"Election 08"

The 2008 election was incredible. The results were remarkable. President Barack Obama is elected as president of The United States of America. He is the first African American of the United States. HE has made history for the first time. President Obama had a clear victory for many reasons. He was truthful to his people. For example he said everything his people wanted for America. He for example said that he would stop the war in Iraq and bring the soldiers home. This is exactly what the people want. He said that he will lower the taxes and change the economic problems that are going on in the country. Here we can see that he wants change for his people and he deserves to win a clear victory.

One reason many people did not vote for McCain was because they said he would continue what Bush was doing. Many people voted for Democrats because many citizens of the United States blamed the republicans for the downfall of the economy. This brought down the republicans which made it easier for the people to choose the democrats. This was the main reason of why the people chose Obama as the president of the United States. The key states that presodent Obama has won are Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida. They were the swing states. When he one those states in the beginning it was very clear that he won the election. I did not think at all that the election was going to be close at all. obamas electoral votes were in the 300's where McCains was in the 200's. Obama's election was pretty clear.

Now that President Obama has won he has many challenges to face. He has to fix all of the mistakes president Bush has made in the past few years. He has to fix the currpted economy and many more problems in the United States. He has to work on stopping the war in Iraq. Many people around the world are happy of Obama's election. There are many reasons for this joy. They know that Obama is going to bring change in the U.S. as he said and this is good for the rest of the world. that's because The United States is a powerful nation and if it get's effected the other nations do to. Also, he said that he will end the war in Iraq and they all support him for that. This will become peace around the word.

Presidential Endorsements

By reading two presidential endorsements about Barack Obama and John McCain I think that both of them present a good argument. However the one to have a stronger argument is Obama's endorsement. In Barack Obama's the endorsement is trying to convince the reader of how he can fix the mistakes president Bush had made in the past few years. In McCain's endorsement, the same technique is used but in a less detailed manner. Obama's uses real life situations to prove his point while on the other hand McCain uses less details and mentions repeatedly that he is more experienced then Obama as a leader.

Obama's endorsement, talks about how he wants change for America and he will fix all of the mistakes president Bush has made in the past. Obama focuses on the education of children living in America and he says in one of his speeches that “Government cannot solve all our problems." He has a point when he says that. We have to step up and bring change ourselves too.

He also focuses on the economy. He believes that the American tax structure should be changed. When it comes to foreign affairs Obama does not like the fact that the United States gets involved in them. He also wants to reform the United nations. His endorsement is mainly trying to say that Obama can really bring change in America when compared to McCain. That's because the endorsement is trying to say that McCain will continue what president Bush did in the past years for America. This presents a good argument saying that we need a new not only the first African American but also American to change America.

McCain's argument also provides a good argument. He also wants the best for America as described in his endorsement. It mostly talks about how McCain is more experienced when compared to Obama, so for this reason he can control the United States in a better way. It talks about how he will keep us safe and more secured. Not many details are provided in his endorsement when compared to Obama's endorsement.

"The Electoral College"

What is the Electoral College?

• An electoral college is a set of many electors who are empowered to elect a candidate to a particular office.
• Consists of 538 popularly elected representatives who formally select the president and the vice president of the united states.
• This is when the United States citizens vote for electors.
• Each state has a number of electors equal to the number of its Senators and Representatives.
• In order to be elected, a candidate must have at least 270 of the electoral votes.

Strengths of the electoral college:

• The electoral college recognizes a role for the states in electing a president.
• It encourages more people to campaign.
• It maintains a federal system of government and representation.
• Forms stability of the nation by encouraging a two-party system.
• It has easier recounts.
• I has less motivation for election fraud.

Weaknesses of the electoral college:

• Direct election is seen as more consistent with democratic principles than the Electoral College system.
• The electoral college sometimes tends to discourage voter turnout.

I don't think that we should have the electoral college. That is because I think the people should have the power to choose their president. Eve though the people vote and start to think that they are actually choosing the president then their wrong. If there is an electoral college then there is no point of making g people vote.

"Mayor Bloomberg and Term Limits"

I think that if Mayor Bloomberg believes that he can make a difference for the nation after seeking to change the laws which will allow him to, then he should go for it. Also we should look upon his past records and see how he represented New York City. If his reputation has been good enough for the nation from the past to now then I think that we should give him another chance and allow him to seek another term.

Find out the Term Limits for these positions:

- President of the US: Two 4 year terms

- Vice President of the US: The limit is only two terms, however there are no restrictions for how many times a vice president can run.

- US Senate: Unlimited 6 year terms

- US House of Representatives: Unlimited 2 year terms

- Supreme Court Justice: Life time.

- Governor of New York: two terms and three years.

- Governor of California: 4 years and limit of two terms.

- Mayor of Los Angeles: four year term and limited to serving no more than two terms.

- Queens Borough President: Four Year Terms.

"Republican or Democrat"

What are the characteristics of a republican and a democrat?

REPUBLICANS

• Conservative politics
• Reduced role for government
• Difficulties for labor
• Large-scale economic and corporate restructuring
• Tax Reduction
• take a more conservative stand on issues.
• less government spending on social programs.
• Grand Old Party
• Oppose to abortion.
• they use more religion
• big business.
• Greed
• Do not help the poor that much.
  

DEMOCRATS

• Focus more on abortion.
  
• opposed to capital punishment
• Help people.
• provide jobs and health care
• help lower class and middle class
• pro- union
• immigrants
  
• taxes

Am I a republican or a democrat?

By looking at the characteristics for both the democrats and the republicans, I come to the point that I am some what in both. That is because both groups some what provide good benefits for the society. For example when the republicans don't help the poor that much, we have the democrats that focus on the poor and indeed help out people more than the republicans. This is how the democrats benefit the society. However when it comes to a situation about capital punishment, the democrats start to oppose against it while the republicans don't. Here at this point the republicans are actually benefiting the society, by keeping the criminals where they belong. I don't see any reason why the Democrats should oppose against capital punishment, because people should follow the laws to maintain in a society. Both democrats and the republicans sometimes help the society and make it better for the people but they tend to do it in different ways and how they each want it. Therefore I am a centrist.

CitizenShip test

1- How many stars are there on our flag?
50 stars.
2- What do the stars on the flag mean?
The fifty states in the United States.
3-What color are the stripes?
Read and white.
4-What do the stripes on the flag mean?
The stripes thirteen colonies.
5- What is the date of Independence Day?
July 4, 1776
6- Independence from whom?
British colonies
7- What do we call a change to the Constitution?
Amendment
8- How many branches are there in our government?
3 branches.
9-How many full terms can a president serve?
4 full terms.
10- Who nominates judges of the Supreme Court?
The president.
11-How many Supreme Court justices are there?
Four.
12- Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson.
13-What holiday was celebrated for the first time by American colonists?
Thanksgiving.
14- Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
Francis Scott Key.
15- What is the minimum voting age in the United States?
18 years old.
16- Who was president during the Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln.
17- Which president is called the "Father of our Country?"
George Washington
18- What is the 50th state of the Union?
Hawaii
19- What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
Mayflower.
20- Who has the power to declare war?
congress
21- What were the 13 original states of the United States called?
Colonies
22- In what year was the Constitution written?
1787
23- What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
preamble.
24- Which president was the first Commander in Chief of the United States Army and Navy?George Washington.
25-In what month do we vote for the president?
November.
26-How many times may a senator be re-elected?
There is no limit at the present time.
27- Who signs bills into law?
The president.
28- Who elects the president of the United States?
Electoral college.
29- How many states are there in the United States?
50 states.
30- Who becomes president if both the president and vice president die?
Speaker of the House of Representatives.