American Election '08 - Some observations and questions

[Relambrien]

Anyone who follows American politics knows that this is a landmark election coming up in November. Besides the fact that for the first time, a black candidate may be elected, there is also the question of the American economic crisis (which will be felt by the whole world due to America's world standing), tensions in the Middle East, and America's position in the world as a whole.

But what I find strange is that, considering most voting Americans recognize the significance of this election, many people aren't conducting adequate research (in my opinion). They're voting on a whim or for only one thing, when one would think this would be more important to them than that.

Take for example my mother. She's a pretty strong Republican (for reference, I'm left-leaning, about 65/35 Dem/Rep split). She says she's going to vote for John McCain, which is expected since she is a Republican, but the reasoning she gives...I don't quite understand it. She claims that she cannot vote for Barack Obama because of his associates, namely his wife and pastor. According to her, Rev. Wright said that all white people are members of the KKK (which may or may not be true, I'm not sure), and that because Obama associated with him for so many years, he must share Wright's views.

As for Obama's wife, my mother keeps harping on her comment, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud to be an American." She claims that this shows a severe lack of patriotism on the part of Michelle Obama, and that because Barack married her, he must share the same opinion.

But that isn't the worst part. I can understand her opinions assuming what she said is true, but she isn't even considering that her sources (or her interpretation of them) might have been incorrect. Considering her sources are Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and CNN, I'm worried. She isn't going out to do research on her own, she isn't trying to find all sides of an argument, she hasn't visited either candidate's website to read their opinions.

The reason I don't like her sources isn't because they're Republican; it's that they're part of the popular media. Their purpose is ratings. I don't care whether you're Democrat, Republican, hell even if you're a Green, if you're being put on the radio, it's because the radio company thinks that your views are radical or controversial enough to bring in ratings. CNN is definitely more trustworthy, but still nowhere near the level of going out and doing research from both candidate's websites and a variety of sources.

Anyway, enough about that. Another observation I've noted is the fact that a lot of people I've spoken to seem to be voting with only one issue in mind. One of my school teachers says that he has to vote for John McCain, because Barack Obama is for abortion. That's the only thing he's voting for--abortion. He's completely ignoring the war in Iraq, rising tensions elsewhere in the Middle East (especially Iran and Israel, considering Iran's statement today that they will continue their nuclear program because they do not fear an attack from either Israel or the US), and the American economy in favor of ensuring that all conceived babies are born.

As I mentioned above, my mother is the same way. Completely ignoring Obama's stance on the issues of the election, she cannot vote for him because of his associates.

Next, I noticed something that's actually pretty understandable. My mother's interpretation of things is very very different from my own. For instance, there was an event in Delaware pertaining to Joe Biden (being from Delaware, we naturally have a heightened interest in this). He spoke to a crowd, and said the following (paraphrased): "I never wanted the VP job. But when Barack asked me to take it, I felt obligated to do so, for America."

My mother interpreted this to mean that Biden would be resigning the VP post because he didn't want it. I interpreted it to mean that although Biden never aspired to it, he felt it was his duty when he was asked.

Obviously, people are going to interpret things in a way that is favorable to them. However, I like to think I'm better than most people at finding other interpretations that may not support my own ideas, and seeing if they are valid or not. I think many people don't realize what other interpretations of what a candidate says may exist, and so call others "liars" when they use a certain speech a certain way.

Finally, and this is purely anecdotal, but it seems to me that in general, those who are more well-researched on the election, the candidate's positions, and the state of America tend to be voting for Barack Obama than for John McCain. I can't say whether or not this is an actual trend, or if it's just because of the people I tend to associate with, but it's just something I've noticed. Those who actually know what's going on in the world and have an idea about the troubles here tend to be Obama supporters, whereas the McCain supporters I've seen are typically supporting him for the "patriot" image of a shining America that can't back down from an enemy.

It's sad, because McCain definitely has good points and arguments, and yet the McCain supporters I've seen aren't doing him justice. I love to see good, well-thought-out debate, but I'm just not seeing it here. If anyone can direct me to a good, civil debate between Obama and McCain supporters, I'd love to see it (and before someone says it, I'm not talking about the VP debate).

So, any thoughts on my observations? Criticism is welcome, of course.