The Presidential Election

So its been interesting getting to view the democratic presidential primaries from over in Europe. I get most of my news off of CNN International edition, and they do a decent job of covering the ups and downs. The Democrats are doing themselves a huge disservice I think by letting all this drag on for as long as it has. Say what you will about the excitement of the process, and how important that process is, it just is making it more and more difficult for the Democrats to pose a united front to the Republicans.

Hillary goes on and on about how she is not done in this primary, but honestly, barring a miracle is she really. I mean, Obama has the lead in both delegates and super-delegates, and is a money making machine. While many argue that Obama is not as good of a campaigner in the tough states, but this is a PRIMARY, and I feel that they are not as indicative of what will happen in the general election. I think Obama's youth and energy will be a very credible challenge to McCain's experience and clout.

Plus, look how Hillary has run her campaign thus far. She has had to resort to below the belt tactics on more than one occasion, which I feel will help to harden Obama against almost certain Republican attacks. Obama has come out of all the attacks very resilient in my eyes, he doesn't seem to be overly phased by any of it. In fact, many of the attacks have wandered into the realm of the ludicrous, like questioning Obama's Muslim roots, which has no bearing really on anything.

Obama is a smart candidate, and I'm not saying that he is the answer to the problems facing us. But we need a change, and I really don't think that McCain brings enough new policy to the table to change our course in any major way. And I assert to you very emphatically, if we follow the path that we are on, we are going to drive off the cliff going a million miles an hour. Its hard to say who has the answer, but I think that change is ABSOLUTELY necessary.

I support Barack Obama, he has the charisma and the energy to get people motivated, or at least thats what I believe. I honestly want to hear from all of you, what do you think about this race. I leave you with this funny parody of the Pokemon video game that was forwarded to me from a good high school friend. Enjoy!

Questions

Well, I recently got in trouble from yet another one of my professors over the way that I write, so I feel it is necessary to tell you that my writing reflects the way that I think. If any of it confuses you or doesn't make much sense and I will do my best to clarify what I mean. Thanks

People's Perceptions

So I've noticed an interesting phenomenon while I'm here in Europe from talking to people here. My Romanian friend here does not like the United States government, at all. Through much of our conversations it has become clear to me that he has nothing but disdain for the U.S. politics. He even believes that the United States was responsible for the attacks on 9/11, as a prelude to the invasion of Iraq, as mentioned in my previous blog about Zeitgeist. Yet at the same time I have never met anyone that has bought into American culture as much as he has. Everything from his clothes to his movie and music choices scream America. One of my American friends remarked that he's never met anyone who both loved and hated America as much as this young Romanian guy.

It's interesting to see how in our world we can perceive differences but at the same time buy into a homogeneous culture. People want to have a certain amount of separation in our world, that is a clear backlash from globalization, but that just tells me globalization has worked. We can go to every corner of this earth and still feel connected to people continents away. Therefore, its seems only logical that people might want to distinguish themselves within a "world culture." People want to almost delude themselves into thinking that there own culture is better, more unique, or somehow different from what most people assume. But in the end we all want the same thing, a share in this culture we've created.

It's merely an interesting observation I have made while I have been over here. To be honest I can't say I'm completely surprised by it, because from what I've learned globalization is simply a fact. It's a great feeling to be able to put things you have learned in a classroom setting and applying them to a practical situation. Don't be afraid to go out and explore this world of ours.