Barack Obama is already doing weekly radio addresses which are being video recorded, and will be available on YouTube each week, at least this is what I heard today, so I took a look, and found the following for this week:

What great fun my husband and I had watching first John McCain and then Barack Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner.  It was good to see the candidates put aside politics for the most part, sit at the same table, and actually commend and speak highly of one another. It was good to see what I think was their “realness”. And they were both so funny!  Oh that it could be this way all the time!  I’d like politics a lot more. And no surprise, the polls are tightening up, if you put much value in polls.

If you missed them on TV, here’s the video for you, what a riot, McCain spoke first, then Obama.  Enjoy!

Is it a lie or an exaggeration when a politician s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the truth? Like the statement Joe Biden made at a recent speech in Baltimore:

“If you want to know where Al Qaeda lives, you want to know where (Osama) bin Laden is, come back to Afghanistan with me. Come back to the area where my helicopter was forced down with a three-star general and three senators at 10,500 feet in the middle of those mountains. I can tell you where they are.”

or where he stated at a fundraiser:

“the superhighway of terror between Pakistan and Afghanistan where my helicopter was forced down. John McCain wants to know where bin Laden and the gates of Hell are? I can tell him where. That’s where Al Qaida is. That’s where bin Laden is.”

Impressive until you learn that the helicopter was “forced down” by a snow storm in the mountains of Afghanistan.  According to a quote by John Kerry who was also on the trip:

“It went pretty blind, pretty fast and we were around some pretty dangerous ridges,” Kerry told The Associated Press afterward. “So the pilot exercised his judgment that we were better off putting down there, and we all agreed.”

“We sat up there and traded stories,” Kerry joked. “We were going to send Biden out to fight the Taliban with snowballs, but we didn’t have to do it.”

He added: “Other than getting a little cold, it was fine.”

Or how about when Hillary Clinton claimed that she came “under fire” during her visit in Bosnia, also since proven to be false, including video footage of her smiling and greeting the people of Bosnia?

Are these just innocent little white lies or exaggerations of the truth?  Either way, they are childish, and if you have to do this to win an election, shows a bit of desperation, I’d say?

Though FAR from perfect (who is?), I consider myself to be extremely honest when I state something in a society that seems to find it easy to lie.  Even on a job when a boss or higher-up would ask me to tell someone who called “just tell them I’m not here” or some other lie, I’d find a way to respond to the caller honestly, yet maintaining the integrity of my boss.  I’m not saying I’m perfect, I’m sure a lie has passed through these lips at times, but not without great guilt and making sure I make it right later.  All that to say, I despise dishonesty, no matter what person or party is lying to me.  It makes me suspicious of anything else that comes out of that persons mouth.

If you want to read one of the sources of the info I posted, you’ll find it here along with a few more lies.

The first Presidential Debate in Mississippi happened as planned, in spite of all the plot twists over the past 24-48 hours.

Obama, true to form, was well versed, so some of that time he spent practicing his lines in Florida over the past few days before going to Washington payed off, and there’s no denying he is very eloquent.  We all want a President that cares about us, and he knows everyone is worried about money, and he played to that very well just as he always does.

When I listened to McCain, I felt like a Mom who was watching her son up on stage (even though I’m much younger) and rooting for him because he is my favorite, but cringing at times because I wanted him to be able to PERFORM as nicely as Obama did.

That’s just never going to happen, McCain is a straight shooter, but he’s not a great performer…and I don’t care about that EXCEPT for the fact that appearances are so important to people who don’t want to look past the facade.  I thought McCain repeated himself a lot, and thought both candidates, instead of bringing something fresh and new, often reverted back to the speeches that they give during their Campaign stops, lines I’ve heard repeatedly as I’ve followed closely during the past many…too many…weeks.

So round #1, as far as performance, goes to Obama, but I know deep inside that I want experience, and someone who has has had the courage to stand up against even his own party when he doesn’t agree…so at present, my November vote still goes to McCain.

Now we look forward to the VP Debate next week on October 2nd…where did September go anyway? Have a great weekend!

Here’s the debate:

Earlier today, I listened to Joe Biden give what he stated was an important foreign policies speech while I put away our groceries.  It was quite a good speech and set my republican-leaning mind thinking about a few things.  He did the expected bit of bashing of the Bush administration, but he also shared quite a few things that the he and Obama would like to accomplish if they are elected.  I think I take back what I wrote two posts ago.

I was in a bit of a discussion with my sister,  as we try to sort out specific issues, and frankly can say that after I hear a speaker, it’s hard to remember each issue and address it.  I suggested that it’s times like this when commentators are helpful, even if I don’t like all of them.  At least by listening to them, whether liberal or conservative, I come away with a clearer idea of what the issues are, whether the speaker was correct in what they shared or stretching a point, so I do rely a lot on what those in the media say, on both sides of the aisle to help me sort through the confusion.

As for Obama, he’s spending some concentrated time preparing for the debate on Friday, can’t wait to see that, and while Biden is giving speeches on foreign policy, McCain and Palin are meeting with World Leaders at the UN, something they have been doing this week.

With fairly good candidates in both parties, it’s no wonder that the polls are almost a 50-50 split, not including approx. 18% of voters who remain undecided.

No, I noticed, have been taking a break from blogging over the weekend.  But I didn’t miss the fact that McCain had more viewers of his comparatively humble but powerful acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.  Yes, it was a great night for Obama when he spoke, a great show, I really enjoyed it and as I have shared, commend him on his accomplishment as far as being the first black American to run for President, but the winds have shifted a bit as far as who is in the lead in the race to the White House.

Obama is a wonderful man, but he is out-experienced by McCain, and it is going to show in the days to come. More on that another time, here is John McCain’s acceptance speech in 5 parts. No, he is not the power speaker Obama is, or Sarah Palin is, but he has a LOT of content:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

According to the Nielsen ratings, approximately 37 million viewers watched Sarah Palin’s speech last night, not quite as many as Obama’s speech, but very close for someone who is running for Vice President, not President.  Wow!

I’m curious to see how this is going to affect the polls, aren’t you?

Waiting on McCain’s speech tonight…