The Alternative Energy Issue Debated in 2008

 

During the 2008 general election campaign, John McCain and Barack Obama debated in a town hall setting.  The two address the issue of alternative energy in a reserved way while still attempting to take political jabs at one another.

Planning Presidential Debates

Janet Brown, Executive Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, describes the process that goes into planning presidential debates. She illustrates how setting up dates and locations are no more important than creating an effective dialogue that will stimulate interest and the desire for additional knowledge.

An Excess of Religion

Here is something that might cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand straight up:  apparently, Rick Perry is on a mission from God to take back the White House.  This might merely sound like another opinion-based blog geared toward maintaining a separation of church and state – and, to be fair, the initial framing is certainly a subjective response to new information – but a recent report from CNN’s Dan Gilgoff entitled “Rick Perry’slong faith journey culminates in presidential run,” indicates that the candidate does actually believe he is carrying out a divine undertaking.  Kelly Shackelford is quoted in the article, who was present as the presidential hopeful was discussing the topic with a group of “religious activists.”  She claims that “He didn’t want to [run for office], but he felt the Lord was calling him.” 

For Perry, religion, indeed Christianity, ought to be in the public sphere.  Gilgoff’s article’s article clearly indicates this, and not through a series of vague assertions meant to denigrate the candidate in the eyes of Democrats.  He uses clear quotations from Perry’s book, On My Honor, as well as quotes from his speeches to characterize his candidacy, and it takes little critical thinking to ascertain that his candidacy has overtly religious undertones.  In his book, Perry makes the following assertion:  “The life of a secular humanist has a depressing end.  All their possessions will be left behind, and the only thing that will matter is what God thinks of their life in the face of eternity.”  He is making a personal value judgment based on the religion of others, and his conclusion is something that he hopes to convert to public policy.

His stance on abortion is one instance in which his policy has been influenced almost entirely on religious ideology, and not necessarily on rationality.  The pro-life stance that he takes on a more general level, one could argue, can be articulated in rational terms.  Yet the policies he supports to almost blindly follow his faith-based initiative do not always stand up to sound reason.  One example includes his backing of Texas State legislation that cut funding from Planned Parenthood; the funding that was cut, however, was not to be used for abortions in the first place.  Governor Perry volunteered to promote the legislation, which needed no extra backing, despite this fact.

Last August, describes Gilgoff, Perry organized a massive prayer rally at the Texans’ Stadium in Houston, Texas.  Perry also, as an elected official, “proclaimed three days of prayer for rain” in the drought-ridden state.  Moreover, he is staunch critic of the reasonable and scientifically-based theory known as evolution.  (Yes, the previous sentence includes a few extra qualifying adjectives meant to spin the observation in a particular way.) 

Americans should be allowed to believe whatever they wish.  However, if an issue falls into the realm of public policy, then it is my opinion that it should be addressed with a solution based in rationality, never faith.  Governor Perry’s campaign promises indicate that this will not be the case if he is elected.

High-tech Lynching?

Hermann Cain is still rising in opinion polls even though he has been accused recently of sexual misconduct by former female employees of the National Restaurant Association.  According to Jon Cohen’s Washington Post article entitled “Cain rises in Post-ABC poll despite scandal; most Republicans dismiss allegations,” the Cain campaign has almost eclipsed the consistent frontrunner, Romney, trailing him by just a single percentage point.  Currently, the candidate has a whopping 23 percent of the GOP voting pool ready to throw support his way, with a great deal more support coming now from non-tea party members.  Nevertheless, the Republican electorate remains highly uncertain of their preferred candidate, as fewer than one-third of the individuals who wish to vote for Cain are ultimately unsure of who they will vote for in the upcoming primary election.  Romney is seeing a similar trend.

The scandal that has Cain on the defensive involved, at first, one previous female employee of the National Restaurant Association, and then a second.  Although the candidate consistently denies having any culpability in the matter – calling the entire scenario a “fabrication,” according to the New York Times – the two females were offered very generous severance packages, in conjunction with a confidentiality agreement, after the alleged incidents occurred.  Most substantive interviews regarding the incident with the first woman, which took place at a party, were given to reporters on the condition of anonymity.  The facts regarding the scenario that have thus been extracted must, for that reason, be treated with a responsible level of skepticism.  After all, far too many will benefit from the story to immediately believe it at face value.  Each GOP candidate, especially Perry, Romney, and Gingrich, would immediately see higher poll percentages should Cain fall.  If Cain has a good chance at becoming the Republican nominee, then the Democrats will have a stake in the matter as well.

Hermann Cain’s scandal has sparked some interesting discussion.  The term “high-tech lynching” has resurfaced, as a PAC called “Americans for Hermann Cain” recently used it to describe the current allegations regarding his alleged sexual misconduct.  The organization produced a video, shown above, that includes various media interviews that denigrate the candidate.  The end of the video includes a portion of Clarence Thomas’s U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, where he defends himself from similar accusations.  Both men are politically conservative African Americans, so the question has been asked, does the “left” dislike the idea of a black Republican?

The individual answering the question in the following video claims that, "the core vindication of liberalism in American society today is...well, we were right about Civil Rights, and all of those on the other side were wrong."  Thus, the argument is that for an African American to say that the Republican platform is better would rob the Democrats of their validity; they would have no justification for existing.  This observation, however, clearly overlooks the fact that the Democratic Party has tended to vote in conjunction with the interests of African Americans ever since the Civil Rights movement.  It also boils the entire focus of the American political system into nothing but race politics.  The accusation that the Democrats created the entire scandal as a modern day form of lynching is unfounded, alarmist, and even offensive to those who actually did lose their lives at the hands of lynch mobs.  Nevertheless, the interesting race dynamics of this presidential election cycle remains something to be investigated.

Patch Reporting

Tim Armstrong, the CEO of AOL, tells a story about how New Jersey Governor Chris Christie landed his helicopter at his son's baseball game. In this instance, patch reporting was utilized, which involves state-of-the-art technology that allows journalists to make local stories accessible on a national level.  Ariana Huffington, President of the Huffington Post, expands on the idea.

Social Media and Juries

Former Maryland Circuit Court Judge Dennis Sweeney comments on the prevalence of social media as it relates to the court system.  More specifically, he discusses the use of social media by potential jurors who tend to serve on juries because they are able to keep in touch with their jobs and families.  The issue of electronic surveillance to keep jurors from using social media during trials is also discussed.

Media, Movements, and Elections

Author Katrina Vanden Heuvel gives her views on the mainstream media today.  She claims that the media is currently focusing too much on the Tea Party movement as it pertains to the election cycle, and not enough on other movements.