Re-enactment of CNN’s Cross-Fire: Obama-Biden v. McCain-Palin

By Syreeta L. McNeal, CPA, JD

I miss the good old days of CNN’s Cross-Fire. CNN’s Cross-Fire was a political show that allowed representatives from the Right and Left to debate issues affecting the American people. I love for people of different views to get into a vigorous and intellectual debate where they are able to share their views highlighting facts and draw the necessary conclusions to score points with the viewing public.

But, I think what people fail to understand is that if someone is infatuated with a topic, like politics, they enjoy to research it and stay current on the matters affecting the topic daily. I love history and politics not just because I am in the legal arena, but because I find it a duty to be learned in the topic so I can bring current facts to an intellectual discussion or debate with another individual. As an Attorney and Certified Public Accountant, I must take continuing education credits annually to stay current on my skill set and meet my license requirements. I apply the same logic to broaden my political understanding of this year’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates and issues that exist for the parties when I debate with an individual about the general election.

There is no doubt that a change is coming to America in the presidential arena. But, what people failed to realize in thinking that Senator Obama, being the first African-American male presidential nominee of the Democratic National Party, is the only change that America was looking for. The large number of votes for Senator Clinton (18 million as a matter of fact during the democratic primaries) indicated that the American people are yearning for the glass ceiling to break as applicable to women in the candidate selection of President or Vice-President as well. Senator Obama chose not to honor this urging with his vice-presidential pick of Senator Biden, a 65 year old, white male, Washington insider.

However, Senator McCain and his campaign knew that the electoral landscape and Senator Clinton’s historic run is calling for a historic first for women as well. Women will make up roughly 55% of the electoral vote and will decide the election in 2008. These voters are not monolithic in their vote, but they have a variety of reasons why they vote for a candidate. President Bush beat Senator Kerry in 2004 over 10% points with the women vote.

So, it is not a coincidence that with Senator Obama declining to select Senator Clinton as his running mate, Senator McCain seized the opportunity to select Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate for the Republican Party. She is the first woman to be the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee. Talk about breaking down all historic racial and gender barriers in one presidential election cycle in America. After the economic and foreign policy disaster that President Bush and Vice-President Cheney has done for the past 8 years, Obama’s Campaign, in my humble opinion, let McCain seize the moment, play checkmate in this presidential chess match, stay in the game and possibly win the election.

Here are the results of this pick. Obama’s historic speech was put on the back burner of the media coverage to focus on the unknown Alaska Governor Palin the following day. CNN, MsNBC and other media analysts with slants to Obama’s coverage where caught off guard on who McCain would pick as his running mate leading to the suspense. The Republican conservative base is fired up and ready to go as has been reported on Politico.com and the people have contributed $4.9 million in online contributions to McCain’s campaign website in one day with this pick.

Now, it is the time for Obama-Biden to show that he can win the prize in the Super Bowl game of their lives. He has all the backings as the Patriots had for their perfect regular season record for the National Football League. However, as the New York Giants proved in their historic matchup against the New England Patriots, that even the perceived favorite can be defeated against an underdog with grit, determination, strategic maneuvering, risk and a tinge of good luck.

I have told my friends that the Republicans are no joke and never underestimate your opponent. McCain-Palin is a gutsy move but one that is doable to reach the goal of Presidency and Vice Presidency especially with the American electorate that exists in 2008. I predict that the election will be decided in states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and West Virginia. These states appeal to those rural values that McCain-Palin appeal to with her selection and that Senator Obama has had trouble courting in the democratic primaries and in the latest polling.

Alaska Governor Palin adds executive experience and the Obama campaign, Democrats and media critics favoring Obama are focusing on the wrong line of attack against her. She is not there to attack Senator Joe Biden on foreign policy. She is there to compliment McCain’s foreign policy experience by giving him executive and economic experience especially in using Alaska’s natural resources for our current energy crisis which represent 20% of the United States untapped resources.

Senator Obama is perceived by analysts to lack both economic and foreign policy experience and with his pick of Senator Biden he is addressing only one of his weaknesses, foreign policy experience. Well, this is our version of Crossfire, Obama v. McCain for the Presidency and Biden v. Palin for the Vice-Presidency. The main issue will be the top of the ticket in this debate. Let the political debate for which I love to be apart of begin.


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