Campaign Themes Are Being Fulfilled
Every four years, around this time, citizens who are ordinarily oblivious to political events suddenly transform into political science enthusiasts. These next few months comprise a time when cheap flimsy signs pop up in front yards and back bumpers are spotted with small rectangular stickers voicing the owner‘s opinion of who should be the next person to run our country. No offense should be taken by those with these signs or stickers; not all are “political posers”.
This is a time when political analysts and news programs will breakdown John McCain and Barack Obama’s every move. The coming debates will serve as more than just a forum for the two to voice their opinions and showcase their speaking skills; they will surely be a great source of new YouTube material and provocative topics for Internet blog sites.
The road to the White House for McCain and Obama is now entering its most intense stretch. Nearly all of the news coverage for the next two months will pertain to the two campaigns in one way or another.
During these campaigns there have been central themes that the candidates attempt to get across to voters. For Barack Obama, it is the message of hope, unending change and radical reform. This message has always sounded to me like some sort of claim that all of America’s problems will be magically solved once he steps through the doorway of the Oval Office.
John McCain has said that his mantra will be to serve his country first before thinking of himself. For the majority of the time, it is true that these are empty promises, but during this election one candidate has seemed to prove his theme’s sincerity.
John McCain has shown that it is more important that our country functions smoothly, than to further himself in his own campaign. As Hurricane Gustav approached the Gulf Coast, he and other Republican leaders decided to condense the national convention to only the mandatory proceedings. This enabled the representatives from that region to oversee the relief and response needed during that time. This move sacrificed national attention of the convention for the good of that area of the country.
This past week John McCain decided to suspend his campaign in order to return to Washington D.C. to perform his job as a senator. This was not too bad of an idea considering our country is facing one of the most uncertain economic times since the Great Depression.
McCain invited his opponent to do the same in returning to the Capitol, but Obama argued that it was unnecessary to delay campaign events and was reluctant to do so, but at the same time attempted to take the credit for the idea. Obama and other Democrats have accused McCain of turning this crisis into a political ploy for the betterment of his campaign. It took a personal invitation from the president for Obama to return to Washington.
Obama has not done much to showcase his commitment to change and hope. Actually, that may be a false accusation; he has courageously changed the destinations of his vacations during his campaign, having gone once to the island of St. Tomas and once to Hawaii. Apparently a need for rest and relaxation is the only circumstance necessary to suspend a campaign.
The types of sudden decisions that John McCain has made are those that I hope our next president would be willing to make. Although not seeing any evidence of this, I believe Barack Obama could also make these kinds of decisions. It may just take a week or two of leisure for him to conclude that this sort of action in times of crisis is necessary for the successful function of our country.
