Sunday, March 09, 2008

Opinion: Does any of this matter?

Obama is imitating Ken Starr

Clinton is a monster

McCain has a bad temper





... and apparently when the republican party and the democratic party created their parties they forgot to make the names of their parties proper nouns. Why would they do that? OR MAYBE THEY DIDN'T !!!!!

35 comments:

Mr. Bretzmann said...

"She is a monster, too – that is off the record – she is stooping to anything," Samantha Power said, hastily trying to withdraw her remark.

“I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president.” Howard Wolfson

Republican Sen. John McCain, showing a flash of the temper he is known for, repeatedly cut off a reporter Friday when asked whether he had spoken to Democratic Sen. John Kerry about being his vice president in 2004. "Everybody knows that I had a private conversation. Everybody knows that, that I had a conversation," McCain told the reporter. "And you know it, too. No. You know it, too. No. You do know. You do know."
www.washingtonpost.com

CassieH said...

Does any of this matter?

Sure it matters. The General population is often easily swayed. Almost anything can, even lies sway the opinion.

I don't know if this is really what we are talking about. But there isn't even very much talking going on.

Which is suprising cause most you guys are crazy about the posting on the blog.

Ohhh Doomsday. Wanna seeee. :)

Night.

CarolineB said...

If Power thinks Clinton's a monster, she thinks Clinton's a monster. Off the record or on it, Hillary has done something to make this woman believe she is capable of inhuman activities. I believe it does matter. People's opinions really influence a lot, especially if it's all over the news. It frusterates me, however, that Obama is getting a bad rap for this. Even if he thinks the same thing as Power, she , not Obama, said it. I'm worried about where Obama's campaign will go from here. This was NOT his week.

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery? I don't have much to say about that issue, this is the first I've heard of it. I'm sure we'll cover it in class tomorrow.

John McCain seems, more now than ever, like a you-know-what-hole. Reporters are paid to get the scoop! He should know that with all of his experience. Treating them with respect is really important in order to get good press not to mention the correct information. Regardless of the reporter's demeanor, McCain needs to keep a cool head if he wants to get through a press conference- let alone a presidency

amandak said...

Are we getting a little desperate for blog topics?

I definitely had no idea who Ken Starr is. I had to look him up on evil wikipedia, so I really can't tell you if that's important...

But I agree with Cassie: "Sure it matters. The General population is often easily swayed." You have no idea how many people I've argued with online who INSIST that Obama is a Muslim. People are stupid. That's pretty much all I have to contribute to this week's blog.

Vlad said...

Almost missed this post. None of it matters especially Clinton being a monster and McCain having a bad temper. Obama being Ken Starr is a sign of desperation from the Clinton campaign. It's common campaign stuff and it's all much ado about nothing!
What really matters is winning Pennsylvania.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

...not desperate for blog topics, but desperate for blog topics that also include John McCain and/or non-election content

Could have been:
Does Obama have the momentum back after winning WY?

Will Obama have more momentum after winning Mississippi on Tuesday?

Who cares that Clinton has won the large states? Does anybody really think that Obama wouldn't win in CA, NY or NJ in the general election?

What does the Obama campaign have to change if it wants to get back on track?

Seeing as mathematically it seems very unlikely that Clinton can overtake Obama in the pledged delegates, do you think the Super Delegates should choose Obama or is it OK for them to exercise their personal judgment?

Do you think it's appropriate for the person trailing in delegates to essentially offer the vice-presidential nomination to the person in the lead? Good politics or cynical manipulation?

I've got more...the 'does it matter' question was actually an afterthought because I thought some people might have already posted on the Tuesday question.

p.s. BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TO CLASS MONDAY.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

btw: did anybody see Governor Crist on This Week? He was a lot less tan than ususal. Does that mean he could be a possible runningmate? He would be TMTH in FL for the Dems.

aly mac said...

I really don't think that these comments matter very much. People seem smart enough to discard degrading comments. Also, as long as each candidate quickly refutes the statements, I don't think they will be a problem. The issues the candidates are standing for seem more important right at this moment.

DanielleT said...

I don't feel as though these specific opinions of the candidates should matter that much to anyone. However, it is true that what people say around you and what you hear on T.V. can have an affect on opinions. Unfortunately, the more "fighting words" used against a candidate might show a negative response. It shouldn't matter but it does matter.

Johnny B said...

I believe that this has two ways of answering.

One, this matters. It matters because what the general public thinks is crucial whether or not it is true.What the general public thinks is what they vote about.

Two, it shouldn't matter. The problem is that it is impossible to completely educate everybody with the correct information. That's just how things are in life though.

Johnny B said...

Opinion:

I thought this was interesting. I was reading some comments on a CNN article and someone said, "Clinton is the new Huckabee." By that, I believe they meant that she is still staying in even though Obama will probably win the nomination. (That person's opinion.)

Vlad said...

Hillary Clinton is now asking Barack Obama to be her VP. Hmmmm..... Why would she ever want a VP who is "inexperienced" and only "gave a speech in 2002"?

Johnny B said...

I read that too, Vlad.

It's just a tactic she is using to get people to vote for her in hopes they'll still see Barack Obama as well.

I like both of these quotes...

"With all due respect. I won twice as many states as Sen. Clinton. I've won more of the popular vote than Sen. Clinton. I have more delegates than Sen. Clinton. So, I don't know how somebody who's in second place is offering vice presidency to the person who's in first place"

and

"I don't understand," he said. "If I'm not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president?"

Mr. Bretzmann said...

In my 'he said' 'she said' back and forth today I said something to the effect shown below. I thought it was interesting when I was reading a blog today and saw almost the same comments. Here is the quote and the link:

"Moreover, the notion that Obama would be unable to win California and New York in a general election is insultingly ludicrous. Both states have been consistently Democratic, and no public polling data suggests otherwise."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-loewe/hillarys-inconvenient-tr_b_90892.html

jamieg said...

I think it might matter some that Clinton won the big states if they (as Mr Bretzmann just said) have a tendency to vote democratic. It might at least have some sway with the still-undecided superdelegates.

And on a totally different topic, is anybody else embarrassingly excited to see what happens with Florida and Michigan?

PS, I love the man-touching-nose picture.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

"PS, I love the man-touching-nose picture."

...and yet you still called it the democratic party instead of the DDDDDDemocratic Party. You should also call the other party the RRRRRRepublican Party.

Alex D said...

I think the one thing that does matter right now is that Obama and Clinton are still in the race and all of this is still going on.

All of this bashing does in fact take a toll on the canidates, and no one is taking more of a toll than Obama and Clinton going at it with each other.

Don't believe me?

In the general election poll average:
JOHN MCCAIN NOW LEADS OBAMA BY .3 FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!

www.realclearpolitics.com

katiekso said...

To me, all of these petty media topics and name-calling doesn't change my mind at all. Sadly, as those before me have mentioned, this kind of behavior attracts the media's attention more than the actual personality and ideas of the candidates. Because of this, the public ends up forming a negative image of the political candidates in their mind and they end up going to the polls thinking they have to vote for the "lesser of two evils." When people, like presidential candidates, spend so much time in the public and on TV bad traits or flaws are going to be exposed. People have to realize this and move on to bigger issues.

KellyH said...

I have a question that I've been trying to find the answer for and I've found nothing, so maybe someone can answer it for me.

Do John Edwards' delegates go towards whichever candidate he chooses to endorse, do they vote for whomever they want, or do they not count at all? Because I would assume they would at least count in some way, but I really just don't know.

Anonymous said...

These generalizations shouldn't change people's general opinion about the candidates, however it will.

Also, it is quite funny that Clinton is saying Obama should be her running mate. I hope only one or the other is going to be on the ticket with someone else.

joannaz said...

None of it really matters too much in the long run. These kinds of comments only last until the next story, but a constant negative barrage of comments like these end up making a significant impact...
It really depends on how much coverage the news stations are giving it until the next big thing. Right now its Ferrero and Obama's pastor, but that will be over just as soon as a new sling of mud comes that is more interesting. As long the candidates don't do anything too awful themselves I don't think these bumps on the road will have a real effect in the long run.

Jbyko10 said...

none of this matters. The public thinks what the public thinks, and journalists think what they think. If the general public is going to be swayed by what the media says, people are just plain stupid. Think of the candidates how you want to think of them.

Unknown said...

I don't think any of this SHOULD matter. I guess there will be some individuals who believe it will. It's not fair to base things off of stuff like that. The population IS easily swayed, but I think It'll be okay.

MorganJ said...

I'm sorry that we, the AP Gov students of '07 '08, do not consider the different parties as proper nouns. In our defense, however, I've been told many of times that this is AP Gov, not AP English, content is all that matters...

And as far as the other remarks regarding Obama, Clinton, and McCain, I was watching CNN this morning and there were two members of the Democratic Party <---- note the capital "D," both from New York (a supporter of Obama and of Clintion) and they both agreed that the election needs to be brought back to the issues, and that the candidates can not be held accountable for their fans.

I agree with that!

Mr. Bretzmann said...

1. It's not English class, but we use a lot of the same words.

2. People in POLITICS call them the Democratic Party and the Republican Party (people who don't call them that look ignornant).

3. Don't confuse laziness with a principled stance on an issue. (Principled stance: "The GOP is the only republican party because the Democrats reward people for losing...")
(Lazy person: i thnk the repubs and dems r the same party and when i thnk about voting i just say, whatevv.)

Take pride in everything you do and try to do it the right way.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

Kelly asked:
"Do John Edwards' delegates go towards whichever candidate he chooses to endorse, do they vote for whomever they want, or do they not count at all?"

Technically, no pledged delegates or superdelegates are required to vote for anybody. So technically all the pledged (elected through primaries and caucuses) delegates could vote for whoever they wanted to at the convention. It is considerably easier to do that if your candidate is out of the race (e.g. Edwards). So those 26 delegates are free to do what they please. However, they would be heavily influenced by whatever Edwards suggested they do. 26 delegates is about the size of a small-to-mid-size state's number of delegates and could be pretty important (assuming they do what they are asked to do). More importantly, an Edwards endorsement could sway the votes in Pennsylvania, other states and among the other superdelegates. Having said all that, Edwards hasn't endorsed anybody and hasn't told his delegates who he wants them to vote for at the convention.

p.s. the state Democratic Party has started looking for people to be delegates to the national convention. If you're interested, you can run now at your county level, then move up the hierarchy all the way to the national convention. There is a similar process on the GOP side too. Get involved!

CassieH said...

It "SHOULDN'T" Matter, but it does.

Sadly

Vlad said...

Are people posting on the wrong blog? If this is one of those weird blogs that's counting for 2 weeks, then once again it doesn't matter because new mud is brought to surface every week. Whoever is digging all of this dirt on Obama is doing a fine job of making him out to be some sort of radical liberal who hates America. Soccer moms in Duluth have become wary.

CoreyA said...

Sure it matters. If you can make yourself look like a hero and your opponent like a villian, you've already won the election. As certain people have shown, all you have to do is plagiarize a few inspirational speechs and regardless of where you stand, or don't stand at all, on a topic, people will think you're a great guy and vote for you. If you can then turn your opponent into a monster in the public eye, then you have it won. I personally think that the persona that the public sees is more important to getting votes then your stances. In no way do I feel that it should be that way, I am just saying that that is how I see it happening.

cmorgan said...

Well all of these comments give me a chuckle. Who would've guessed that bad words would be splashed about in politics? Monster, imitator, mean old man. Sounds like a more boring type of high school. These remarks have little to do with the matter at hand, although the Clinton is a monster amused me. All in all though none of this matters.

KellyH said...

Thank you Mr. Bretzmann.

Erica Lane said...

This doesn't count as my post, but I am just really wondering what Bretzmann typed into Google to get that image.

Mr. Bretzmann said...

AFAIK: Google image search: "Erica's favorite boyfriend"

jk
bff's?

B4N

mente said...

Of course statements such as those will matter, otherwise they wouldn't have been said. The public as a whole is easily swayed to think what they are being told to think. Everything that is said in a presidential campaign or any other campaign is deliberate and calculated.

On a completely unrelated topic, I remember Rebecca brought up what happened to transgender/transsexual people in the military and I just found an article that talked about it.
http://www.holtesq.com/military.htm
Basically, if the person is in the military when they decide to have gender reassignment surgery they are typically honorably discharged on the same grounds as someone who is gay or for "psychological and physical unfitness" or because requirements for hormone maintenance could make them unavailable for assignment.

Sorry about the random tidbit, I was going to forget if I didn't post it. Have a good night.

Jake_H said...

I think that the only comment that might matter is McCain's temper. Even if he does not show his temper too often, it only takes once for people to decide that they dont like him for it.

So what if there is one more person who thinks that Clinton is a monster-- there are already a bunch of people who think that. Not really a big deal.

As for Obama imitating Ken Star, that really wont matter because the general public has never heard of Ken Star and don't care about him. I had to look him up too.

The media will try to make something out of nothing all the time with the candidates. Its only a matter of time before we here more stories about things that don't matter.