A World View of Obama's Victory

Article Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122592900344403049.html#project%3DSLIDESHOW08%26s%3DSB122587056409501237%26articleTabs%3Darticle

Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 Presidential Election will and have had an impact on the rest of the world. This particular article concentrates on the fact that Presidential elect, Obama, is not only considered the United States' next leader, but as a potential worldly leader. As we have been discussing in class, this election affects not only the US, but many other countries around the world. One of Germany's tabloids had a front page headline reading, "Good Morning Mr. President -- Make the world better!" It looks like Obama will have a lot of pressure on him to not only help the US out of a crisis, but attend to other nations; we have set high expectations for him. Now that Obama has been named the upcoming 44th President, these countries are expressing concerns about what he plans to do in his term.



While many countries are thrilled that America has finally broken the tradition of a white president, some have sent out "warnings." Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, critiqued the US foreign policy " throwing down the gauntlet to the incoming president." While Afganistan leader, President Hamid Karzai, demands that he end civilian casualties. Obama plans to concentrate more military in Afganistan;China and India are concerned with the trade policies. It looks like he wont be able to please everyone here.
On the other hand, many are happy about America's choice. Obama's village in Kenya, where his late father is native and other family resides, there has been celebration as well as in other places around the world. Many countries see our nation's choice as step in the right direction. An Iranian woman says, "I suddenly have newfound respect for America's democracy and ideals. I wish I was American because this would never happen in our part of the world." Many people are impressed with the fact that America, a nation that started off with the institution of slavery, could have come to electing an African American person into Presidency. Its been a long time coming.
The article ends quoting a veteran German diplomat: "Not even Santa Claus can fulfill all these wishes."

Questions for thought:

Do you think that too many expectations are being put on Obama for the next term?

Why do you think he is already being considered a "world leader"?

What is your reaction to other nations views on Obama?

Do you think we should be worried about what other nations think about our choice or should we be more concerned with what is going on in America?

Election Day 2008

It’s over. The longest and most expensive presidential campaign in U. S. history ended last night with Barack Obama’s clear victory, both in the electoral and popular vote. His victory did not come easy; he had to outfight formidable opponents in Hillary Clinton and John McCain and persuade Americans that he had the ability to lead them in tough times. But the precision and professionalism with which he and his advisors ran his campaign made him the decisive winner and gave America its first African American president. It was a stunning moment, especially for people like me who vividly remember that less than fifty years ago, segregation was legal in the South and de facto segregation was pervasive in the North. Barack Obama’s victory does not mark the end of racism in the United States, but I think that it marks the beginning of the end.

This election galvanized voters of all parties. Everywhere I went yesterday, people sported “I Voted” stickers and were eager to discuss the election. My husband and I went to West Springfield High School at 7:15 AM to vote and found that the line was already snaking its way out of the building. But despite the early hour and the long line, people were upbeat and talkative, energized (in part) by the coffee and baked goods volunteers were selling outside, but mostly by a keen awareness that we were taking part in a historic election. Our long line moved swiftly, and in less than an hour, my husband and I were inside the school and voting. The use of scannable paper ballots made it possible for more people to vote at once, and this new voting method kept the line moving and frustration low. What about you? What happened when you went to vote?

On Mason’s campus, the weather was dreary and damp, but spirits were high.

Student Government ran vans to the Woodson High School polling place, and volunteers promoted this service by becoming “human advertisements.”

Rain apparently, does not damper revolutions!


This guy stole my heart!

Our university was not without its own drama. Yesterday morning, a hacker broke into the Provost’s email account and sent out a fake message announcing that the election had been moved to November 5th. Rumors circulated that Mason students who voted could lose their financial aid.

But such lame attempts proved ineffective against the smart and savvy youthful voters who went to the polls in record numbers. Your demographic – voters between the ages of 18 and 25 – voted overwhelmingly for Obama and helped power him to victory. Now it’s your turn to act upon that mandate and consider how you will help him guide our nation toward economic recovery, energy reform, and improved security both at home and abroad.

How will you meet the challenge Obama made to all Americans in his victory speech last night that change can’t happen without “a new spirit of patriotism, a new spirit of sacrifice?” How has this election influenced your outlook on the future and the role you will play in it as a working professional?

First Presidential Debate

The first presidential debate, which was originally intended to focus on foreign policy and national security, was opened by a question about the current financial crisis by Jim Lehrer, PBS anchor. He asked candidates, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, what their position was on the $700 billion federal bailout plan proposed by the Bush administration and how it would affect their administration when they become a president. They both admitted that the congress had to do something in order to fix this crisis. John McCain said he would stop federal spending except for veterans care, national defense, and other vital areas. While Barack Obama admitted that he will have to delay some of his spending plans; by giving priority for early childhood education and improved health care.
Regarding this financial crisis, both candidates tried to show their concerns to those people who could be struggling to find jobs and feed their family because of the crisis on Wall Street.
The foreign-policy part of the debate brought up an aggressive scene, where McCain said America is winning and Obama argued the U.S shouldn’t have started the war in the first place. He said that the U.S has been preoccupied with Iraq while there have been some other parts of the world that are potential treats to the U.S as well as the world, such as Afghanistan.
Both the candidate tried to distinguish themselves from the current president, George W. Bush. McCain blamed the Bush Administration for excessive spending and he promised he would change that. And Obama on the other hand, argued that they are the same and stand for the same policies and principles that George Bush is currently having.
Discussion questions:

Do you really think the $700 billion bailout plan will help the economy to recover?
Which candidate do you think is stronger and why? (I know there are two more debates left, but try to answer on what you have seen so far)
After this election, which America do you think the world wants to see? Obama’s land of opportunity? Or McCain’s military power?

And finally if you are interested to know who won the debate, refer to this link:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/30/schneider.debate.bounce.poll.cnn?iref=videosearch

Social Security Privatization

Article Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122204378523361477.html

The idea for a private (at least semi-private) Social Security system was important in the 2000 Presidential election, and again in 2005, and even between elections the mention if it drew up all sorts of banter from politicians and workers, regardless of the color of their collar. The idea, as explained in this cbs marketwatch opinion article is that part of your %12+ payroll deduction to go into the government-run social security fund would be added to an account that could be controlled and invested in the stock market.

But with the recent downturn in the financial markets, Barack Obama is asking if this plan is still a good idea. Obama points that the entire country (except the savviest of investors) would lose their retirement (if they haven't already lost it) in a major stock slump. The McCain camp sees this as merely scare tactics and sticks by the GOP ideals of self-made riches. The McCain camp even goes on the offensive, saying that if Obama believes that this idea in this market is bad, that the United States runs the risk of up to 8 more years of a bad economy under his leadership.

Both groups make very valid points. What would happen under a system where individuals have their money in their hands. Cnn.com has an article on this as well from the 2000 campaign. Questions still remain such as who would run the accounts? Would a private bank like Bank Of America or Wachovia control these? Would it be the choice of the individual, using stockbrokers like etrade or Fidelity? Or would it be the responsibility of the Federal Reserve? And if so, would the costs of such account management outweigh the benefits? See the Washington post image to the right and imagine in your mind where the lines would shift if the government had control of the accounts. Would individuals pay more attention to their money since they can control it?

Discussion Questions

Question #1: Would you pay more attention to the stock market if your retirement was in it? If you lost money, would you accept the blame or blame the system?

Question #2: Would this plan be scrapped at the next economic downturn? Would a market collapse scare the president into removing the program?

Question #3: Do you think this is a good idea? For this question I want you to remove party names and just think of it in terms of your pay stub (not your paycheck). Look at the deductions section and eye over how much is taken out for Social Security. Those who work part time (like me), think about how that number could be multiplied by 6 or 8, even 10 times what is being deducted now, as your salary will increase.

Question #4: Do you see this happening in the next 4 years? 8? 20?

Question #5: If Obama wins this election, will this plan be completely scrapped as just "something left over from the Bush administration?"

Image source:Google Images, accessed 9-22-2008.