Of Mountains and Molehills

This week's Daily Record column is entitled "Of Mountains and Molehills."

My past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

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Of mountains and molehills

The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective.

-Al Neuharth

Although this is an op-ed column, I tend to avoid writing about politics, if only for the simple fact that I prefer to write about less contentious, law-related issues.

However, in the aftermath of the recent political party conventions and the election looming around the corner, my thoughts have been continuously drawn to the presidential race occurring in our midst.  And, with good reason.  It is a race unlike any other that we have seen in this country. 

This is an unprecedented election, in which American voters have been given an opportunity to vote for a groundbreaking line up in lieu of the usual, predictable cast of characters: 4 middle-aged, white men.

Voters face an historic choice of perspectives, with each candidate’s viewpoints arising from a unique combination of age, background, and life experience.

Of the four, Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for Vice-President, is the least unusual candidate.  Biden is a dashing middle-aged lawyer turned career United States senator who generally towed the party line.  Many would agree that Joe Biden’s perspective is typical and predictable for a Democrat.

John McCain also looks the part, as an older, white man.  He is, however, anything but your typical Republican presidential nominee.  McCain, also a career politician, is known for challenging party leadership and occasionally breaking from the party line. 

And, of course, his time as a soldier and POW in the Vietnam War cannot be ignored.  His unique politics and wartime experiences are surefire indications that the perspective that he would bring to the Whitehouse would be anything but ordinary.

Which brings us to Barack Obama, who is anything but your typical presidential nominee.  Obama is the first African American candidate for a major political party.  His father was a Black Kenyan, his mother a White American.  Obama was born in Hawaii, and raised in both Hawaii and Indonesia.

At age 47, Obama appeals to the younger generation of voters, many of whom are stepping into the political arena for the first time.  His campaign staff has a far better grasp of Web 2.0 technologies than the McCain campaign and has successfully harnessed the viral potential of emerging technologies in a masterful and groundbreaking way.  The combination of his background and age would inarguably bring a novel perspective to the presidency.

And, last, but certainly not least, is Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for Vice-President.  At 44, Palin, a staunch conservative, is the youngest of the four nominees.  She is the first woman candidate to run for vice-presidency on the Republican ticket, and only the second woman vice-presidential nominee for a major party. If elected, she would undoubtedly bring a unique and unparalleled perspective to Washington as the very first female vice-president in our history.

Regardless of political affiliation, on this we can agree:  this presidential election is an historical event for this country. Never before have we been presented with such a diverse group of nominees. The candidates are truly representative of a broad spectrum of Americans, both in their physical and philosophical manifestations.

Both tickets offer Americans the possibility of new and different perspectives in the Whitehouse.  And, with a change in perspective, anything is possible.  No matter which party wins, I suspect presidential politics, and our country, will never be the same again.

Comments

[Michelle]

Nice post.
I particularly like the way you just laid it all out and resisted the opportunity to bash one side or the other.