Obama finally announces VP nomination, McCain somewhat silent

I am, by nature, not a patient person. This is why, when presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama named Delaware senator Joe Biden his running mate Saturday, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination in June and took what seemed like forever to pick a running mate. With his placement of Biden on the ticket, the 2008 presidential campaign feels much closer to actually kicking off-now, all we need to do is sit back and watch the conventions.

The Democratic National Convention begins Aug. 25, and I urge you all to watch any of it you are able to. Watching the conventions will give you a better idea of what to expect from the Obama campaign, other than just reading about the issues on a Web site. According to the Democratic Convention Web site, Michelle Obama is scheduled to be Monday’s headline speaker. The Web site states the opening night will focus on Obama’s key campaign issues. Obama also will accept the official nomination at the convention Aug. 28, according to Barack Obama’s Web site.

For those of you who are Republicans, the Republican National Convention begins Sept 1. Sen. John McCain has yet to announce a vice-presidential nominee, so what will be most interesting to see is how McCain and the Republican party will respond to the Democratic Convention, if they do anything at all, other than the expected bashing of all things involving the Democrats.

Almost immediately after the announcement of Biden’s nomination, the McCain campaign released a commercial featuring clips of Biden agreeing with statements he himself made previously about Obama having little experience. The commercial showed Biden saying he would be honored to run “with or against McCain.” However, Biden’s voice on the commercial cuts off mid-sentence as he says, “I think we are all better off . .” What I am left wondering is how that sentence is supposed to end.

We might never hear the answer or even the rest of Biden’s statement, but this is all the more reason why everyone should be watching at least some of both conventions. The more informed we are on the issues now, the more prepared we will be to make a decision come Election Day. I also do not care very much about the biased commercials both parties run, but I do care about who the Republican vice-presidential nominee will be and when it will be announced. All I can say is the sooner the better-make it snappy, please.

Besides watching the conventions, make sure you are registered to vote. I will agree that the preachy people hanging around campus, chasing us all down on the way to class, are excessive-to put it nicely-but think how easily deflected these volunteers will be when you push past them and say, “No, thanks, already registered.”

There are many young people out there who are able to vote and who should take this opportunity to make their voice heard. If young people 18 and older can vote in competitions such as American Idol, they should be capable of voting for a president.

In all honesty, I just want Election Day to be here. Like I said, I am impatient and Nov. 4 cannot come soon enough. Pay attention to what happens in September and October; these two months will be critical in the 2008 election.