NO VOTE? NO WAY?

I of course find it extremely important to vote. The most common saying is this, "if you don't vote, shut up!" or something like that. Either way you say it, it means the same. I find it annoying that people do not take the time to vote and then find the time to be opinionated and rude with their political views. Obviously.

This year I was extra observant on those who did not go out and vote.  It wasn't as if my intention is to call those people out, or be angry with them, but to observe how many people that I know who don't act on their right to vote. A majority of people that I found to not participate were women. This was the most interesting, of course because it took so long for us to become voters to begin with. In this day and age are a lot of women not voting?

Women for Obama

The Washington Post had an article on women in the election on November 6. The link is above.

Although the women did not have the deciding factor in Obamas win this election, the overall support from women this election adds to the support Obama has gained from women since his first term. He exceeds Bush and Clinton.
Michele has a lot to do with all of this. That's a different subject.

As far as the others who did not vote, it seemed to me as though those people were also among many who were unfazed by the event as it is historically marked in our country. In the end, it does seem to be those who care little about what is going on politically that do not in fact vote.

Election Coverage

The Media

Social media was probably the best way of keeping current, and yes, televisions definitely had its thorough coverage, but groups of people were again another addition to election night that is discussed very rarely. The people are of course a HUGE part of all of this.

President Obama said it too. The people who went out and supported (regardless of their political views) made the difference in this election, as well as the ones before and after. The livingroomcanidate website shows us a multitude of commercials as well as speeches, and there we can see how many people find importance in the attendance of these certain events in history. The livingroomcandidate is successful because these videos show us documents of people going out and not only interacting, but finding commonality as they stand in HUGE groups to listen to ONE man (and in election nights, the winner and the loser).

It reminds of me popular events like concerts or big athletic events, but it's politics. As I was watching TV I kept noticing SO MANY PEOPLE as they scanned the cameras around, and the videos that others were taking as they stood amongst the groups. Instead of feeling like there had to be a specific side, there was a feeling of national pride just for being able to pick a side to begin with. The feeling of feeling a part of these groups whether physically there amongst them or not.

Election Coverage

Election Night

I have to say it was quite eventful. Although I was not at a huge party, or an "event" whatsoever, I was with friends enjoying the results night to the end. I found it interesting how lively the night seemed even though I was sitting in front of a television most of the time. There is something about elections and televisions that go hand in hand so well. It isn't in the way that the media projects everything, but in the way that people come together to congregate in front of these gateways to the world. I began to observe the people in the room where I sat, and there was much notice to who was sitting back ignoring the screen, and who was inching towards it and actually reacting to the screen. I'm not sure if it was just an observation, but in a room full of both Democrats and Republicans, it was just interesting nonetheless. Although this observation may or may not reflect some truths, there was an obvious enthusiasm in the Democrats and less of a reaction in the Republicans, but as the Democrats aimed to pay attention the Republicans aimed for more interaction among everyone. I found it funny that as some upsets were being created, those that found distaste in the results also  wanted nothing more than to keep people interested in conversation and drinks than what we were all actually there for. As long as we are all communicating!

Presidential Emails

I noticed something a long time ago, but now I suppose it's interesting enough to discuss considering it has to do with President Obama. So, I decided to subscribe to the Obama campaign way back when and after doing so I started to receive all of these emails from... well someone, but certainly not Barack Obama himself. Anyway, the emails have subject lines that say "hey" or "I hear you" and other similar phrases like that. It's interesting to me that when I open them, they are usually in regards to a current event that has happened (debates, conflicts, etc) and it's always a message ending with a donation plea, of course. However, it's the simple things like the subject lines which start to trigger a personal connection with not only President Obama, or the campaign in general, but to a "side" of the rope in a sense. It is wise of whoever is actually running the networking portion of this campaign to be so lighthearted and free about what they are saying to the subscribers, not only in the message but simply the very beginning to the email.

Complete Vice Presidential Debate 2012: Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan - Oct 11...

Centre Celebrates

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j3roG09O6T4

The Vice Presidential debate held at Centre College is being tagged as "flawless" by the media.  This was the second time that Centre hosted a debate, the first being held in 2000. After watching the debate I realized that this debate went by flawlessly not only because of the venue, but the overall passion towards the purpose of the debate was much greater than that of the Presidential debate. I felt as though both Joe Biden and Paul Ryan contributed to the event in respectably but also allowed for comic relief and relentlessness on their parties position. It was almost as if Joe was making up for President Obamas exhaust and Paul Ryan was making up for Mitt Romneys arrogance.

 It is always interesting to me that the Vice Presidential debates are held in settings much more calm and relaxed but almost seem to be the more dynamic of the debates. What I mean is that the settings are intimate and almost seem as though the two men are simply conversing at a business table. Which brings up another point... the settings to me do feel as if the two men are in a business meeting, and I find that much more inviting in a sense. There just seems to be a motive to get things figured out, and to share instead of attack. 

A friend of mine attends Centre and was one of the lucky students selected to sit in on the debate. I spoke to her about the experience and she explained that she sat relatively far away, but was still able to focus on the event just fine. She explained that it was indeed a calm environment but that the "moments" that is, the more emotionally charged moments were not so much awkward (as it was in the presidential debate) but enlightening, even if they could have been awkward. She also stated that she felt as though she obtained more information from the VP candidates than she did from the Presidential candidates (which I may just have to agree). I don't know if it was because she was able to attend this debate, but she feels as though she felt more centered with her political position for this election because she had the opportunity to experience a sort of "meeting" that is of the upmost importance in our current nation. I am just jealous of her in the end :)

"Eye Of The Sparrow" — A Bad Lip Reading of the First 2012 Presidential ...

Yet another funny video found.

This one is just hilarious, but there is a  very interesting dialogue made in this video with race, religion, and the puppet and robot comments made by Romney, plus more. The entire video does have an intellectual quality to it and more so in my opinion represents a carefree way of thinking about the debate. Some of the events that take place in the video correspond to some of the events that took place in the actual debate, but transforms it into a funny way of looking at what people came away from with the actual event. I believe that this video would also make for an interesting discussion in class because it touches on the imagery made during the debate and that imagery as it is viewed by others. Playing off of the discussions in class about the ability for us to have visual representation on what is going on, and the way in which we can skew and rearrange certain aspects of these abilities to create the lip reading effect. I think that the current media in our lives give freedom to manipulate and express alternative perspectives, which ultimately give us the ability to "give back" to what we are being fed everyday.