The Cosmopolitan Blog

Something new has come to the White House: responsible parenting. I love the fact that, as the leader of his country, Obama sees it as part of his responsibilities to show America how he raises his daughters, and to show examples of successful parenting.

The first time he impressed me was when he refused to let them participate in interviews during the campaign and when he made it a point to tell people that the kids were not left at home with a babysitter every night, but that their grandmother was the one taking care of them.

A few days before he was sworn in, he wrote his daughters a letter. It was moving, beautiful and loving. But more than that, it was showing what place a father can have in his daughter’s life, how he positions himself as the guardian of her future.

He shows that communication is important, and that while it is not expected that every father write their daughter a letter, you can imagine how this would transcribe, in a normal family setting, to regular conversations between a father and a daughter, him sitting on the side of the bed, saying goodnight to her every evening, giving her the kind of comforting advice she will remember for the rest of her life.

A few days ago, we found out that Barack Obama was a night owl and liked working late. Yet he took the time to have dinner with his family before returning to work. Around the same time, Michelle told the press that her agenda, for the first month, was exclusively to take care of ensuring the transition to Washington was a smooth one for her daughters, and that everything else could wait.

As someone who, I believe, had one of the best fathers a daughter can ask for, i can tell you this. Obama offers something to his daughters that is priceless: security and consistency.

For a child, hearing his parents regularly tell him how much he means to them (the importance of the expressed feeling) and then seeing that message reinforced by seeing his parents come home every night, spend quality time, either at the dinner table or in the living room (the importance of actions)… There is nothing more constructive to shape a child’s future character.

I am Canadian, so whatever policies Obama sets probably won’t affect me directly. But watching Barack and Michelle parent, now that’s something that transcends borders and is truly and concretly inspiring.

Being a good parent is not brain surgery. But it requires love, time and dedication. And for all those fathers that think they are relagated to a secondary role behind the “primary” mother, think again. Watch Barack Obama, he’ll lead a whole new generation of good fathers.

The day Joe the Plumber came on the scene, was the day i gave up on Americans and American politics. Obama wants to help the underprivileged. If in your book, that’s un-American, then you have bigger issues. Yes, Joe the Plumber, the American Dream IS about earning all you can earn, but it’s not about stepping on the little person to do so.

Obama “spreading the wealth” does NOT mean he will steal from the rich to give to the poor, it just means that he’s giving tax breaks to those who are not earning as much. Since when is this wrong? This does not make him a socialist. Not in the way republicans are using the word. It’s fear-mongering, plain and simple, they want the word socialist to trigger thoughts of communism.

Socialism is NOT equal to communism. It’s not evil. It doesn’t mean the Russians are coming. Get over it already!

Oh, and speaking of socialism. If Barack Obama is a socialist because he wants to bail out the under-privileged, then um, didn’t McCain encourage a $700 billion bailout? I’d say that’s socialism on steroids, isn’t it?

Americans respond to keywords that send shivers down their spines: terrorism, islam, socialism, communism… Americans like it when things are black and white in front of them, they like to be told who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. 50 years ago, Russians were bad. Now, the bad guys are… well, the axis of evil. Until the president decides that one country is no longer on this axis. Do you realize how simplistic this is?

The American public is always being talked down to. The world used to look from afar and smile condescendingly. Now we look and we’re scared, cuz you’re about to make the biggest mistake of your life.

I’m done people. I quit politics. Let’s wake up, November 5th, and see what mess you’ve put us in, America.

I’m tired. I’ve tuned out. It’s official. We’re acting like it’s politics as usual. We have parties that spin stuff so that they can get ahead. But this is not just about electing a president of the US anymore, why can’t anyone get this?

The world awaits, holding our breath, because the US has such a presence on the world stage, so the result of this election will affect the entire world. But the entire world’s fate rests on a bunch of people who think that helping the poor is a bad thing and that Sarah Palin is a role model. If you knew how ridiculous this looked, from the other side of the looking glass, you’d be shocked. Americans are so caught up with the politics and the spinning, they have no idea how serious this issue is.

I’m so fed up today that i’m angry. I don’t think America deserves Obama. If you can’t see that he’s the only viable solution, beyond the lies, beyond the bull, that the only solution is electing Obama, then seriously, you don’t deserve him. This will be your downfall America!

In a post back in January, when there were still more than 2 candidates in each party for the US elections, i predicted that if either Hillary or Obama became the party nominee, then the Democrats would loose the general election and the next president would be a republican.

I still stand by this statement. See, I always asked the question “is the US more sexist or racist”. We think this question no longer applies, since 1/2 of america is voting for a black man and the other 1/2 for a woman and one would think the answer is that it’s pretty much equal. But that’s not true, it still very much applies: now that we know our opponent is McCain, who is more electable and likely to win against him, a woman or a black man? So again, I ask the question “is the US more sexist or more racist”?

I personally always thought America was more ready to elect a woman than a black man. After all, this is a country where there a still TWO schools that have some sort of racial segregation.

My personal viewpoint is that, by nature, the Democrats are more likely to accept a minority lead them. So they are more likely to accept a black man. But when it comes to the elections, we may also be looking at a whole bunch of republicans and undecided, who DON’T want to vote for McCain. Will they vote for Barack? I don’t think they will. And in that case, I feel that maybe Clinton should be McCain’s opponent, I think that a republican is more likely to vote for a woman than a black man.

This is absolutely 100% my opinion and understanding of this country from what i hear, what i observe, having lived there and having most of my friends and family still living there. Now, i want to hear what you think. Feel free to post a comment or two. Or answer the poll question on the right. Is the US more sexist or more racist?

Well, i never considered myself an anarchist, but here you have it. I’m boycotting something. I’m boycotting CNN. Their tag line is “the most trusted name in news”. Seriously? How can we trust you, if you refuse to acknowledge that there are other countries out there. Dear CNN, did you know that the world does not, actually, revolve around the USA? That there are a few billion of us who don’t actually give a damn if we miss yet another Obama/Clinton debate? That taking a break from reporting on the primaries to spend 7 days talking about the New York governor’s affair is not actually good news reporting?

I used to fervently believe that Obama was the best democratic choice. Politics used to fascinate me. And now, CNN has single-handedly managed to turn me off politics. Maybe it’s cuz i’m generation X and i have the attention span of a goldfish, but seriously, a contest that lasts over 6 months, really, i promise you, looses steam very, very quickly.

Here is my plea to CNN, in the name of cosmopolitanism. We live on Earth. Earth is comprised of many countries. Each country, believe it or not, has newsworthy events. In order to up the awareness and IQ of your people, reporting on what is happening in other countries might actually be a good thing. Oh, and then, if you even spend just 10 minutes per hour reporting on what else is happening around the world, well then, maybe you could make a bold claim like being “the most trusted name in news”… And no, good looking anchors like Anderson Cooper not longer dissipate my anger.

But what makes me so mad (you know, like even MADDER than i was in the paragraph above!), and, unfortunately, i can’t really blame it on CNN, is the fact that i feel like we’re the only ones to see that the longer the democrats fight it out, the more power they’re giving to the republicans. I made a prediction on this blog a few months back, and i continue to maintain it. At the time, there were other democratic candidates, and i had said, if either Hillary or Obama get the nomination, then i guarantee the next POTUS will be a republican. I still believe that. Only time will tell, but in this case, pleeeease can time just hurry the hell up?