Now Thats What I Call Interaction

Man, the games you can play these days. Fantasy football, fantasy nascar, march madness in NCAA basketball, and now the 'VEEPSTAKES 08' brought to us via MSNBC. Websites are using their creative genuises to produce interactive tools to get everyone involved and interested. The hosts even coin it as the "march madness for politics." Good stuff.

The point of the game is to narrow down the choices and eventuall come up with a running mate for the John McCain. At the end, we will see who the msnbc.com users believe will be the 2nd in command. Sounds easy huh? Well, give it a shot. The rules of the game are as follows:

1. Click on the names (there are 64 total possible Republican VP candidates) and learn more about each individual

2. Pick the individuals you believe will make it to the next round

3. Submit your picks and see how your picks are doing weekly

4.Come back the following week to submit you next rounds picks

So, get out your cheat sheets, do some research, pluck out your sleepers, and pick away!

VEEPSTAKES 2008

After this she may as well quit

Hillary continues to bury her campaign by making foolish comments that all re but solidifying her loss in the race for the democratic nomination for the presidency. In an interview the other day she said, and I quote, "You know, my husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know, I just don't understand it. You know, there's lots of speculation about why it is. " Wow. Some pretty heavy words. Yes, she did reference an assasination and did so in a very non-chalant way. Okay, maybe it is getting blown out of proportion by the likes of keith olbermann but, some think the ridicule is justified. Personally, I think it was an honest mistake that it will undoubtedly effect her in a very negative way. Considering the death threats that Barack Obama has gotten since he declared for the presidency and the seriousness of assassinations, the quotes by Clinton will linger with her for days to come. If you were unable to catch her comments, they can be seen below.

Ann Coulter

Before tonight i had never heard of Ann Coulter. But, after arriving at one of my classes at UCI, we were fortunate to go on a mini "field trip" to listen to her speak at the student center. During the walk over I was completely unaware of the long night that was ahead of me. As soon as I jumped into line I noticed a booth for "college republicans" and many signs that read "young americas foundation" or YAF.com for all you right wingers. Immediately, i knew that it was going to be an interesting and controversial presentation. We sat for about 45 minutes anticipating the arrival of Miss Coulter. Apparently she was stuck in three hours of LA traffic. When she walked in i was caught off guard- i was expecting some 60 year old white head (aka white hair). However, what walked in was a tall, youthful looking female, with long legs and long blonde hair. Alright, things were getting better...or so i thought. Then she started talking. Line after line there was democrat and liberal bashing. All the old folks in front were getting a good laugh. Students in the back were mocking her by clapping really loud or yelling random comments. The division in the room between youthful Obama-backers and Republican old timers was obvious. The presentation continued- hate filled words that irked some and were applauded by others. Like one questionaire put it, "It was like a bad comedic act." She spoke for about 40 minutes with most of her material putting down the democratic party with bad jokes. Overall, i was appauled by some comments but realized that she says a lot of things to sell her books and to garner attention. Although i agreed with absolutely NOTHING that she said, I am glad that i attended and I was able to get a few good laughs. It was interesting to hear the far rights point of view and see a little controversy brought onto the UCI campus. I got home and immediately 'youtubed' and 'googled' her name. Apparently, I am not the only one that carries a negative opinion on Miss Coulter- Keith Olberman of MSNBC has a few good things to say about her:

McCains Mate

Amidst all the controversy and bickering in the democratic party, the Republican party has been all but forgotten. Old Man McCain has been sitting on his already-won nomination for nearly 2 months and has been able to stay out of the controversy while garnering some attention by periodically chiming in on significant issues and detailing his plans if he wins the election. But, alas! News on the GOP front. It looks as if OM McCain has begun to look for a running mate. The options are a plenty and range from Mitt Romney to Jeb Bush to (yes, i heard it) Michael Dell. For the most part, I could care less who he picks as I am not to well informed on the status of prospective Vice Presidents.
According to Yahoo! news and various other sources OM McCain is planning a delightful memorial day weekend retreat at his ranch in Arizona. The attendees will be Bobby Jindal, the Indian-American governor of Louisiana, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Sounds like a very diverse and exciting group of fellows.
Well, thats all on the Republican front for now. Hopefully McCain will make his decision soon so we wont have to worry about the Republicans again until November. The following video is a snippet from MSNBC that gives a run down of the potential picking of a Republican running mate:

As expected, Hillary wins Kentucky and Obama Wins Oregon

Each candidate campaigned heavily in a state and each candidate came away with state. Thats how the story went for Clinton and Obama in Kentucky and Oregon, respectively, as each candidate won the state they had spent a good amount of their time in.
Obama spent the majority of the past week in Oregon, drawing the largest crowd of his campaign in Portland-an estimated 75,000 people showed up to hear the Senator speak. He pretty much had given the state of Kentucky to Clinton as she spent nearly four days in the state campaigning alone. By winning Oregon, Obama was able to get the majority of pledged delegates and is that much closer to winning the nomination. As Barack marches on, he also continues to take jabs at his Republican foe while all but ignoring Hillary and her efforts to spark controversy. Once again, he criticized OM McCain and his gas tax while speaking very little about Hillary and her views. But, boy, Hillary keeps on fighting.
As i mentioned, she spent a good amount of time in Kentucky and won it by a landslide- 35%. She continues to reitterate the fact that she is leading the popular vote and is winning all of the states that are essential for Democrats to win in November (all of the states that Obama presumably cannot and will not win). I applaud her effort and the points she makes are good ones. But, she has been all but forgotten. Despite a miracle, like Boys II men said, "its the end of the road" for Hillary.
Obama's Huge Crowd
Hillary gets Kentucky; Obama wins Oregon

Hillary Continues On

Despite all of the numbers pointing towards Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, Hillary continues down the campaign trail. She recently stopped in Kentucky, where she recieved a ton of support. Many of the people interviewed in the "bluegrass" states are supporting Hillary because of what her husband did during his tenure as President Of the United States.
Winning white middle class voters has not been a problem for Hillary. In fact, it has been a big reason to why Hillaryhas stayed in the race.
On the other hand, Barack Obama has been campaigning like he has already won the democratic nomination. He has spent the last few days campaigning hard in states such as Oregon and Montana. I dont blame him for campaining like the democratic nominee. Mathematically, he has all but won the nomination and it is in his best interests to start campaigning for November. Continuing on with the dogfight with Hillary will do nothing but hurt the Democratic party come November. He needs to now focus his attention on winning white middle America, a troublesome part of the country for him. Which makes him blowing off Kentucky all the more interesting.
It is almost a lock that Hillary will win Kentcuky and Obama will win Oregon. Unfortunately, a victory in Kentucky will keep Hillary afloat and will no doubt give her the hope she needs to drag on these primary's.

Cutting College Costs

There was a very good article today on CNN.com about the what the nominess have said in regards to the current cost of college.
Being a college student myself, I have seen the rapid increase in the cost of attending a four year college. When i attended UCI in 2002 the cost of tuition was approximately $1700. Now, 6 years late, its near $2800 and rising. The numbers dont lie. The average cost of attending a private school, according to CNN, is $32,000 and a public in-state school is $13,000. Those costs are difficult to afford for even a higher income middle class family.
Apparently all 3 candidates have ideas that will help ease the financial burden on such families. Obama said that "We will give you the money you need to afford a college education without going $30,000 or $40,000 into debt. And in exchange, you are going to participate in community service." Hillary says that she wants to give $10,000 scholarships if the young give two years of national service. McCain says that he wants education to be available for EVERYONE.
Big proposals on a very big issue. They could just be saying this to win votes in November. Who knows if what they say will actually be put into effect. Only time will tell.