to increase the government’s debt ceiling (currently $14.3 trillion) would be “catastrophic” and a sign of “insanity,”

    This post is not an endorsement of any party or candidate. This country has a serious problem, and to get elected in this day and age requires too many promises which can not be paid for without going into further debt.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous, I appreciate your response. Thank you for commenting.

    The United States is the only industrialized nation that has not curbed its healthcare costs. (source) In terms of long-term debt management, it simply isn't possible with the healthcare system currently in place. Of course, the Affordable Care Act makes headway, but that doesn't fully go into effect until 2014 and is currently being debated in the Supreme Court anyway, so its effects on cost management are yet to be seen (if it is even allowed to go into place as is). I put this particular argument at the front end merely to say that the issue of our national debt is a complicated issue, and one for which there are no easy answers.

    In terms of increasing the debt, it depends on how you look at the figures. If you go purely by the numbers reported during time in office, yes. But the majority of the debt incurred under Obama's first term was the result NOT of Obama's policies, but of policies implemented by previous administrations and by the financial crisis. (source)

    In terms of reduced *revenues* (equally important to debt reduction as cost cutting), we also can look to Bush, and the tax cuts that are now (bafflingly, to me) oh-so-unpopular to repeal.

    Not to mention, Republicans had no problem raising the debt ceiling repeatedly under the Bush administration, and only thought it seemed like a bad idea under Obama. And let's not forget Dick Cheney's infamous quote: "[D]eficits don't matter." (source) Indeed, there is value in knowing when to change your opinion because of changing circumstances. But forgive me for thinking that Republican obstructionism has less to do with idealism and more to do with needling Obama. And likewise, that Obama's personal protests against the rising debt are still present, but when faced with a crisis, he's doing the best he can to keep this country going. In fact, Obama has a fantastic plan to reduce the deficit (source) and yet because it contains tax hikes, Republicans are staunchly fighting against it. In a case like that, I have to throw up my hands in exasperation. Who's really serious about taking care of this issue, anyway?

    Obama was handed a mess and given a Congress that had no intention of working with him for real solutions. Yes, the national debt is an enormous burden and a major issue. But it has been for a very long time now, and I have yet to hear a single Republican candidate offer anything in terms of a solution that doesn't directly mirror those exact policies (i.e., lowering taxes and letting healthcare costs run rampant) that got us into this position in the first place.

    I wholeheartedly agree with you that this country had a problem and that things have gotten so incomprehensibly convoluted that *no one* could get elected without empty promises and false hope. But Barack Obama has proven himself to be relentlessly intelligent and practical while working within a system that is neither, and for that, he has unequivocally earned my vote a second time around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It IS a very complicated situation! I Pray that our country will have more cooperation, more compassion, less greed, less pride, fewer capable people wanting something for nothing, more people embracing a healthier lifestyle, fewer frivolous lawsuits and on and on.

      Be Well my friend!

      Delete
    2. Agreed, agreed, agreed!!!

      Thank you, and you too!! :)

      Delete
  7. *has a problem [last paragraph]. :)

    ReplyDelete