Do Not Drop Out!

How sad is it that politicians are asking other politicians to drop out of a race in order to help another politician win? This is just what happened this year in Florida when US Senate Candidate Kendrick Meek was asked by former President Bill Clinton to drop out of the race to allow Charlie Crist to carry the Democratic Vote. Polls show that Crist and Meek are sharing the Democratic support, which allows Republican Candidate Marco Rubio to be ahead of both at the moment. Crist is not far behind so he could use the support of Meek supporters if he does decide to drop out of the race.

left to right- Crist, Clinton, Meek

Until now though, Meek is holding his ground and says that he is still planning to become the next US Senator from Florida. I applaud what Meek is doing. Although I think he is going to get killed in the race this coming Tuesday, I see dropping out of the race as committing political suicide, even if it would be for say the greater good of the Democratic Party. He is not a strong candidate by any means and quitting on this race now will not do wonders for his image. He just needs to stand his ground and take his licking and move on. The fact that Clinton asks him to drop out again shows the desperation is the ranks of the Democratic party, but hey what are they going to do? 

Governors Debate Gaffe.

As you all might of have noticed, the talk of Florida politics this week has been Alex Sink’s gaffe during last Monday gubernatorial debate. It all started when during a commercial break towards the end of the debate with her Republican opponent Rick Scott, Sink glanced at a cell phone text message for about eight seconds. Her makeup artist handed the phone to her, which is obviously a violation of the rules. The message was from campaign aide Brian May (who has since been let go by Sink) asking Sink to stand up to Scott more than she has been. Now, I do not understand how this can be turned in what it has been. Was it a violation of the rules?..  Of course it was, it was wrong and Sink should have refused the message. But this has turned into a mass story and blown completely out of proportion. Why are politicians such Children? I do not get it, if we all just behave as adults, this mistake would have just been brushed off and dismissed. Obviously it had no effect on the debate and will have no effect on the way people vote next Tuesday. Simply just grow up and let it be.

Election Projections

Governor

Rick Scott- 52%

Alex Sink- 48%

US Senate Seat

Marco Rubio- 46%

Charlie Crist- 43%

Kendrick Meek- 11%  

Regarding Last Post

A friend of mine raised a good point that I did not take into account as to why colleges are not paying athletes. I am almost quoting him word for word when I say this….. a possible reason as to why schools are not paying athletes is that the schools are tax exempt and athletes must maintain an “amateur” status for the schools to continue qualifying for that tax exemption, they are not allowed to pay athletes above what a scholarship is worth. Unless that policy is changed, change in the current system is unlikely. A very valid reason that I did not consider going in. 

Agents Paying Players!

As long as agents are willing to pay college players money and the players are willing to take that money, what right does the NCAA have to try and stop it? I say none. “Student Athletes” should be getting paid by their schools and the NCAA, but this is not going to happen because the NCAA is still trying to hold on to this idea that they are students first and athletes second, and that its about students getting their education and not about expanding their brand and going on to win games and become professionals. But it is obvious that most athletes playing the sports that lead to huge professional careers (the ones who are getting targeted by these agents) are at school as athletes. The schools and the NCAA are making millions and millions off the back of these athletes and they should pay them. But the point of this post is that the NCAA should back off and let agents pay players if players are willing to take the money.

NCAA Logo

Lets say a quarterback for the University of Southern California is getting paid by an agent, does that money give USC a competitive edge over their Pac 10 rivals or nationwide? I do not see how players living comfortably or even lavishly can give a school an advantage on the field of play over another. And if anyone reading this posts has any idea how it would, please let me know. It might not be fair because it will lead to top players getting better treatment and more money than others but hey, life is not fair, the best people at anything get what they deserve, Peyton Manning makes more than Curtis Painter. Let agents pay the players. Let them take the risk, at the end of the day it might not work out for them. Players may choose to sign with other agents or may just end up not being very good. The players get the benefits. They do not have to promise anything. Even the military pays college tuition to some that promise service upon graduation, it is kind of the same deal. Let the agents take on the risk of trying to pursue these players. Leave it all out in the open and with few exceptions the system will regulate itself.

everyone wants that money

To stop college players from taking money, you have to stop them from either wanting to take, or most likely needing to take money, and that means you have to pay them. To stop agents from willing to hand out money, you have to stop them from wanting to pursue clients, and that will never happen. The system as it stands now is almost impossible to regulate. 

Palin Making Dough!

I have always thought that Sarah Palin was a very successful fundraiser, but I did not know that she was that good. The former Alaska governor has raised more than $1.2 million from July through the end of September. According to her PAC she now has about $1.3 million in cash around. How could she be raising so much money? And how come people are endorsing her this early? She hasn’t even announced that she will launch a presidential bid in 2012. Why are people giving her money?

Palin

Palin has been giving out considerable donations to Republican candidates in tight midterm election races. She has also spent the midterm election season endorsing candidates through her facebook page and making speeches across the country. To date, she has endorsed 22 candidates by name and encouraged support for 91 candidates. The more I look at it, the more I think that she will have a really solid and very highly endorsed bid for the presidency in 2012. If she is raising all that money to support other candidates in “low-stimulus” midterm elections, I have to believe that she will be able to raise huge amounts of money for herself in the “high-stimulus” election in 2012. Also, all the support she is lending to these candidates will in turn lead to them supporting her in 2012. I have to conclude by saying that she will have a strong run in 2012 and if she wins the Republican nomination, she will go up against a much weaker Democratic party by their standards. Sarah Palin as president in 2012 is very much a possibility. 

Obama/Hillary in 2012?

Rumor in the political world today has it that President Obama might be swapping out Joe Biden for Hillary Clinton as his running mate in 2012. Hillary Clinton has denied this and the word out of the white house is that it is not happening.

Hillary and Joe

Obama, DO NOT do this. The Obama/Hillary ticket would have been the dream ticket in 2008, but Obama went with Joe Biden. Hillary has a huge following for sure but doing this now spells desperation and disarray in the Democratic Party. Does Obama really think this is needed? Or will it make a difference? I doubt it. It is funny because I was just reading about how something similar happened in 1980 with Ted Kennedy trying to take the reigns and the Democratic Party nomination from the incumbent Jimmy Carter, in no way did this help their cause. Now let’s face it, Reagan would of have beaten either, but this uncertainty in the Democratic ranks played a part in Reagan’s absolute creaming of Carter. Obama put this to bed now, and say that it will not happen. As long as you cannot justify going with Hillary over Biden, it would be seen as a desperate move that will only hurt.