Archive for August, 2008

John McCain’s Birthday!

Friday, August 29th, 2008

John McCain turns 72 today. Today is also the day he’s said to be naming his V.P.

If elected in November, he will be the oldest person to ever be inaugurated President of the United States. Is he too old?? In my opinion, yes. Not just because of his age and the ailments you get when you’re older, but because it means the majority of his life, his adolescence, and his formative years, were spent a VERY long time ago. Talk about being out of touch.

There are good arguments on both sides. Out of 105 opinions on whereIstand.com, 70 think McCain’s age will negatively affect his campaign. That’s a large percentage. And, a CNN/Gallup poll taken in July said that McCain’s age may be more of an issue than Obama’s race. We’ll see.

But it seems to me that lately his age is playing less and less of a part in the minds of voters. At one point it was being talked about all the time. People were even discussing of McCain should release his psychiatric records.

So why are the two candidates virtually neck and neck right now?

Barack Obama couldn’t be more of an opposite to McCain. Which is maybe why this election will end up being so close…. Even though most of the American people think we’re headed in the wrong direction and think the Iraq war is now a big mess, they are still willing to vote for McCain, who is staunchly pro-war. They will vote for him because he’s the opposite of Obama. White, old, military. The old guard. It’s sometimes hard to vote for change.

Many don’t seem to mind that McCain is very old. What seems to matter now is that he’s not black. Just like the election, on whereIstand, the opinions are split down the middle on whether Obama’s race will affect his candidacy.

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Everyone seems to be saying Biden was a good choice for Obama’s V.P. Why then, according to a recent poll, is Obama not seeing a bump in his approval rating?

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Did Barack Obama choose wisely when he picked Joe Biden to be his running mate? Well, for me, that remains to be seen. If they win, he chose wisely. If they lose, damnit why didn’t he join forces with Hillary??

Regardless of what I think, everyone else has an opinion too. At whereIstand.com, those opinions are collected and very few people have come out against the choice. Researchers at the site have compiled a list of what public figures- elected officials, newspaper columnists and editorial boards, etc.- think of the pick. They wholly support the choice.

Why then, according to a recent Gallup poll, did Obama’s Biden choice do him no good?

According to the poll, “Barack Obama has received no bounce in voter support out of his selection of Sen. Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate.”

Even conservatives are hailing the choice, so why aren’t the voters?

On the site you can see who said what, and which conservatives are crossing the line. John McCain and Chuck Hagel, Republican Senator from Nebraska, say it was a good choice. Even more interesting are the conservative pundits and columnists who backed the choice. Glenn Beck, the conservative political commentator and radio host, went so far as to say the McCain camp might have a problem if they don’t pick as skilled a debater as Biden for their V.P.

The Washington Times, known for being conservative also praised the choice. A “solid pick,” they said.

After the convention this week we’ll see how the numbers are. Will Biden’s speech draw people in? Will Obama’s convince those who are unsure? It all remains to be seen.

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Michael Phelps is the Greatest Olympian?

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

Is Michael Phelps the Greatest Olympic Athlete of all Time?

Maybe it’s just the media saturated times we live in, but I can’t get away from Michael Phelps. He’s everywhere. On every channel, newspaper, website, everywhere. Even on my own homepage of Facebook there is a banner right across the top congratulating Michael Phelps “and all of the U.S. Athletes.” There is also a link to Michael Phelps’ Facebook page. Guess how many friends? 1,266,910 at 11:06 am on Thursday, August 21, 2008.

But amidst all the media hype and the swooning masses, what is Michael Phelps besides a great swimmer with double-jointed knees? Is he the greatest Olympian of all time? Or is he just lucky?

whereIstand.com is asking this . And the responses it has elicited are strange and interesting. The public figure debate is relatively split down the middle, with 8 who believe he is the greatest and 10 who believe he is not*. Also interesting is that the athletes, more so than the writers, think Phelps is not the best. Jealousy? A superior understanding of sports?

The list of public figures taking a stand on the issue is made up of sportswriters and athletes. Two of the three athletes, Chad Johnson, wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Bruce Jenner, former Olympic track star, both say Phelps is not the greatest athlete. The third athlete, Mark Spitz, who coincidentally is the man whose record Phelps broke after winning 8 gold medals, says he is the best, “right now.”

Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, George Vecsey of The New York Times and Michael Rosenberg of FOX Sports agree with the athletes in saying Phelps is not the best Olympic athlete of all time.

But why is he the best?

John Powers of The Boston Globe says it’s because he swims all four strokes. The Baltimore Sun says it’s because he breaks world records.

Phelps has won more gold medals than anyone else at the Olympics, ever. It seems pretty clear to me.

*ed note: four opinions are pending approval

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Race and Obama

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Race is the big issue with the election this year. Will Barack Obama win because he is black? Will he lose because he is black? Is American ready for a black president? It’s on everyone’s mind.

Of the 28 public figures on whereIstand.com with opinions on how Obama’s race will affect his candidacy, five are black. What i found particularly interesting was that four of the five said race would negatively affect Obama’s chances of winning the election.

What does that say about our country and whites and blacks in general?

Polls have suggested that whites are saying America is ready for a black president, while according to the public figures on whereIstand, black people themselves think racism will get in the way.

Al Sharpton, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Sylvester Brown Jr., Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile and sportswriter Stephen A. think race will negatively affect Obama. Robert L. Johnson, the successful businessman and founder of Black Entertainment Television is the lone abstainer.

Beyond recognizing how race is understood by blacks and whites, this information shines a light on, perhaps, how people in business may view things as opposed to activists and journalists.

whereIstand also aggregates the opinions of its many users on the issues. Of the 50 user opinions, 14 say race will have no effect, 16 say race will positively effect his candidacy and 22 say negatively. Because users are often anonymous and don’t post pictures it isn’t possible to determine whether race has any affect on the stand they take on the issue.

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