Young Voices
Exchanging ideas from the show and blogging about topics in the news from a range of perspectives.
October 7, 2008
Rough Presidential Politics
by Sean Nixon
It appears that with new political climates, things are getting a bit dirty in the Obama and McCain camps. For a week or so, Barack Obama has been showing a lead in numerous polls conducted across the country. Now, with just about one month from the November 4 election, come new political strategies.
The polls show McCain losing and, with reports that he's left Michigan, McCain now needs to play hardball. To execute his approach, McCain has begun airing ads stating that Obama is risky and that his past actions in certain instances have been dishonorable.
As a response, the Obama campaign aired a 13-minute documentary on the Keating Five savings and loan crisis of the late '80's and early '90's. The documentary is aimed at painting McCain as a candidate who uses poor judgment on issues of financial crisis. It seems as though the political gloves have been taken off in this presidential matchup.
Obama assured supporters that he would not let any charge or attack from the McCain camp go unaddressed. The McCain campaign has made no apology of giving voters the opportunity to question Obama's associations and his ability to lead the country.
The political clock is ticking and both sides are grasping for the last batch of undecided voters. Both camps seem ready to do whatever it takes, but at what cost?
Are the new tactics used by Obama and McCain too much, or is this just the inevitability of politics?
October 3, 2008
Fight Night
by Jeremy Freed
“As it turned out Palin had been hitting the heavybag all week while sequestered at John McCain's ranch and was in prime fighting shape.”
As the historic debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin approached, it began to seem more and more like a title fight. The air of pugilistic spectacle surrounding the vice presidential match-up was palpable. It wasn't the heavyweight event, which had happened the week previous between McCain and Obama, but if anything that only added to the excitement. As every fight fan knows, the heavyweights may pack bigger punches, but the smaller fighters are all the more vicious, and all the more fun to watch.
And so it was on Thursday that Biden and Palin stepped into the ring together to duke it out over our economy, the bailout, the war in Iraq and the future of American policy. From where I sat, the widespread expectation had been for Palin to take a beating, the greenhorn put up against the salty old veteran. More than anything, this had to do with Palin's recent performance with Katie Couric, when she stumbled over simple questions of foreign policy and voting history. As it turned out, though, she'd been hitting the heavybag all week, while sequestered at John McCain's ranch, and was in prime fighting shape.
What's that line? The difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom? Oh yes, of course, LIPSTICK! Palin had hers on last night to be sure, and, like the feisty contender she is, she came out swinging. Landing a number of jabs about Obama's voting record and Biden's past disagreements with the Illinois senator on issues of policy, Palin made it clear from very early on that she was not to be underestimated or bullied into a corner.
Biden too held his own, coming up with hard numbers and history to block her assaults. His fighting style was to take her hits, then come back with some more hard ones of his own, often asserting that Palin was just plain wrong. Her responses tended to be more deflective, dodging around some questions and distorting others before hitting back with lines about the surge, "Joe Sixpack" and the "Maverick" John McCain.
At the end of a number of frenzied rounds, both opponents returned to their corners, still standing, no doubt each with a different idea of who had won the bout.
October 8, 2008
Alaska Investigation
by Sean Nixon
Gov.Sarah Palin of Alaska is under investigation for her role in firing Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten.
"Troopergate," as it's been called in media reports, is set to have an official finding by the end of the week. The questions are about whether Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska overstepped her authority of office by firing ex-brother-in-law Mike Wooten.
When reports came out, Palin said she would not cooperate with authorities investigating the situation and declined to speak with anyone. However, Palin recently agreed to go ahead and help with the investigation and allow family and staff members to speak with authorities.
At this time, it is uncertain as to whether or not Palin did overexert her influence as governor. It is also unclear as to whether or not this will have an impact on the presidential election for Palin who is the vice presidential candidate on the Republican ticket.
What effect will Troopergate have on the McCain-Palin ticket?
October 13, 2008
Peggy Noonan's Patriotic Grace
by Jeremy Freed
“No matter who the candidate is, or what party they're backed by, the emphasis is always on selling an agenda.”
On Friday's program, Peggy Noonan reminded us why she's one of the most important conservative voices in American politics today. The former Reagan staffer and speechwriter to George Bush, Sr. is a Republican at heart, but she is by no means a supporter of the kind of dirty politics we've seen popping up in the McCain-Palin campaign ever more frequently in the last few weeks. Whatever your feelings about Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, it's incredibly important for Republicans to speak out against the totally unfounded personal attacks that have recently become the mainstay of Republican rallies. While Noonan didn't discuss this specifically, her words about patriotism speak to a higher ideal than is present in most of those feverish, chanting mobs.
Despite this, however, you have to wonder if Noonan isn't being just a bit naïve in her expectations of politicians. What our leaders need, according to Noonan, is “candor, honesty and seriousness.” Hmm. Well, yeah, of course our politicians should ideally be honest, but isn't that a bit too much to ask? Maybe it's just my personal opinion, but it seems like politics and honesty are about as compatible as a piranha and a tank full of goldfish.
“If you are honest with people about the causes of something,” said Noonan on Friday, “If you make an honest diagnosis, then people will understand… okay you're thinking clearly, maybe you can help us through this.” That is very true, and I would certainly like to live in a place where that kind of politics exists, but if it ever did in America, those days are long gone. No matter who the candidate is, or what party they're backed by, the emphasis is always on selling an agenda. Honesty rarely enters into it most of the time.
Perhaps the most important moment of the discussion came during her and Tavis' exchange on Obama's refusal to wear an American flag pin on his lapel. “Any cynic can wear a pin and many cynics do,” she said.
For more of Peggy Noonan's thoughts on patriotism and politics, check out her new book Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It Now.
October 18, 2008
Crazy McCain Lady, Jon Stewart and Why I Still Love America
by Jeremy Freed
“There are people in America, and no small number of them, who would boo The New York Times at rallies, and who feel more comfortable voting out of fear than out of hope, and what does that say about us as a nation, really?”
All the braying and race-baiting and fear-mongering of the last couple of weeks had got me down. It may have been the “what do we really know about Barack Obama” talk that started it. The subtext, of course, being that he's an outsider (read: terrorist) with a different outlook on America (middle name: Hussein) than many of his countrymen (Joe Sixpacks and The Plumber, Hockey Moms). It seemed that the Republican platform had devolved into a kind of Hee-Haw variety show aimed at playing on the fears of the most ignorant members of American society. “Don't vote young black man!” they screamed, “You know about young black men (read: criminals, Arabs)!” “Vote old white man!” “You love old white men (read: Santa Claus, Mickey Rooney, Jerry Falwell)!"
The upside to this, of course, was that the main reason McCain's campaign had taken this turn was because he was slipping in the polls. As of last week, the election had all but been called in favor of Barack Obama, and the GOP was resorting to its Plan B: smear, smear, smear.
Here's the thing, though. Even with McCain's numbers heading south, there's still very little doubt that the race will be close in the end. When the dust settles in a couple of weeks, nearly half of the voters will have cast their ballots for McCain-Palin and their political gong show. That, friends, is what really scared me. That there are people in America, and no small number of them, who would boo The New York Times at rallies, and who feel more comfortable voting out of fear than out of hope, and what does that say about us as a nation, really?
But then, when my faith in country was at an all time low, I saw a bright shining light. It was Amy Poehler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, interviewing a character called Crazy McCain Lady (you know her, the one from the rally). And for the first time, I was able to laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing, of her assertion that she'd “read” about Obama and that he was “an Arab,” and McCain's response that “No Ma'am,” he was in fact a “decent family man,” which, it would seem, an “Arab” could not be. I laughed, because, really, what else can you do in the face of such silliness?
Later that night, I caught the beginning of The Daily Show, in which Jon Stewart pointed out John McCain's pre-debate assertion that he doesn't care about the “washed up old terrorist” Bill Ayers. As Stewart pointed out, in that funny way he has of pointing these things out, Obama's relationship with Ayers had been the central attack point of McCain's campaign over the last few weeks.
I laughed again, thankful that along with close to fifty percent of the country, I could see the emperor running around naked, and found it quite funny.
October 26, 2008
Chocolate News
by Jeremy Freed
When I was a kid, maybe nine or ten years old, my favourite show on TV was In Living Color. To this day, I still can't really figure how a nine-year-old white kid in Toronto could have found the show, let alone been able to understand enough of what was going on in those sketches to find them funny. I couldn't have had any idea how much ground the show was breaking, either, one half hour at a time, as it laid the foundation for people like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle to dominate TV comedy.
But there I was, staying up late one night a week to watch Fire Marshal Bill, Handi Man, Wanda Wayne and all the rest. There were always more than enough laughs to make Sunday nights the best night on television for me.
That show certainly wouldn't have been what it was without the unique comic stylings of last week's guest, David Alan Grier, whose Men on Film and Calhoun Tubs sketches were instant classics. His new show Chocolate News premiered recently on Comedy Central. Since his days making history with the Wayans family, Grier has continued working in TV and film, but his newest endeavor is by far the most prestigious.
The show, which positions itself as a sort of Daily Show for black folks, is a significant step for Grier's comedy. All the same, it has undeniable echoes of Grier's In Living Color days. In one scene, Grier plays Maya Angelou, reciting two (very different) poems she's prepared for either the McCain or Obama inauguration. Funny as the poems are, the truest comedy comes from Grier's facial expressions as he picks roses and swats at a bee in his Angelou outfit. He is a natural physical comedian, and, in this case, it felt a little like the words were holding him back.
Whether or not Chocolate News aspires to do for African American issues what The Daily Show does for American issues, it still feels at its heart like classic sketch comedy, more In Living Color than Colbert Report. The first episode showed a lot of promise, however, and in its satirizing of profane rappers and news anchors it showed a kind of edge that hasn't been seen on TV since 1994 or so.
October 18, 2008
Finding Comedy in Politics
by Sean Nixon
“In an election season of tough campaigning, it might be good for both parties and voters to spread around some laughter. The McCain ticket is doing just that. ”
After weeks of being parodied, and being the subject of late show monologues, the infamous Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska will take to the set of Saturday Night Live in her first television comedy appearance.
In an election season of tough campaigning, it might be good for both parties and voters to spread around some laughter. The McCain ticket is doing just that.
So, should we all be prepared to see Tina Fey? I'm not sure yet, but it probably would make for a good skit.
Presidential candidate John McCain already spent the week bringing laughs to audiences. He made a stop at the annual Al Smith fund-raiser this year as one of their keynote speakers. He and Democratic rival Barack Obama shared the stage at the event which raises money for underprivileged children. The event raised millions of dollars for charity and left scores of audience members laughing uncontrollably for minutes on end.
Before the dinner, Sen. Mc Cain stopped by the Late Show with David Letterman. Many remember McCain's cancellation of his appearance on the program during his “rush back to Washington” weeks ago. Letterman was told McCain was going back immediately to D.C. only to find him sitting down in the CBS news studio with Katie Couric preparing to do an interview with her.
McCain did provide an explanation for his seemingly hasty departure to Letterman. The two seemed to make up for the moment, but it wasn't all jokes on the Late Show for the evening. Letterman gave McCain a hard time on his VP pick of Sarah Palin. Letterman asked McCain directly if he felt Palin was qualified and ready to be president, should something happen to him. McCain stuck to his guns and reinforced Palin's reformer record, and how she'll be a tremendous force in Washington.
Many skeptics do wonder whether Sarah Palin has the certitude of vision and leadership qualities necessary to serve as commander in chief. Those questions may be anwered after Saturday's show. We'll have to wait and see.
October 22, 2008
Comprehending the Undecided
by Jeremy Freed
“For most of the rest of us (the screaming hordes, that is, on either side of the divide), this indecision is pretty hard to comprehend.
”
So here's the other puzzling thing about the election: it will neither be decided by hardcore Democrats nor rabid Republicans. Those people, for all their bluster and shouting and sermonizing, really don't matter at all. Like a wrong meeting a right, they basically cancel each other out.
The next president of America will be chosen by those ever-elusive people known as “the undecideds.” These people probably think Obama is a bit too young (and maybe a bit too ethnic) and McCain is a bit too old (and maybe a bit too scary-looking, in need of teeth whitening). For them, it's a tough call. Take a chance on a young guy who's short on experience, or take a chance on an old guy who could drop dead at any minute and leave Sarah Palin as the leader of the free world (and if that's not a scary thought, you tell me what is). For most of the rest of us (the screaming hordes, that is, on either side of the divide), this indecision is pretty hard to comprehend.
David Sedaris, the celebrated American essayist (who now lives in France, not for entirely political reasons) sums up the situation nicely in this week's New Yorker. “To put them in perspective,” he writes, “I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. 'Can I interest you in the chicken?' she asks. 'Or would you prefer the platter of sh*t with bits of broken glass in it?' To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.”
Amen, brother, amen.
October 28, 2008
Palin 2012?
by Sean Nixon
Governor Sarah Palin is by far one of the newest faces on the national stage in American politics. One of the reasons voters may be reluctant to vote for John McCain this November however is his V.P. pick of Sarah Palin. But that doesn't mean we won't be seeing her again in the future.
Sarah Palin has been criticized many times and come under scrutiny from potential voters and media pundits. She was thrust onto the national stage and has been the subject of many debates all across the country.
Saturday Night Live's ratings have soared as a result of this year's election, and Tina Fey has undoubtedly made millions more laugh uncontrollably at her portrayal of Palin.
Despite the criticism, this is the governor that went against her own party for reform. It's the same governor who negotiated serious deals with big oil companies on behalf of her state. It's also the same governor whose résumé impressed a presidential nominee enough to ask her to be his running mate for the White House. Keep that in mind.
Yes, many winced at her interviews; some even called for her removal from the ticket. Yet, she's energized a huge Republican base and has four years to really hone her skills on the national stage and give the 2012 candidates a run for their money.
If she can learn to take the scrutiny of the press, become even more comfortable on the national stage and garner support from a strong Republican base, Sarah Palin may be back before you know it. After being thrust to the national stage, this could very well be a practice run for governor of Alaska.
Will Sarah Palin run for president in 2012?
October 29, 2008
Detroit's Former Mayor Jailed
by Sean Nixon
Kwame Kilpatrick is in jail. The former mayor has been sentenced to 120 days at the Andrew C. Baird Detention Facility in Detroit. He received the jail time for his role in obstruction of justice in an investigation involving the firing of two police officers during his term as mayor.
Kilpatrick is stationed in a cell away from the general population of inmates. In recent months, he stated that he would not step down from his post despite numerous requests and demands from the city council and citizens of Detroit. He officially resigned from office in September.
As part of his plea deal, he will also pay $1 million in restitution, plead guilty to three felonies and lose his ability to practice law.
Should Kilpatrick have to serve more time in jail?
October 27, 2008
Drive-Through Voting
by Tamika Thompson
With its car culture and drive-through everything, it's no surprise that California would be the second state in the country to test out drive-through voting. Our Web team caught up with voters in Orange County who exercised their voting rights from their cars.
This video is the first of our contributions to the YouTube-PBS joint venture, Video Your Vote. Be sure to check out the site, where you can upload your own election day videos too.
Embed or share this video.
October 31, 2008
Truly Scary Stuff
by Jeremy Freed
With less than a week to go before the election, which will bring to an end one of the most exhausting and drawn-out campaigns in memory, the mood is becoming somewhat jovial. Perhaps it's because people have become resigned to the fact that whatever's going to happen next week has pretty much already been determined in the minds of most voters. Perhaps the exhaustion of the nonstop media scrutinization of every little freaking detail of the candidates' lives, speeches and policies has left people a little delirious. Or maybe it's just because it's Halloween.
Whatever the reason, one can expect to see the toll wrought by the election run-up in the costumes of many Halloweeners tonight. Leading the pack, of course, is the peerless Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, with a number of costume choices available. For the lazy, there's the classic rubber mask or the Miss Alaska sash-and-glasses combo. For the truly adventurous, there's the stars and stripes bikini (along with sash and glasses, of course). The costume is completed by a hunting rifle, not included, unfortunately. For those more interested in authenticity, one blog offers detailed advice for creating the perfect Palin outfit, from the hair to the outfit to the earrings. Most importantly, though, for those hoping to win their costume contests tonight, are the mannerisms. Winking is essential, as are phrases like “you betcha!” and “I can see Russia from my house!”
For the politically-savvy man there are options, too. A dark suit, topped with the either McCain or Obama masks, will surely be a hit in any crowd (flag pin optional).
The big question in my mind today, however, is where the heck is Joe Biden? The Democratic VP candidate has been suspiciously absent from both headlines and costume shops in the last few weeks. The only trace of Biden costumery found by this blogger was a very flimsy-looking paper mask for $.99 online. For my money, the Cheney mask is a better option. Much scarier.
October 17, 2008
Election Countdown
by Sean Nixon
Bob Schieffer of CBS served as moderator in the last presidential debate Wednesday evening between presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.
Senators Obama and McCain actually seemed to duke it out in this last stretch leading to the November 4 election. Tensions were apparent as the two candidates disagreed over policy issues, economic plans, and the tone each man's campaigns had taken.
Senator Obama wasn't too pleased with remarks about him that news agencies reported hearing rally supporters shout while Sarah Palin was out campaigning a few weeks ago.
Senator McCain didn't appreciate the harsh criticism he received from Congressman John Lewis about the tone some of McCain's supporters had been leveling in recent days.
When I wrote about this earlier, it seemed as though both campaigns were sharpening their attacks. Now it seems they've got laser sharp focus in making sure they appeal to Independent and undecided voters.
This last debate was one of the most heated, yet informative debates of the entire election campaign. Each candidate presented voters with contrasting views of their policies and goals, while making an appeal that their opponent isn't the guy for the job.
When asked whether or not each of them would stop airing the negative attack ads, neither one of them replied with an answer.
Sen. McCain did however reiterate how he would've liked to have done more town hall meetings with Sen. Obama, and how the campaign would've had a much different tone had he done so.
In an interesting turn of events, an obscure name to many became the focus of the evening's debate. Joe Wurzelbacher, or “Joe the plumber,” became the focus of many of the arguments between McCain and Obama during the night.
Wurzelbacher is a voter in Ohio who recently met Obama during a campaign stop prior to the debate. "Joe the plumber" was mentioned 26 times throughout the evening, while each candidate made their appeal to voters on their policies.
At the end of the evening, the two men shook hands, as statesmen should. Both candidates now face the task of rallying their supporters to get to the polls and cast their ballot for the next President of the United States.
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