November 4th is almost here

Okay, so November 4th is almost here. A part of me is so thankful because that means an end to all the phone calls and ads (especially the negative ones). However, there is still a part of me that absolutely fears that day and what it could mean for me, my family, my friends, my country, and our futures. Some polls have Obama with a 10-point lead and others say a dead-even tie. I guess there is no easy way to know until that fateful Tuesday when the polls start closing and ballots start being counted. For me the outcome is crucial, a change for the better or my sign that Canada is looking like my new home. While I have cast my vote early, my loyal readers (all one of you) may not have, and so I choose to try to sway you one last time before you head to the polls.

While truly in effect no President can “by himself” instill the changes/plans they preach about during their campaign, it is only Congress that can make the changes. The President does become the biggest and most powerful lobbyist in the United States. So now when you look at the plans, ideals, and pasts, who do you really think can enact change? When you look at past committees, college lives, community organizing, etc, who has the greater chance of truly bringing Congress together for bi-partisan decision making?

I could sit here and tout about who was at the top of their class and who was 3rd from the bottom, and talk about who voted with Bush’s ideals the most, but you already know all that. And if you don’t, then I feel really sorry for you to have to make an uninformed decision.

Before I end, I do want to talk about scandals… I will mention one that involves a Presidential Candidate, “The Keating Five”. No need to elaborate, as if you were over the age of 15 in the late 80’s/early 90’s you will remember it, and if not, go ask you parents. Next, a couple of scandals involving a Vice-Presidential Candidate, “Trooper Gate” and “The Natural Gas Pipeline”. Trooper Gate is over done, but I will explain the Natural Gas Pipeline. Here is what the AP uncovered:

• Instead of creating a process that would attract many potential builders, this VP Candidate slanted the terms away from an important group — the global energy giants that own the rights to the gas.
• Despite promises and legal guidance not to talk directly with potential bidders, this VP Candidate had meetings or phone calls with nearly every major candidate, including TransCanada.
• The leader of this VP Candidate’s pipeline team had been a partner at a lobbying firm where she worked on behalf of a TransCanada subsidiary. Also, that woman's former business partner at the lobbying firm was TransCanada's lead private lobbyist on the pipeline deal, interacting with legislators in the weeks before the vote to grant TransCanada the contract. Plus, a former TransCanada executive served as an outside consultant to this VP Candidate’s pipeline team.
• Under a different set of rules four years earlier, TransCanada had offered to build the pipeline without a state subsidy; under this VP Candidate, the company could receive a maximum $500 million.
• “this VP Candidate held firmly to her fundamental belief that Alaska could best serve Alaskans and the nation's interests by pursuing a competitive approach to building a natural gas pipeline," said this VP Candidate’s spokesman Taylor Griffin. "There was an open and transparent process that subjected the decision to extensive public scrutiny and due diligence."

Just have to mention here that these scandals are from the same ticket. And the other ticket… no scandals found. :)

Lastly, one candidate has often been compared to John F. Kennedy. And rightly so there are some striking similarities. He is also a first-term Senator, he is also running on the fundamentals of change during a time our Country needs it, he is young, and he has never served in the military. So in the words of that great leader, John F. Kennedy:

"The world is changing. The old ways will not do... It is time for a new generation of leadership."


Vote for Obama!