The Candidates
Race 4 2008 is proud to announce the addition of our newest writer, Aron Goldman. Here’s more about him:
Aron Goldman is a 36-year-old owner of an international Miami-based computer company that has been a leading wholesale supplier of retail computer and consumer electronic businesses in the Caribbean, Central & South America, and Africa since 1996. Although Goldman started out as a journalism major at the University of Maryland, he graduated from the university in 1993 with a degree in psychology. Growing up 10 miles outside New York City in affluent Bergen County, New Jersey, Goldman’s political philosophy was built on a socially liberal but fiscally conservative foundation.
In 2004, Goldman successfully negotiated with the British Foreign Office the re-opening of the previously evacuated southwestern part of the Caribbean island of Montserrat, a UK colony which has been plagued by volcanic activity since 1995.
Goldman has also had some unique opportunities the past few years working for a major news network, reporting from Miami during Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, and in February 2007, he covered Super Bowl XLI as a reporter; writing segments and conducting interviews.
Most recently, four of Goldman’s questions that were submitted for the MSNBC/Politico GOP debate were asked of the Republican presidential candidates, including the controversial evolution question.
Aron can be reached at aronscott@msn.com.
Thanks for coming aboard Aron! I know that you will be a great addition to our little project.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:05 am
Welcome, Aron. Which candidate are you supporting?
May 31st, 2007 at 9:11 am
What were the other three questions Aron submitted to the MSNBC debate? There were quite a few questions in that debate that were based on Democratic talking points or were otherwise low-quality questions:
“Is Karl Rove your friend? Do you want to keep him in the White House if you get elected president — the president’s chief political operative?”
“Do you think Scooter Libby should be pardoned?”
“Would it be good for America to have Bill Clinton back living in the White House?”
“What do you say to Roman Catholic bishops who would deny Communion to elected officials who support abortion rights?”
I hope none of those were Aron’s.
At least we know Aron wasn’t responsible for this next one: “Daniel Duchovnik from Walnut Creek, California, wants to know: What do you dislike most about America?”
May 31st, 2007 at 9:16 am
the communion one produced a decent answer.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:54 am
Hey Aron, another one for alma mater! I graduated from University of Maryland - College Park in 1997! Cool!
Anyway, welcome!
May 31st, 2007 at 10:51 am
Welcome Aron.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:40 am
Welcome Aron!
May 31st, 2007 at 11:56 am
Welcome aboard!
May 31st, 2007 at 11:59 am
Welcome. This is great website with an interesting range of views.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Welcome Aron! I guess I might have seemed a bit ungracious in #2, but you are welcome here regardless.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Where in Bergen??? Sounds like you might be a Ramapo Raider?
May 31st, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Thank you all for your most gracious welcome (Joshua included).
The other three questions of mine that were asked (of 25 in total that I submitted) during the MSNBC/Politico debate were:
1. “Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson said that Iran has already committed acts of war. Do you agree?”
Original wording: “A recent WSJ/NBC poll found a majority of Americans (55%) believe the U.S. should initiate military action to destroy Iran’s ability to provide extremely lethal IEDs to Iraqi insurgents. Do you perceive Iran’s involvement in Iraq as an act of war?”
2. “Let me ask you a question which has grabbed a lot of Americans personally, the Terri Schiavo case. Again, it was a question whether the United States, the U.S. Congress should have intervened and passed a law to advise the appellate court whether to act or not in this case — the district court, it was. Terri Schiavo: Should Congress have acted or let the family make the decision, the husband?”
Original wording: “What were your thoughts on the Terri Schiavo situation and whether Congress should have intervened? Do you believe a patient who has been diagnosed as terminally ill or is in a persistent vegetative state has a right to die with dignity?”
3. “Let me ask you a question regarding immigration…Should we change our Constitution, which we believe is divinely inspired, to allow men like Mel Martinez, the chairman of your party, born in Cuba, great patriot, the senator from Florida, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to stand here some night?”
Original wording: “To avoid any conflict of interest, would you support an amendment to the constitution that would allow Austrian-born California Governor Schwarzenegger, or any American who has been a U.S. citizen for 25 years, to run for president in 2016?”
With regard to the evolution question, it was never my intention to frame it as the “gotcha” question Chris Matthews posed to the candidates.
The question was intended specifically for Mike Huckabee because of a previously troubling comment in which he said public school “students also should be given exposure to the theories not only of evolution but to the basis of those who believe in creationism.”
Matthews chose not to ask the follow up to the admittedly succinct yet vague evolution question, which was:
“If not, when do you believe dinosaurs roamed the Earth and how many years do you believe they have been extinct?”
KT, as for my support, it is my intention to remain open-minded, and receptive to all of the candidates as the campaign season unfolds. That said, it would be disingenuous to suggest that I could, in good conscience, consider endorsing any of the Democratic presidential candidates.
For those who would like to measure their political philosophy and compare it to those running for president on both sides of the aisle, may I suggest taking the VoteMatch quiz below.
My scores were as follows:
Personal score: 40%
This measures how much you believe government should intervene in people’s personal lives. Personal issues include health, love, recreation, prayer and other activities that are not measured in dollars.
A high score (above 60%) means you believe in tolerance for different people and lifestyles.
A low score (below 40%) means you believe that your standards of morality & safety should be enforced by government.
Economic score: 79%
This measures how much you believe government should intervene in people’s economic lives. Economic issues include retirement funding, budget allocations, and taxes.
A high score (above 60%) means you believe in personal responsibility for your financial matters, and that free-market competition is better for people than central planning by the government.
A low score (below 40%) means you believe that a good society is best achieved by the government redistributing wealth. You believe that government’s purpose is to decide which programs are good for society, and how much should be spent on each program.
While this political test, like all others, should be taken with a grain of salt, it has accurately characterized me as a “libertarian-leaning conservative.”
http://www.speakout.com/VoteMatch/senate2006.asp?quiz=2008
May 31st, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Glad to have you Aron. Just to say, I have also taken that quiz. My scores were farther to the right with a Presonal score of 15% and an Economic score of 90% and a classification as a “hard-core conservative.” I look forward to the privilege of reading pieces by the submitter of the infamous evolution question.
May 31st, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Told me that I’m matched up with the right candidate!
May 31st, 2007 at 5:51 pm
That’s a pretty neat political quiz there.
I get a personal score of 55% and an economic score of 76%. I am a “Conservative-leaning Libertarian.” Sounds about right.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Steve,
Pretty close…off by about a 10 minute ride down 208, if memory serves correct. Fair Lawn Cutter.