Meet the Press 10/29/06

Living where I do, the key races that are dominating evening television and most everything else in life are Virginia Senate (Democrat Webb vs incumbent Republican Allen), Maryland Senate (Democrat Cardin vs Republican Steele), and Maryland Governor (Democrat Martin O'Malley (current mayor of Baltimore) vs Republican incumbent Bob Ehrlich). I'll comment on all three races as I continue to update the site. For the moment let me focus on Cardin vs Steele as this was the subject of an intriguing debate on NBC's "Meet the Press" hosted by Tim Russert.

In my opinion, from the moment the show started, Michael Steele (and Russert at times...) had Ben Cardin on the defensive, leading him to rely on a couple repetitve talking points (such as a complaint about Steele's website!!) and attempted jabs at Steele that were unsuccessful, at least in my opinion. Steele comes across far more polished, genuine, and likeable; though I'm not sure that these traits will be enough to get him elected in a state where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 2:1. If you missed the show (featuring discussions on Iraq, embryonic stem cell research, Iraq, taxes, Iraq, President Bush...you get my drift) I highly recommend you find some clips on your news channel or YouTube.

A tangent

From time to time I'll post on other subjects that interest me. This is one of them. I added a link to another one of my favorite sites. Epinions is a community of users who review anything and everything, from cars and movies to travel destinations and web sites. It is always my first source of information when I am shopping for gifts (or for myself...). I've even written a few reviews myself, which you can check out here.

Opening Salvo

I added the first of a number of (hopefully) interesting links, to the Electoral Vote predictor site, which rose to relevance during the 2004 Presidential election but has also been tracking the Midterm elections. The site leans a bit left but is completely grounded in non-partisan polling so I'll let it slide. A great collection of information to let you follow the trends and developments across the nation.

Also, today, the Hartford Courant endorsed Joe Lieberman for Connecticut's Senate seat in his race against anti-war Democratic candidate Ned Lamont.

Welcome to my blog, hopefully you'll find it interesting, thought-provoking, and maybe you might even learn something. I hope to reap the same benefits from those who read my work and correspond with me.

I think Jon Stewart puts it best: "This country is run by extremists because moderates have shit to do." Everywhere you look, politicians, the media, and seemingly everyone else seems hell bent on polarizing this nation and every issue we face as Americans and citizens of the global community. Worst of all, I see my generation embracing and accepting this divisiveness as the modus operandi of American government and politics. Left unchecked, these attitudes will only further degrade this nation's ability to govern itself for the benefit of all its citizens. We must take a stand as the generation of our nation's future leaders, to move towards the middle rather than the extremes, working together for the benefit of all.

"People talk about the middle of the road as though it were unacceptable. Actually, all human problems, excepting morals, come into the gray areas. Things are not all black and white. There have to be compromises. The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters."
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower