This week we are starting to look at political behavior, which includes many of the ways that citizens actively or passively interact with their government. The most obvious form of political participation is voting, although, as you will read, it is far from the only form of participation. I would like to take a look at the 2008 election results to start to get a sense about what it might mean in terms of how we were feeling and in November and what that means for us today.
First let's look at how the overall voter turnout in 2008 compares to other presidential elections since 1948. I suggest reading along the side to understand the difference between the Voting Age Population (VAP), and the Voting Eligible Population (VEP). You can get more detailed state by state information at the bottom of that page or by clicking here, Can you guess which state had the highest voter turnout?
Next lets look at how various groups across the nation voted. The most accurate measures of this come from exit polls taken from people who just left the voting booth. Some different looks at this are available here, or here.
Finally it is important to remember what issues each ticket campaigned on. Skimming through this page from CNN can help remind you.
After looking at this information what do you think it suggests about what people were looking for in November 2008? Do you think they are still looking for the same things? Do you think that the government is responding to the goals, wishes, or needs of the people?
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Well personally i think the people just wanted to "punish" the republicans by voting for a democrat like Obama. As we have seen Obama is quite the speaker, and this only furthered his chances of winning. A keyword in his campaign was "Change." the word change meant several things, one being a change in the policies implemented by Bush(which i fail to see). another is a power change from republican to democrat.
ReplyDeleteSome people are starting to realize they made a mistake electing obama as president who has contradicted various proposals he made . one such was the end of the war in iraq, and war on "terrorism", which by the way is impossible to win. People were also hoping for a quick recovery from the recession which was and is still impossible, as the economy will only worsen. I think that the gov't snt even trying to fix the problem, and the only thing that is occuring in congress is a power struggle between Rep. and Dem.
I agree with Johnathan when he mentions that people wanted change when they voted in Obama. At the time the people found out that under Bush, The Patriot Act was seriously infringing on the people constitutional in the form of warrantless wiretapping.
ReplyDeleteObama's stance was that he was against the intrusion of government in this form. When the issue came whether or not to grant immunity to the telecoms. Obama voted to grant the telecoms immunity.
What did he get in return. Lots of support from ATT and other telecoms. “ The AT&T-Democratic convention? http://www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=3170”
Obama was thought to be the president who would take the guns out of everyones hands and this thought made the sales of firearms and ammunition go through the roof.
Well that didn’t happen either. In fact the states have been liberalizing the laws of sales and the right to carry firearms.
Gun Laws Loosen in States, Even as Gun Policy Changes Little Under Obama
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/24/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6238228.shtml
On the federal level you can now carry a firearm into most national parks. “Outposts http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2010/02/firearms-national-parks.html”
Obama wanted us out of Iraq but into Afghanistan. Our country has been at war or police action for almost its entire history. It is part of our blood. This is not going to change anytime soon. War and violence is a huge money making business. Our mercenary army is huge our armed forces strongest in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations
What I’m getting at is that this is all politics as usual. It really doesn’t matter who is president. Guns are a huge part of American history and will never change. Corporations will bide their time until their candidates comes along, who will get what they want done.
The only change you will get is from the store clerk not a politician.
Actually fairly simple. Americans love their country. Honestly I think that people were looking for a change. Many people were looking for a stronger government system to get United States back the way it use to be. for eaxmple, a stronger economy. Also because of the low popularity of president Bush and the war in Iraq which McCain supports, gives democrate an edge over the republican because the majority of American Citizens were against the war. Many people believed that President Obama would make a drastic change in the way citizens are living today. The people were looking for a President they can trust, a President that sticks to his demands and a President that cares about the people in United States.
ReplyDeleteThere are many people who have doubts on President Obama's promise, but those are the people who fail to realize that change doesnt come so easy. Referring back to john's comment earlier i dont think Obama contradicts himself. Yes he deploy more troops to Iraq, but clearly I remember in his speech he stated that it was a part of his plan to end the war. Also he did gives a time frame to when troops will be withrawing from Iraq. I think that the government isn't putting there 100% to respond to the goals, wishes, or needs of the people. I agree with john that basically their is a power struggle between Republicans and Democrates.
The common thread has been that Americans were looking for a change when they chose Obama as President. He positioned himself as the voice for change with all Americans; - men, women, minorities, the young and old; people from all racial and political backgrounds. The war and the sagging economy encompassed the concerns felt by Americans; Republican and Democrat. Barack Obama represented the alternative and solution that the nation and the rest of the world were yearning for.
ReplyDeleteBring it forward to today; those same Americans are extremely frustrated by the apparent lack of change under the Obama administration. Can these issues be viewed as a lack by either party? Or are they primarily due to the billions of dollars that have been spent over the past 8 years towards agendas of the class that rules? These agendas do not seem to benefit the nation but rather a few who continue to elude any form of accountability.
To address the goals; needs and wishes of the American people would be a laborious task as those issues cover innumerable challenges. The critiques that President Obama experience are staggering in comparison to the arguments directed towards the former President with all the mis-steps of that administration.
It would be impossible to satisfy the wishes of everyone and I think that Obama has to develop a firmer stance to push through his agendas. The spirit of camaraderie would be ideal but that seems to be a meaningless effort in light of all the nay-sayers on both sides of the political arena.
Change will take time – it has only been a year.
Looking at the polls I found it very interesting that a lot more Latino and Black people were voting for Obama. I think the results of this election played a major role on race as well. I as well as my other friends were for Obama but when he heard one of the girls saying that she wanted Obama to win because he is black i realized that this is probably what most of the other people think...
ReplyDeleteHow can anyone be so ignorant, completely shocked me. I think U.S choose Obama because it was something different and because he spoke of hope and everyone needed at that particular time. I could also understand why people over the age 0f 65 mostly voted for McCain, that is because they do not want to see a drastic change in policies and are pretty much satisfied with what they have, where on the other hand younger population of the U.S is all for the change.
I fully agree with my classmates and think that all Obama is for the U.S is a hope for something better and the results of the polls clearly reflect that.
I definitely agree with all the above comments and especially with diana who said that americans chose obama definitely not for his race but because they wanted change and he made people think that with this thing called "hope" anything can happen. Besides, you can't blame a president for breaking his promises. America's policies do NOT depend on the guy in office; the country is run by the upper class lobbyists who decide what they want, when they want it and how they want it for their own interests...this is how it was, how it is, and how it will be..there is much more going on behind the scenes. At least, Obama IS trying to do something: Health care reforms, end the war in iraq, save the economy, fight terrorism...
ReplyDeleteLooking at the poll, I noticed that people over 65 of age voted for McCain because they do not want change, they are conservative who care more about their own interests. However, younger population of the U.S is for the change because everyday, they experience injustice, and consequences of the immaturity of the previous administration.
Nicole, you are right! Change will take time – it has only been a year
HASSAN
By looking at the pie chart from the CNN website, during 2008, 57% of the population considered the economy as the most important concern. According to the National Polls, however, from our last assignment, we can see that in 2009, 59% of the people, just like in the previous year, stated that the Economy is the most important matter to be resolved by the government.
ReplyDeleteThis brings me to the following question, whether people are still looking for the same things as they were during November 2008. The answer is yes, they do. However, when talking about other issues such as Health Care and the War in Iraq it is obvious that there is a major increase in the percentage since 2008. Even though people have been concerned with the economy for quite a long time other issues like Health care, for instance which has been talked about everywhere, apparently had a tremendous influence on people’s opinion of its importance lately.
When talking about Obama, there was definitely an over-expectation in his ability to produce change. But we know that nothing in politics can be achieved over night, due to the overwhelming opposition from both members of congress and lobbyist/public interest groups, the president fell victim to that which he promised to change, “politics as usual.”
Overall, I think that it is too early to say whether the voter’s expectations were met or not.
Obama ran the perfect campaign for 2008--no specific policy goals, no platform, just 2 words: 'hope' and 'change'. That could have meant anything. Obama is like a blind date; if you had faith enough to vote for him, you must accept him as he is, not as you dreamed him to be. Obama never told us who he is and what he believes (although I read both his books and I know D-MN well who he is and what he believes), so now citizens must accept his governing philosophy as it is revealed to them. And remember that he can't be all things to all people, no matter what the guys on MSNBC told us.
ReplyDeleteNow that the president is crashing and burning and has ruined everything he tried to fix, he is naturally going to disappoint his most ardent supporters first. But don't worry--behind closed doors, Obama is doing exactly what he needs to do to "fundamentally transform the United States [his words]" into the kind of government his supporters wanted all along. If he did it out in the open, Civil War II would break out. That's going to require an explanation, which I would be happy to give, but not here. Trust me, if Obama has his way, 'change' is indeed gonna come.
The voter turnout is, in my opinion a product of the media. Political scholars, enthusiasts and older people generally vote either way. Young people and first time registrants are galvanized by the news companies hyping up political news (for example CNN, a little heard of cable channel expanding its viewer base drastically as a consequence of their extensive coverage of the first Gulf War. In short, there's money to be made in political coverage and news outlets are have really caught on.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to Hassan, Victoria and Diana on giving the president more time to make good on his promises several things must be noted:
(1) "Its only the first year, give him a chance" That is absolutely no excuse, it is generally known that the first 100 days in office are the most critical for an incoming president because that is when he has the most political capital to work with, President Obama had squandered that time - The stimulus package and the jobs bill have passed indeed, but in this economy you'd have to be the most pathetic executive in modern presidential history to be unable to pass such legislation, so that is not an accomplishment.
(2) The president IS NOT TRYING for healthcare reform. He had never wanted a public option from the start - telling Harry Reid when he first decided to put it in the Senate version that he WILL NOT back him on that. He allowed Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, and especially Joe Lieberman to turn the senate version into a corporatist bill on purpose. He could have "cracked some skulls" politically over it as he did with the renegotiation of pharmaceuticals that would have saved us over 100 Billion, threatening to campaign AGAINST the progressive democrats if they were to try and push for a renegotiation. Instead, he purposefully caved to the "bluedog" democrats as he is purposefully sabotaging and watering down financial reform.
Lo and Behold fellow classmates!
His new healthcare bill HAS NO PUBLIC OPTION.
In his past, when he became the first president of the Harvard Law Review he had also upset his liberal base and in the end wound up being center right - right. There can be no mistake that this is happening with his presidency here as well.
The first year gave us NO CHANGE and NO PROGRESS. I'll bet the keys to my car that the next year will only be more conservative - he's already quietly started his re-election campaign and that means making the rounds at K Street.
It's over folks of you wanted to change something - you should have remodeled your bathroom.
Obama made a really important point in a speech (at least once) and this was that if we as a nation, as a people want change, we have to get involved, it has to happen from the ground up, from within ourselves and our communities. So to everyone and anyone who is unhappy about specific failures of a specific person in power who is supposed to be representing you/me/us then we must organize and take specific action. Pointing fingers and chatting about the wrongs of our government is an okay first step but in order to see change, ordinary citizens have to take it further. Just voting is obviously not enough.
ReplyDeleteThe stats on voter turnout were not entirely surprising but the fact that the percentage of people who do vote is not closer to 100% tells me that efficacy is low and in general people are discouraged and disconnected...change doesn't come overnight in a governmental system as complex and hypocritical as ours and if you don't like something, get involved.
-Courtney
the purpose of government is to govern the people by which they are elected by. For me, many people expect alot out of the government with huge hope, much of which was placed behind the '08 election. CHANGE. Something new and never experienced before. Looking at the statistics the majority of the people that picked President Obama felt that he was a suitable candidate for the job. But my intake on the ideas new government is theat with CHANGE comes TIME. That as people that pay taxes and therefore are paying for these services we need to allow for time. Time to adjust and for those in government who are going to make the changes to do so. I think that with time the goals of the people will be meet and like the games we play called LIFE, there will be some loser and there will be some WINNERS!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Hassan about how people of 65 of ager and over are so caught up with all the traditions, refusing changes anyhow. It is not about Obama didn't keep his promises the guy got an empty country handled to him last year, what do we were expect even though he tried hard for the country not to fall into great depression. We have a country in the middle of a war no one knows why, where billion have been spending every day, and the country is in billion of debts and deficits. No one saw anything bad with the country back then because the consequences of all of these didn’t happen in the spot. Now Obama is the one taking all the blame for all these eight years of disaster. The result of all these made Americans not to trust the present government without thinking whatever is going right now with the country, it didn’t just happen overnight. I believe it’s time for change; we need something new for this country, but too bad the upper class politicians and lobbyists won’t let the change happen because they control everything.
ReplyDeleteIts funny how a republican has taken Ted Kenndy's seat in Ma, and you know who elected him?-the Democrats! It is also funny how another democratic senator stepped down. Obama's own teammates are now realizing what is going on. Cameron, we can't really say it what it is, can we?
ReplyDeleteOur president won the election because he promoted "change", which by the way i still dont understand what change everybody is talking about. Also, because he is african-american-that, worked really well for the most ignorant minds, and poor McCain who thought a woman runner up would attract Clinton voters and a younger generation.Too bad McCain did notrealize in time that Ms. Palin still can't figure out how many states the US consist of....
Commenting on "Obama is a great speaker and a pursuasive politician" i can only say-So was Hitler(!)
One year in office, and Nickolay had put it the best way, is more than enough to get something done. Instead, with the Stimulus we are more in debt, war still goes on and unemployment grows.
Why not taking the money spent on military and work on a thing called "Eguality of condition"-basic human needs(food, shelter, education, healthcare).In Europe people dont have to fight for those things like we do.
Finally, Healthcare reform is still not explained fully. Yes, Obama tells us that patients with preexisitng condition won't be denied care, but what about the rest of the reform? Last thing we want is that "same care for everyone" which is of a very poor quality and its unfair for those who work hard and pay taxes to be treated the same.
[Looks like the snowstorm has sent this blog into overtime....I'm game.]
ReplyDeleteMaria is right about how Obama's vague rhetoric could be used to justify almost any type of politics, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's trying to turn the U.S. into 1935 Germany. What IS evident is that Obama has never liked the American system of gov't, with its checks and balances and capitalistic economic system; and he seeks to "transform" it. Exactly what type of structure he wants to replace it with is yet unclear even to crackpot Obama experts like myself.
Socialized Healthcare is the key to turning a democracy into an autocracy. CASE IN POINT: When Obama got his lunch handed to him after the Republicans won 3 key special elections (mainly out of their opposition to Obama's Healthcare legislation), the prez should have learned his lesson. So what did he do? STILL continue to push Healthcare, which everyone across the political spectrum is against, but it's vital to expanding gov't and reducing the power of the people.
Some of you guys speak of Socialized Healthcare like it's a good thing! I'd love to hear a defense of Obama's plan, either as it is now (milder) or as he originally wanted it to be (far more radical, with a "public option").
I know, right, everyone seems to like the Health reform, but can anybody clearly explain why?
ReplyDelete