Sunday, August 31, 2008

Blog #2: Dark Horse Candidates


John McCain surprised many when he announced Sarah Palin as his Vice-Presidential running mate. I was one of many who responded with the statement “Sarah who?” Many of us have never heard of this person. Sarah Palin is known as a dark horse, one who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice. History is full of dark horses, for example, North Carolina’s own James K. Polk was one of the first dark horses in US politics. Abraham Lincoln has been described as a dark horse; that is ironic when one considers he is typically ranked in the polls as the best President ever. The addition of Sarah Palin makes this Presidential campaign truly historic. Regardless of who wins the election, there will be a first in US history: either an African-American will take the office of the President, or a female will occupy the office of the Vice-President. Clearly, this Presidential election is history in the making!
Regarding Senator McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin, was this a smart decision on his part? Why or Why not? As you ponder these two questions, consider how his choice may help or hurt him in the campaign. Remember, your post is not an opportunity to criticize or praise either political party. I want you to objectively consider McCain’s choice, and judge if it was a good or bad decision and then support your answer with solid reasoning. Like me, you may need to learn more about Sarah Palin; Google her name or try talking about this topic with the adults in your home.

75 comments:

7b regina said...

In my opinion John McCain chose Sarah Palin to be Vice president so that he can win the votes of women who would have voted for Hilary Clinton. This is clearly a marketing tool. He must believe that there is a number of women who will now vote for him instead of an African-American.

charlie7A said...
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charlie7A said...

I think she would be a great vice president. She sounds like she stands strong in her conservative views.

7b sarah said...
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bryson7a said...

hi!!!! I agree with regina. picking a women as vice president would get women and hillary clinton supporters to vote for him instead of obama. i have never heard of dark horse candidates it sounds interesting. @_@

bryson7a said...

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7BCALEB said...

I think it was ingenius that John Mcain chose a woman for vice president. He told the press his decision right after Obahama's big speech which made the press forget all about Obahama and focus on him. Also people know Obahama's running mate- Joe Biden. So they already know if they like him or not. But with Piland nobody really knows her so they have time to find out good things about her.

7a savannah said...

I think she will do good. She sounds nice and she sounds like a hard worker. If she is picked I don't think it will be a bad thing.

7aAnna said...

She sounds like she has been doing a pretty good job in Alaska, and I agree with Regina. But, Sen McCain
might loose votes because practically knowone has hurd of her. I mean I keep up with the presidential canadates and the election but when my dad told me that Sarah Palin was going to be McCain's running mate, I was like "Who's that?". And if knowone knows who Sarah Palin is, then if they don't research and they have never heard of her before, then they probably might think that if she isn't very popular, then she probably didn't do much.

But if you research then you would know about who is running and if they will probably do a good job because history repeats itself so if she isn't do a good job in Alaska then she probably won't do a good job as VP. SO EVERYONE WHO IS VOTING SHOULD RESEARCH!!!!

But also, the opinion of the voter changes depending on what party they are in.

7BCALEB said...

Right Anna but also if nobody has heard of her then they don't know bad things about them so people can't say they don't like her because they don't know all the "bad" things she has done. But with Obaham's running mate-Joe Biden- he's been a senetor for a long time so people know if they like him or hate him.

Michelle Brionna Rash said...
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7b michelle said...

I think Senator McCain's decision to have Sarah Palin as a running partener is a good thing. This election is history in the malingI agree with Caleb in the fact that no one will really spread rumors or other things that might demean her and cause people not to vote for them. I also think that this is probably really good for Sarah P. and her family. On the other hand, she probably doesn't have much experience in major politics, and may make some bad decisions.

7b regina said...

I Agree with you 7b Caleb, if we don't know the bad things or all the good things about her then we don't know what she might be like at all. Well she was the governor of Alaska in 2006.So you never know what might happen in the election.

7aAnna said...

Caleb and Regina, I never said anything about "bad" things I just said that if she isn't very popular, then the people probably won't think that she has done very much for Alaska. Also alot of people probably haven't heard of her because she is in Alaska and that is sort of far away from like NC.

7aAnna said...

When I said has i meant hasn't. oh and I agree with my first post and a little bit at what 7b regina said because if you are voting you need to research the canadates and their running mate.

Anonymous said...

i think it might help him because all the people from Hilary Clinton will vote since it will be the first woman in the Vice President possession. it also might hurt him by nobody wanting a woman in the Vice President possession.

bryson7a said...

ur right caleb that is ingenius. and anna regina stop arguing ur both just giving opinions.

WHO LIKES EGGS!!!!!!!!=)

LOL LOL ROFL
STAR WARS RULES!!!!!

7BCALEB said...

Bryson- It s POLITICS you are supposed to argue with one another we are just stating aour opinions. And what's with the Statement about EGGS?

But Yes--- STAR WARS RULES

7a carrie said...

i think that was a great idea to do her as running mate i think she will be a very nice vice president.Like regina said we can get more votes from the women who voted for hilary clinton.

Unknown said...

ok sarah palin is a good vice presidint and john mccain will only run for one year so this also sets up possible for pressident in 2012 and shes strong confident so she would make an amazing vice president

Unknown said...
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6b anna said...

I agree with 7bcaleb on the politics part.

7aAnna said...

Oops.... I logged in to the wrong account. But I am watching this Republican National Convention on TV and Mike Huckabee just said that Sarah Palin got more votes running for mayor in Alaska as this other guy did when he was running for president. Now this person from Hawaii is talking and she said that Sarah Palin played basketball in highschool; and that she came in second in a Ms. Alaska pagent.

7aAnna said...

The guy that had less votes running for president then Sarah Pilan did running for mayor was Joe Biden when he was running for president. BURN!!! And when she was mayor she was mayor for 2 terms and in Alaska, and she was supposedly Alaska's favorite govener.

7b sarah said...
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7b sarah said...

i think that Sarah Palin is a very good choice for VP because she is pro-life, a mother of five, the best governor in Alaska, and she has a baby with down syndrome. She didnt abort her baby like the doctors said because she knows that killing un-born babies
is against God, whom she is a firm believer in and she is also a regular in her church. i do agree with regina, in that John McCain will try to get some more votes, espically from women who would normally vote for Hilary Clinton. Right know I am watching Sarah Palin give her speech to the RNC. She is a very confident woman who we know will do very well. The Obama campaign is trying to say that she is not qualified to be VP because she is a woman from a small town. She has been the mayor
of her town and the governor of her state. She got rid of her private governors jet on ebay because she didnt want to spend the taxpayers dollars. she is obviously a good choice for McCain and he made a good choice in choosing her as his VP.

7b sarah said...

michelle, i understand your point, but she has more experience than Obama in running things. he only ran anything for a year and the rest of the time was spent trying to run for president, and Sarah Palin was mayor of her town and was
governor of her state for two terms.

7aAnna said...

I think Sarah Palin will do a good job. Did anyone watch the National Rublican Convention last night? I did! My parents let me stay up late!! Did you know that Joe Biden was like the govener of Deleware, well 250 Deleware's will fit in Alaska!!!!!!!

bryson7a said...

HI CALEB AND ANNA AND REGINA!!!!!

CALEB WHO DOESNT LIKE EGGS!!!!!

STAR WARS RULES

HEY MR.MERCEREAU HISTORY RULES!!!!!!

7aAnna said...

I don't like eggs either. They smell wierd.

Unknown said...

Bryson what is up with egg??????????????

7b sam said...

i agree with some of what regina said it might help with the women part of the vote but i dont understand why he chose someone no one has ever heard of. In my opion i hope Mcain wins because Obahma scares me a little bit and he said that t be considered not poor you have to make 150 thousand dollars a year.

7BCALEB said...

Well if Sarah Piland is Alaska's favorite governor then we can pretty much garintee Alaska will vote for Mcain.

Bryson Luke is right what is up with eggs- it's not a current event!

7aAnna said...

Yeah i agree with 7bcaleb, but eggs is a current event because
7abryson is seeing how many seventh graders like eggs. Oh I am watching Oprah and there is this 16 month old girl and on a map, she can locate over 100 countries.

7b Charity said...
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7b Charity said...

My opinion is that Jonh McCain picked Sarah because she knows alot of the world an how to do things like this. i kind of think it is a good choice, but i'm not totally 100% about it.

Mr. Mercereau said...

Regina, great post and you provided a reason why he chose her, but was it a smart move on McCain’s part?

Charlie, Bryson, Caleb, Savannah, and Anna all believe it was a smart decision. Good job guys!

Anna, you made my day! “SO EVERYONE WHO IS VOTING SHOULD RESEARCH!!!!” I couldn’t have said it better myself. Outstanding job!!!

Deborah, if I am reading your post correctly, you imply people will not vote for McCain simply on the basis of gender. Does gender or age have a bearing on this election? Remember, John McCain is 72 years old, and for many in the US, retirement begins at age 65.

Bryson, I will remind you this blog is a homework assignment, not a personal message board.

Sarah, outstanding comments! That is the sort of response I want to see posted. It was well thought out, informative, and she commented on other’s opinions! Excellent!

Charity, thank you for your honesty about not being 100%. That’s okay, like you there are many still not sure of which candidate is the best choice. Just keep learning as much as you can about BOTH candidates. Remember, I want you to be an informed citizen!

7b regina said...

Well it was a 50,50 chance. There are a lot of women in USA so he had his thoughts of how to win many votes.Was simply to have a women vice president.

7bdustin said...

In my opinion this was a good choice because he can now get more women votes from people who were going to to vote for Hilary.

7aAnna said...

Regina, I don't think that he was trying to pick a woman for his running mate. Although that might have been a little bit of why he picked Sarah Palin, but like I said, I don't think he was trying to pick a woman. I think he picked her because she has lots of expierience and I also think that John McCain was looking for someone who would be a good leader if something were to happen to him if he got elected and the VP would have to take over.

Abby said...

I think that McCain is not very smart to have a female vice president because most people feel that women are not ready for the task of running a country even if it is just at someone’s right hand. That’s why I feel Hillary got voted out because that was the opinion of the majority of the country. I do support having a female leader because I don’t think that there should be any difference when it comes to politics we can make good choices just like a male leader but that is so just my opinion. Having said that I do agree with Regina, I do think that most of the Hillary fans will come to McCain because he now has a woman on his team.

7aAnna said...

Abby, I agree with the second half of what you said and Regina, I do think that he will get Hillary Clinton's voters votes, but like I said, I don't think that he picked her intentionally because she was a woman. I think there were other reasons.

7BCALEB said...

I do agree with you Anna that there were other reaons.

AdelleGrace said...

Yes! In my opinion this is a smart choice for him to make, because now people have more to vote for than just saying well I'm voting for John Mccain because I'm a republican. And also it gives you more to think about and more history to study now, scince Sarah Palin has been chosen as his vice presedent running mate. It gives you more to think about no-matter what side you're on because it is good to about the presidents that are being considered, and that could become president (meaning it's good to know the history of all presidents, because you don't know who will end-up being our president; even though we all are hoping that one of the presidents whether it is McCain or Obama.)

Anonymous said...

no i meant that people will vote for mccain because sarah palin is a great governer and mom, but all the people that wanted hilary to win will want sarah palin to win vice president which would mean that mccain would be president instead of obama becasue he just scares me and probably half the united states, sorry that wasnt very clear

7b regina said...

Well like I said before he probably wants the votes from Hilary. And he wants the women to vote for him. And I bet he wanted someone who was well experenced to help too.

7A Josh said...

I think it would be good to have a woman as vice president because women look at things differently than men.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
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7A Caleb said...

this is a test

7A Caleb said...

At first I thought it was a good and a bad decision for John McCain to choose Sarah Palin. I thought it was a bad decision because she has less experience than other possible candidates. After learning more about Sarah Palin and the decisions she has made in Alaska, I think it was a good decision.

7aAnna said...

I agree with Regina's last post.

Anonymous said...

The town that Sarah Palin was mayor of is no larger than Mount Holly or Troutman. Alaska is about the size of Mecklenburg County. She does not have enough expierence. I dont think she would be a good one.

7aAnna said...

7amary, Alaska is the biggest state. Alaska is 656,425 square miles and Texas 2 268,601 square miles. And Sarah Palin does have expierience. Like 7bSarah said, she was mayor of her town and was govener of Alaska for 2 terms and was Alaska's all time favorite govener.

7aAnna said...

Sorry, that 2 after Texas isn't supposed to be there. It is a typing mistake. I is supposed to say 268,601. OOPS!!!

7b regina said...

Even though Alaska is the biggest state it is not worth as many "president pionts" like some other states.

7BCALEB said...

Very true Regina because it is not very populated.

7a morgan said...

i think sarah will be a great vic president. i think that she is perfect for the job, i think its time 4 a girl vic presendent. i also think people shouldnt be all in her bisness plus i mean the pregnace of her daughter is not good rolemodel but i mean come on!!!!!! there are many of teenagers that are young that are pregnat. im not saying its right to get pregant before your marride but i bet 30% of stateville is that way. i feel so bad 4 the daughter to because if sarahs not vic president its going to be all on her or least thats how she'll feel.and i mean it happens all around us but its suddenly a big deal cause her moms vic president. im sure there going to go find all about her great grandfather too. all im saying is i dont think we sould jude her cause of that and i just want to make a point that people should leave her allown about it.

7a morgan said...

oh ya shes a great governer to shes the governer of alaska mr.m

7b regina said...

Right, just because of the size doesn't mean anything I think that Alaska gets 3 and California gets 55 and P.A gets 21 New York gets 31 and Texas gets 34 and Flordia gets 27.

7aAnna said...

That is true 7bcaleb, but since it is not populated, she has alot of enviormental stuff that she is in charge of. I believe Sen. John McCain chose her partly because she is involved with the enviotmental stuff and that is what we need know because off the gas and oil. That is one thing that Sen. McCain said that he and Gov. Palin will do: drill in Alaska. And again 7aregina like I said in my last post: Sarah Palin has been gov. for 2 terms and mayor of her town. So she does have expierience. And to John McCain, the population must have not mattered to much. Technically, there is no such thing as "president points"

7aAnna said...

oh in the first sentence of my post, I ment not populated very much,

7BKipper said...

I totally agree because if shes vice president most of the women votes for hilary will vote for McCain. So I think it was a genius decision. Also all the republicans love her beause she is very strong in her beliefs as a republican.

7bJake said...

I think it was a good decision for John Maccain to pick Shara Pallin for his running mate.I agree with 7bRegina that she will bring in some of the weomen voters,but I also think he had many other reasons.She is a smart and tough lady that has strong conservative views. She was a great governor of Alaska and she had to balance raising her five children and her career at the same time.Over all I think John Maccain made a very wise choice.

7b regina said...

Anna when i wroye "president points" I meant electoral points. And there is such a thing look it up. And like i said last time Alaska gets 3 and California gets 55 and P.A gets 21 New York gets 31 and Texas gets 34 and Flordia gets 27.

7b regina said...

When I typed wroye I meant to type write. And 7A anna I am 7B regina not 7A regina.

7bmatt said...

I think McCain made a good choice because she will get more women voters. McCain will also get more votes from Alaska because of her.

7a rachel said...

I think that Sarah Palin would be a good choice because she is a down to earth person. She is a person many can relate to. I think she would be a good leader for our counrty.

7B Trey said...

No.Due to all the changes in the United States in the past few years, I do not think it is a good idea to have a female as a running mate. No offence to anyone. I feel that our country needs to remain the same for now. I do not know much about Sarah Palin, but she seems like she could be a good vice president.

7aAnna said...

Ok 7bRegina I get what you are saying now (notice the 7b happy now?). Why didn't you just say electoral votes the first time because when you put president points I was like what is she talking about? I guess I didn't consider electoral votes. While I was typing my someone was bothering me and I was annoyed and I was trying to think and type and try to ignore them at the same time.


Oh and I disagree with 7btrey. I understand what you are saying but I think that it is time for a change. It is 2008 and I think that our country is ready for and needs something new.

7b maggie said...

hey sorry i did not blog yet because when i would try to make an account it would say ACCESS DENIED and now sarah just helped me and i got it to work. :(:

7b maggie said...

in my opinion i think that she would be a good running mate for vice president because she has 5 children and she would know all the stress that moms go through. she also has a child that has down syndrom and she i know she also knows how to handle things like that.
the only thing that i do not like is that she anounced that her daughter is pregnant at 17 years old and i do not think that that is the best thing because in the world people might think that that is ok to be pregnant at 17 and not to be married. but besides that i think that she would be good for a runnig mate for vice president.

7BCALEB said...

Trey if you don't mind I wish to argue with you. If America doesn't change then they will elect Obahama! If that happens then...

7aAnna said...

I agree with Caleb.