Presidential race, 2008
Member since 2008 · 26 posts · 0 votes
Any thoughts?
I am for Ron Paul...
He strikes me as the only honest guy up there, on either side.
Any other thoughts?
Certainly,
Obama will end the war in Iraq definitively. Obama will close Guantanamo Bay definitely. Obama has stated that he will definitely negotiate with leaders viewed to be America's enemies (Chavez, Kim Jong Il) whereas in the same debate, his colleagues have weakly stated that they won't promise negotiations. Obama will eliminate capital gains taxes on small businessess to harness the power of free-market job creation. Obama also will enable a system of healthcare with guaranteed eligibility and affordability. As well Obama has made himself accountable for a reduction of carbon emmisions by 80% by 2050. His website has a list of ACCOUNTABLE goals that would bring about positive change if enacted. When possible, he has been quantitative in describing his plans.
Another thing that is really touching is that Obama turned down lucrative jobs in Wall Street and in law after is graduation from Harvard Law to work with the less fortunate as a prosecutor in inner city Chicagp/
Now, as to the idea that he would have to deal with a bipartisan, deadlocked congress...
This challenge does not require anything from Obama that it does not require from Clinton, Paul, Romney or Kucinich. A bipartisan congress would not come into play as a result of Obama's election as president. Any of the candidates would be forced to come to terms with this difficult situation. Therefore, that situation doesn't make him any worse of a contender.
The executive branch has the power to make appointments to the court and, if you haven't noticed, a few of those old coots are getting old.
This problem exists with every single other candidate...Obama is not at fault for his ability to motivate and inspire the electorate.
"Obama will end the war in Iraq definitively."
Curious. Did he say how?
I wrote this on another website, i'll post it here,
btw, I still don't know who I want to vote for, although my most recent thoughts has been for Romney. Also I liked what Tim said about an all republican-led govt.
_____
One more thing. The democrats have bitched about Bush causing one of the biggest deficits in history by overspending, but none have even started to suggest maybe cutting spending? Why can't they just cut the programs that Bush started? I figure if they were asked that, they would indirectly wind up saying that some of bush's programs that he started are worthy of keeping, therefore we must raise taxes to sustain them. I can't imagine a democrat like hillary EVER praising bush for anything he's ever done.
Obama mentioned something about this last night in his victory speech in SC. He said he was tired of the partisanship that doesn't even like it when you say the other party had ideas. It's sad the division in this country, and if Hillary becomes elected into the Presidency, it will be 4 years of nothing happening, IMO, because there will be so many people hating her/loving her, that nothing could ever get passed through. IMO Obama has the best chance of bringing both parties together. I can't say I agree with his ideas, but I believe he is probably the most genuine of any candidate, Dem or GOP.
My only concern right now is making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Capital Gains, Corporate tax, Death Tax, they all need to go. Gift tax should be increased to $25,000 annually, 50k joint gifts by spouse. The lowest tax bracket should be eliminated, there should be a 5% cut across the board, and the 25% bracket needs to be reduced to another 5% after that, so our brackets look like this
0%
10%
15%
23%
28%
30%
(that's just a start)
Social Security needs to be eliminated. Most likely in a phase out program. It will be impossible to support fully over the next 20 years. I refuse to pay out the *** for that ****.
Standard Deductions need to increase, as do personal exemptions.
If that gets done, I'll be much happier.
And to keep the deficit down, cut out all the unnecessary programs. Get troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Cut foreign aid, increase welfare restrictions and a bunch of other domestic nonsense.
I don't think it matters who is running, we are going to have a democrat. Too many people are mad at GW and can't figure out that a different person isn't the same person as GW.
You can't judge a politician by anything they do or say when they are running. You have to watch who they are and what they do long before the elections start. All you see during election is product pagkaging by professional campaign managers who are nothing but super salesmen.
Obama looked pretty decent before he was running, but he has no political seasoning. I don't know if he is strong enough to survive International politics with the amount of experience he has. I wish he'd waited about 8 years and gotten more experience. He had potential.
The Clintons stole antiques from the White House, for Pete's sake. They rented out rooms in the white house like it was a motel. They sold trade treaties to the Chinese. They vandalized the White House, the offices, and Air Force One as they were walking out the door.
Let's not even get into White Water (and that was Hillary and not so much Bill).
Why on earth would anyone give them the keys to the door a second time?
Yeah, the economy was good while The Teflon Ziipper was in office-- there was Republican control of the house and senate, and that is where the control of the purse strings is. The president really has nothing whatsoever to do with the economy.
Hillary is a heck of a lot smarter than Bill. The complete lack of morals or ethics bothers me. There is something about her that reminds me an awful lot of Nixon.
Go Obama! Yesterday he whipped Clinton and Edwards in SC
55% Of the vote
27% Clinton
18% Edwards
ALso, he nearly doubled the amount of people coming out to vote...now that is an admirable thing!
Well, I'm not trying to start a p****ng match, but where I see people just posting complete BS I have to call shenanigans on them.
PNW wrote:
Uh, no they didn't
Uh, no more than anyone else, both Bushes and Reagan included.
I started to just say no they didn't to this, and then I re-read it. I don't even know what you mean by this statement
Like the rest of your rant about the Clintons, this one has been thoroughly debunked by real journalists. I can only assume that you use Limbaugh's and O'Reilly's OPINION shows as your only NEWS source. Either that or you're on Karl Rove's blast email list.
And trust me on this, I'm no fan of Senator Clinton. Although I'll vote for her over ANY republican running this cycle.
all cash
Cash - thanks for saving me from writing the post you wrote. That said, if people are going to start spreading lies and propaganda (PNW), you'll not have the pleasure of participating in this conversation.
With that in mind, people are welcome to give opinions, ideas, and facts, but those of you incapable of doing so are not welcome here.
Moving onward . . .
Anyone have any idea how much money all of the candidates have spent so far on their combined campaigns? I'm hearing it is somewhere around 80% of $400 million raised to date. Thats 80% spent so far and we're just starting to work the Super Tuesday states.
Just imagine how much cash will have been spent by the end of the General Election.
Anyone else think there is a problem with the process, considering the amount of money needed to win an election?
Bill Moyers just did a show on the amount of money and I didn't get to watch it but I think I recorded it. If not I'm pretty sure all PBS shows are available online.
And of course most of that money is going to the (corporate) media, not the local stations as you might think. Just one more reason why the ownership (of media) rules never should've been relaxed.
all cash
How about a new campaign slogan? One never used before...
“Who cares in 08”
I hate politics…
lol. Nice Eric!
I'm not trying to start a fight, and welcome open debate on this, provided it is civil, but I think people need to look further than "Does a candidate move me" in their decision for who they will vote for leader of our country. I'm not sure that that is one of the prerequisites.
Has the past 8 years jaded us so far that the only requirement we look at is the ability to speak well?
Totally agreed Spectrus,
but I would also like to add that repeatedly Barack Obama does talk plenty of substance in his speeches. It is very simple to fact check on this point: watch one! I can refer you to several speeches where he outlines his mortgage crisis, health care, student subsidies, Iraq War, diplomatic, and Iran War policies.
If you buy into the idea that Senator Obama is simply an idealist who doesn't speak substance you are having the RHETORIC of a 72 year-old man, and a 60 year old woman shoved down your throat. And it is RHETORIC that everyone is using.
It is RHETORIC that Clinton and McCain are using to condemn Obama's oratory skills. They are using RHETORIC when they say that they both have more experience.
So if you would be so kind, examine his speeches and cross examine them against Clinton and McCain's. There is no difference in substance. There is simply a difference in quality.
glassbooth.org is a site where you can find out which candidate most closely matches your personal interest. You rate the issues that matter to you and then you are asked if you support or not a series of positions. After you finish the candidates that have a similar view is displayed. You get to see your top three and you can pull up any other candidate to see where you line up and where you differ.
If you want to find out more about specific comments or views you can drill down a level.
Very good site for understanding positions without focusing on the names or the other surface things like photos. Some folks find that someone they have not heard of much of who they would not expect is really quite close to their core positions.
New topic.
I find Obama rather refreshing. My profile comes out with McCain on top and Obama is 4th based on percentage fit. In am in the 'anyone but Hillary' camp. I had no problem with Bill. Hilary is another story.
In fairness to all people running for the presidency, why don't we list the accomplishments of all candidates and use that as a starting point for judgment.
I challenge the readers to leave their partisanship at the door and try to list any and all accomplishments EACH of the candidates have achieved.
Lets see what we can all come up with.
Haven't been in this thread for awhile. It's got lots of great information. I especially liked the Glassbooth quiz. Interesting...
Anyone care to list the McCain accomplishments? It will be a long post . . . I'd like to see it though.
Senator John McCain: Legislative and Personal Achievements
1. Graduated from the Naval Academy 1958
2. Fought in the Vietnam War
3. Was a prisoner of war for 8 years, during which time he suffered extreme torture.
4. 1982 United States Congressman for 1st District, Arizona. 2 Terms
5. 1986: Arizona Senator Serves 4 Terms (non-Consecutive)
6. Co-Authored the McCain-Feingold Bill in 2002 For Campaign Finance Reform. This displays ability to cross party lines.
7. Member of the Senate Armed Services Commitee.
8. Member of the bi-Partisan POW, MIA committee (Chaired by Democrat John Kerry).
9. Helped in Pushing the Line-Item Veto Act into Law. This act would make it possible for the president to veto individual items of a bill to avoid pork legislation. It can however be argued that this bill vastly increased executive power.
10. Considered for VP by both Republican Senator Bob Dole and Democratic Senator John Kerry during their respective presidential candidacies.
11. Ran for the Republican Nomination in 2000, lost to George W. Bush.
Bottom Line. Famous for his financial reforms and for his Bi-Partisanship. Considered by hard-lined conservatives to be a traitor to the republican party for his close work with democrats. This has earned him the reputation as a maverick.
Separate Note:
Why I won't be voting for him:
1. Very Pro War. Has stated that the American people would not be averse to fighting the war in Iraq for a hundred or even a thousand years. The Iraq war, in my opinion, was wrong and should not be dragged out to maintain honor. Young men and women dying unjustly is not honorable by any count.
2. His presidency will most probably increase strong anti-American sentiments. Through his plans to establish permanent bases in Iraq and to bomb and (possibly invade)Iran, world opinion of us would go down and terrorism would increase.
3. Poor Economic Strength: Has stated himself that he needs to learn more about Economics. Perpetuation of an expensive war will continue to have negative economic effects include inflationary costs and the cheapening of the dollar. (It might however, help the employment level).
4. World View: A staunch nationalist. I am personally of the opinion that the simple human bonds that we all share transcend every flag and religion.
4. World View: A staunch nationalist.
I live outside the US.
I see nothing from this side of the pond that indicates people think McCain is going to increase anti-American sentiments. His stand on terrorism is very similar to many folks in the world. Granted there are many that think Bush is right. Western Europe vs. folks in the Middle East and Eastern Europe?
For the most part people are following the US race. It is on the UK news all the time. A women, a black and the Republicans. Yes, the focus is on the Democrats. Mostly because a black is kicking around someone many non-US folks actually recognize (Bill's wife).
The race is interesting so it is making the headlines. McCain does get written up as he really is the only Republican left so he is mentioned by name. Most of the major new agencies in the UK (TV, radio and newspapers) have reporters in the US on the campaign trail.
No view at this point.
British press is just watching the events and reporting back. Pretty balanced with little spin. Mostly because the events are over there so no emotional need to spin at this stage.
"I see nothing from this side of the pond that indicates people think McCain is going to increase anti-American sentiments. His stand on terrorism is very similar to many folks in the world. Granted there are many that think Bush is right. Western Europe vs. folks in the Middle East and Eastern Europe?"
His Iraq war policies are identical to those of our current President Bush. Those are to stay the course until we "win" -whatever that means.
Additionally, his stand on terrorism is the same as Obama's and Clinton's. They all hate terrorists. The Iraq war is a separate issue. It is aggravating terrorism.
My view is that the Iraq war is not a good one nor is it popular anywhere. Therefore, any president that continues it will end up leading the United States to a point of universal contempt by the countries of the world.
Who would you say has the biggest connections?
From what I can tell, most of the politicians are too cowardly to stand by their own convictions and follow who is going to win. That's why the Super Delegates are flip-flopping between Obama and Clinton . . . as the sentiment of the country goes, so does the will of these people.
Its sad, actually.
I have been watching the HBO miniseries on John Adams. I have found it quite interesting.
Thomas Jefferson plays a decent role so I was doing a little research and found an interesting quote of his.
"No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carries him into it...To myself, personally, it brings nothing but increasing drudgery and daily loss of friends."
You have to give credit to anyone that chooses to try and run this country and take the scrutiny and open up their lives to the ridicule and insult.
Democrats=higher taxes, more government control,more people in the wagon getting a free ride less people pulling,wealth redistrubution,tax the rich give to the poor. (higher capital gains tax) Hello! Gun Control, hate the Constitution, socialist,communist,facist, should i go on! No school choice! Loves training our childrens mind to be dependant on big government. Is there really such a thing as a public school anymore...not! Public has no say
Republicans have not done a great deal this time around but i know they will protect my 2nd ammendment right , help keep taxes low, govern according to our Constitution as our forefathers intended.
Well ineed to go show a house and help pay for all the free riders in the wagon!