Guest Author - Cynthia Phillips

Before the Democratic Convention, the Obama camp chose Joe Biden. I was surprised that Hillary was not on the ticket. I think that would have made Obama way ahead in those polls that the media now conducts.

And, then the Republican Party announced their princess�Sarah Palin; I must say I was rather surprised when the McCain camp announced Palin as McCain�s running mate. I thought for sure it would either be Romney or Huckabee. That goes to show how much I really know about politics.

But after giving it some thought, I have a theory on why Obama and McCain chose those particular politicians as running mates. Politics wouldn�t be politics without political moves and motives (forgive me for the redundancy, I don�t know how else to word it).

Let us explore Obama�s choice. Joe Biden has been in Washington a long time (just like McCain) and he is the chairman of the Senate of Foreign Relations. Hmmm, if memory serves me right, Obama was accused of not having enough experience, especially on foreign relations. Biden, I suppose was a wise choice for the Democrats to reassure those who may have doubts on whether Obama was ready to lead the nation and maybe they might "steal" some McCain supporters? Who knows?

Then, there is McCain�s choice of Palin. A fairly young and attractive politician�just like Obama�well how about that? And, a woman�die hard Hillary supporters may find their salvation in Palin? Also, she claims to be a born again Christian�what a bonus�they cannot forget the Evangelical vote. And, the plot thickens� McCain now is like one point ahead of Obama, therefore the Republicans managed a "check mate." For a while there Obama was leading in the polls before Palin stepped into the picture.

This all reminds me of a soap opera. I don�t know what to make of it really. I suppose people do not want to use intellect and reasoning anymore when it comes to politics. One of the definitions for politics is "social relations involving intrigue to gain authority or power." A friend has recently told me that this whole political system is set up to play with people�s emotion. I believe he is right. Adolf Hitler has said, "I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few."

I hope you do not get suckered into this political game, especially with this year�s election�maybe it�s time to vote independent?