Week 9 - 2008 Presidential Candidates

For this week's blog I chose to look at one of the most interesting, in my opinion, Presidential candidates for 2008. There has already been much publicity surrounding the upcoming 2008 elections, not least for some of the characters involved. The front runners have been grouped under various headings according to their individuality. For example, it has been noted that for this election there are some very different characters. There is a candidate of Mormon religion, but perhaps more interesting is the fact that the race has become much more open that now a woman and a black man are now serious contenders for the Presidency.
I chose to look at Barack Obama's campaign to become the next American President. I found it interesting that Obama has gained considerable interest for his campaign, and the possibility of a first black American President is a real likelihood. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, and graduated from Columbia University in 1983. Obama then moved to Chicago to persue more community based activities, particularly involving the church (which would become a major factor in his Presidency campaign). Even though he experienced success at this level, Obama realised that in order to make a real impact on the community he would need to influence proceedings on a national scale. He therefore chose to persue a law degree at Harvard University, and graduated in 1991. There he became the first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review. After his experiences, he chose to run for Illinois State Senate, where he served for 8 years, which eventually led him to his current position as candidate.
Obama has numerous policies as he looks to influence the American public's vote. He is fighting to strengthen American force overseas, create a healthcare system that works, meet America's energy needs and improve schools amongst other policies. Perhaps one of the most important and relevant ideas at this present time is his stance to end the war in Iraq. President Bush has been publically criticised over this issue numerous times, and Obama obviously hopes that the majority believe ending the war would be the best choice.
I think Obama is looking to introduce a lot of policies that would please the American public, but time and votes will tell whether his apparent inexperience in this field will lead him to fall to stronger opposition.