My $19.11 on the Debates

My line brother, Myron, has a quote that he has incorporated after reading somewhere the "statistical" reason as to why African-American tend to do traditionally poorer than other ethnicities on standardized tests; "You know why black people don't do well on standardized tests...because they don't answer the question asked!" A statement that I'm sure the Spring '04 initiates of my chapter grew tired of hearing during MOIP, but statement that nonetheless applies to everyone, ESPECIALLY politicians.

After watching the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates, I have become more and more adamant about the state of American Education and Politics. Maybe I was simply fortunate enough to have parents who actually gave a damn and read to me, or made me read to them when I was able, or maybe because I was a product of the 35th best public school in the nation (as of Newsweek's 2007 rankings), but I didn't know that a response that has no relevance to the question posed could ever be satisfactorily received. Had I known that, I would have focused the rants that are the subject of my blog postings to answers on tests since I was old enough to express my own thoughts. But that scares me. I've seen an election stolen the first time I was old enough to vote for a President, and I fail to believe that this country has progressed enough to allow its Commander-in-Chief to be an African-American even if he is half-white.

I was inspired by Obama's nomination acceptance speech, it made me cry, but common sense is starting to kick in make me question the true motives of the Republican Party, because it really can't be that simple. When your #1 and #2 hopefuls constantly dodge the issues presented, read from index cards, give "shout-outs," and sympathetically appeal to this country's infatuation with the Kennedy's, I fail to see how any opposing party with a brain could lose, hell even Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton Jr. could win this election (SHAKE AND BAKE '08, lol). I'm still struggling to see how the energy crisis even remotely relates to the mess on Wall Street, how Joe "Six Pack" and a "Hockey Mom" are the average Americans, and how the hell we are fighting a war against terror/Al Queida in Iraq when both sides admit that Al Queida is in Afghanistan. But that's what Sarah Palin wants us to believe. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin's constant priase of Gen. Patreus (sp?) makes me think that he should have received the Republican nomination because he is clearly the "real hero" here. I kinda wish that our country, or the world for that matter, was still in the days when armies were lead by a Commander who was unafraid to be on the field of battle with his/her troops, and then we'll see how fond we are of senseless wars.

I guess my main issue with the Republican Party can be answered by phrasing a response to the question "are you serious?" Sen. McCain, do you really think the American people are that stupid that you can coach a decent looking former beauty queen who is probably experiencing her 5th or 6th time in the continental United States in to being Vice-President. Or is this an obvious attempt to woo away Hillary Clinton supporters? (I feel that an Obama/Clinton ticket would have easily won, but Hillary was just too damn greedy and desparate to allow that to happen.) That is why I was unimpressed by the debates, I expected more of a fight, and now do not know what the '08 Election will bring. Like Lauryn Hill said, "it could all be so simple, but you'd rather make it hard." Just throw in the towel and save the embarrassment, hey, we'll accept the offer to concede. The fact that they won't worries me that we may experience another stolen election. So I'll say this, if I'm not Singing "My President is Black" in January 2009, I'm moving to Europe, and I'll return when Sallie Mae goes under...