Mix & Match Politicians

Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com

Just the other day I was involved in a conversation with a woman who comes from a distinctly different background than mine. The fact that I'm a caucasian male and she's a woman of African-American descent points out the two largest, most glaring differences in how we would view the world. I'm not a minority in any way and she can claim "membership" in two minority groups. I really appreciate the fact that she and I can discuss our differences of opinion and neither of us gets upset. Our most recent conversation had to do with the current presidential election. I'm a registered Republican and she's a registered Democrat. Sometimes our conversations are humorous because I inevitably have friends sending me information which shows why we shouldn't elect Obama and her friends send her emails and information showing why we shouldn't elect McCain. If you ask her which party is to blame for the economic crisis we're experiencing she'll say the Republicans. If you ask me, it's the fault of the Democrats. We discuss and debate and we never get angry and it's truly enjoyable. What's cool is that both of us have asked questions to which the other has answered, "You know? I'm not sure. I never thought about that." The other day when we were chatting it occurred to me that her objections to the Republican ticket seemed to focus more on her dislike for Palin than her dislike for McCain. I have a stronger dislike for Obama than I do for Biden and it has nothing to do with race. That realization led me to the belief that both of our current presidential candidates are hypocrites. Before selecting his running mate, Obama had campaigned on the need for younger, fresher, DIFFERENT than traditional representation. Then he turned around and picked a political veteran who happened to fit the stereotype of what Obama said we definitely didn't need: (paraphrased obviously) the same thing we've predominantly had. McCain, on the other hand, campaigned on a platform presupposing that experience and maturity is required for the office of the President, and Obama was short on both. After all, Obama was only a senator for under six months before starting his presidential bid. Hmmm... Based on those campaign platforms I expected Obama to pick a young running mate, potentially as new to politics as himself, who represented another minority group (or two). I expected McCain would pick someone with years upon years of political experience and I really didn't expect his running mate to represent any minority groups. Obviously both proved me wrong. Obama picked Biden - a political veteran who, standing beside McCain, doesn't show huge differences. Isn't Biden exactly what Obama said this country didn't need throughout his campaign? Right up until he picked Biden as his running mate? On the other hand we have McCain - a political veteran who selected a relative unknown who represents a minority group: Palin. Isn't youth and inexperience exactly what McCain said we didn't need in these tough times? So I took a longer look at these two selections and I've come to the conclusion that they are nothing more than exemplary political strokes of genius. Obama is weak with the older white community in our country. McCain is weak with the younger generation and minority groups. Obama selected a running mate that would appeal to his weaknesses. McCain did the same thing. During my conversation with the young lady I mentioned above, I wondered if her dislike for Palin outweighed her support for Obama. I couldn't think of a way to ask that. She had consistently said that she believed our country "needs change" and that's why Obama represents. Another moment that made me go, "Hmmm..." So I asked this question of her and I ask it of you now: There is a poll placed on the Officer.com homepage where you can place your vote so we can all see and measure the results. The question is this: If Obama had selected Palin as his running mate and McCain had selected Biden as his running mate, which team would you want to vote for? Obama/Palin or McCain/Biden? The young lady's answer was, "McCain/Biden hands down; no hesitation." That blew me away. Oddly enough, given the current state of affairs, if Obama had selected Palin, I'd have to consider voting for that team that really did reflect the possibility of breaking away from the traditional way of doing things. What's your vote? Go to the homepage and place it. Obama/Palin or McCain/Biden. And just to really muck up the waters, I'm throwing in a third choice: Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice. That's your third choice: Powell/Rice. I can tell you now: they'd get my vote with no hesitation at all.

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