2008 Woodie Awards
THINKing outside the box
A political change could do you good
Bill Bridgeford
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Opinion
The upcoming presidential election will give us the finest candidates to run for the office since George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton ran in 1992.
The Republicans are fielding a great candidate in John McCain. He has a sterling record of public service, connects with the people and has the courage to look beyond ideology to find bipartisan solutions. Whether he can tame the dogmatically frozen wing of his party remains to be seen.
Fortune seems to be favoring Senator Barack Obama but his lack of experience on the national and international stages is a huge negative. Hillary Clinton has the experience to occupy the Oval Office, but despite a brilliant intellect, eight years as First Lady and a very respectable Senate record, she is still an intensely polarizing figure who has not yet gained the trust or "likeability" that both McCain and Obama command.
However, advocating change is one thing; making it happen is something else. No candidate can predict the future. It is highly unlikely that any of them will be able to deliver a precise timetable to take our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Fixing" the economy is going to require the imposition of numerous politically unpopular and ideologically repugnant measures. Repairing relationships with our European allies and southern neighbors, as well as realizing the ascendancy of Russia and China is inevitable and must be met with prudence and will become increasingly critical to counter the rise of radicalism. Most importantly, repairing the faith of the American people in their leadership must be the guiding principle of whoever occupies the Oval Office. We cannot afford another administration that has such contempt for the democratic process that it hides its actions from its own citizenry as the current one has.
Obama has shown that he has tremendous conciliatory and coalition building skills and a backbone to stand up to pressure, but the lack of significant time in the national political arena will limit his effectiveness if he wins the Oval Office.
The Republicans are fielding a great candidate in John McCain. He has a sterling record of public service, connects with the people and has the courage to look beyond ideology to find bipartisan solutions. Whether he can tame the dogmatically frozen wing of his party remains to be seen.
Fortune seems to be favoring Senator Barack Obama but his lack of experience on the national and international stages is a huge negative. Hillary Clinton has the experience to occupy the Oval Office, but despite a brilliant intellect, eight years as First Lady and a very respectable Senate record, she is still an intensely polarizing figure who has not yet gained the trust or "likeability" that both McCain and Obama command.
However, advocating change is one thing; making it happen is something else. No candidate can predict the future. It is highly unlikely that any of them will be able to deliver a precise timetable to take our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Fixing" the economy is going to require the imposition of numerous politically unpopular and ideologically repugnant measures. Repairing relationships with our European allies and southern neighbors, as well as realizing the ascendancy of Russia and China is inevitable and must be met with prudence and will become increasingly critical to counter the rise of radicalism. Most importantly, repairing the faith of the American people in their leadership must be the guiding principle of whoever occupies the Oval Office. We cannot afford another administration that has such contempt for the democratic process that it hides its actions from its own citizenry as the current one has.
Obama has shown that he has tremendous conciliatory and coalition building skills and a backbone to stand up to pressure, but the lack of significant time in the national political arena will limit his effectiveness if he wins the Oval Office.
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