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In ancient societies, athletics and especially competitive contact games always have been rough, but aggression in the past was tempered by an insistence that playing hard, playing to win, did not countenance playing to cheat and to hurt. One of the very first nations that expressed athletic ideals, were the Greeks. As enunciated by Pindar, the athletic ideal incorporated courage and endurance with modesty, dignity, and fair-mindedness, those elusive qualities the Greeks called Aidos. As sports became more specialized, the general populace increasingly withdrew into spectatorship. Sports history reveals that although Greek sports had increasingly marred by corruption and bribes, nonetheless they flourished in an era which witnessed the rapid expansion of stadiums and arenas under the Roman Empire. During the Roman Empire, violence in sports became the generally accepted principle and spectators not only endorsed it, but also embraced it as a social norm.

In recent years sports violence has become to be perceived as a social problem. Commissions have been appointed in Canada and England to investigate violence among hockey players and soccer fans. Numerous examples of violence in professional sports exist today, as counties like the United States, Canada, Greece, Italy and Germany, report court cases have been heard which concern the victims of violence perpetrators. Newspapers, magazines and television programs portray bloodied athletes and riotous fans at hockey, boxing, football, soccer, baseball, and basketball games with what appears to be increasing regularity. But are sports violence incidents actually increasing, and if so, what is the reason of such a negative increase? Or does the heightened public attention and media focus on sports violence reflect not an increase in the incidence or severity of aggression, but greater public concern with moral issues and political discourse?

Contrary to popular belief, there appears to be growing dissatisfaction with sports violence. Changes in sports rules, developments in the design of equipment, and even the physical characteristics of modern sports arenas evolved in an effort to reduce violence or its consequences. But still, among athletic management teams, government officials, fans and athletes themselves, there is an ambivalence attitude towards sports violence. The ambivalence takes the form of justifying the existence of violence in sports, but not taking personal responsibility for it. Coaches and managers tend to blame fans, saying that violence is what attracts people into stadiums, as the risk entailed makes the game more interesting . Athletes frequently admit that they are opposed to violence, but it is expected of them by coaches. Fans justify it by attributing aggressiveness to athletes and to situational aspects of the game. Spectators view violence as an inherent part of some sports as one cannot play games like hockey or football, without accepting the necessity of violent action.

Nevertheless, public opinion tends to focus more and more on sports violence as major advances in the technologies used have increased media coverage making information available to a vast global audience. Thus, contemporary critics tend to consider sports violence as a worldwide phenomenon with highly disturbing future course and social outcomes.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for wonderfulworldofsports.net/ http://wonderfulworldofsports.net/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes articles for everythingaboutgames.net/ http://everythingaboutgames.net/ and erecreationstation.com/ http://erecreationstation.com/

AP - Having sons is important to many Asian cultures, and now American families from those groups seem to be asserting the same preference. A new analysis of the 2000 Census shows that among U.S. born children of Chinese, Korean and Asian Indian parents the odds of having a boy increase if the family already has a girl or two.

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How would you like to sell more copies of your book? Would you like to read excerpts from your book to a captivated audience?

Book signings are the cornerstone of an author’s post-publication foundation. But how do you set them up?

Organizing book signings, readings, and public appearances is one of the most important parts of a successful marketing campaign.

A book signing or reading is a bookstore event that features you and your latest book. This is your opportunity to meet potential buyers face to face. Plus it adds a personal touch to your promotion efforts. Many customers may feel more motivated to purchase a copy of your book if they hear it explained or read from your point of view. And the opportunity to get a copy signed by the author doesn’t hurt, either!

Independent book stores and larger chain retailers both organize book signings. Your chances for finalizing an appearance are greater with the independents. They have to compete with larger chains and are therefore more willing to support local authors. In order to pinpoint potential book stores, check your local newspapers or see if book retailers in your area offer a calendar of events or post upcoming events on a public bulletin board.

By asking around for the owner of the store or the communications manager you can typically find the appropriate person with whom to discuss your event. In many cases, both the large and small retailers will have their events planned weeks or even months in advance. Plan early.

When you have a list of people and/or stores you plan on contacting, prepare your pitch. Have a small script that outlines what your book is about and why people would be interested in meeting you or reading the book. The store manager or PR person will most likely ask. If your subject matter is timely, all the better! Remember, this is the point during which the store manager or book buyer will be screening your presentation skills, either over the phone or in person. If they are not captivated by your presentation, they will have very little faith in your ability to captivate a crowd. Be extroverted and dynamic.

It also helps to be concise. Understand that these are busy people. You want to sell them on your event fast. Have your press release and/or sell sheet ready. It’s helpful in case they ask for a copy or if they ask about specific information about the book. They may want to know the retail price, the retail margin, and the ISBN number immediately so they can order a review copy themselves prior to deciding. Advise them of the publication date after which they can order the book wholesale through the Ingram or Baker & Taylor databases, or retail from your own webpage address. Provide them with your URL. They might be impressed enough by your initial marketing initiatives to go forward with the book signing.

Offer to help them with promotion. Especially if you’re targeting smaller book stores, they will be more interested in offering to host an event if they know you will be absorbing some of the burden of marketing it. Tell them all your friends and family will be attending the event (and then make sure to invite your friends and family!), and if it’s within the scope of your marketing budget, offer to advertise in the local paper at your expense. Remember, the easier it is for the book store, the more likely they’ll say yes.

Follow-up with prospective book stores who have not confirmed dates. Selling yourself and your book is a number’s game, and as any salesperson will tell you, the amount of contact is directly proportionate to the amount of sales. So be persistent without being annoying. If, after three or four unsuccessful attempts with a particular store or person, move on to another prospect.

Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press Publishing at www.outskirtspress.com http://www.outskirtspress.com and author of Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer at outskirtspress.com/publishinggems http://outskirtspress.com/publishinggems . Get a free ebook of his latest book, Self-Publishing Simplified at outskirtspress.com/publishing http://outskirtspress.com/publishing .

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You probably already know what a credit card is. You see the ads every day - in the television, on the radio, in the newspapers or on billboard advertisements. Your friends, parents and relatives use them all the time. But just to clear up any misinformation, let’s look at what credit cards are, why you should have one and what risks are involved with using one.

Simply stated, a credit card is a financial arrangement between you - the card holder - and a financial institution such as a bank or credit union. The arrangement specifies that you can borrow money from the lender as long as you promise to pay them back in the future. The lender sets the terms for the deal, including how often payments are due, what the minimum payment will be and what interest rates will apply. Your payment will include not just the amount of money you borrowed, but also an additional charge based on that rate of interest.

Credit cards can be used as a tool, offering many benefits for consumers. Some of these benefits include:

Convenience: With a credit card, you can buy anything you want right away, whether or not you have the cash available at the time. If you’re purchasing a big ticket item like a computer or a washing machine, you don’t have to wait for months until you save up the money.

Emergency Protection: If you’re ever in an emergency, you’ll see how helpful a credit card can be. Whether you’re stuck with medical bills or auto repair fees, using a credit card can help you get back on your feet again.

Security: Large amounts of cash can be lost or stolen. But if your credit card goes missing, you can have the account cancelled and a new card issued without losing any of your money.

Building Your Credit: If you dream of buying a house or really nice car, you need to have a credit history that demonstrates you can take on debt and pay it back on schedule. You can use a credit card to make small purchases and build up your credit score by paying your statement on time.

When used responsibly, credit cards can help improve our daily lives. But the temptation to live beyond your means and max out your credit limit can be a problem. That’s why it’s important to think of your credit cards as tools that you can use, not free tickets for anything you want. Here are some simple tips to help you cope with your credit card debt:

Make a Budget: One of the first steps to financial freedom is a realistic budget. If you don’t already have one, check out the article “Creating a Budget” on Smart Young Money and set one up for yourself. Sticking to a budget will help keep you from splurging with your credit card.

Set a Limit: Many analysts recommend keeping your credit card balance around 30% of your credit limit for maximum benefit in the formula used to calculate your credit score. Promise yourself not to exceed that limit and you won’t have with out-of-control credit card debt.

Go Back to Cash: If you’re having trouble keeping your credit card in your pocket, switch back to cash for awhile. When you use a credit card, you don’t get the same feeling of having forked over your hard-earned cash, so you’re prone to spending more. Using cash for a bit will help you remember that little purchases add up.

Get Credit Counseling: If your debt gets out of control, talk to someone! Ignoring your credit problems won’t make them go away - it will only make them worse. Talk to your parents or a trusted friend who may be able to help, or consider getting help from a group or institutions that can help you with your problems.

Credit cards can be helpful tools, but the potential for abuse always exists. Taking the time to learn how to use credit cards properly can help you prepare for a bright financial future.

This article was published by Sarah Russell on Smart Young Money - a collection of money management resources for teens and young adults. For great information on using credit, managing debt and more for young people, visit www.smartyoungmoney.com http://www.smartyoungmoney.com .

AP - Philip Jones Griffiths, a photojournalist who spent years traveling across Vietnam to capture the effects of the war on its people, died Wednesday. He was 72.

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It has never failed to amaze me that the big gurus continue to flash their Adsense and Affiliate income checks in our faces, yet never really reveal exactly what and how they earn these fat checks… even in their highly priced information products and courses.

They mostly always just scratch the surface; enough to wet our appetites but hardly enough to get us earning as much as they do.

What are those secrets they are holding close to their hearts, I wondered. Now I know.

I started blogging mainly because of the big promises of money to be made therein, especially the fact that Search Engines love blogs because of the fresh content and reader friendliness of blogs.

But after setting up a few blogs and practically killing myself with work to get them to earn me the fat checks the gurus told me about, I still wasn’t getting the fat checks.

I read and read many of the blogging materials out there but still couldn’t get my few blogs to earn the five figure monthly income that the big guru bloggers were earning.

Of course my blogs were about profitable topics that got high Adsense clicks and high paying affiliate payouts…

Of course I took my time to perform keyword research on the topics of the blogs to get words that people were searching for…

Of course I got great content for the blogs that were well written and keyword rich to interest my readers…

Of course I got links from other sites to the blogs and even got all the pages indexed so they ranked well for some of the key phrases…

Of course I did all that was necessary to succeed with these few blogs I had…

But there was something I didn’t do that the big gurus DO.

That was the reason why I was not earning as much from my blogs as the big guru bloggers out there.

I am sure YOU too are guilty of this.

Can’t wait to hear it?

Here it goes –

I had only a few blogs while the gurus that earn five figure income monthly from their blogs have hundreds and even thousands of blogs.

BINGO… that’s the secret they are closely hiding from you.

While we are spinning our wheels with one or a few blogs and earning just a few dollars here and there, the big gurus spin out hundreds and thousands of blogs using software (yes, whitehat software exists for legitimate blogging) to ease the blog creation process and the posting process.

If this doesn’t make sense to you, spare some minutes and think of it this way…

If one blog DOES make you a few dollars daily, won’t hundreds of blogs make you hundreds of dollars daily AND won’t thousands of blogs make you thousands of dollars daily?

This is really so simple. But I guess it’s too simply that most folks won’t get it - even after reading this.

Of course there are lots of work involved in creating and managing dozens of blogs, let alone hundreds or even thousands.

But there are now specially designed software (not blackhat software) that can help you achieve in mere minutes what would have taken you hours or even days to achieve.

So, if you want to earn like the big guru bloggers out there, start thinking of dozens, hundreds or even thousands of blogs.

And when you do your due diligence you will find great whitehat software out there to ease the process of creating and managing your multiple blogs for you painlessly and effortlessly.

Remember this, earning a five-figure monthly income mainly from blogging isn’t impossible. It is done by the gurus and even by ordinary bloggers who know this secret and apply it. Ah, yes– that last word is critical to your success — APPLICATION.

It isn’t enough to know what to do and have the right software to help out, you have to actually APPLY that knowledge to start earning fat checks from Adsense and Affiliate programs.

Finally, this article won’t be complete without showing you REAL evidence of at least one ordinary-folk-turned-guru who is REALLY earning five-figure+ monthly income from blogging.

Ever heard of Jason Calacanis? This ordinary-folk-turned-guru with his conglomeration of 85 blogs pulled in up to $1,000,000 (yes, one million US dollars) yearly until he sold them to AOL for a reported staggering $25 million.

With that said… what are you waiting for before you start creating and managing your dozens and even hundreds of blogs?

King J. For is a webpublisher, infopreneur and blogopreneur who knows the importance of using great whitehat software to do in minutes what others do in hours and even days.

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Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When you are the boss of others, the temptation to use your power to control them is always there. However, if you start using this power too much it can bring disorder to your office environment.

Think of how you would feel if you had a boss always driving you around. Would you like to work for someone like that? If your hard work was never appreciated, would your motivation last? Definitely not! Therefore it is important to do your duty as a boss in such a way that you get your respect for your position without upsetting your employees.

Giving power to your employees to make them feel unthreatened by yours can be a dangerous tactic. Being over friendly with your subordinates or not acting like the boss might make them a little too relaxed with their work. They might even start questioning your decisions. Be friendly and do not gorge them with work, make them do just as much is required from them. Also do not let them forget who the boss is by not allowing them to question your decisions.

Keep an eye on your employees but sure you give them enough space to work comfortably. Think of your staff as your team and yourself as the captain of this team. Your job is to make sure everyone plays in their right positions and keep them guided and motivated. Perhaps a few incentives to make them work harder will help in keeping them motivated to work harder.

When you change your focus onto a new opportunity, you should not expect your employees to know what you want them to know, without having explained/guided them properly. Hire and use some extra training staff if you have to, but make sure there is no communication gap between you and your employees. They should know exactly what you expect from them.

The most important factor that keeps your staff motivated is optimism in the way you see their work. Finding mistakes in their work and correcting them is important but do not just be a cynic about it, make sure you appreciate what they do right. Appreciation is often what employees look forward to more than anything else for their hard work. Putting just a little effort to gratify them wins you a healthier office environment and thus better results on their work.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles for youremploymentsource.com/ http://youremploymentsource.com/ - In addition, Kadence also writes articles for recreationandmore.com/ http://recreationandmore.com/ and 4businesstalk.com/ http://4businesstalk.com/

AP - Is it safe to have your arteries unclogged at a hospital that lacks heart surgeons who can operate if something goes wrong?

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You might have heard the word of infopreneuring several times. While it is not a mystery, many people still don’t understand how infopreneuring works and how they can profit from it.

Assuming that you have indeed got involved in infopreneuring activities, you may guess that the hardest part of infopreneuring is when day and night you struggle write, rewrite, proofread, edit and reedit your writing to make your manuscript perfect.

Unfortunately, the hardest part is not those things mentioned above. The hardest part of infopreneuring activities is to get the manuscript distributed and then read by your intended audience. Obviously, you need a publisher to print and distribute your manuscript to bookstores and other distribution channel.

Unless you can selfpublish your manuscript, there are several things you have to do before you see your manuscript reside on bookstore shelves.

To work with a publisher, you’ll need to send out query letters and/or a book proposal. This is a letter or a few pages briefly describing your text, why it is unique, characteristics of your target market and how you can help market the book. Most publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, so you’ll need to convince them to read yours. If they request that you forward your entire manuscript, you have one foot in the door. Be prepared to send more than one query and don’t expect a response next week.

There are writer’s guides that serve as excellent resources to find publishers who specialize in your particular genre. These guides list the percentage of new authors published as well as the percentage of sales they pay. You may find pay rates ranging from 5-10% of sales. Some pay on wholesale sales and others on the retail amount. Do the math. Perhaps your book will retail for $14.95 and the publisher will pay 6% on retail. This means you will earn 90 cents per book sold. Of course don’t forget that the publisher is doing all the printing, distributing, and marketing of your text.

So, how to maximize your profit from infopreneuring if you only get 90 cents per book sold? Simply forget the publishers and publish your manuscript by yourself. You may need some advance cash to print your manuscript into books and do the marketing. But don’t worry. You have alternative to monetize your book easily and less expensively. How? Convert your book into ebook and use the internet to distribute and market it.

When you selfpublish your works, you still have to pay upfront and do all the initial publishing works. But it worth it. Especially when you selfpublish through the internet.

Indratno Widiarto is the editor of Infopreneur World, a site dedicated to infopreneurworld.com http://infopreneurworld.com .

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Building an e-commerce website — what does it entail? Again, don’t let me go into that harangue of telling you guys that this task is something only 21-year old eggheads in stiff white collars can do. You would either need a little of their help or search online for a reliable company that offers a package of services for high risk merchant account owners. And if you got lucky on the latter, you still would need to create a checklist on which elements you need to prioritize for your website. I’m talking about the bare bones. After you have decided on those, it’s time to figure out whether to add some fancy stuff on your website or keep things simple.

So what elements should you consider added on your e-commerce website? If you’ve published a book before (not e-book, but if you want to go into that detail, see my article Homemade Remedy for Download Theft ), most likely you’d already be familiar with the steps you need to take from the time you’ve conceived the story to the moment it’s out in the bookstore shelves. Yes, you would need an endorsement from celebrities, too! Remember Harvey Mackay’s Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive ? Well yeah, that one’s a classic.

Web copy, layout and other visuals, e-commerce elements, marketing elements, and customer service tools, are some of the basic stuff you need to incorporate in your e-commerce website. Each one of these elements come with its own set of structure that would also require a bit of search engine friendliness or better yet, full-blown SEO campaign.

THE WEB COPY

For your e-commerce website’s copy, consider the number of pages. Major search engines such as Google usually favor more webpages but be careful about using Javascript or adding frames. The simpler the structure of your text pages are, the better. Do not forget adding basics such as About Us or product description pages. When it comes to adding extra content such as blogs and RSS news feeds, the more optimized for the search engines (using keywords, backlinks, etc.) the better. You would also need the help of a flexible database so that each time you add new product or text elements, the storage can be extended. Administration area for uploading text content should be user-friendly.

IMAGES AND FLASH CLIPS

Images are important for your e-commerce website but be selective in handling them. Look into how they will improve your catalog or shopping cart before you assign your web designer into building elaborate Flash intro pages, logos, or banners for affiliate programs or other online marketing campaigns. Image incorporation can be expensive. Worse, they are not often crawled by Google’s spiders anyways. Also, the heavier the image files in your e-commerce website, the longer the loading time, the harder it is to retain customers who go by split second click-browse shopping method.

SHOPPING CART

Setting up the shopping cart itself requires the help of a good programmer but you can always make use of osCommerce. The important thing is that you are able to handle credit card payment processing with the aid of a low risk or a high risk merchant account provider. Your shopping cart has to be user-friendly enough to foster a good online shopping experience for your customers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE ADD-ONS

For a good discussion of customer service tools you need to add in your e-commerce website, see 7 Best Tools for First Rate Customer Service . The key here is to provide interactivity measures for your customers to learn more of their buying tendencies, suggestions for improvement, inquiries, and above all, a way to reach them via mailing lists! Shouldn’t be complicated. When these foundations are built, you’re all set to sail in the gritty world of e-commerce industry.

Gerri Bryce is a versatile technical writer specializing in general web content copywriting and development for finance and high-risk investment firms. She has contributed a massive number of articles for today’s most popular technology, gadget, gaming, business, finance, and science news websites. She participates in a number of top webmaster / finance forums and focuses on new trends in high risk merchant account providers, one of which is www.highriskexperts.com http://www.highriskexperts.com .

AP - The Humane Society of the United States wants a federal judge to prevent the capturing or killing of sea lions feasting on salmon a Columbia River dam.

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How busy are we with our everyday life that we cannot “smell the flowers” anymore. Yes, to smell the flowers is just a metaphor, but it refers to a lot of things.

For example, we walk everyday on the same streets, near the same stores and people that we forget to watch them, we forget they are there. We do this automatically, we rarely stop to think. Just make a test and see for yourself: the big white house you walk by every day, what kind of windows does it have? What colors are they, what’s the shape of it’s roof top? Does it have a chimney or not? Mmmm, you don’t know, do you?

The thing is that we get so absorbed by our little problems that we forget to stop and see the big picture. I think this really depends on the level of living of each country. For example people from a poor country think about their immediate needs, like food , having a home, having someone that takes care of them. On the other hand people from a highly developed country start thinking about the planet needs, they want to “Save the whales” and take care of the Ozone layer, the start seeing the big picture because they don’t have pressing needs to attend to.

Why don’t you do something for yourself from now on? A friend of mine told me that every week she takes half a day for herself. That day is for relaxations, for doing something different, that she doesn’t during the week. Change your point of view, see from another perspective, try different new activities and enjoy yourself.

I promise that you will discover new sides of yourself that you never thought you had, and that you will begin to like them. Also even if it sounds strange and you say you’ll never do something like going to a museum, or visiting an exposition, drawing in the park or going to dance courses, just give it a try and then judge for yourself.

Wake up, do something with your life, don’t live in monotony and self sufficiency, there are so many things out there that you can try, that you’ll never believe how you could have missed them.

Mike Francis’s home page - www.pegasusdirectory.com http://www.pegasusdirectory.com is a free portal where you can find everything you need ordered into categories.

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Perhaps you have already heard. The United States Internal Revenue Service is investigating All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena, California.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the IRS targeted All Saints because it is stepping up its probe of allegedly improper campaigning by churches. All Saints has historically been involved in social activism, so it was a surprise that an antiwar sermon delivered by its former rector should trigger such a response. Our tax code bars nonprofits from endorsing or campaigning against candidates in an election. This includes churches. Although no candidate was endorsed in the aforementioned sermon, the IRS is treating the matter as if All Saints had publicly supported a particular candidate.

Facing a potential loss of their nonprofit status has ramifications for All Saints, as well as the understanding of how we are to live our faith in churches across this country. All Saints must decide if they will comply by turning over all documentation related to the sermon in question. If they choose not to, the case could be turned over to the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, USA, stated, I’m outraged. Preachers ought to have the liberty to speak truth to power. There is a lot more to be done about this, and it may include some actions of nonviolent civil disobedience. Since 9/11, the IRS, like the FBI, has been moving back to the 1950’s and 1960’s when a great deal of such activity was propagated against church leaders like Martin Luther King, said Rev. Edgar.

If you aren’t sitting up in your chair at this point, you should be because timing certainly is everything. The midterm elections are weeks away, and since President Bush did no achieve a landslide victory from his reelection campaign, threatening the voices calling people to think before they vote more of Bush’s policies in through senators and representatives who support him, must seem like an effective strategy. The IRS holds great power in our country, much more than it should. Not only would this investigation, also reportedly being waged against numerous other congregations, attempt to silence the prophetic voices from our nation’s pulpits, but it would seek to close houses of worship permanently. Keeping most churches running is a pray as you go venture. Taking away tax exempt status, or simply the threat of that being held over a congregation’s head, will make many, many preachers think twice before quoting Jesus or expounding on his message in ways that clearly inflamed a few other Pharisees. They will feel, and potentially will be, forced to choose: Will it be faith they will live or the fear of financial reprisal on both their personal and vocational lives? And, if their church is choosing faith, do they and their people have enough money to fight the legal battle against their own government for their very right to exist and worship?

These are the times, the moments, that call us to look at what we believe and how we will choose. We may not personally be opening a letter from the IRS. We may not be sitting in the pew of a parish about to realize the literal cost the government is putting on discipleship. But if we believe that God called us into being as a community as the body of Christ, then we are as much a part of the scenario being played out at All Saints Church as its rector and parishioners . They are a part of us and we are a part of them by virtue of Who lives among us and gives us life.

Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me (John 10:27). The people of All Saints Church have heard God’s voice over the years, and have shared what they have heard with great consistency. The sermon that attracted the IRS’ attention was delivered in the same church that heard sermons that opposed the Vietnam War and sermons that supported women clergy and gays and lesbians in the church. Its rector spoke out against the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It is the congregation which will determine whether they will comply with the IRS or face what comes next. Having heard God’s voice all these years is a reminder that this is a two-way conversation initiated by God, who is known for sticking around when the going gets tough. God speaks, and if we have been listening, we know the voice we must follow.

Cory L. Kemp

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There are many prominent candidates in the 2008 election. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rudy Guliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney are all fighting for not only their parties nominations but also the white house. Who will win? I’ll give you a clue: I did not list the candidate I expect to be our 44th president. Any ideas? It is John Edwards. Now before you roll your eyes and scoff, read this argument. Most people I tell this to think I am completely stupid, until they hear my reasoning.

First, lets examine the fight for the Democratic nomination. The major candidates are Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards. Currently, Hillary Clinton is the front runner. She has broad support across the nation, which is nice, except that you will begin to see that deteriorate because Edwards will start to gain ground in the south and Obama will clash with Clinton in the north over delegates and donations that they both want. Furthermore, Edwards has a strong base of support in the first primary states, IA, SC, NH, NV, FL. So, as Obama and Clinton divide votes between themselves, Edwards will score wins in early states.

Don’t get me wrong, the idea of John Edwards winning the nomination is not bad for the Democrats. The last ticket to win for the Democrats (Clinton Gore) was all southern. (Obama and Clinton are from northern states). Barack Obama may be able to get more African American voters, but 90% of all African Americans vote with the Democrats anyway! Hillary Clinton has very high disapproval ratings, so she will have a hard time convincing Independents to vote with her. John Edwards is from North Carolina (A southern state), was from a humble background, he is white, openly Christian and has a positive image.

So, we have determined that he will be able to win the Democratic nomination, but what about the general election? Well, quite honestly, the Republican field seems to hold quantity over quality. Rudy Guliani’s wives (not to mention his kids that don’t talk to him), Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, John McCain’s age and position on the War in Iraq and Immigration and the fact that Fred Thompson gave his wife divorce papers, while in the hospital fighting breast cancer. These candidates seem to encourage the reputation of “corrupt conservatives.” John Edwards has a strong marriage, and is in touch with the common American, unlike Romney and McCain.

I encourage all readers of this article to inquire about my argument and debate it. Who do you think will win the 2008 election? Why? Debate it at www.JVPolitics.com

Josh Villa
www.jvpolitics.com http://www.jvpolitics.com

Josh Villa owns www.jvpolitics.com http://www.jvpolitics.com .

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