I enjoy talking politics more than you probably know, but if there is one thing I have learned it is that you shouldn't discuss politics or religion with friends. (I have had a strong desire to go back to college and study political science since 2001, which is pretty amazing because as a kid "social studies" and "history" classes were not my cup of tea. As I've gotten older though I have really taken an interest in politics. Yes, I was the "dork" listening to AM talk radio while working in a chemistry lab all day.) Because I do have so many opinions and because I refuse to discuss them with friends, my dear husband gets to hear all of my thoughts on a pretty regular basis. Afterall he CAN'T leave me just because of who I decide to vote for. I think we made a deal with God that we will stick it out with each other for better or for worse (shoot! now I'm talking religion...I better stop while I am ahead!) - even when we disagree on what holes to punch! Believe it or not, I usually start out as a neutral party and then I do my research. I watch, read and listen to just about everything I can get my hands on before I make a decision on a candidate. (I'd encourage others to do the same thing. Don't just back the guy/gal your parents / friends / spouse are raving about....think for yourself and make your own decisions. Seriously, it's OK to watch the DNC and the RNC!) I learned from my dad a long time ago (around the time that he put a big Ross Perot sign in the front yard) that you don't HAVE to be either a Republican or a Democrat all of the time. You just have to know what you truly believe in, what your hopes and dreams are, and because we live in the great USA we can all make that choice for ourselves.I probably tend to lean one way more than the other in many instances but I think that there are both "good" and "bad" people representing both parties at any given time. I have definitely voted for candidates representing each of the parties in the past. (I'm not going to name names right now...) And while I definitely have developed clear feelings about both presidential candidates, I am not going to discuss them here on my blog.
However, as I was reading through some information on Wikipedia this morning I found a conglomerate of interesting facts about this election. I think most all of these are well known facts, but when you see them altogether it really highlights how this election is going to be like none of the others in the past. Being that this excerpt is from Wikipedia, it is definitely 100% neutral! I don't want to offend anyone - just give you all some food for thought.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONThe United States presidential election of 2008, scheduled for Tuesday November 4, 2008 will be the 56th consecutive
quadrennial United States presidential election and will select the
President of the United States and
Vice President of the United States. The
Republican Party has chosen
John McCain, the senior
United States Senator from
Arizona;
Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator from
Illinois, has been chosen as the nominee for the
Democratic Party. The 2008 election is particularly notable because it is the first time in U.S. history that two sitting senators will run against each other for president, and because it is the first time an
African American is a presidential nominee for a major party, as well as the first time both major candidates were born outside the continental United States (
Hawaii for Obama and the Canal Zone in
Panama for McCain).
With half African-American, half Caucasian candidate Barack Obama as the Democratic Party nominee for President and John McCain's selection of female
Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin as the presumptive Republican Party nominee for Vice-President, the eventual winning ticket is virtually assured of having an historic context. Barring an unlikely victory by a
third-party or
independent ticket, this will be the first time in American history in which one of the two candidates on the winning ticket was not a predominately Caucasian male.
The election will coincide with the
2008 Senate elections in thirty-three states,
House of Representatives elections in all states, and
gubernatorial elections in eleven states, as well as various state
referendums and local elections.
No incumbents
The 2008 election marks the first time since the
1928 election in which neither an
incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president ran for their party's nomination in the presidential election, and the first time since the
1952 election that neither the incumbent President nor incumbent Vice President is a candidate in the general election. The incumbent President,
George W. Bush, is serving his second term and is barred from running again by the
term limits in the
22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution. Vice President
Dick Cheney has chosen not to seek the presidency.
In the three previous two-term Presidential
administrations—those of
Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Ronald Reagan, and
Bill Clinton—the incumbent vice president has immediately thereafter run for president.
Richard Nixon lost the
1960 election,
George H. W. Bush won the
1988 election, and
Al Gore lost the
2000 election. From 2001, Vice President
Dick Cheney frequently stated he would never run for President: "I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say...
If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve." The 2008 election is the first in which the Vice President is not a candidate for either the presidency or the vice presidency since
Nelson Rockefeller in 1976.
Leading candidates are senatorsFollowing the June 3 Democratic primaries, the presumptive nominees for the major party nominations were both serving United States Senators: Republican candidate
John McCain (
Arizona) and Democratic candidate
Barack Obama (
Illinois). It is the first time in history that the two main opponents in the general election are both sitting Senators. Therefore, it appears virtually certain that the 2008 election will mark the first time since the election of
John F. Kennedy in
1960 that a sitting Senator will be elected President of the United States, and only the third time ever in American history, after John F. Kennedy and
Warren G. Harding. Obama's running mate,
Joe Biden of
Delaware, is also a sitting senator.
Leading candidates' origins and age
Either candidate would become the first president born outside the
Continental United States, as Obama was born in
Honolulu, Hawaii and McCain was born at
Coco Solo,
Panama Canal Zone, a US naval base. A bipartisan legal review agreed that McCain is a
natural-born citizen of the United States, a constitutional requirement to become president. Obama, having a
white mother and
Kenyan father of the
Luo ethnic group, would be the first president to be
black and to be
biracial. McCain would be the first president from
Arizona, while Obama would be the third president elected from
Illinois, the first two being
Abraham Lincoln and
Ulysses S. Grant. The last candidates to run from these states were
Adlai Stevenson (D) of Illinois, who ran and lost in
1952 and
1956, and
Barry Goldwater (R) of Arizona, who ran and lost in
1964. While being elected from Illinois, Obama would become the first president from
Hawaii, his home state by birth.
Also, if inaugurated on January 20, 2009, McCain would be the oldest U.S. president upon
ascension to the presidency at age 72 years and 144 days, and the second-oldest president to be inaugurated (
Ronald Reagan was 73 years and 350 days old at his second inauguration).
Barack Obama and John McCain are 24 years and 340 days apart in age. This is the largest age disparity between the two major party presidential candidates, surpassing
Bill Clinton and
Bob Dole (23 years and 28 days apart in age) who ran against each other in
1996.
This is also the first Presidential election since
1976, and only the fourth since the
Civil War, in which none of the four nominees for President and Vice-President from the two major parties have ties of birth or political office to any of the three most populous states in the Union (New York, Texas, or California). Obama was born in Hawaii and represents Illinois, McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone and represents Arizona, Biden was born in
Pennsylvania and represents Delaware, while Palin was born in
Idaho and represents Alaska.
Party conventionsApril 23-26, 2008:
2008 Constitution Party National Convention held in
Kansas City, Missouri.
May 23-26, 2008:
2008 Libertarian National Convention, held in
Denver, Colorado.
July 10-13, 2008:
2008 Green Party National Convention, held in
Chicago, Illinois.
July 18-20, 2008: 2008
Reform Party National Convention, held in
Dallas, Texas.
August 25-28, 2008:
2008 Democratic National Convention, held in
Denver, Colorado.
September 1-4, 2008:
2008 Republican National Convention, held in
Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Presidential and vice-presidential debates
Four debates have been announced by the
Commission on Presidential DebatesSeptember 26: First CPD Presidential Debate in
Oxford, Mississippi at the
University of Mississippi on Foreign Policy & National Security. The debate will be formatted into nine nine-minute segments, with the moderator introducing the topics.
October 2: Vice Presidential Debate in
St. Louis, Missouri at
Washington University in St. Louis. The format and issues have not been decided.
October 7: Second CPD Presidential Debate in
Nashville, Tennessee at
Belmont University. It will have a town meeting format and will include any issues raised by members of the audience.
October 15: Third CPD Presidential Debate in
Hempstead, New York at
Hofstra University on Domestic and Economic Policy. Like the first CPD debate, this debate will be formatted into nine nine-minute segments, with the moderator introducing the topics.
Election day through to InaugurationNovember 4, 2008:
Election Day in all 50 states and the
District of Columbia. Voters cast votes for listed presidential candidates but are actually selecting their state's slate of
Electoral College members.
December 15, 2008: Members of the U.S. Electoral College meet in each state to cast their votes for President and Vice President.
January 6, 2009: Electoral votes officially tallied before both Houses of Congress. If a member of Congress wishes to object to the certification of a state's electoral votes as was originally reported on Election Night, he or she must do so at this point, even if recounts or lawsuits to require a recount are already in progress.
January 20, 2009:
Inauguration Day.
Den working on his truck
Den's 2 trucks
Me and Rusty hanging out
Brought to you by our sponsor....
The beautiful cake from the Calumet Bakery
She was really shocked to see her family from Canada and to see that Emily came home for a second weekend in a row from Minneapolis!
Dad and Diana
Believe it or not we had three guys named Dennis at this one party....here's the proof!
This photo may be coming to a Christmas Card near you this year!
