By JOEL R. PARAMO
PRO

It would be great if we could all just drop the hate against our 44th president-elect, Barack Obama. No, this election was not rigged, and there was no mastermind who electronically changed your vote to Obama at the polls.
After watching all the attacks from the Republican Party during the final run for the White House, it was a relief to finally be done with all the negative chatter Republicans would participate in. Unfortunately, they are not done with their negativity as they have taken on the roles of sore losers, and if you are not one of those Republicans, congratulations.
Just to remind everyone. George Bush is still our president until Obama is sworn in to office in 2009. Furthermore, Obama continually reminded us throughout his campaign that the change he offered to bring would not and could not happen overnight, and he said it again on Nov. 4 as he accepted this nomination, “The road ahead will be long; our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, even one term.” He continued, “There will be setbacks and false starts.”
People who expect everything to change as soon as he is in office are in over their heads. The fact is this: Obama has a lot to fix. Problems that have been ongoing for four to eight years cannot be fixed overnight.
Right now, Obama is currently trying to fill 5,000 positions in the White House by Jan. 20 but has already changed the transition of president by having 100 national security positions filled so they are better prepared and informed to take on those areas as soon as day one comes.
Now on to policy issues that most GOP members are avidly still talking about even though this conversation should be over, and you can’t still choose McCain’s equally screwed policy. With McCain’s budget plan, it was estimated that by 2013 we would have faced a $662 billion deficit while Obama’s proposed budget could increase the deficit in 2013 by $281 billion. However, to get into an even larger deficit is inevitable as we transition to implement any new policy or change in government.
Andrew Kohut, president of Pew (research center), said many countries seem to be hoping the U.S. role in the world will improve with the departure of Bush, who remains unpopular almost everywhere throughout the world. The United States was the only country in the world where most people expressed confidence in McCain, which says a lot about what Americans think and what the rest of the world thinks. Not only did more African-Americans come out and vote this election, but so did tons of students, educators and women: Intelligent people voted for Obama. I will refrain from stating who voted for McCain. But you can guess by looking at the maps electoral counts.
By the end of the race, McCain was trying to be the older, whiter, more conservative Obama. Speaking of himself, McCain once said, “Change you can believe in.” Later, he altered his self-describing phrase to “a leader you can believe in.” McCain would not have taken any change to the White House other than Sarah Palin. Talk about no experience, she seems to lack an education: her claim to foreign policy, seeing Russia from her back yard. She doesn’t even believe global warming is a problem.
It’s time everyone just dropped it: No, he is not a socialist, a terrorist or a Muslim, and even if he were Muslim, we have the freedom of religion in this country. McCain instilled fear into the hearts of so many people against Obama. Now we are feeling the aftershock: Racists and bigots someday will no longer have a place in this country.

By ELIZABETH MEEKS
CON

The cry for change by the American people has been answered by electing Barack Obama as our 44th president to be. However, the country is in for a shock when the only change Obama brings is that a black person can get elected with little experience in politics, the United States goes from a democratic country to that of a socialist country and welfare recipients continue to get a free ride on the coattails of hard-working people such as myself.
The fundamental ideas between Obama and John McCain are literally black and white. No, this election was not rigged, but it was won for one reason only, and that is race. Obama’s mission was not to educate unregistered voters; it was to register black voters. Hey, I’m all for equal opportunity, but not for the sake of our country and the safety surrounding it.
Obama campaigned for change and hope, yet in his acceptance speech, he immediately began his disclaimer of “change might not happen in one year or even in one term.” Ha. He’s a typical politician: He screams what people want to hear, and then once elected says, well, don’t expect it to really happen.
Obama’s idea of free health care is, at best, a nice thought. But it will cost working people more in the long run. Have people not learned that nothing is free in this world? Everything costs money. If Obama’s plan of free health care, and a re-distribution of wealth were to succeed, we would cease being a free democratic society and become a socialist country. It will be one that has big government taking care of the people and therefore creating little incentive to work hard in order to set ourselves apart from others.
It is not the government’s job to ensure heath care or rescue the housing community because Democrats voted to deregulate housing authorities. This results in giving unqualified people the privilege to buy houses they cannot afford. Due to this, the housing market has tanked, and people are screaming, “Negligence!” to the Bush administration. The Bush administration favors people who can afford homes. It is a privilege to own a home, not a right.
Obama says he will not raise taxes. Wow, that is original. Or wait, he will only tax the rich and redistribute those funds to the poor. Ladies and gentlemen, we have our 21st century Robin Hood. Who says fairy tales don’t come true?
Perhaps these great unrealistic views simply come from the lack of political experience. Let’s take a look at the president-elect’s political resume. Two years in the U.S. Senate, seven years in the Illinois senate, a loss in the primaries for U.S. Representatives and two best-selling books. McCain was held captive, a POW, almost as long as Obama has been involved in politics. Does Obama really have enough experience to lead our country in a time of crisis? I’m not convinced. Obama says he will end the war on terrorism and bring our troops home. There is nothing I would love to see more then the men and women fighting for our country brought home, but it is not going to happen in the near future, and the war on terrorism will never end. There will always be an extremist out there who feels violence is the answer. Bringing our troops home now only gives victory to the terrorists and still leaves justice for 911 unresolved. If Obama pulls back now, all the efforts and the lives lost are in vain, and, as an American, I am disgusted by the thought.
As of 2009, the country will have a new president. He is a president who was elected because of race, charismatic public speaking skills and a flashy smile. Unfortunately, those reasons do not make for a qualified leader.

By JOEL R. PARAMO
PRO

It would be great if we could all just drop the hate against our 44th president-elect, Barack Obama. No, this election was not rigged, and there was no mastermind who electronically changed your vote to Obama at the polls.
After watching all the attacks from the Republican Party during the final run for the White House, it was a relief to finally be done with all the negative chatter Republicans would participate in. Unfortunately, they are not done with their negativity as they have taken on the roles of sore losers, and if you are not one of those Republicans, congratulations.
Just to remind everyone. George Bush is still our president until Obama is sworn in to office in 2009. Furthermore, Obama continually reminded us throughout his campaign that the change he offered to bring would not and could not happen overnight, and he said it again on Nov. 4 as he accepted this nomination, “The road ahead will be long; our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, even one term.” He continued, “There will be setbacks and false starts.”
People who expect everything to change as soon as he is in office are in over their heads. The fact is this: Obama has a lot to fix. Problems that have been ongoing for four to eight years cannot be fixed overnight.
Right now, Obama is currently trying to fill 5,000 positions in the White House by Jan. 20 but has already changed the transition of president by having 100 national security positions filled so they are better prepared and informed to take on those areas as soon as day one comes.
Now on to policy issues that most GOP members are avidly still talking about even though this conversation should be over, and you can’t still choose McCain’s equally screwed policy. With McCain’s budget plan, it was estimated that by 2013 we would have faced a $662 billion deficit while Obama’s proposed budget could increase the deficit in 2013 by $281 billion. However, to get into an even larger deficit is inevitable as we transition to implement any new policy or change in government.
Andrew Kohut, president of Pew (research center), said many countries seem to be hoping the U.S. role in the world will improve with the departure of Bush, who remains unpopular almost everywhere throughout the world. The United States was the only country in the world where most people expressed confidence in McCain, which says a lot about what Americans think and what the rest of the world thinks. Not only did more African-Americans come out and vote this election, but so did tons of students, educators and women: Intelligent people voted for Obama. I will refrain from stating who voted for McCain. But you can guess by looking at the maps electoral counts.
By the end of the race, McCain was trying to be the older, whiter, more conservative Obama. Speaking of himself, McCain once said, “Change you can believe in.” Later, he altered his self-describing phrase to “a leader you can believe in.” McCain would not have taken any change to the White House other than Sarah Palin. Talk about no experience, she seems to lack an education: her claim to foreign policy, seeing Russia from her back yard. She doesn’t even believe global warming is a problem.
It’s time everyone just dropped it: No, he is not a socialist, a terrorist or a Muslim, and even if he were Muslim, we have the freedom of religion in this country. McCain instilled fear into the hearts of so many people against Obama. Now we are feeling the aftershock: Racists and bigots someday will no longer have a place in this country.

By ELIZABETH MEEKS
CON

The cry for change by the American people has been answered by electing Barack Obama as our 44th president to be. However, the country is in for a shock when the only change Obama brings is that a black person can get elected with little experience in politics, the United States goes from a democratic country to that of a socialist country and welfare recipients continue to get a free ride on the coattails of hard-working people such as myself.
The fundamental ideas between Obama and John McCain are literally black and white. No, this election was not rigged, but it was won for one reason only, and that is race. Obama’s mission was not to educate unregistered voters; it was to register black voters. Hey, I’m all for equal opportunity, but not for the sake of our country and the safety surrounding it.
Obama campaigned for change and hope, yet in his acceptance speech, he immediately began his disclaimer of “change might not happen in one year or even in one term.” Ha. He’s a typical politician: He screams what people want to hear, and then once elected says, well, don’t expect it to really happen.
Obama’s idea of free health care is, at best, a nice thought. But it will cost working people more in the long run. Have people not learned that nothing is free in this world? Everything costs money. If Obama’s plan of free health care, and a re-distribution of wealth were to succeed, we would cease being a free democratic society and become a socialist country. It will be one that has big government taking care of the people and therefore creating little incentive to work hard in order to set ourselves apart from others.
It is not the government’s job to ensure heath care or rescue the housing community because Democrats voted to deregulate housing authorities. This results in giving unqualified people the privilege to buy houses they cannot afford. Due to this, the housing market has tanked, and people are screaming, “Negligence!” to the Bush administration. The Bush administration favors people who can afford homes. It is a privilege to own a home, not a right.
Obama says he will not raise taxes. Wow, that is original. Or wait, he will only tax the rich and redistribute those funds to the poor. Ladies and gentlemen, we have our 21st century Robin Hood. Who says fairy tales don’t come true?
Perhaps these great unrealistic views simply come from the lack of political experience. Let’s take a look at the president-elect’s political resume. Two years in the U.S. Senate, seven years in the Illinois senate, a loss in the primaries for U.S. Representatives and two best-selling books. McCain was held captive, a POW, almost as long as Obama has been involved in politics. Does Obama really have enough experience to lead our country in a time of crisis? I’m not convinced. Obama says he will end the war on terrorism and bring our troops home. There is nothing I would love to see more then the men and women fighting for our country brought home, but it is not going to happen in the near future, and the war on terrorism will never end. There will always be an extremist out there who feels violence is the answer. Bringing our troops home now only gives victory to the terrorists and still leaves justice for 911 unresolved. If Obama pulls back now, all the efforts and the lives lost are in vain, and, as an American, I am disgusted by the thought.
As of 2009, the country will have a new president. He is a president who was elected because of race, charismatic public speaking skills and a flashy smile. Unfortunately, those reasons do not make for a qualified leader.