In this post I’m not going to discuss specific policy positions that the former vice presidential candidate from Alaska may or may not have. What I will say is this:

Palin is gracing the television talk show world with her presence, but not as a politician. She seems like a typical celebrity talk show guest and nothing more. If there is an ulterior motive to simply selling books, which many think is the case, I can’t see it. It seems that in every instance when  she is asked about the father of her daughter’s baby, Levi Johnson, posing in Play Girl magazine, she initially says she isn’t going to “talk about that.” However, Palin immediately delves into her feelings about it. In my opinion, this is something a savvy politically ambitious person would not do.

If I could give the controversial self-proclaimed soccer mom a bit of advice, it would be to avoid the subject altogether. Palin should acknowledge that Johnson is her grandchild’s father and refuse to say anything more.

As a conservative who put stock in the family values rhetoric during, not only the 2008 presidential election, but also her other public office elections, Palin is walking a very fine line. One oral slip up and her adversaries will have talking points for days, and if they’re good at what they do, a bit more job security if Palin does have hopes of holding another elected position.

When gathering information and setting up interviews for three different stories during the last month, I had attempted to get in touch with a certain state senator from Vermillion. After a number of unanswered phone calls and more than a couple voice-mails, I began to think that the 2010 Democratic Secretary of State candidate was ducking me.

By now if you haven’t figured out whom I am speaking of, it is the honorable Sen. Ben (BJ) Nesselhuf.

I understand the man is busy attempting to further his political career, something he said a year ago he wouldn’t do, but he is still the representative of District 17, Vermillion and the University of South Dakota.

When a story is written about the economic climate in South Dakota and what is going to be done about it in Pierre, our senators are the ones we turn to.

I’m not sure if the senator IS avoiding me intentionally, but I wonder if I was not seeking information as a journalist if he would talk to me. Is he accessible to others?

When I first met Nesselhuf during the 2008 election season, he was very likable and very accessible. I got to know the senator quite well when I went to Pierre the following January to cover the legislative session. We had drinks from time-to-time and discussed contentious issues off-the-record.

A seasoned politician such as Nesselhuf wouldn’t, one would assume, hold any differences in personal opinion against anybody, would he?      

The intention of this post is not to be in any way detrimental to Nesselhuf or his campaign for state secretary. It is merely me contemplating through Microsoft Office Word.

It might take a lot of effort on my part, but I look forward to speaking with the Sen. Nesselhuf soon.

I’m going to set the record straight. I write news stories. I present facts, and only facts, to the readers. If someone doesn’t necessarily like the “facts,” thats OK, but please do not accuse me of misrepresenting them.

Of course, mistakes arise from time to time for journalists; however, this is not unlike any other profession in the world.

I obviously have opinions, some very strong, about certain issues. Every journalist does. Enabling people to be journalists is a fiber in our mental make-up that allows us to put aside our opinions and beliefs and just tell the story. From there, letting the reader apply what they’ve just learned any way they see fit. That is journalism!

Is the media pushing an agenda?

Mainstream and not-so-mainstream media outlets are often accused of being “liberal.” This is not a fair accusation in most cases. Sure there are exceptions. It doesn’t take a political science major to know where MSNBC and FOX News stand on many issues, but for most other news sources it’s not so simple.

The world we live in is, by its very nature, becoming more liberal. It’s evident in the crap we see on television and the Internet. Cultures are mixing and diversifying faster than ever, and it’s all we can do to try to keep up. The injustices in the United States and the world are being erased. Erased can mean change and change is not conservative. The news media, if it’s doing a good job, has no choice but to cover these “liberal” changes in society.

That’s where I see this misconception of a “liberal media” beginning.

What do you think?

In the interview process, I asked students if they knew what SGA was. None of the 11 freshmen interviewed were familiar enough with SGA to recognize the acronym, except for Christena Georgas, who was offered a senate seat but declined due to a conflict of interest. Well more than three quarters of the freshmen were not aware USD had student government that actually dealt with significant issues.

Georgas said students fresh out of high school perceive collegiate student government to be as uninteresting as student government was at the institutions they just left.

But I’m not sure Georgas is entirely correct. She is right in that the majority of students I spoke with expressed absolutely no interest in the topic at all, but it goes beyond mere interest. They didn’t seem to think that student government was vital to the makeup of the university. Many appeared bewildered that a lack of freshmen representation in SGA was even news worthy. It just wasn’t important. If my analysis of the interviewees is even close, then let me just say this: If this is as civic-minded as these students are going to get, then we are in big trouble.

SGA needs freshmen representation in part to bring fresh ideas to the table but also there are certain issues that relate mainly to freshmen. SGA President Blake Alberts has told me more than a few times the dorm decoration ban would not have remained intact as long as it did if any of the senators or SGA administration had been aware of it. And because hardly any freshmen knew what SGA was, not one of the disgruntled students, and there were many, thought of bringing concerns to their senators.

Alberts has said he hopes to avoid occurrences such as this one and is hopeful SGA will have freshmen senators in the spring. Many freshmen aren’t sure how much they can handle when they first get to college, Alberts said.

If Mr. Alberts hopes to come through on his claimed ambitions, he is going to have to recruit like the SGA has never seen before and I hope he does.

Good luck!!!

While attempting to resurrect my blog, I hope to tap into some newly acquired knowledge obtained at student government meetings and through interviews I’ve conducted for Volante stories. Local, state and federal legislation is still fair game as well.

Posts should be coming steady from here on out and I look forward to giving you some fat to chew on soon.

Cheers

On the back of Nesselhuf’s flyer, which emphasizes education, there is a picture of school children raising their hands in eagerness to participate in class. Higman has a flyer also touting education. On the back of his flyer, there are series of photos with school children. What I found to be a bit funny is Higman used the same photo as Nesselhuf, or vice versa, however you want to look at it. Apparently, the photo is so powerful, neither candidate could afford to go without it.  

One could assume the ad agencies used have a pool of photos to pick from and the similarity was peer chance. Also, I’m pretty sure neither candidate is aware of this. None the less, it makes me wonder how often in other political races this type of parody occurs.   

I know this revelation won’t stop the presses, but I thought I’d share it with you.   

It’s been no secret the Democrats have more disposable money in this election than the Republicans do. It’s also no secret that it takes money, and lots of it, to win elections. It can easily be argued that John Kerry could have, and would have, beaten President Bush in 2004 if he just had the money to combat 527’s and other negative ad campaigns, such as the swift boat ads. With only six days until Election Day and trailing by a sizable margin in most polls, things all ready weren’t looking good for John McCain, but things got a lot worse as of 7:00p this evening.

John McCain cannot win this election when Barack Obama is spending huge chunks of money at will on advertising. McCain and the Republican Party just don’t have the resources to compete anymore. However, the conservatives have always been better with grassroots efforts. I suppose that could be their one ray of hope.

Syrian Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha said the strike was unwarranted and was a terrorist attack. He also claimed the strikes were an attempt on President Bush’s part to gain political ground for his party in the upcoming elections.

Others have said the Syrian government hasn’t done enough to control their border to Iraq which is why the strike ultimately happened.

It’s plausible, but not likely, Bush would take advantage of a bad situation for political gain. However, the conversation is all for naught.

Pundits can say what they want about how the circumstance will affect the election, but this journalist says it won’t have an effect. Barack Obama will continue to insist his rival’s philosophies are Bush philosophies. All the while McCain will maintain his attempts to distance himself from the President. Active supporters of both candidates will be further emboldened, but undecided voters won’t be swayed by this sudden splash of foreign policy interest.

Above anything else, Americans are focused on the economy; and with only seven days until the election, and another down day on Wall Street Monday, both candidates will be telling people what they want to hear.