What Leadership Looks Like

Since I've returned home I've been following Election 2008 news practically nonstop. It began with Romney's "Faith in America" address the morning after I returned, and yesterday the coverage continued as the candidates made statements on the death of Benazir Bhutto. I don't follow sports too much, instead elections are the games I love to watch. Each day brings new chances for candidates to mess up and opportunities for them to jump ahead. The Iowa caucuses are just a few days away, then New Hampshire, and then all the candidates will be in South Carolina for the last early primary before February 5.

Many of you know that I currently support Mike Huckabee for the Republican nomination. After sifting through the candidates his views most aligned with mine and I've been with him since late in the summer. At that point, everyone dismissed him, just as they did until about November, but now he has gained momentum and he has a great possibility of winning the nomination. Please talk to me for more information on why I support him, but here is the short: He has the most executive experience out of all the candidates (10.5 years Governor of Arkansas, Chair of National Governors' Assoc.), he holds consistent conservative views on social issues, he supports the FairTax, he has a realistic plan to solve our immigration problem, he is electable against Hillary or Obama, and finally he will bring this nation up rather than split us apart.

"I'm a conservative, but I'm not mad at anybody about it. I've learned that you don't have to give up your own convictions, but you do need to be willing to have an open mind, spirit and heart toward people who are completely different from you." - Mike Huckabee

It is really an injustice for me to sum Gov. Huckabee up in a few sentences. Please take some time to research his stances on the issues, and watch more videos of debates, speeches, and interviews so you can decide for yourself.

Best of Mike Huckabee Youtube videos
Mike Huckabee's Website

If you're with Huckabee - sign up to Save 08 here.

The EU

I never mentioned the academic studies we carried out during my time in Europe. Throughout the trip we mainly focused on the politics of the European Union, something most Americans and many Europeans know little about. The link below is for a little introduction I had to write in one of my classes.

Introduction to the European Union

My land

After stepping off the plane I knew I was back in the land of greatness. I met and hugged my mom at baggage claim and we went off to my requested first stop. Bojangles. There I had a cajun chicken biscuit, a sweet tea, and a Boberry biscuit. If you've never had that combination you really haven't experienced the abundant life we are promised here, so make an effort to go soon.

Paris was simply an amazing city. It may be one of my favorites just because it is freshest in my mind but the weather was great, the people were friendly, and the sites were stunning. Check out my photos for everything I did. I loved La Basilique de Sacre Coeur, the large white church that overlooks the city, and I spent one day outside visiting there, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc De Triumph, and other sites.
The second day we visited Le Louvre and Musee D'Orsay which were free that day so every tourist and their Asian cousin were there. These were our last museums of the whole trip and after a couple hours in Le Louvre we were ready to go. The crowds were massive and we saw Mona Lisa and other famous works and we just couldn't handle any more of it.

Our last night in Paris Dr. Nelsen bought us crepes and then a group of us went and played frisbee under the Eiffel tower. It was raining but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so we went for it. We tried to go to the top of the tower, but it was closed so we successfully made it to the second level where I felt like I was going to blow off. I'm not too worried about not making it to the top, I know I'll be back to Paris one day.