Obama, Part 2

Post 27:


*NOTE*
I am currently in Sandusky, Ohio. If this is updated at 12 AM (midnight) on Monday then it is all good. If this is not and posted later (by myself when I get home) then I apologize for the problem.
*END OF NOTE*

This is a continuation of my problems entries: Obama, Part 1 and http://whalertly.blogspot.com/2008/06/mccain-part-1.html. This time I am addressing some of Obama's newer issues and one of his older issues (that is also current). I have several problems with Obama, among them these three pop to the top of my mind: His Flip flopping - His liberal voting record (the older issue) - The Fist Bump. While these may seem petty and pointless, this is a blog about my opinion; these issues actually are issues to me. Obama: what really grinds my gigantic notched wheels.

His Flip Flopping:
In 2004 one issue hurt John Kerry more than anything else could, the fact that he was labeled a 'flip flopper'. Granted, Kerry made it easy on himself when he said “I supported the war before I didn't”. Come on now, have some subtlety. While it is typical for nominees to pledge far out ideas to the party base prior to sealing the nod and then move to the center for the actual election, they normally do it with some style and hide their move; McCain has started to flip on some positions and move to the center, but he is mostly doing it under radar. Obama, on the other hand, holds press conferences announcing he is migrating his position. From NAFTA to public funding to Iraq (still not nearly as far as he will move in the end) to Wright, he makes it well known. This annoys me to no end. While I am all for changing your mind when new evidence is presented, changing it for sole political gain really turns me off. Obama, I thought you were not politics as usual, turns out that you are the same.

His Liberal Voting Record:
Time and Time again the records come out and show that Obama votes constantly with his voting block. He is rated as the most liberal senator in most polls, and in almost all polls he is at least in the top 5 of most liberal. Now, as I attacked McCain as moving to far to the right, I am attack Obama as being to far to the left. When I vote for a president I am picking a person who I think would be good at leading the country, not just 40% of it or so. I want a person who will work with both sides, a person who crosses the border, a person who actually is an American, not a Republican or Democrat. Obama just does not seem to have that record. If Mr. Obama were to move more towards the center than I think that he would be a much much better candidate.

The Fist Bump
This is just a personal pet peeve of mine. After sealing up the Democratic nomination, Mr. Obama and his wife celebrated by bumping fists with one-another. To me this just reeks of immaturity and a pompous attitude. I want a president who shakes hands, a president who acts his age, a president who doesn't act like a deal just went down. I bump hands during a good play DURING FRISBEE, I would never bump hands with my boss after he win a big case. To me this just seems way to immature and out of place. Please, Mr. Obama, act like you are running for the president, not like you are running for Homecoming King.





As always, please leave any comments, no matter how large or how small about the contents of this blog post. Also, please leave any comments/suggestions about this site/post as a whole.
Thanks,
Barga,
Editor of http://whalertly.blogspot.com/
barga.24@osu.edu



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Bloggers

Post 13:


*NOTE*
A letter to the editor from myself to the Other Paper was published last Thursday, when I am able to get a copy to scan it in I will post if for you guys. It dealt with Anonymous (more specifically, their protest in Downtown Columbus the other day) and this post, that is, my post on fellow bloggers.
*END OF NOTE*


I read several blogs, from Carnival Of Ohio Politics to Glass City Jungle to CNNs blog to several non-political orriented ones like Endgadget and Crave. I read them, comment on them, and argue on them. Yeah, I am that sort of person. One thing that has always driven me crazy are how the blogs work, and how people seem to think that they are credible sources of news. NEWSFLASH, I support Clinton and McCain, I will be biased, though I will attempt to hit all sides, deal with it, and look at pro-Obama blogs to get a middle ground. Really, that is what we all need to do, watch Fox and MSNBC, read my blog and read an Obamaites blog; one should always get both sides of a story as the truth is usually dead in the middle.

Some blogs can be intertaining, some can be informative, and some can be stunning, they often exist for one basic reason. That is, most blogs exist to share one viewpoint (often biased) to the world, mainly, to those who already agree with their viewpoints. They exist for the same reason as Myspace users and Youtubers. Really, there are three main reasons that bloggers really bug me: They are narcisistic and self-important - They claim to be great sources of news - They are clearly Biased (and yes, I know that I am biased).
Bloggers: What Really Grinds My Gigantic Notched Wheels

They are narcisitic and self-important:
The world is full of people that would be willing to kiss their own image on a frozen mirror, even when they know that their tounge will freeze upon it and they will starve to death. People from Paris Hilton to Karl Rove to Parez Hilton to Michael Moore. These people love themselves, think they are all that matters, and think that the world revolves around them. Most bloggers are like that, we only care about certain things and think that that is all the world cares about. Me, I think that if you do not care about politics (I do not care which side of politics you are on) or science you are worthless. Most bloggers do the same thing. Really, it seems as though blogs exist solely to make us feel important. We make claims as to viewership, locations (hey, do you guys remember the map I posted, well, it is much fuller now), and links. It now seems as though blogs have become the definition of how popular you are, the jocks are mentioned on big sites and are viewed hundreds of times a day. The geeks (which, oddly, does fit me many different ways) are mentioned on the jock sites occasionally (usually as a pitty) and get ten hits or so a day. Holy shit, Blogs are the new high schools.

They claim to be great sources of news:
Newspapers are one of the last great sources of news that are left. Television news are held hostage to their sponsers, the internet news is often owned by the same cable news companies, radio, well, there is no radio news anymore (for the most part). Blogs have started to be argued as one of the great new sources of news. When Dan Rathers spoke about a Millitary document regarding Bush not serving the right wing bloggers attacked in mass, and showed the rreport to be false. Yes, blogs do assist in gathering news and sometimes break the news first (like those that broke the Dann story). However, Blogs should not be used as news sources. Often blogs do not have first hand sources that ARE CREDIBLE (and no, the poster is never a credible source, as they are often very very biased in their wording). Furthermore, they do not have accsess to the research tools that things like The Columbus Dispatch and the New York Times have. Lastly, blogs do not have journalistic integrity to maintain. When your news source is able to outright lie (lack the integrity) it is time to get a new source.

They are clearly Biased (and yes, I know that I am biased):
I support Clinton and then McCain. I am a moderate Democrat. I am pro-choice, pro-drug, pro-Constitution, pro-Civil-Liberties. I am (as you can see on the political compass on the side of this blog) a libertarian leaning lefist (slight). I am biased, deal with it. That said, this is also one of my biggest issues with bloggers. When I read a political blog I expect to see posts that for the most part help one side; however, I also expect to see the occasional post that helps the other side. Your pro McCain, well, I expect to see pleanty that support the Mac yet some that occasionally point out where Obama is better (like the Oil Tax issue). That said, we should expect a level of bias on any site, blog or not. However, with blogs, it is to the point of absurdidy. I do not want to read a blog that claims Obama is satan in every post, EVEN IF IT WERE PROVED TO BE TRUE. Really, I am only saying, lets keep the bias to a minimum in these things, as that lets us get more readers.




As always, please leave any comments, no matter how large or how small about the contents of this blog post. Also, please leave any comments/suggestions about this site/post as a whole.
Thanks,
Barga,
Editor of http://whalertly.blogspot.com/
barga.24@osu.edu


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