Understanding the presidential

Understanding the presidential Election
By MOLLY

The 2008 presidential election is undoubtedly one of the most important and interesting events of our times. Given that, and the coverage the media has been providing it’s easy to become confused. So, just what do you need to know?
Obviously, what are the facts? If you are uniformed, you look not only stupid but are not taking full advantage of you rights as an American citizen. What’s taking place that makes this election so unique? Well, way back in the democratic primaries we had two minority candidates face off, Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. Now Barack eventually won, but not by an enormously large margin. That’s really cool because Obama is black, and not too long ago this country was home to many debates about race and prejudice.. Obama has also surprised many of Hilary Clinton supporters and most media by choosing Delaware senator, Joe Biden. The Republicans, a party that prides themselves on consistency and tradition, has even made ground breaking movements of their own. For example, they have nominated a vice presidential nominee with an apparent lack of experience, and the first woman ever to be nominated for the job. This year the Republicans have selected the oldest presidential nominee John McCain.
Lastly, what’s really important in any election is the issues. In this election both presidential candidates have a variety of concerns to address, like universal heath care, education reform, and the war in Iraq. Now John McCain and Sarah Palin (the Republican vice presidential and president nominees) belong to the same political party as our President George W. Bush. That means they agree with our president on many issues like “staying the course in Iraq” and the current solution our president has provided to the subprime mortgage crisis, and Palin is pro-life, just like our current president. Now, this may seem unimportant but John McCain’s age may be a determining factor in who is appointed to the Supreme Court. Republicans support an education plan that is called No Child Left Behind, a mandatory, school district funded program that has put much emphasis on standardized tests. Democrats, like Barrack Obama, and his running mate Joe Biden completely and strongly disagree with Republicans on every point I have mentioned. Democrats believe we shouldn’t have gone on what they call a “misguided, misrepresented, quest for oil “and think we should leave Iraq in slow measures. The Democrats are appalled at the trillion dollar bailout of major banks, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Most Democrats are strong advocates of the woman’s right to choose, especially in cases of incest and rape. Democrats also believe that the No Child Left Behind educational plan was destined to fail because it was never properly funded.
Less confused? I hope so, but here’s a quick overview: this election has been an exciting and amazing event, and a couple really important things have happened. One, the first black man to ever make it past the primaries is running as the democrat’s presidential nominee alongside Joe Biden. Opposing Obama and Biden , John McCain and Sarah Palin are the republican nominees. Republicans believe in the war in Iraq, the No Child Left Behind education legislature, and other conservative points. Democrats will oppose all of these points.