Iacta alea est

8/30/2008

      The choices have been made. The die has been cast. The race is on. Obama's selection of Biden looks even better now that McCain has announced Palin as his V.P. If McCain's intention was to appear to be his own man, and that he is aware of women's disenchantment with the Democrats and therefore he can appeal to them and that they will flock to him in droves, his choosing of a woman, this woman, is certainly not the way to go. This makes him look condescending, stereotyping women as a pretty face who are governed by emotions, who react and make decisions emotiopnally and need a man to be there to take charge.

      This not about age. It is about ability. Being a beauty queen may take a lot of preparations learning how to walk and smile and showing off your best assets. Being a mayor of a small village may require a lot of handshaking and smiles and a knowledge of road repairs and sewage treatment. Being a governor of a small wilderness state may require an abIlity to hunt and shoot and eat moose burger, but these do not qualify anyone to take the ever complex job of being vice=president...a heart beat away. This is a one day wonder. It will be interesting to see how she deals with the media sharks, who are salivating at the chance of being the first to expose her weaknesses and /or to be the first to dig up the dirt........she is presently under investigation in Alaska for conflict of interest and nepotism.

      Biden has served 36 years in the Senate, He has chaired important committees. He has travelled abroad and met world leaders...... eg. the recent phone call from the president of Georgia asking his help..... He has dealt with media scrums. He brings much more to the table and he is ready to take over in an emergency. What McCain has done is to pander to the Christian right, the IRA, the anti-abortionists. This is an act of desperation.

      I previously critized Biden. McCain's choosing of Palin makes Obama look positively like a genius. This will serve him well.

      This is going to be a doozy of an election. Remember this ....the national polls are skewed. This is not a national election. This is 50 elections for the presidency.......more on this later

2 Comments

Hannah

8/30/2008 11:19:16 am

This is harsh but the way I see it,
Palin was not chosen for her political expertise, but for the image she projects; a pretty mother, who stands for family values and listens to the men around her. The ideal woman by the standards of the Christian right and neo-republicans. Although she was supposed to appeal to women voters, especially disenchanted democrats, I believe she will have the opposite effect.
Also her lack of experience will leave her defenseless against Biden, if the media does not tear her apart, he will.

Ishwar Prashad link

9/4/2008 03:22:18 am

Hannah, you are not harsh. The truth is sometimes difficult. Palin is the poster woman for the relighious right. This exposes the hypocrisy and bigotry that is patently espoused by these zealots.Family values ? Parents who teach their children that abstinence, pre-marital sex, contraception are taboo and do the opposite.....5 children ( abstinence? ), Bristol born less than eight months after parents marriage ( now another shotgun wedding.....seems to run in the family.)
Her nasty, capricious speech last night is proof positive that she is willing to stoop to the gutter and would do whatever is needed to further her political ambition, even using her 17 year old daughter's pregnancy to show how family oriented she is, irespective of whether the young couple want to get married. Now they will be burdened with parenthood, giving up any dreams they may have.
Palin pales in comparison to other candidates ( Ridge, Giuliani,Romney etc ), and so they have to remake her into an attack feline. Well the claws were out last night and she showed that she can string some words together if they are written in large letters and if she rehearses for days , coached by handlers. " Ignorance is not a liability in politics, it is indeed an asset "( Lincoln ). Ignorance allows one to accept and be willing to parrot what is told to you and to deliver it without doubt or compunction.....just wind her up and play the recording, easy to mould and manipulate . She may have overplayed her hand. Attacking the media was a mistake. They will be even more willing to demonstrate that they had it right and that she is wrong. They will dig deeper and wider. McCain has always been a media darling.... he was regular on the Sunday shows....now he has turned on them. The next weeks will certainly be interesting

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Ishwar R. Prashad recently retired from over 47 years of teaching.

He taught Political Science variously at Dawson College, Loyola College, Algoma University College, Sir George Williams University, Concordia University and Vanier College.

Previously, he taught for nine years in Port Mourant, Guyana.

He became Principal of Corentyne Comprehensive High School at the tender age of 21. During this time he turned down Scholarship offers to study overseas in England and the U.S.S.R.

He chose Canada and after graduating from Sir George Williams with a B.A Honours with Distinction, he accepted a Fellowship to complete his graduate work at McMaster University. He completed his first two degrees-Bachelors and Masters- in three years.

His last position was as Co-Ordinator of Political Science and Economics at Vanier College and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Concordia University.

He is married to the former Juliet Ramcharan (Library Supervisor, McGill University) and together they have three children – Indra R. Prashad, P.Eng. ,McGill (Presently Manager, Ontario Safe Water Drinking Agency), Ishwar R. Prashad Jr., B.A ,McGill (Presently, President, Kismit Gear Inc.) and Rabindra Y. Prashad, (Presently, Artist and Chef).They are the proud Grandparents of eight grandchildren-Miranda, Kamal, Ayesha, Élan, Anĵa , Étienne, Chloé, and Jasmine.

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