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Navigating
by Sudhama Ranganathan
Saturday, Jul. 19, 2008 at 4:02 PM
uconnharassment@gmail.com
There’s rarely time to stop and rest for any person trying to achieve something worthwhile in life. This is especially true for presidential candidates. Once the title of presumptive nominee is attained the next major goal is competing for the top slot. Senators Barack Obama and John McCain are at that point now. The task of selecting a running mate remains unresolved; nonetheless they are singularly pitted against each other in a tour de force which won’t stop until November.
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To call it difficult would be an understatement. It may be the hardest four months of their lives and will no doubt feel like it. On a road full of pitfalls and hazards, each candidate will have to be prepared for attacks from numerous sides including their own at times.
Neither candidate can please everyone, nor would that be expected. The opposition will make attacks on them. Special interests groups with a stake in the outcome of elections will be attacking positions and voting records. Groups who normally side with a candidate can bring pressure to bear adding to the tough road.
The most difficult job at times will be dealing with oneself. Each candidate has lived in the spotlight and away from it. However fair or unfair, election campaigns are run like bloodless wars where all is game including private lives. Any skeletons become public if they are deemed meat worth gnawing to concerned interests. Positive traits shine like examples of good character and moral convictions. Missteps and misdeeds are used as examples of poor judgment or weak convictions.
Public missteps and mistakes are examined and scrutinized over and over. Thus one’s own mistakes can be most costly especially when running for the highest office in the land. In fact mistakes can be potentially terminal for a political bid.
For example Carly Fiorina of the McCain camp recently spoke about birth control saying it was unfair that insurance companies covering Viagra for men are not mandated to cover birth control pills for women. Senator McCain claimed he wished to draw women voters and here was an opportunity to demonstrate an interest in an issue of concern to them. When the moment came he dropped the ball.
In an attempt to evade the question he told the reporter asking the question, “I don’t usually duck an issue, but I’ll try to get back to you on it.” John McCain has had a lengthy career in the public in which he consistently voted against mandating insurance providers holding a requirement to cover certain pills to list birth control among them.
This is an important issue to female voters and when it came up he didn’t answer or explain. With all his years in office he should have been more familiar with his stance on this issue. Statistics show 89% of women who are sexually active, fertile and wish to avoid pregnancy use contraception. Among them 30.6% use birth control pills. To try and win over perhaps the most crucial demographic of voters in this year’s election and not pay attention to an issue of such obvious significance to them could be a mistake for him.
Barack Obama, for his part, touted himself as a candidate heralding change and a shift from the policies of the current administration. Many of those policies most derided by the American voters come from actions taken after 9/11 or a lack thereof before 9/11. Among these the clamp down on civil liberties has come under fire especially from many of his base.
When the time came to step up and take a swing he struck out by voting to further warrantless wiretapping of Americans and give immunity to telecom companies who participated in such activities. This could be a mistake as it goes against what most Americans seem to want according to two separate polls by Quinnipiac University and the Mellman Group with regards to warrants for wiretapping and telecom immunity. In fact it is a furtherance of the sorts of Bush administration policies he railed against while campaigning for his party’s nomination. Although he did vote for an amendment which would exclude the immunity provisions this play for a wider appeal could be a mistake for Senator Obama. Time will tell.
The rut lined paths towards the White House appear difficult to navigate indeed. Personal and professional missteps are a challenge to any candidate’s image. Neither of these two candidates are inept as they could not be where they are if that were the case. These are important issues not only to the voting blocks mentioned but to the nation as a whole.
The question looming in the background is will they stand their ground for what is right? Can and will they back up talk with action? Will their missteps be minor flaws revealing to us the more human individual beneath the politician? Will it engender a feeling of compassion towards them highlighting greatness?
The sexual mishaps on the part of former President Clinton dogged his second term in office, his party and his legacy. The political missteps of President George W. Bush have not only affected his image and that of his party, but the image of our entire country, our faith in our leadership and so much more. It would seem we have better picks this time around. Let’s hope it turns out that way not just for ourselves as individuals but for the nation as well. It’s time for a presidency which helps the nation regain its place in the world and its reputation as a birthplace of leaders.
To read about my inspiration for this article go to www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com.
www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com
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