MAKING HISTORY
After months of rallies and political commercials, the 2008 presidential election is finally upon the country.
This historic election features firsts across the board.
The Democratic nominee is Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. He is the first black candidate to win the presidential nomination of either party. His running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, of Delaware, could be the first Roman Catholic elected as vice president.
The Republican nominee is Arizona Sen. John McCain. A victorious McCain, at 72 years old, would be the oldest person ever elected to a first term as president.
His running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, the sitting governor of Alaska, would be the first woman ever elected vice president.
The election provides more historic firsts. This election marks the first time in history two sitting senators have run against each other in the presidential election.
This also marks the first time the two nominees for president have been born outside the continental United States. Obama was born in Hawaii; McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone.
Besides its long list of possible firsts, the election is laden with important issues that will face whoever takes office.
One thing Obama stressed on the campaign trail is an importance on education. He wants to make sure future children of America can one day compete with children of other countries.
“We have to have high standards,” Obama said in a speech in Terre Haute in September. “Our kids have to compete not only with kids in California or North Carolina; they’ve got to compete against kids in Beijing and Bangalore, India.”
McCain follows a similar stance as Obama. He has said he feels the country can’t let younger generations lag behind and cannot afford to ignore the education issue.
“The deplorable status of preparation for our children, particularly in comparison with the rest of the industrialized world, does not allow us the luxury of eliminating options in our educational repertoire,” McCain said on his Web site.
Another problem that has grown over the past month deals with the economy. Obama wants to jumpstart the economy by providing $50 billion to prevent state and local cuts in health, education, housing and heating assistance and prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund school repair, which will “save more than 1 million jobs in danger of being cut.”
McCain also wants to help provide some relief from the slipping economy. He believes increasing the value of the dollar is an important step to reduce the price of oil. He said he wants to increase the value of the dollar to reduce the price of oil. This will be done in an effort to strengthen the economy and lower food and gas prices across the nation.
Now, with less than two weeks left until the election, the candidates are feverously campaigning across the nation to attempt to sway remaining voters. Obama held a 10-point lead over McCain according to a poll by the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
