More Politics

This post is in response to the comment of my friend Nate on my previous post. I love that we can be friends and disagree on political matters. God Bless America!

I have to admit that on the democratic side I do like Obama. Partly because he is not Hillary, but mostly because he is dynamic and has a good presence about him. Most say it is his lack of experience that weakens him as a candidate but the experience will come quickly if he is elected. I did recently see an ad that is making me think twice about him. It dealt with education and his idea that the government needed to do more for public education, which I am against. In my opinion the government does nothing but breed mediocrity in our children and teachers through public education programs. But that can be discussed another day, and it will.....
As for McCain, my main reason for disliking him is that he looks weak, and old. I know this is purely aesthetic, and does not disqualify him from leading, but as a nation I think it is imperative that we have someone who gives off the appearance of strength and nobility. Just like what has been said about FDR and his wheelchair: if there had been television back in his day, he would not have been elected president. McCain seems like a good man, but not the presence that our country needs to have since the president's main responsibility is international relations. Don't label me an "age-ist", but there is something to be said for a strong personality and stage presence in the realm of international politics.
As for Romney, I realize the LDS/president problem. I think he put it well in saying that he will not allow his beliefs to take over his decision making in the White House. I think his campaign did come out too early with the negative publicity of other candidates, though I believe it was only in response to the negative feelings everyone was pushing about his religion behind the media. I don't agree with the negative ads and the like, but for some reason that is how the game is played here in the US, and it works on the majority of the public. I think one problem with Romney is that he has to live up to LDS standards while trying to run a successful campaign. Not an easy task since most of the normal political strategies might not seem wholly ethical to the general LDS public. He still seems the best candidate to drag our country out of the rut it is in, though right now, any change might help.