The election is coming and where do you stand on the big political views of our time? I'd like you to look first at this web page from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/candidatequiz/. Take a minute to see how the contenders differ from each other and from you.
When you have a little background, please take the online quiz here: http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html and report back to us what you discovered. Did it surprise you? What did you learn? What issues matter to you most?
As this is our first blog, let me set some ground rules. Please comment once without looking at what your peers have shared. Keep it real -- what do you think, feel, like, dislike -- you get the idea. Then, please read the comments of your classmates and offer a second response to someone else. We want to create a dialogue...refer to people by name, ask them questions, respond to them, etc. Sooooo.....that's two entries. If you do it with care, you'll get full credit (please don't even think for a moment that you're graded on your views -- actually you get full credit for HAVING opinions.) Conversely you'll receive no credit (that's a zero folks) for not participating! Give it a shot.....we'll make it interesting.
32 comments:
After taking this quiz, i got a 85.71% match with Barrack Obama. Im not surprised that my match is Obama becuase I agree with him most of the time and I personally think that the most important subject at this time would be the Irak war. My view is that we should stay in Irak now that we started this war and finish what we started in the quickest, most responsible way possible. Removing our troops now will not be such a good idea because Irak is in worse condition than it used to be in the beginning of the war. Having a bit more security would be helpful because the government can check up on us and provide programs and events for us to learn more about why and how they do it. Im not saying that they should completely take over our lives, but to have more security in the areas that might be vulnerable to terrorism.
Pardon me for mispelling Iraq in the previous comment.
I got Barack Obama as my candidate match. To be honest I am not thrilled with either candidate. I support the majority of issues that Barack supports, but I feel that he is wishy washy with his view on Israel. Israel is very important to me, so it is not a good feeling to know that he changes his views depending on his audience. But if I could vote I would vote for Obama.
I agree with Bruno. Even though at the beginning I didnt support the Iraq war, we can't just leave now. If we left Iraq and its people in chaos and turmoil how bad would it make America look?
I agree with Megan and her view on Obama and Israel. Obama should stick to his point because once you start to change your mind over and over again, people start to wonder if that is the same thing that will happen if they elect you. Sticking to his point will help people feel the same way even if they dont at first, because people want a president they can be confident in.
I took the quiz and was given a 56.00% match with a Mr. Chuck Baldwin. The fact that my top match was just above 50% shows that I am closely balanced between the views of the political candidates offered on this 'calculator.' What surprised me though was that my second and third runners-up were Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, tied at 52.00% I was not aware that I stood on such middle ground between these two candidates. I viewed myself as being slightly more weighted towards McCain, but I guess that is not the case. This 'calculator' was fun and interesting, but it provided no clarity for me, only more confusion.
I feel the same way as Megan about both of the candidates. I find that neither of them are close to 100% qualified for the job. I find that Obama does not have any experience and the whole Reverend Wright deal is still very disturbing to me. John McCain I feel is a much better all-around person and could be a more appropriate representative for our nation. John McCain's past is very respectable, but he has made some strange and not so smart decisions recently. I feel that what it comes down to this election is choosing the best of the worst. However, in the voting booth I would hold my nose and punch one in for McCain.
I got a 76.4% match up with Mr. Ralph Nader. I am dissapointed with the results to say the least. I would vote for Obama if I could but I am not so much disspointed by not getting Obama, but rather just getting Nader. I think for the most part Nader and Obama are pretty similar and I also did not say the degree of importance each issue was to me so that might have something to do with it. I thought the voting quiz thing was funny but it doesn't really mean much...I mean who honestly wants Ralph as president?
I agree with Megan and Bruno about Iraq but I disagree with Megan and Riley about the presidential candidates. In 2004 it was between John Kerry and Bush and I think those candidates were wayyy worse than what we have now. Either John McCain or Barack Obama would do fine as president but I think Obama has the ability to do great which is what we need right now.
I took this quiz (once again) and OF COURSE got NADAR again. I actually don't mind that I got him. I am not in love with either candidate. If I were to vote, I would vote Obama only becuase McCain's choice for Palin to be his vice president was a very VERY poor choice...she is a joke. I support more of the democratic issues (prolife, alternative energy source other than drilling, support gay marriage) however I do support some of the republican issues like not taxing as much as the democrats want to tax.
I also agree with Megan, Israel is extremely important to me and the fact that Obama changes his mind a lot regarding the issue is not very pleasing. I also agree with Bruno, it would be stupid and a lie to say that they can just take us out of the war. Where does that leave the people there and the mess we made? If we just left...where does that leave the problems we originally went there for that are not solved? All the deaths and hardships becuase of this war and someone thinks they can just bow out and get up and leave????
ps Riley...could not have said it better myself: "I feel that what it comes down to this election is choosing the best of the worst"
I strongly agree with that statement.
I had interesting results, my first pick was Cynthia McKinney and my second choice was Ralph Nader. If I could I would vote for Barack Obama who was at about 66%, but John McCain was my least matched which was no suprise. Cynthia and Ralph being top picks were somewhat predictable because they both have ideas that cross party lines which is what I prefer. They both are green party members, and after looking them up, I strongly agree with them on 8 of their 10 points. However, I choose to stay independent. The calculator was pretty neat. I found it cool and I would love to see other calculators like this, for instance, a calculator that found your party would be nice. Overall I was satisfied with this.
I disagree with bruno about iraq, I feel that if we leave now, we will be doing the Iraqi people a much better service that staying in Iraq and harming soldiers. War is wrong on all levels because it ultimately involves people killing other people for a cause they believe in. The keyword is killing in that statement. We are basically murdering their people and the quicker we leave, the more lives we can save.
After taking the candidate quiz, I was matched with Ralph Nader, which is not really surprising or upsetting to me. Generally, the issues most important to me are the enviroment and human rights. Obviously, focusing on these issues alone is very unreasonable for any presidential candidate. Were I able to vote, I would vote for Obama, but not just because its the cool new thing for the young generation to do. The issues that are most important to me are mostly included in his policy, and I would rather put my vote towards Obama, my second closest match, than to McCain, to whom I had a 12% match. I am also a firm believer in strengthening the middle class, which I know is a huge aspect in Obama's campaign.
As to Jilli's comment about McCain and Palin, I strongly agree. That woman running the US, essentially the most powerful country in the world, is an extremely frightening idea. And the chance of McCain dying is higher than you would probably think...I heard about a statistic that estimated that there was an 18% chance that he would die during his first term, and something like 28% in the second term. That is frightening.
And as to the Iraq war, I think the entire ordeal is an insane waste of money, resources, and most importantly, human lives. I am very strongly against war in general, and while I think it would be very stupid to just pull all of our resources out right now, i do think that we should not prolong our presence there. At this point, who knows? Maybe we would win in 20 years, but it will not be worth it. The entire thing is a huge waste, and we could be using the money for more important things, not to mention not wasting the lives of thousands of soldiers, basically for nothing. We have not made substantial enought progress there for this war to be worth it.
After taking the quiz, I got a93.75% match with Ralph Nadar. Needless to say, I'm shocked that my answers matched me so closely with him, especially considering I am so extremely pro-Obama. I'm not as disappointed that I got Nader because we share similiar opinions on the environment and human rights. However, all candidates aside, I feel it is most important we end the Bush regime. John McCain is offering the same policies and ideas as Bush. For all intensive purposes, he is Bush. To be cliche, the time is now for change. First and foremost, the Republicans cannot be in power anymore. We are worse off now than ever before. If the American public can't see this, I see no hope for change in America.
After taking this quiz almost 4 times, I have faced the unfortunate reality that Ralph Nader might just be my presidential candidate. I tend to view myself as a pretty far left wing liberal (voting strongly on every liberal belief) and the fact that I was paired with Nader 4 times makes me think that my liberal beliefs extend those of Obama. Don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than to see Barack Obama as the next president of the United States, but I would like to clear up a couple of things about Ralph Nader. Nader is given such a bad rep mainly because he leaches votes away from the democratic party, but his views do match up very well to radical liberals. As you may have guessed, McCain is the bottom of the barrel for me. I strongly oppose another Republican president, being that America has been led into a nosedive by them (no offense to any conservatives out there). The bottom line is that Nader may be my technical candidate, but with all things considered (have you ever been interested in hearing a presidential candidate speak?), Obama is my guy.
I agree with Alison and Jilli's views about Sarah Palin. The woman is a fool. We need to be realistic. John McCain is close to death, and if and when he does die, Sarah Palin will be in control of America. The woman has stone-age views about women's rights. It is appalling that she would try and destroy decades, even hundreds of years of fighting for women's rights. As far as her other views, I'm not sure if I agree or disagree with them, considering she doesn't know how to answer a question.
aI am happy to say that I completely agree with Oliva's statement. I feel that it is vital to end any connection between our new political regime and the Bush regime. The truth is, I have thought about America under McCain, and have decided that it would be far from detrimental, but having just watched the VP debate, I feel that any assimilation with the wanna be politician, Sara Palin, ruins almost everything McCain had going for himself.
After taking this quiz, my candidate seems to be none other than the infamous Ralph Nader. I'm learning to accept it. As Ethan said, Ralph gets a bad rap for stealing votes from the democratic party, although he is quite the radical democrat. Ralph and I may have most values in common, but he is a selfish fool. If he truly cared about democratic principles in office, he would remove himself from his self-created fame and just give up already. If he wants change (a more democratic leader) in office, he needs to get over himself. My presidential candidate is Barack Obama without question. I agree with the majority of his values and believe that the ones I don't agree with are necessary, because to win, he needs to lean a certain amount to the right. Many things come with Obama that did not come with Bush, like hope, intelligence, common sense, high IQ, change. But most importantly, Barack Obama is someone who I believe in. His speeches are unparalleled by that Republican guy. Barack Obama will win the next presidential election because he offers hope for a better America - something we haven't had in a long long time. On a side note, I kind of like the Green Party.
80% of my answers matched with Barack Obama and Ralph Nader was my second choice. I am happy with the results because if i could, i would vote for Obama in the election. I agree with most everything that Obama stands for and I agree with Joe about leaving Iraq. Mccain thinks we should stay in Iraq until we've reached victory, but who defines victory? Also, I am pro choice. I don't think the government should make such personal decisions. Pro choice allows for those that are pro life to do what they believe but it also lets the pro choice people make their own decisions. I am optimistic Obama will restore Americas standing in the world. If Obama wins, it would really show how far America has come and what an inclusive society we are.
I agree with Bruno and Megan about the Iraq war. I think now that we're in, we need to stay in as long as necessary to safely and securely remove ourselves; HOWEVER, we should not still be trying to force democracy on a country who obviously is not ready for that. We should not have invaded in the first place and I think George Bush is a blithering idiot for that reason, and many others (his hundreds of nonsensical quotes for example). But, I DO NOT agree with the fact that the Iraq war is the most important issue at hand. We got ourselves into it, and we need to get ourselves out, but that shouldn't compromise what really deserves our attention. We need to stop worrying about other countries and other people, and worry about the poverty, bad conditions, bad education, gang violence etc. in our own country before we worry about others. We're too nosy, and I can't wait until Barack Obama is our next president.
I completely agree with Olivia and Ethan. Sarah Palin is not what we need in this country right now AT ALL. Why would ANY of us want more of the same, when we could get productive and proactive change from Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Speaking in terms of vice presidential candidates, Biden is miles ahead of Palin in experience, knowledge, eloquence, and basic knowledge of sentence structure and vocabulary in the english language. Sarah Palin is an annoying joke that just won't go away. If McCain knew what was good for him, he'd throw her back to Alaska. I have lost all respect I had for McCain because of the failed political maneuver he tried to make through putting Palin on his ticket. He is a scumbag, and she just isn't normal. We need to end this, and put Obama in office for some real change, once and for all.
After taking the quiz, i received a 58.33% match with Obama. I was happy to get Obama, but at the same time, the results showed that i also had a 58.33% match with McCain, and Nadar. Im not really sure what that means, but one thing i know for sure is that i would not want a Pro-Life president running my country. I strongly believe in pro-choice and honestly don't understand how one could believe in something else. It is very hard for me to understand how someone else can tell you how to treat your body, or what you are ready for. Without this right, as a woman, i do not feel like i am free.
I agree with Ian. I think that both presidential candidate would do a good job if elected. I believe that unlike 2004, these candidates are both ready for office and ready to make strong decisions. Although i disagree with both on some issues, i think that they are both heading in the right direction.
After taking the quiz i was matched with Nader, with Obama as my second choice (who i originally and would still vote for). Getting Nader did not upset me or surprise me very much, because i know that personal importance on the issues cannot really be weighted on this, despite the "Low, Medium, High" scale. I know that choosing a candidate is not solely based on your exact matches with the person, but also on how they present themselves to the public, as well as experience and other smaller factors. Although the "Candidate Calculator" is an interesting experiment, i dont think it really helped me, but it did remind me that people do not choose a candidate based on the "perfect match".
i agree with olivia ethan and bruno on the palin issue. when it comes to who a nominee picks as their running mate, i believe it shows something about themselves and their character. i have seen interviews with mccain saying that he truly believes that, if the time comes, palin is ready to be president. I think that, no matter who you're voting for or who you would vote for, its clear that palin is in no way ready to be our president.
Since the age of 6, I can recall Ralph Nader being on the ballot (he was probably on it before, I just can't remember). Seems as though he is back and not only is he radder than ever, he's my candidate (according to the poll/survey. I got 80% Nader). Now, I can't completely back him, seeing as though I'm not 100% familiar with his policies, but I do know that I support a few of Obama's and that's pretty much how I answered the questions. As for my overall view on things, I consider myself to be pretty liberal. However, I am not 100% sure if Obama is my guy. He's an awesome speaker and seems to have done a great job reaching out to the youth and our generation. Although, I feel like that is not enough. I hear too much about "Change" and "Si se puede"; I understand "why", just not "how". I think once I figure that out, I will be able to make a decision as to who I support. However, I can safely say that I am not a big McCain person. And as cliche as this is about to sound, I have one reason to not support him: His policy on the war and wars in the future. Essentially, he is looking to go to war with so many other countries just to make ourselves feel good about our world dominance and military strength. However, this would mean more soldiers, which means more participation, which probably won't happen. So right now, McCain finds himself in a position where he either lets go of his war dreams, or creates a draft. And, something tells me that he won't want to forget his dreams. To expand on Olivia's idea that McCain holds similar policies as Bush, keep in mind that McCain is a veteran POW who wants to keep America fighting wars. Great for the older generation, but goodbye youth, hello draft. Some might say that congress won't let it happen, and that's probably true; however, if that's the first thing one notices, wake up and realize that you are already having to find ways out of the draft. Starting on the right foot?
I recieved a 58% match to Barack Obama after taking this quiz. I was happy to see that my views are very similar to his, and that he is the candidate that I would vote for, because he is the one I would like to see in office. However, I do not fully agree with his views towards Israel. Also,McCain because picked Palin, who is not ready to be Vice, or if something were to happen, President. I'm happy with my results.
I fully agree with Olivia, and all of her views, along with Jilli's. I do not agree with his choice for Vice President, Palin. She is NOT prepared to take this job, and she is too caught up on how amazing Alaska. We need a Vice President who can focus on the whole of America, instead of JUST Alaska, and all those "soccer moms" and "hockey moms". Its a joke. Sorry to all the Palin supporters.
Before taking the quiz, I had no specific candidate that I was for. I got 76% Nader on the quiz, which doesn't surprise me because I really didn't support either candidate. My parents are both democratic but for some reason are both voting McCain. I don't agree with the war in Iraq. I dont agree with war with anybody, but I also don't think that we can just leave Iraq in the situation that it is in now. I also support abortion rights and gay marriage, Those are my main concerns in this election. But I mean Im not really sure of who I would vote for at this point. I think Obama might be too young and not have enough experience, and McCain is on the opposite side. Also, I would only vote if I had an informed decision.
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