The significance of the Vice President has come under discussion, because of the upcoming election. We decided to discuss the influence the VP has on elections and if the upcoming election is an exception.
posted by Jozie @ 7:16 PM
1 Comments
A couple of links to the Daily Mail on the Reuplican VP pick:
"I'd vote for Vice president Barbie"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1051985/Id-vote-Vice-president-Barbie.html
"How I became wannabe U.S. Vice President Sarah Palin for the day... and, gee, I feel great"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1054101/How-I-wannabe-U-S-Vice-President-Sarah-Palin-day--gee-I-feel-great.html
posted by Hudson @ 3:54 PM
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All right, it would be a little presumptuous of me to claim to have my finger on the pulse of the British people. I've been here less than 48 hours and a lot of that time I was trying to sleep off my jet lag. Nevertheless, I have a couple of "data points," for what they're worth. I was entertained by the Daily Mail on the flight to Manchester. Admittedly, it's a right wing tabloid, but it has a huge readership. The headline on one of the columns went something like, "We need a pit-bull with lipstick." The upshot was that the political establishment both in America and the UK has ignored ordinary people who work hard and raise families and don't necessarily fit into any of the categories that the demographers have boxed people into. The writer, a woman incidentally, loves Palin. She thinks a tough woman is just what we need now and has no qualms about her lack of experience. The other perspective came from a woman I met at this conference on "Women Activists in the Aftermath of the First World War." She said that McCain's choice of Palin was just a way to get back at Hilary. I'm not sure what the motivation would be there since Hilary is out of the race, but I guess the gist is that it's a somewhat cynical move to grab as many Clinton supporters who are still angry or want a woman no matter what.
I'll try to get some more opinions, but frankly, I'm a little surprised that the election is not a bigger deal here. The Daily Telegraph (a "quality" broadsheet, still conservative) has no commmentary on the election today, but the headline on a news article is "Obama targets seven swing states as dreams of landslide fade." Also British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is being criticized for making statements in favoring Obama.
Well that's the news from over the pond. I'll see if I can find a link to the Daily Mail column and if I do I'll post it later.
By the way, I'm enjoying your posts, but hope to see some more discussion. Take some strong positions!
posted by Hudson @ 3:03 PM
0 Comments
With Hurricane Gustav's landfall expected to happen on the same day as the beginning of the Republican National Convention, John McCain was given an opportunity: to connect with the more religious Republicans. While a large part of George W. Bush's politics were related to his religion, McCain has not been portrayed as a very religious man. In addition to this, McCain has strongly criticised Bush in the past, specifically in relation to the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This chance was an opportunity to kill two or three birds with one stone, McCain could not only show his support for the residents of areas anticipated to be hit by the hurricane, but also show his support for Bush, and that the new standards for helping hurricane victims are what is needed. While this will no doubt give McCain help due to his concern, will it help him garner more respect from the more religious Republicans, as he probably hoped for?
posted by Tom @ 9:55 PM
1 Comments
I think the biggest effect that the hurricane had on the Republican National Convention can be seen in the media. The convention clearly received less media attention than it would have if the natural disaster had not been taking place. Although this will probably not have a profound effect on how McCain does in the post-convention polls I think it will have an effect on the amount of attention that I would have liked ot have seen the Twin Cities getting. It is unfortunate that the hurricane should hit at all, let alone during something as monumental as the Republican National Convention during such an important presidential race, however I think the media could have done a better job of making sure that the convention was still being covered sufficently and that it was gettign the attention that it deserves.
posted by Camille @ 9:30 PM
2 Comments
There has been a lot of discussion in the past few weeks about the Republican National Convention, and a lot of discussion about hurricane Gustav. But I don't think that the effect of Gustav on the RNC was completely negative. It's obvious that the coincidence took the focus of the press away from the convention. In reporting about the RNC, the media changed it's focus from the actual events of the convention, to how republicans were adapting because of hurricane Gustav. This might not have been exactly what republicans had planned for, but it did provide a different opportunity for McCain. The opportunity was to show a difference between McCain and Bush. People immediately connected Hurricane Gustav to Hurricane Katrina. McCain had the opportunity to show that he could approach emergencies differently than how Katrina was approached. By cutting down events at the convention, McCain sent the message that he would lead differently than President Bush.
posted by Anonymous @ 7:31 PM
1 Comments
Because of the arrival of Hurricane Gustav the Republican National Convention did not start off with such a bang as was scheduled. President George W. Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Laura Bush were all supposed to speak the first day of the Convention with of course Senator John McCain. With the advancement and closing in of hurricane Gustav though Bush and Cheney were required to be at briefing meetings and could not make it to Saint Paul to give their respective speeches of approval and support to John McCain. Also certain republican governers and representatives in areas that the storm threatens to hit (especially New Orleans) refuse to attend the Convention and wish to stay with thier people in this time of crisis. In responce McCain extreamly lessened the first day events to just the voting so that he could accept the Republican Canindate Nominnation. It seems to me that McCain is trying to gain the support of the people by attempting to not hold a full out National Convention in cellabration of his nommination when our nation is in a state of emergency. My question though is that by acting in this way has John McCain lost extremely important media coverage that will be essentail to his securing positon in this race. Obama at the Democratic Convention had an outrageous amount of media coverage that could win the votes of selveral hundred people at least. So does McCain have enough media to get by, or has he dug his own grave, or was he just in a lose-lose situation?
posted by Anonymous @ 6:22 PM
2 Comments
This blog belongs to "Through the Looking Glass," a first-year seminar at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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