Monday, December 31, 2007

The LAST Post of 2007 -- Endorsements

I wanted to make my endorsements for candidates of both parties. Hopefully my thought process can help you shed light on your own.

Republicans:
When looking for my candidate, I want someone who is clean, honest, and stands for something. That leaves Huckabee and McCain. Up until yesterday morning at 10:29, I was ready to endorse Mike Huckabee. A couple of weeks ago, I predicted that Huckabee would get the nomination and since then he's become the front-runner. But then I saw his interview on "Meet The Press". The interview where he said (I'm paraphrasing but not much) that homosexuality is deviant and sinful and that even if one can be born gay, they should still make the "right choice." Plus, he said that there is no credibility in the viewpoint that life does not begin at conception. Plus, he stumbled all over himself on immigration. While he got off the great line in the YouTube debate about how we are a better country than to punish children for their parents' mistakes, he decided that his stance was to kick all illegal immigrants out and then they can apply for re-entry immediately (as long as they go peacefully). So a child of an illegal immigrant, born in the U.S. and therefore a U.S. citizen, would, in fact, be punished for their parent's mistake. Dude's crazy. In fact, after watching Huckabee with Tim Russert, I've actually decided that I'm pro-illegal immigration. I think everyone should just come on over. Tired, poor, huddled masses, etc. My endorsement goes to John McCain.

Democrats:
For me, it was down to Edwards vs. Obama. Every time I see Edwards on TV, he impresses me a great deal. But then (the theme here), I saw "Meet The Press" on Sunday with an interview with Obama. It struck me: I needed to institute the "Gary Kasparov" test. A few months ago, Kasparov, running for Russian President, appeared as a guest on "Real Time With Bill Maher". Everyone that I know who watched it (and Chris Matthews -- another guest -- and Maher) were so impressed that they immediately wished that Kasparov were our President. Hence the test; if we saw one of the candidates as the leader of a foreign nation, which one would make us think: "I wish they were my President." After watching "Meet The Press", the answer is clear. My endorsement goes to Barack Obama.

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