I'M A COUNCILLOR GET ME OUT OF HERE! - FIRST EVICTION

Cllr Dave Lewis, Leader of the Borough Council Labour Group was the first Councillor evicted from the "I'm a Councillor Get Me Out of Here" contest this afternoon. There are 5 Councillors left - 2 Conservative, 2 Liberal Democrat and 1 Independent and by Friday afternoon there will be only one - the new Youth Champion.

This morning I was interviewed on BBC Three Counties Radio about Local Democracy Week and "I'm A Councillor..." and the interview was repeated so there was some good publicity for me and John Bunyan Upper School, which is a rapidly improving school. The Bedford Times & Citizen also quoted my comments in an article last Thursday.

I have answered 83 questions online so far, including one today asking me "Obama or McCain?" My choice is Obama as I think it is time for a change in America and Obama is very intelligent, thoughtful and has more international appeal than McCain.

At 72, McCain has had 3 cancer scares and could die in office, leaving the gun toting 'hockey Mom' with her finger on the nuclear trigger - a scary prospect.
My vote would not be swayed by either gender or race as I assess politicians on their ability, and have read Obama's inspiring book "The Audacity of Hope".

This morning I went back to school and shadowed a bright 16 year old GCSE student at 4 lessions - PSHE, Mathematics, Science and ICT. After my early start this morning, and a weekend spent looking after small grandchildren, by 12 I was exhausted!

In the PSHE lesson, the students asked me lots of questions about Local Democracy.
I was very impressed by the lively and intelligent students I met. The dynamic new
new Head of School, Ursula Byrne, believes that in 2009 John Bunyan School will continue to improve its GCSE results which were the best ever this year.

Tomorrow I shall be going online at 10am to have a live chat with more students.

US ELECTIONS - OBAMA v McCAIN/PALIN

Elizabeth Cordell, a New York resident originally from Bedford asked for my opinion on the surprise choice of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate for the forthcoming November US Presidential Elections.

Sarah Palin is an amazing woman and mother of 5 who has had a meteoric rise from Mayor of a small Alaskan town to Governor of Alaska in December 2006 - a true 21st Century Superwoman! However her heavyweight political experience is thin and her right wing conservative views make the prospect of gun-toting Sarah "being the second most powerful person on the planet" slightly worrying, as John McCain is now 72 and vulnerable to ill health. Sarah may have the ability to be the Vice President but I cannot support her candidacy simply because of her gender.

John McCain is a war hero and an experienced politician but as a Republican he is closely associated with President George Bush who became unpopular over the Iraq War and many Americans are hungry for change. John McCain will now find it harder to attack Obama for his limited experience - 4 years as a Senator.

Barack Obama is a highly intelligent senator, lawyer, professor and a charismatic family man with powerful oratory and writing skills - at present I am reading his inspiring bestselling 2006 book 'The Audacity of Hope' discussing the importance of empathy and inclusiveness in politics and his hopes for change and a renewal of America's democracy.

During the Democratic battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama I was not swayed by gender and race issues, but I considered the candidates as individuals and found Barack Obama more appealing. Hillary Clinton seems cold and calculating, is strongly influenced by Bill Clinton who wants to return to the White House and did not give us a modern vision. She also expected to win just because she is a woman.

Barack Obama is very popular in Europe and would find it easier to build a stronger US relationship with Africa, Asia and the Middle East partly because of his mixed race and Kenyan father and his more international and conciliatory outlook on life.

Normally Conservatives support Republicans but today the boundaries are blurred between Republicans and Democrats, and the 3 main British political parties are increasingly fighting over the middle ground in the UK. I believe in a caring but pragmatic and modern Conservative philosophy and think that Barack Obama's ideas have much in common with David Cameron's modern Conservative Party ideals.

We are still a few weeks away from the November US Elections and 'a week is a long time in politics' - what are your views?