Candidates may spend $1 billion

According to a Washington Post editorial, "The two major--party nominees alone may raise and spend $1 billion combined." is it just me or does this seem a bit excessive and ridiculous?

I realize that each campaign cycle, campaigns spend more and more money. But when is this going to end? I am taking a class called Foundations of Mass Communication with Tim Gibson, where we read an article entitled The People's Choice that was written in 1948 by Paul Lazarsfeld that studied the voting patterns of people. In it, the scholars determined that people generally do not change their political opinion based on media and advertising, instead relying on peers whom they trust.

I understand that the study was not full proof, and flaws have been pointed out, but the premise remains the same today as it did previously. Those who are already paying attention to the campaigns have already made up their mind. The eggregious spending that is occuring is keeping current senators from doing their job, because they have to spend the majority of their time fund-raising.

This system of campaigning we have in America is flawed, and needs to be fixed. And we haven't even gotten into the smear campaigns that are sure to come.

Clinton and Obama Campaign in SC

On Monday, Senator Hillary Clinton campaigned across South Carolina, just days after Senator and Presidential hopeful Barack Obama was there. The visits underscore how important the votes of African Americans and South Carolina will be during the Democratic Primaries.

While many see Obama as a favorite to win the "black vote," because of his ethnicity, he is actually behind Clinton in many polls, including a Washington Post-ABC poll from early February, according to a Time magazine article. The article goes on to say that Obama trails Clinton by 40 points in the poll.

VA Gov. backs Obama

According to the Washington Post, Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine will officially endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president. While his staff has remained tight-lipped thus far, sources have said that Kaine plans to make his endorsement official Saturday during the annual Virginia Democratic Party fundraiser.

This may not seem like a big deal at this time, with the election still two-years-away, but this is a good sign for Obama. As most know, Virginia was one of a few states that swayed the mid-term elections towards the Democrats, and has seen the Democratic Party strengthen, in this historically Republican state, in the past few years.

Click here to view a Washington Post slide show of Obama's career

Obama's Response

After the comments of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who criticized Barack Obama's plans for troop withdrawl, Obama responded while in Iowa.

Obama said that he was flattered by the criticism of one of President Bush's close allies, because Howard had singled him out. He then challenged Howard, noting the fact that the U.S. has roughly 140,000 troops stationed in Iraq to Australia's 1,400. "So if he is ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq," Obama said.

This little incident can do wonders for Obama's campaign, because it shows that the presidential hopeful is not going to back down from a fight, and in his first bit of criticism since entering the race, he showed that he can take the scrutiny that will be under him until the elections.

Read the washingtonpost.com article about the incident.

Australian Criticism

Australian Prime Minister John Howard criticized Barack Obama Sunday, just 24 hours after he announced he was entering the presidential race, about his stance on the Iraq War. Howard said that Iraq's al-Qaeda leaders should "be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats" in the 2008 election.

What is interesting is that Howard's son worked for President Bush's reelection campaign in 2004. This strikes me as a conflict of interest, and not an honest critique of a politician's stance on an issue. To me this just smacks of the same partisan rhetoric that plagues politics across the country. Instead of actual public discrourse Mr. Howard's comments reinforce many opinions that politicians simply care about their own party and not about the issues.

Obama's In

So like anyone who has been keeping track of the story already knew, Barack Obama jumped into the presidential race Saturday. He made his speech in the same place that Lincoln made his "A House Divided" speech in Springfield, Illinois. I for one, am extremly excited about this because, after reading his book "The Audacity of Hope," have become a huge fan. The ideas and way of talking that he uses is something that I have never seen in the short time I have followed politics.

His speech

My Very First Blog

So I am really not sure what it is that I am supposed to do here, guess thats the way the majority of my college career has gone so far though. I have been assigned by my online journalism professor to begin a blog, well now what?

I guess I can begin by describing who I am. My name is Eric Moreno, I attend George Mason University in Fairfax, Virgina. Yes, GMU is the school that made it to the Final Four last year. I am 23 and a senior, aspiring to be a political journalist but not really sure how exactly I do that. I work for GMU's student newspaper, "The Broadside" as an online reporter.

As for my miniscule list of accomplishments thus far: I interviewed Helen Thomas for a class story last semester, I have written a few online and print stories so far at "The Broadside", and I was the lead reporter for the Barack Obama rally held at GMU last friday.

--Well thats it for now, I'm sure I will be back soon enough.