Customary Creatures

Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.   - http://blogactionday.org/

This year’s aim is to create a diverse, yet united discussion regarding poverty around the blogosphere. In the spirit of current events, I’ve decided to address the issue of poverty in regards to the presidential candidates official views, as posted on their websites.

Poverty an Issue for Only One Candidate

I’ve looked at the “Issues” section of John McCain and Barack Obama’s websites, to see their official written stances and plans to battle the epidemic. Here’s what I found:

John McCain’s site does not feature poverty as a main issue, or even list it in any issue descriptions (but it’s good to see that the “Space Program” made the list).

Unlike McCain, Barack Obama’s site features poverty as an issue. His poverty site highlights the problem, the campaign’s plan to fight it, and what he’s already done in the Illinois State Senate to address the issue. The site even asks you, the visitor, to present your ideas for change.

The main articles of the plan include:

• Expand Access to Jobs
• Make Work Pay for All Americans
• Strengthen Families
• Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing
• Tackle Concentrated Poverty

Fight Poverty: Obama and Joe Biden will double our annual investment in foreign assistance from $25 billion in 2008 to $50 billion by the end of his first term and make the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015, America’s goals. They will fully fund debt cancellation for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries in order to provide sustainable debt relief and invest at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, including our fair share of the Global Fund.

McCain Addresses Poverty in April Press Release

To give McCain the benefit of the doubt, I wanted to see how often poverty was written about throughout his entire website. It’s possible the subject could just be missing from the issues.

As President, I will set aside the needs of the special interests to advance the interests of the American people, especially those 12 million children who deserve every opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

Total Mentions of “poverty” on the Candidates’ Sites

     

When It Comes to Poverty the Choice is Clear

Vote November 4th, or earlier if you’re able!

Last Thursday, October 23, I went to the first day of early voting at the J. Everett Light Career Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thinking I could vote quickly right after work, I was gravely mistaken. I waited in line for a total of two and a half hours.

As you can see from the pictures, the line wrapped up and down a couple hallways. It felt like Disney World, where you thought the end was near just to turn the corner to find the line continues down another room.

Even though the wait was long, the vigor was high for Senator Barack Obama. I didn’t hear one person say they were voting McCain, and there were a lot of people talking. 

There was a passion within these voters that was severely lacking four years ago. With the majority of Democrats voting out of angst against George W. Bush last election, I’ve seen people supporting and now voting out of hope for Barack Obama. 

The lack of passion was the fundamental reason I believe Kerry lost in 2004. Those votes weren’t really for him, they were against Bush. And with that lack of passion and the way the polls made it sound like a Kerry victory in those last days before November 4, many people didn’t vote.

The 2004 election proves that hate doesn’t prevail. Like many others, I voted early out of hope and passion, and that’s why I believe Senator Barack Obama will be our next president.