Book Change...Game Change

Due to the unavailable status of Dick Morris' Catastrophe, I was forced to change my book to Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. The book follows the major presidential candidates in the 2008 election and takes the reader behind the scenes of their campaigns for the White House. Game Change might prove to be a bit more appropriate for the careers unit due to the pure political nature of the book rather than Catastrophes debate on the issues themselves. After reading the prologue I can already tell that I am going to enjoy the book and I look forward to the first section analysis blog post coming soon!

The F Bomb! Yet Another Biden Mess Up

I found this very funny. I personally do not care about politians using crude language because I use the very same words all the time. I just find it funny how they are grilled by the media especially the conservative media as a way to attack the Obama administration. Shallow.

Health Care Reform Passed!

Well, for better or for worse, President Obama's health care reform bill was passed over spring break. Republicans suffered a crushing defeat in all their attempts to slow and stop the bill from passing. As a result, the attorney generals from several states are now suing the federal government over the federal mandate which forces Americans to buy insurance. I personally feel that a federal mandate which requires all Americans to purchase some form of health insurance is a bit heavy handed. IF the insurance companies were the problem, why does it make sense to force people to buy their product? Sure now they cant drop your coverage due to technicalities and pre existing conditions but is that really the issue at hand? Or is it the COST? With such low competition in the insurance industry premiums will increase and profit margins will as well. I simply do not trust this bill as being a cost reducing measure. Perhaps it was never really intended to be as such, It does extend care to more people and protects the insurance consumer. But as far as cost, which to the overwhelming majority of Americans who already have insurance is very important, I am not so sure that this bill will decrease cost.

On to the book that I have chosen for the term...

I have chosen to read Dick Morris' Catastrophe. Dick Morris was a former advisor to President Clinton and is currently a Fox News analyst and obviously a political author. I chose this book because it is pretty current on the issues that face America today. Obviously this book has an anti Obama lean but I enjoy literature that questions sitting authority rather than taking their decisions and promises at face value.

Welcome to Politics

While the most recognizable jobs in the field of politics are the politicians themselves, they are hardly the only ones involved in the world of politics. Just turn on your television at night and navigate to a cable news station and the chances are they are talking about politics. The field of politics is so vast because everyone feels the effects of it and therefore involves everyone from voter to politician. Campaign workers, organizers, advisors, lobbyists, congressional intern, and city official are just a few of the jobs that involve the art of politics.

What interests me in particular about politics is the fight/intellectual discussion between hundreds of different opinions. I find enjoyment from political debate and I feel that I can put that enjoyment to use in the realm of politics. What exactly do I want to do specifically is something that I have not yet determined but I hope that an exploration of that question through this unit helps me find some sort of understanding.

Just for fun and to make this blog a bit more exciting I thought I would share a story that Glenn Beck of Fox News broke exposing President Obama's flip flop on the use of reconciliation. Click here for the full story. "HEN-SENATOR BARACK OBAMA:You've got to break out of what I call, sort of, the 50-plus-one pattern of presidential politics. Maybe you eke out a victory of 50-plus-one, then you can't govern. You know, you get Air Force One, I mean there are a lot of nice perks, but you can't deliver on health care. We're not going to pass universal health care with a 50-plus-one strategy."-Barack Obama While I usually don't take Glenn Beck seriously, this story spoke for itself, minus all the trash talk that he added on. Obama basically said that he was not going to use reconciliation to pass healthcare reform, which now of course is what he is suggesting even at the expense of their majority come next November. Personally I think that an elected official has the responsibility to follow what his or her constituents want, but that's just me. If Obama has a doubt in his mind that he might lose his majority in congress and his second term over this, why is he still pushing it? Do what the american people want you to do, don't make them vote you out of office along with your counterparts in congress.