Saturday, May 05, 2007

Campaign Update

For those not interested in presidential politics, here is a semi-amusing website(hat tip-> Eric Snider). As for the rest of us, it has turned out to be an interesting past few weeks in the presidential primary now in full swing. First up is the shear amount of money that was raised by everyone, and the shocking amount raised by Romney. Who really expected him to actually raise as much primary money as Hillary Clinton? Some in the media claim its all the rich Mormons giving to him, but come on guys, we all know what tight wads we all are. I'm willing to bet that he hasn't even scratched the surface of all the Mormon money he will get once everyone sees that he actually has a good chance now.

Also, for those who didn't hear because of finals or whatever, there was a republican debate a few nights ago. Now, I openly admit that I was biased to Romney going into the debate, but to be honest I only had a fools hope for him actually winning the republican nomination. Watching the debate and the reactions to it the next day changed that for me. He was really good. REALLY good- and 90% of everyone that wrote about it the next day proclaimed him the clear winner. In contrast to the other nine candidates, he smiled, didn't stutter, spoke very clearly, was composed, managed to weave a little humor into some responses, and came across as very "with it" and in control. Until the debate, I liked him only because of his record but was a little anxious that he wouldn't be able to hold his own in a vicious campaign with a Hillary, but now it is clear that he can, and probably will. Some of the new polls in some early states are starting to show that too: He's almost even with McCain in New Hampshire (I'd be surprised if he doesn't overtake him in the next poll because of his debate performance).

Did anyone else catch the debate? Does my characterization of it match yours?



2 comments:

The Shark said...

Just thought I'd let Nick and Jenny know that I taught the lesson in priesthood on Sunday. It was chapter 11 from the Spencer W. Kimball manual, on self-reliance. There's a big section in there talking about the importance of having a garden, and that if you are renting or don't have enough yard space, you should at least have a planter with some vegetables. This is excellent counsel that is often overlooked by people in my generation because we think that we don't have the means to do this, but Pres. Kimball clearly states that everyone does.

I also found it interesting that he mentions that we aren't asked to do this necessarily to be able to live off our own labors, but rather that there are other, more spiritual benefits from doing this, such as learning the law of the harvest, spending quality time with other people, etc.

I planned on mentioning Salsa Night but didn't end up having time. However, I DID challenge the quorum to fulfill this prophetic counsel and my roommates and I have decided to grow ingredients for salsa. I told them I have access to an excellent recipe...

Anonymous said...

You mean we were ALMOST mentioned in a Provo(?) priesthood quorum?!
wow

I think one benefit other than the ones you mentioned is how gardening (even if its only a small amount) puts you close to the source of your food. When all we do is purchase our food from a third (or fourth, or fifth) party, we can lose our appreciation for how food grows and the work that it takes to grow it. I think it leads to a greater appreciation of the land and a (sensible) environmental ethic (as opposed to wacko).