Andrea Wilson Woods' Blog

It took me several days to figure out why I thought Obama performed better than McCain at the presidential debate on Friday night. Before I even listened to what the pundits had to say (I’m addicted to CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC—in that order), I knew Obama had the slight edge and his poll numbers would rise by Monday. The key to Obama’s success was his words and his delivery, which in the past I always found slightly wooden. Unlike McCain, who referred to Obama as “my opponent” and stared at the moderator causing his eyes to be downward when the camera was focused straight on him, Obama spoke directly to Sen. McCain and directly into the camera. These two choices—the much more personal use of “you” instead of a generic noun and facing the audience (i.e. the millions of Americans watching the debates on TV)—gave Obama’s words more depth as well as a harder punch when necessary. He remained personable and friendly even as he pointed out McCain’s flaws, while the older senator teetered between condescending and stubborn. (Did we really need a recap of his opinion about pork-barrel spending?)

Anyway, in my opinion, Obama had his best debate ever. Maybe he should give Hillary a call and thank her for teaching him the ropes. As for Sen. McCain, he needs to work on looking into the camera and addressing his opponent—not the moderator.

AWW — XoXo

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With Wall Street bleeding—literally drowning in a self-created red river—isn’t it curious that these greedy sharks love Obama more than McCain? Many political candidates (in fact I daresay most) are beneficiaries of huge donations by people with lots of money and power. However, I wonder about a man who claims he will “crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders” and has been “monitoring the subprime mortgage situation for years” yet he doesn’t mention that these same sub-prime people have funded nearly 60 percent of his campaign. One could argue that investors own most of the wealth in this country so of course they are going to be donors to someone’s political campaign. In fact, even John McCain received some money from Fannie and Freddie, but not nearly as much as Obama. Dan Morain of the Los Angeles Times speculates that Obama’s campaign may take a hit now that his friends are broke. Given that last night’s star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles raised approximately $9 million for Barack’s campaign, I think he’ll be fine.

I’m just glad to know who his friends are …

AWW — XoXo

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I think Jill Greenberg did herself a great disservice when she allowed her personal views to affect her recent assignment, a photo shoot of Senator John McCain, for The Atlantic. She says the magazine didn’t vet her properly, that her views are anti-Bush so maybe “it was somewhat irresponsible for them to hire me.” Well maybe Ms. Greenberg the magazine assumed you would be a professional and do your job, which is to take great pictures—not smear a presidential candidate. Some conservative pundits blame The Atlantic, insinuating it was some kind of conspiracy against Senator McCain, but I believe Ms. Greenberg acted on her own here. This time I’ll give The Atlantic the benefit of the doubt.

AWW — XoXo

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To question vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s experience is not sexist; however, to state that her first priority should be to her children and because of this responsibility she is not ready to be in the White House is. How come no one has bothered to ask Barack Obama who will take care of his children if he becomes elected? Well, according to Sally Quinn it’s because, “A mother’s role is different from a father’s.”

Shame on you Sally for saying that mothers can’t be elected officials until their children are older. If you want to criticize Governor Palin’s record, go ahead, but you have no idea what goes on in the Palin house. Did it ever occur to you that Todd Palin is an excellent father and he enjoys being Mr. Mom?

AWW — XoXo

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I’m fired up about this election because—for the first time ever—I am an undecided voter. Not that it matters in California, as Senator Barack Obama is a shoo-in for the state, but I still like to think my vote matters, at least to me it does.

So I ask you … do I vote for my principles, which are actually far more centered than people believe, but if someone drew a line in the sand, I would lean to the left. Or do I vote for someone who I think is principled—Senator John McCain. Obama changes his mind faster than I switch my shoes; at least McCain’s opinions change over the course of many years. (That’s a joke. Laugh. Now.)

A friend wisely informed me that no politician is principled so I should vote with my principles, but I need more convincing.

I’m also appalled by the media coverage of Governor Sarah Palin. I may not agree with her politics, but she is not a bimbo or a bitch—two insults hurled by close friends and family members. For the record, she never banned books, and she never said “God made dinosaurs 4000 years ago as ultimately flawed creatures“—a blogger made up those statements (and more) and attributed them to her just for fun.

Don’t panic though. I may defend Palin against false rumors, but I do think her record should be closely scrutinized (although can the pundits please stop acting as though McCain is going to drop dead the minute he takes office). I also believe I have more than one choice; at this moment I plan to write in a candidate although I’m open to suggestions.

So give me some feedback—convince me. Why should I vote for your candidate?

One more thing … you have to check out this out this Biden story and clip.

AWW — XoXo

P.S. Look up ugly rumors before emailing them to your friends by visiting these websites: Fact Check and Snopes.

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