Vietnamese- American Elected to US Congress

Hey everyone! It has been a while since my last blog, but hey, better late than never! In looking at my most recent new update on the blackberry (God forbid I get up and actually read a newspaper!), I found an article explaining that America now has its first Vietnamese-American elected to congress. Now, anti-abortion beliefs aside, republican John Cao's election to congress is one of many recent examples of the direction that our country is going in that makes me proud to be an American. We are one of the most culturally diverse countries on this planet, yet for so long we have had the very opposite of that representing our country. IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!! Call it what you want, but I finally feel that I can safely say that we are moving forward as a country. Although we have a lot of work to do, especially in the eyes of the rest of the world, we are now fixing ourselves internally. Having a congress that is representative of our country's cultural diversity is a step in the right direction.

VP Debate 2008

Vice Presidential Debate 2008

There was a lot of anticipation for this year’s first Vice Presidential debate. Some satirical, some one sided, but all seemed to be in anticipation of some disappointment. In fact, most people that I have encountered were watching the debates to see just how badly each candidate would make a fool of him/herself during the debate. After the debate, I am surprised to say that I was not as disappointed as I thought I would be in each of the candidates and in the debate itself. Overall, the moderator kept a decent structure of the direction of the debates while still giving the candidates a chance to respond. The moderator also did a good job making the candidates aware of the fact that they did not answer many of the questions asked of them at the point in time when it occurred during the debate. Sarah Palin, I am surprised to say did a good job at engaging with the audience and from time to time directing her speech toward Joe Biden. I am also glad that Joe Biden managed to only stick a few toes as apposed to his whole foot in his mouth during the debates and generally stayed on task. However, I am very disappointed in the fact that we as a country are forced to settle for mediocrity from the potential leaders of our country. Although the “debate” (and I use the term loosely) was more structured than the presidential debate, it still seemed like more of an informational that anything else. In a debate, all questions should be directly addressed and responded to be each of the candidates. In terms of media coverage, there was more of a bias found depending on whether you were looking at a conservative or liberal channel. Most liberal coverage said that Biden “won” the debate and provided polls to prove it, whereas the conservative channels described the complete opposite. Overall, I expect a lot more from the candidtates form each party. I hope that the next presidential debate is an actual debate and provides the answers to questions that we as a country deserve to hear from out potential leaders.

Presidential Debate 2008

Presidential Debate

Overall, I feel a strong sense of disappointment after watching the first presidential debate of the year. There was a complete lack of organization on the part of the moderator, which probably was the root of all the problems in the debate itself. Throughout the debate, you could see the pattern of how each question was addressed. John McCain would speak only to the camera or the moderator himself, never looking at or responding directly to any point that Obama would make. One problem of the debates that both candidates were guilty of is dancing around certain questions (i.e. the question of how to fix the financial dilemma our country is facing). This problem should have been addressed and fixed at the debate by the moderator as soon as it occurred. The moderator should have done a better job controlling the direction of the debate and keeping the responding candidates on task. When looking at media coverage of the debates, I, like many of my classmates, was surprised to find little to no coverage that was particularly biased to one side or the other. With the exception of polls from different news broadcasters saying who they thought won the debates, most media coverage just simply said that they both did a good job. I found more coverage saying the McCain may have won simply because he began to sort of “bully” Obama and speak over him (not directly of course). I believe that this lack of biased media coverage is due to the fact that this debate was barely a debate at all. It was just two presidential candidates answering whatever questions that are asked and barely interacting with each other. I am hoping for a better outcome for the next presidential debate.

MEDIA AND POLITICS

Hey everybody, Anthony Flammia here. This is my first blog, so please bear with my first-time blogger jitters. I’m here to give my two cents into this year’s presidential election and the media’s portrayal of it. Let me first start by saying that this election is one of great importance to us and our country. Not only will it be many of my peers’ first time voting, but as we all know, by the end of this election, we will either have the first Black- American President, or the oldest man and first female vice president running our lives. With that being said, I can’t stress enough to the young people of our generation, VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!! It is a well earned right to us as a people that a lot of men and women fought very hard for in our country. However, I also stress the importance of knowing who and what you are voting for. I, like many other younger people in America, am not the most knowledgeable 21 year old when it comes to politics in general. However, this years election is one that you can’t help but be aware of because of its media coverage. Its almost impossible to change the channel on tv or go to a website without having some new Obama-McCain update. What kills me about the media coverage on this year’s election is not its availability, but what the media chooses to cover and show to the rest of American society. This year’s election, more than any other that I have witnessed, has made a majority of their focus on the social and family lives of the candidates of both sides. They have done this so much that it has affected many people’s decisions on who they will vote for, regardless of the candidate’s politics. There have been more stories covering stories of Sarah Palin and her daughter more than Obama and McCain’s beliefs on how to fix our country’s economy. I am not saying that this coverage of the candidates’ politics is not there, but I feel as if I need to search harder for this sort of coverage as apposed to finding out who Obama’s favorite rapper is. I am a strong believer in the concept that a political candidate’s social and family life should be kept completely separate from his/her politics. The fact that Sarah Palin’s daughter is pregnant at whatever age has nothing to do with her stance on the war in Iraq. Family and Politics are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. I believe that the media should focus its coverage on stories that educate voters, especially young voters who are not as well aware of the candidates’ views on important issues that effect our everyday lives in America.

Thanks

Anthony