If Your Gonna Vote, You Gotta Know the Bloke!

Everyone seems to lament how tiresome the debates and endless politicking is.. and November is soooo far away.

But I am enjoying it. This *can* be fun.

It is giving my family and myself time to learn more and more about these men (and woman) as they pound away on the election road. For example, can Senator Clinton maintain her new 'kind and gentle' image in front of the Iowa cameras with a bad cold on top of late nights, multiple appearances and bad food? How do all these candidates handle adverse conditions? It is like watching interns on the 72nd hour of no sleep.. will they crack??

But why watch this stuff, we all know about the ridiculous media spin?

Yup! It is a reality and like it or not, it is part of our life. It did give me a sense of relief to read about Abraham Lincoln and the battles he had with the media in his day. This is not new. This is human nature. Part of this whole process is understanding when we are being 'spun' by the media and trying to see through.

Honestly, I think if Americans could understand that one thing, when they are being 'spun', then our country would be so much better off.

THINK, Americans!!

What a great chance for us to help our children learn to think. Not just put our political opinions on them, but help them see the spin, the issues and think things through. What a gift these elections and our media gives us. A virtual classroom!

How many Bush Haters out there are simply being manipulated by the liberal media? Do they really "hate" Bush? And if so, why? Was it because Chris Matthews told them to, or they thought David Letterman's endless jokes were hilarious? Or do they have real reasons?
(OTOH, I can tell you exactly why I dislike the Clintons. Believe me, I have thought about it and it is completely against prevailing media spin.)

This is your country. Don't just throw up your hands and say it is broken so we will stick our heads in the sand. Then we really will turn it over to those least qualified.

And if you are voting for someone because Oprah or Chuck Norris told you to... then, maybe just stay home.

I digress!

I thought I would gather up for my family the *issues* pages of each of the major candidates so we could read for ourselves where they stand. Now, when we read these we have to understand they may have behaved differently than they say, but this is a starting point.

But why bother, since we have no control over who will be nominated by each party? (unless we live in a caucus state)? Well, because it helps us *know* who is out there. It gets us involved in the (very imperfect) process. The bumper stickers that irk me the most are not ones supporting candidates I don't like but those that say things like:

"Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kinky"

Give me a break. This is your country, too.


Don't be discouraged because it all seems so political. Yes, there are candidates the press ignores. Keep plugging. Make the best choice you can.

See these Wikapedia articles for a rundown of who is running, who dropped out, who we will never hear of.
Republicans running

Democrats running


And here is a nice general article about the presidential elections with a nice electoral college map. We had the best time tracking the returns and the electoral college votes in past elecions.

But this is reality. Someone will be elected and it will affect the world, the U.S. and you on a daily basis. Just think, if nothing else, who do you want to hear giving speeches all the time on TV? But more importantly, who is going to try and lead us through these difficult times? Whoever it is needs all of our prayers.

So grab a cup of cocoa, gather the kids around, put on your


Anti-Political Correctness goggles



and read about these Americans who all want desperately to be your next president.

In fact, keep a notepad handy and jot down thoughts and comments from your kids. There can be tons of rabbit trails for learning, such as the War in Iraq. Why are we there? Who are the Shiites? The Sunnis? What does tribalism have to do with the current events today? Does the president of Iran really think there was NEVER a holocaust? Is there really proof there was one, or is he right?
Why does he hate Israel?.. and on and on...

It is amazing all the questions that can come up when discussing current events and how they can lead us back through history....


And, learning where we have been, where we are now, maybe together we can cut through the spin, or at least not get dizzy next time the press puts us on its carousel...and get to the heart of the issues important to us.

OK- As promised, here are the issues pages I found on the official websites of each major candidate. Enjoy!

Republicans:
(they go first cuz I like them better- otherwise in no particular order)

Mike Hukabee
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Rudy Guliani
John McCain
Fred Thompson
Duncan Hunter
Alan Keyes

Democrats:
Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kuchinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson

Please comment if I have omitted any candidates. I just included the major contenders.

Now, to go read through these sites myself. A tough job, but someone's gotta do it...