Corey and I hit the airwaves again today on Red Button Radio. Hopefully we'll get everything hammered down and we will be live on air every Sunday at 12pm PST. Today we discussed Hillary's campaign headquarter fiasco. I think I agree with Corey that the negative press should be minimal on this one. I do not, however, back him on most of his positive comments about Hillary. I don't honestly think that this country is ready for a ball busting female as president. Although it may be good for helping our standing in the international world, the people of this country really do need a strong male figure to stand up and be the leader of this country. After the mountain of negative press that his been pushed on W (whether it is fair, right, or deserved) the image of the presidency itself has been tarnished. This is a big deal to me. I feel that regardless of mistakes that were made, there is a certain amount of respect that needs to be given to the leader of our country. Honestly, though the weakening of that image can't all be placed on W's bad press, but also is due in part to how Clinton disgraced the presidency with his obscene acts in the oval office.
After discussing the Hillary campaign a bit, we turned the conversation to the other side of the political fence to discuss the recent Republican YouTube debate on CNN. The event allowed for some surprising "wins" on the part of the not so well-known Republican candidates. Probably, one of the most important to me was the well rounded and eloquent commentary of Huckabee. When he answered questions and responded to others, Huckabee was pointed and firmly grounded. He very clearly knows what he believes and isn't afraid to say it. I agree with Corey and it is certainly his reach to the religious right that may help him overtake the other candidates in the primary. On a personal level I don't agree with many of his positions, I certainly wouldn't be embarrassed to have such a well spoken and upfront man as my nation's leader. Another surprising aspect of the debate was the way Giuliani seemed to shrink into the background. He came into the debate with powerful poll numbers and his performance was a far cry from satisfying. John McCain was as opinionated as ever and one must certainly give him credit for that. It is unfortunate that the bad press he has taken in the past may keep him from winning the nomination because he truly is a solid figure of leadership.
Overall the debate was great for some candidates and challenging for others, but my biggest frustration was really with CNN and the formatting of the debate itself. After watching both side by side I couldn't believe the disparity in the way the questions were chosen and delivered. Most of the questions on the Republican side were argumentative and some were down right demeaning. This isn't a popularity contest, this is a political election. Yes, these politicians should be asked tough questions so that we can choose more freely, but that doesn't mean that the Democrats should have it easy either. The mistakes in the initial transcript of the debate were glaring and unacceptable. I hope many did not read the initial one and take it at face value. Honestly, with that many mistakes it could have swayed a great many people and personally I would rather wait a few hours and get an accurate transcript than have such skewed writing delivered. Patience is a small price to pay for an accurate depiction of one of the major influences in the primary election.
Beyond the election race and topics related we touched on the war in Iraq and where our money is being spent. This led us to a caller fueled question on the amount of money spent on illegal immigrants. I can't help but agree with the caller. Illegal immigration does nothing but drain the economy of resources. I work too hard to maintain my standard of living to have it sapped away by those who are not willing to go through proper procedure and give back to the nation that is helping them to build a better life for themselves. That topic itself probably deserves a post on its own and in due time I will work on it. In the mean time it was a good heated discussion and though Corey and I don't agree on everything we certainly got a lot of different opinions out there. Diversity is the true key to democracy and freedom. I am damn glad to live in a country where I am free and able to voice my opinion.
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