7-Year-Old Political Blogger Gets Obama Thank You Letter
By scarce Wednesday Nov 12, 2008 6:00pmThis is one of those cute stories you don't expect much from when you hear about them ("Oh no, another insufferable kid story with a presidential angle"), but this one is different.
From the Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ:
Watch out Politico and First Read. Competition is on the horizon, albeit a distant one.
Stanislaw "Stas" Gunkel may soon be a big name in the political blogosphere. He's already been recognized by President-elect Barack Obama, who told him in a letter to "make a difference everywhere you go."
Never mind that Gunkel is 7 years old and won't even be able to vote until 2019. The Edison Park boy's blog, planetstas.blogspot.com, has covered such heady topics as alternative energy, the war in Iraq and yes, even Sarah Palin.
Ok, so what does a 7 year old boy think about Sarah Palin? From Stas' blog, Planet Stas:
Here is why I'm asking grown-ups to vote for Barack Obama. I am 7 years old so I can't vote......
My mom told me that I shouldn't base my election analysis on "feelings" (I like him/her) or "beliefs" (I share his/her beliefs) but on logical arguments. She asked me to create my own rational explanations for my support of Obama. Here is one of my arguments:
McCain and Palin are not be qualified to be President / Vice President of the U.S. The President's job is to do good for the country and the world. To do good for the country, the President must make smart decisions on important situations.
Governor Palin believes the world is 6000 years old. This is absurd. This is not a rational belief. This is a mistake. Scientists, experiments and evidence have shown this to be completely false. Therefore, she is not rational. If she is not rational, she should not be allowed to be President or Vice President.
Please vote for Barack Obama.
...causing my jaw to drop.
Stanislaw "Stas" Gunkel proudly displaying his letter from President-elect Barack Obama
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If you look at the background in the still picture I think a lot is explained.
A computer and an actual library of books!
The photo
Looks like the kid is welcoming him into the car lol!
Terrorist fist jabs for everyone!
another secret muslim uncovered
Seems every major business is standing with hands wide open right now. Perhaps everyone can do it. Here is where you can apply. Seriously.
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/reports...
He must be a commie/socialist/muslim/elite/ferener.
Definitely a ferener!
Palin wants to debate Stas in 2009, 2010 and 2011 in preparation for her 2012 run. Good luck with that one Sarah.
Are republicans smarter than a 7 year old?
:)
The only Murkan book is the Babble, and I know ALL them books ain't the Babble.
Un-Murkan.
When I was about that age, my dad took me to see Richard Nixon at a county fair. I did not like the man at all, but I couldn't articulate why like this kid can!
I guess we have to take at least some of a candidates' beliefs into consideration after all.
Seriously? A 7 year old wrote that???? He summed it up better than every news analyst in the country could!
Joe the Plumber.
Fire his useless ass and give this kid his job!
this is probably the most beautiful thing i have seen this week.
with kids like stas, there is hope for our future
Stas, you rock!
Amen to that! Makes me proud, and I'm not even his parent!!
Stas for President in 2036!
I haven't been able to get past the fact that he is named Stanislaw Gunkle.
I can't decide if that is the single coolest name I have ever heard, or the absolute worse thing a parent could name their kid.
I have no idea what the rest of the story was about.
Most right wing Republicans don't like 'edua-macation'
They often go off on liberals who use 'big words' when they speak.
I still remember the right wing callers who called the Sam Seder show-
asking "Why do you dang liberals always use big words when you talk?
You people doesn't talk normal"
So when they hear such an articulate and intelligent boy speaking his mind, i'm sure they will ridicule him for his choice of words....
But personally, this lad gives me hope for the future...
would just call this kid an elitist, who OMG, is SMART! He uses complete sentences!
I love this kid - a rational thinker who makes all those Palin-supporting mouth-breathers in all those hate-filled videos shouting "terrorist" and "kill him" really look like the ignorant little people (and I use the term people lightly but I don't want to insult any other form of life) that they are. He's already got it figured out and they are still wallowing in their dark ages thoughts.
Go Stas!
That kid is leaps and bounds ahead of the pack.
Congratulations to his parents.
I'm glad he's on our side.
Why is it always children that tell us about the Emperor?
I was going to write "Cue Art Linkletter". Hey, it looks like I did!
When did they start teaching logic to such young children?
We may actually have a chance as a species.
Thought you'd be happy to hear that they start logic in Stas' (public!) school in first grade (when he also started Latin)!
Yes, We may actually have a chance as a species.
As one who majored in Philosophy and Computer Science, I am extremely happy to hear that. In this part of the country, logic is not offered until university -- but Latin can be learned in High School. Both are well past first grade, obviously.
Given the Protestant numbers in the USA, and given Luther's "That damn whore reason" comment -- it's not much wonder why we're in such bad shape.
You got that right, kid!
Stas, if you read this let me just say how much I admire you. It isn't often someone your age just shines with a clear brilliance!
Much love from an old lady.
Now, get off my lawn! ; )
and aquire money through armed robbery, it would be irrational to vote for someone who would steal from you.
Another weird name! Is that Soviet or someth'n? (squints)
Seriously, this kid's story reminds me of Obama's, specifically the story of how his mom had him up at like four or five in the morning to go over his schoolwork. Stas's mom, similarly, has him constructing clear arguments at a very young age. As Kahlil Gibran (ANOTHER weird name) wrote in The Prophet, "You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth."
Way to go Stas! Congratulations on a job well done! Keep up the good work, your country needs you and many more like you!
Mr. Gunkel is one smart kid and his parents must be proud. He knew and did what many adults didn't do, he looked carefully at who was best to run the country. If the voters had done what he did Obama/Biden would have won every State electorial. This young man should give a speech to the Republican Party.
I love the fact that even a 7 year old democrat can school the entire right wing blogosphere.
Books, books, books; wall to wall.
Hey Stas, you're a pretty cool kind. You could teach the GOP a few things. You're right Srah Palin holds irrational beliefs.
and he will go far in life. Very impressive, Stas!
An actual kid saying the emperor was naked. He's on our side cos facts have a liberal bias.
Look out Stas, Piper Palin might try to wipe a booger on you!
Way to go, big man! You have my vote in 28 years!
(but you might want to start using a Mac... :p
Restoring my faith in this country, one 7 year old at a time.
Stas just proves that age and experience doesn’t necessarily make a person wise and knowledgeable.
"If she is not rational, she should not be allowed to be President or Vice President."
From the mouths of babes, indeed.
What's the closing for a particularly concise and self evident argument . . . Q.E.D?
Get this kid a daily show now. President Gunkel sounds good to me. At least get him into the Obama circle as a strategist.
I think they should be calling him "Stan" instead of "Stas".
:-)
When I was his age, I was still working on getting my shoelaces tied correctly. He'll be a welcome addition to the Democratic party in the future :-)
Shame on this child for writing an explanation that neither the Republican Presidential Candidate* nor the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate* could understand. Show-off!
*Not to mention the Decider-in-Chief!
Hope isn't just a slogan.
Mr. and Mrs. Gunkle, you should be very proud.
If the NYTimes were smart they would dump Bill Kristol and BoBo Brooks and hire "Stas" Gunkel. It could help with their waning readership.
"Stas" dealt with a legitimate question that the corporate media was affraid to bring up. How many Americans actually believe the U.S. has an honest 4th Estate with a corporate media dominated by rich celebrities that are infatuated with celebrityhood and wedded to the status quo?
It's kinda sad when a 7 year-old is more intelligent than the republicans who were running for president! I'd LOVE to see him debate Palin :)
Look out John, you got competition!!!
Although it probably won't happen under my current lifetime, waddya bet this kid becomes president?
Of course first he'll have to run against a republican who believes that man and dinosaurs lived at the same time, and that the dinosaur was ridden to work.
And they has thick soles on their feet from stopping their dinosaur cars. YabbaDabbaDooooooooo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX53PVe8Rck
It looks like this kid is going to grow up to be a fine, well-read, thinking atheist. He'll have no chance of being elected president. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for an atheist to become president.
The dangerous result of book learnin and the teevee with a typewriter.
Jesus fucking Christ, how fucked-up is it when some seven year old kid can make most of the adult population seem uneducated?
Whoa, there, Little Buddy,
Didn't anyone tell you edukation is a dangerous thing?
I'm guessing this is not the product of our "too many childrens left behind" public school system.
Listen, kid, thinking this way will only bring you regrets and loneliness, even if it does make you rich and powerful. Is that what you want?
Get with the program now, replace all those "books" with the Good Book and just kick back. Maybe you could become the next...Ted Nugent!
Stas, Please write a short letter, supported by rational arguments and addressed to Senate Democrats, explaining why Sen. Lieberman should not keep his chairmanship as a result of his actions supporting Republican candidates. Please back up your argument with specific examples of his behavior and explain the pros and cons of the various option available to the Democrats. Please cc: P-E Obama. Thanks, kid.
Well done, Stas.
Impressive kid. :)
You know, we underestimate kids all the time, from the time they are born. We talk baby talk to them, don't include them in discussions, dumb down our answers to their questions, park them in front of the TV, feed them "Baby Einstein" crap. We could be raising a whole generation of kids like Stas. Let's get some straight-talk parenting advice from his parents! (And, for further motivation, everyone go read Susan Jacoby's book, "The Age of American Unreason".)
to a glass eye.
Hoax, anyone? "Mommy wrote this," anyone?
As much as I'd like this to be true, I know of NO 7 year olds that have a vocabulary that include the words(Or even know what they mean) "analysis", "logical arguments", "rational", "evidence", or "absurd", let alone spell them correctly! I wonder if he can spell gullible?
Late,
QSE32
booger-eating-mouth-breatherregular school, huh?I knew a lot of kids like Stas when I was in elementary school, and I still know quite a few who are that bright.
It's all about curiosity...as well as dictionaries and encyclopedias.
I seriously doubt it!did you hear that
booger-eating-mouth-breatherlittle kid talk? His spoken words weren't nearly as poetic as his written words. We all know from thoughts come speech so if he writes like that chances are excellent he thinks like that, and based on his spoken words he does not think like that. Defend it all you want I call shenaniggans, and until i see this kid speaking that way or defining those words I call BS!Late,
QSE32
"We all know from thoughts come speech"
I don't get that. The kid goes to a gifted school, speaks well, and is obviously intelligent. No shenanigans here, just one heckuva smart kid!
I choked up a bit on camera, too, when I was on our local PBS affiliate's Quiz Bowl.
Kicked ass answering the questions, though I was a bit goofy in the short interviews.
Palin totally got pwned by a 7 year old!!
And @ QSE32...never judge a kid's intelligence level by their age. There are lots of kids with great vocabularies and speaking skills and writing skills. And you can tell from his writing style that he's 'just' 7 years old, but he has a wisdom and vocabulary that could blow a lot of adults out of the water.
...just find it too hard to believe. some little kids do have great vocabularies but they don't have That vocabulary. this kids vocabulary has him graduating college at 14. if this is indeed the case i will publicly apologize...but i'm still wagering he's no prodigy
Late,
QSE32
:D
I am not bill frist! sorry i'm not taken by this kid. don't hate me, just think his mom wrote it i would just like a little more proof... sorry for that.
Late,
QSE32
I understand the skepticism. If I told you about my old neighbor Meredith who was talking in full sentences before she was a year old and who had a vocabulary that out-paces Stas' (at seven) when she was three, I'd only ask that you have faith that I'm telling you the truth.
What I find odd, though, is that you seem to think that the words "rational", "absurd" and "evidence"- or, more importantly, the concepts those words represent- are beyond the grasp of a seven year old. Any kid with a passionate interest in science, though, will come across these words in a textbook- albeit a textbook probably written for slightly older children- and page through to
the glossary for a bit more enlightenment. The very curious kid will follow up going to the dictionary, encyclopedia or library books.
And that's how I learned as a child. My interest would be peaked by Professor Phineas J. Whoopee's tutorials to Tennessee Tuxedo, and I'd search for the topic at the library later that day (and the history I learned immediately after viewing Mr. Peabody and Sherman...).
BTW, did you notice the bookshelf in the background of some of those shots? That kid doesn't have to travel far to find some fresh reading material.
One last thing:
His spoken words weren't nearly as poetic as his written words.
Notice that you didn't hear Stas' dad speak? I've got a feeling he's got that thick accent so representative of Chicago, and Stas just happens to talk like dad. Personally, I love that accent (and Chicagoisms such as "over by dare" as in,"My cousin Antony works over by dare in da Perks[Parks] Department," or, "Da Bears play over by dare in Soldiers Field."), though it's easy to imagine someone thinking it sounds....dumb? Unpoetic? Don't be fooled.
frontal lobes, which birth abstract thought, don't even begin to develope until the teen years. all of that kids words were abstract concepts. I doubt he knows what those words mean...
as far as his "fresh reading material" those books are beyond that kid's grasp and he may be able to read them but comprehension is completely out!
Finally, his spoken words not being poetic, didn't have anything to do with his accent, accent has nothing to do with intelligence. I mean his word choices, his diction. as a matter of fact I think he spoke like any other 7 year old but they tried to dress his normal 7 year old word choices up with a "matter of fact" tone. which made me laugh.
More proof please.
Late,
QSE32
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