I recently read an article by Ed Rollins on CNN.com. (The link is
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/rollins.historic/index.html)
Rollins spoke of the 2008 elections as "heading for the history book." On one ticket, we have the potential for the first African American president and the first Catholic vice president. On the other ticket, we have the potential for the oldest president ever and the first female vice president.
The 2008 election has truly been a unique one. Never before have we seen more money spent on campaigns. Barak Obama has spent 205 million dollars on TV ads alone, while McCain has quietly also spent another 119 million on his ads. Never before have we seen such well-funded campaigns. Obama broke every record. Never before have we witnessed such a youth movement in the political process. In both the Republican and Democratic parties, young people's involvement in the political process has increased tremendously. Like Rollins implied, more is at stake for our nation in this election, than any in recent decades. When the President takes office, he will have two wars to control, an economy to rebuild, an energy crisis to fix, as well as all the other issues to handle.
My point is simple. While we have an election of historic proportions, we also have a choice of historical proportions. Our political system as long been divided by partisanship. When George Washington was leaving office, he warned that political parties have the potential to be divisive and destroy our nation. As citizens of the United States, come January, we will all have a choice. We can either allow the partisan bitterness that as been the theme of this election to divide us, or we can rally behind the President, Democrat or Republican, and allow him fix this country. Once the election is over, we have to clean our conscious. Forget all of the viscous attacks and as Washington would say "petty jealousy." I'm not saying that we all have to hold hands and start singing, but we can't allow the partisan politics of the 2008 election prevent our next President from doing his job.
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9 comments:
It is probably impossible to rid politics of partisanship because people will always have their own opinions that they stand strongly behind. Citizens cannot always be in support of their government and simply allow politicians to do whatever to fix things. The manner in which politicians address certain issues are sometimes not the best choices and not everyone will benefit equally from changes if at all. As opposed to having a nonpartisan population, I think it is more important for Washington to come together and work in a bipartisan manner to deal with the multifaceted crisis.
I totally agree Elon. No matter what the outcome our country is facing serious problems. Even if people don't agree with the president we have to stand behind him. Unfortunately that has not always been the case, especially concerning the last 8 years with George W. Bush.
On the point of this election being the most "involved," for lack of a better word, its really impressive. It is great to see how involved young people are in politics. Even when you look around campus at Emory there is mention of the election, not to mention many chalk countdown to Tuesday written on the ground. :) The amount of money spent by candidates is also quite impressive. Every election ups the spending and this year was no difference. With both of these points made it has most definitely been a momentous campaign.
I agree with Atticus that it is impossible to rid politics of partisanship because everyone has different life experiences, beliefs, and financial situations. As for standing behind a president and allowing him to "fix" the country, it will be a very hard thing for most people to do. Personally, I don't think either candidate or party has the ability to make the country better solely by themselves. If the country were to be truly fixed, it would take both parties working together to come up with bills and compromises that help the majority of the population, but don't put the minority at a disadvantage.
I agree with Atticus in that we can't have a political system that is free of partisanship. I think that, for the most part, whoever wins will have the support of the other side behind them. That is, I don't believe that the people in the losing party will be so bitter about their loss in the election that they won't support the president-doing so would be very self-destructive.
That being said, I do think it is very important to have two and only two major parties in the political system. Although having only two parties to choose from may be difficult, as you may agree with some points Republicans make and others Democrats make, having too many parties wouldn't make sense. Say there were four parties that were pretty much evenly divided. It would be possible then to win an election with just the support of 26% of the nation. Instead, we have two parties and this way at least 51% of the nation has to be together on who they want to elect president (theoretically). Thus, I don't think it would make sense to have any more-or any less- political parties in the US.
I am not sure how we as the American people can physically impede the president from doing his job, but I do believe your urging for unity can apply to the branches of government as they work to solve these problems facing our country. However, even within the political parties there are a wide variety of opinions on how to best solve these problems. Idealy, yes, all the senators and representatives would rally behind the president, but they will not be inclined to do this if they do not agree with the methods of the administration.
I agree with Elon that party lines often divide our nation more than they aid it. I think this election in particular will call upon citizens to put their country first and their party second, just as both McCain and Obama have said they will do numerous times in ads we watched in class. Whether we live in a blue America or a red America, we are living in a country that is facing some serious challenges in the near future. While I don't doubt our ability to overcome these trials, unity will have to prevail for our nation to prosper.
I agree with both Alissa and Elon,in that since the beginning of this campaign season, the country has been divided and after November 4th it will be very difficult to put those two halves back together. Im sure every year after the election occurs, the country manages to sway its views in order to not live in agony for the following four years. It is something the country must do, we must reconvene, in order to move on and be successful. If the country is divided, nothing will get done and we will not be able to be progressive enough to meet the demands of the country and the changes that must take place immediately.
But in terms of the young people that are taking part in this election, they have gorwn by mass amounts. Young people are being targeted and therefor taking a stance. They are being targeted by the media, celebrities, and candidates and are being told to VOTE! Hopefully on Tuesday we will see a major change in this country take place.
I agree with Atticus in that partisanship has become an inevitable and significant aspect of the American political landscape. Yes, there is no doubting that this 2008 Presidential election is/was historically precedent-setting. However, to elect a President while disregarding partisanship does not somehow legitimize more the ability of the victor. Some may even argue that partisanship be considered a factor measuring social compatibility with the particular society that is to be acquired. Either way, it is an aspect that must not be disregarded since it has already worked its way well into the crevices of our political system.
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