Yesterday the two contenders for President of the United States put politics aside for the day and joined together to honour those who fell in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 7 years previous. Ground Zero, for a day at least, became common ground. Cindy McCain joined Barack and John at the site where the mighty towers once stood whilst Laura Bush and Lynne Cheney joined their husbands on the lawns of the White House for a minutes silence. But in all the displays of affection, rememberance and respect there was one notable exception…one notable absence… would be First Lady Michelle Obama.
Whilst Cindy McCain recognised the importance of this day in the life of the nation, and looked geuinely moved at times, Michelle Obama was nowhere to be seen. She didn’t even schedule any kind of public event or statement to mark the day. Whilst I wholeheartedly disagree with using such an anniversary for political purposes I do feel that given Michelle Obama’s shakey record on patriotism this should have been a day when she at least made a token gesture to the American people, after all she does want to be their First Lady. The McCain’s on the other hand showed even more why they are worthy of the White House.
Not content with paying his respects in New York he headed to Pennsylvania with his wife to pay tribute to the brave men and women who stormed the cock pit and prevented another hijacked airliner from crashing in to another public building and costing yet more lives. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat who often speaks out against the McCain as an Obama campaign surrogate, was clearly impressed and said of McCain “It’s an honor to have him here, not just as a presidential candidate but as a great American patriot,” His Vice President is also proving her patriotics credentials by returning home to Alaska to bid farewell to her son as he is deployed to serve his country in Iraq.
Regardless what this situation reminds us of is the fatc that Michelle Obama is one of many weak links in Obama’s cheap chain. I find it outrageous bordering on ridiculous that a man who hopes to become the leader of America and its Commander In Chief can have a wife who claims that her husbands nomination is the ‘first time I have felt proud of my country’, a wife who can’t be bothered to make even a token gesture to remember one of the worst terrorist attrocities ever committed, and oh yes… a family pastor that claimed 9/11 was ‘just’. He just doesn’t seem to care. This latest episode of naievity or cold indifference just adds to my belief that the Obama’s are not fit to hold the keys to the White House. I eagerly await Palin’s first one to one TV interview tonight and then hopefully we can begin to put the Obama campaign down for good.
Latest polls: John McCain: 45 % – Barack Obama – 43%
Birmingham University Conservative Future 
I shall have to agree with Matt Damon.
‘I don’t know much about her’… clearly!…’McCain has a 1 in 3 chance of dying in his first term’ hmmm,… very convincing argument. I hate it when celebrities like that get involved… they know squat about politics! At least one thing has been vindicated… Matt Damon is as thick as many had assumed…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTzyU5MFgM
Besides this post was about Michelle Obama’s absence on one of the biggest days in the US calendar. No matter what Matt Damon says (ha!) she should have been there.
And what exactly qualifies you to “get involved”? Your political knowledge is hardly staggering Dan :-P
Personally, I don’t mind anyone expressing their opinions. Unfortunately for the McCain camp Mat Damon is a very big and influential critic.
Oh, and the fact that McCain has a high chance of dying during his first term, is something that has to be considered. The guy the Republicans are asking Americans to vote for has a 1/3 chance of dying on them.
Dan I like to think that the fact I did politics, both US and UK at A level (got 100% in 3 papers I might add :P) and do a degree on the subject makes me more qualified than your average person… aka Matt Damon lol.
He lost any credibility when he said ‘I don’t know much about her’ And I am intrigued as to where this 1 in 3 thing came from? How exactly is it a 1 in 3 chance (which incidently is pretty slim) Don’t forget Kennedy was assassinated as was Lincoln… anything can happen to a president.
Some may say that the fact Obama is black makes him a target for racist Americans who, curiously in the 21st century, have ‘the right to bear arms’ as a constitutional right. Perhaps Obama’s chances of dying on the job are greater than McCains. But what I am getting at is this is all speculation, if McCain does get cancer again… he can beat it like the 3 times before! Its not neccessarily a death sentence.
1. I’m not convinced that your A-level makes you much more qualified. Maybe a bit. And you are yet to receive your degree. However, Damon is still entitled to his views is he not?
2. He lost any credibility when he said ‘I don’t know much about her’. – I think his point was that she has come out of nowhere, and we should be questioning who this woman is. In fact, as a result of Matt Damon’s perfectly reasonable point I did do some research, and I can’t accept her social policy record.
3. John McCain has a 1/3 chance of dying because he has a reasonable chance of his cancer re-occurring, plus he is reaching his life expectancy. Matt Damon’s point was that a life insurance company would calculate that MaCain is high-risk. This surely is a point of consideration.
For a start the point about McCain’s age I think is over stated. Ronald Reagan was 70 when he bcame President, he served 2 terms perfectly well (apart from an assassination attempt!) and lived many more years afterward. Similarly , Laura Bush had a skin cancer scare, Betty Ford had breast cancer in 1975 and is still alive today, Cheney has had a dicky heart for years… the point is none of us are immune.
As President, McCain would have regular check ups and he would have access to the best treatments and the best doctors. I sincerely doubt though that his health would be a problem. As he has shown just this last week he is very spritely for his age. He was in New York, then Pennsylvania then back to New York for a debate at Columbia University all in one day.
I think it is disgraceful of the Obama camp to use his health as a political weapon. We cant predict the future. McCain’s cancer might return but then again as I mentioned before there is a high possiblity Obama could be the target of an assassination attempt. I mean why not? President’s Bush, Ford, Bush Snr, Reagan, Kennedy and many more have all been targeted for assassination… some succeeded.
Of course Damon is entitled to his view but he is trying to act like some kind of political pundit when he clearly isn’t. If I didn’t know anything about the subject like he seems to suggest then I wouldn’t dream of doing a TV interview… i’d actually find out something about the topic first rather than rely on tabloid hear say which is what seems to be the case with him.
All in all this election should be about issues, ‘realitys’ not ‘maybes’. The next president is going to inherit tough economic conditions, 2 wars, a resurgent russia and a deeply unpopular nation in terms of international reputation. I haven’t seen a shred of evidence yet to convince me that Obama has the mettle neccessary to lead the worlds super power and fight all these battles half as well as McCain
Incidently “In fact, as a result of Matt Damon’s perfectly reasonable point I did do some research, and I can’t accept her social policy record.” Dan lets face it… your mind was made up looooonnngg before you did your ‘research’. Similarly Matt Damons point was not ‘perfectly reasonable’… it could have come straight out of a tabloid. Don’t forget people wrote scathing things about Thatcher.. ‘what does this woman know etc’ and look how well she did.
Palin is very popular and she has turned this election around. To be doing so well this close to an election and in these conditions just shows me McCain annd indeed Palin are ready for the Presidency. Obama’s had it easy.
A few things:
1. What you say is irrelevant. The fact remains that McCain stands good chance of dying during his presidency. And as Matt Damon quite rightly said, this places his vice president in even greater focus.
2. We can’t predict the future. However, we can’t avoid the fact that he has a 1/3 chance of dying, statistically speaking. This, however unpleasant, remains a factor.
3. I don’t think Matt Damon is trying to be a political pundit. However, I do think he was asked his opinion, and he told the reporter what he thought. He is perfectly entitled to do so, and he did.
4. Dan, my mind was not set about Sara Palin. I didn’t even know who she was until you started banging on. I’m sure she’s lovely, and I would usually look for reasons to support a republican. However, I dislike her social policies profoundly. For example, I don’t think creationism should be taught in schools.
5. I don’t disagree that Palin has turned the election around. This certainly seems to be the case. Whether it will be enough is an open ended question.
I still think Obama will win…just…. god knows the conditions are almost perfect. To be honest you brought Matt Damon up on a post regarding Michelle Obama’s absence at the 9/11 commemorations… I take it by side tracking from the main post you accept it was pretty bad form that she wasn’t there? Particularly given her already shakey patriot credentials.
The fact is Damon is entitled to his view, I have never disputed this. I simply dispute what he said. And I reiterate… there is no certainty McCain will die in office… you say there is a 1/3 chance, I dispute that but lets say its right, what about the other 2/3? We never know whats round the corner but to be frank i’d rather deal with what we know.
What we know is that there are 2 wars going on, an economy in recession… what are the candidates going to do about it. To be quite frank Im more taken with McCains plans… and if you do recall I did passionately support Clinton over McCain so I have always been open to the idea of a Democrat President so you can’t say ive always been an entrenched republican supporter. The problem is Obama’s attitude and his plans just don’t cut it with me.
A conservative, witha small ‘c’, should not support a protectionist, tax hiker. It is already well established Obama is against companies using the opportunities of free markets to restructure their operations in the US. He is vehemently protectionist. He continues to insist, despite the growing evidence that this left-wing nostrum would be lunacy, that the US must pull its troops out of Iraq with the utmost dispatch. He wants more investment in health and education which in principle is fine but he wants to hike taxxes on the rich to pay for it.
He wants to increase taxes, not on individuals, but on corporations. What planet does he live on? By increasing taxes on corporations they will cut the fat in other ways. Individuals work for these big companies, jobs could be lost, prices could be hiked. The fact cats wont miss out on profits. What America needs is to encourage more investment, more individual freedom and more commerce, long term tax hikes like he plans are ludacris.
Ultimately this election will be decided on the issues and that is why I believe McCain is holding his own when he should be taking a beating. He has answers to the issues, Obama doesn’t. Look what happens to the ‘chosen one’ when his teleprompter goes out:
He doesn’t have a clue.