Political Observations

With the DNC kicking off this week, my head is spinning and the urge to discover the truth has overwhelmed me since Michele Obama's speech last night. Now, how do I separate "what the candidate says" from "how he says it". Aren't they one in the same?

So, let this blog be a record of my observations of recent political communications for future reference in class and for the use of my class project.

Michele's speech: Okay, let me get this out of the way....I hated the fact that she was dressed so casually last night! Is this a bizarre DNC opening night tradition that no one told me about? As a Southern-raised, traditional women....I want to see our possible future First Lady in nothing less than a suit. In politics, delivery is everything! And let's dress for success! Is that asking too much? Moving on....obviously, it was Michele's goal last night to portray to the American public that she and Barack are "one of us". Get real. Listen, we know that in 2007, the Obama's W-2's included an income of approx. 4.2 million. Do I fault you for this? No way? So, you are living the American dream. Then don't come down on McCain for that. It makes for a great hypocrite. Personally, I WANT an extraordinary person as president. Not an ordinary one! Another raw point, is that her mother's pre-recorded speech stressed the fact that Michele "stepped down" from a high profile career path to serve the public. Well....truth be known, this included a round-about huge pay increase for Michele. She also stressed the fact that she lovesssss America. No doubt to compensate for the fact that she recently stated that she had never been proud of our nation. Another "play on truth" in her speech, included her stating that Barack was "raised in Hawaii". Clearly, this is not the truth. She stressed this to compensate for the fact that Barack spent 5 years of his childhood in Indonesia....from age 6-10. Finally...my last observation and perhaps the most important is that she seemed to go on and on about her dating life with Barack and how she loved her children and how Barack drove 10 mph home from the hospital after the delivery of their first child. These ramblings were obviously to compensate for the fact that some Americans view her in a harsh light. Like Alec said on Twitter..."to humanize her". Is this necessary?

Why is it so important for the American public to get "warm fuzzies", like Alec said, about the possible future First Lady? I mean....the last thing Americans want is to see a presidential candidate as soft! They why must we see the future First Lady as a softie? What does that say about what Americans expect?

So to summarize....unfortunately, the goal of Michele's speech was to appeal to Americans as an ordinary, non-elitist, who "loves America", and is dedicated to public service. Geeesh, people! What's the point? Is she totally unlikable? No. Are Americans smarter than that? I sure hope so....but I am beginning to wonder!

Thoughts for future blogs: 1. What propelled Barack to political fame? 2. Why is Barack called black and not white? 3. What is Barack's religious upbringing and what does that mean to Americans of faith? 4. Barack's "complicated" and blended family...and how does this define how he views family? 5. The influence of idiots like Madonna and un-notables. 6. How might the PUMA PAC divide the Dems? 7. McCain's timing in announcing his VP? 8. Why I hated politics growing up.