McCain or Obama?

[Urwumpe]

Sorry, but the German song was about a girl named Claudia. No chance to bring this to Sarah without torturing your ears.

 

[ar81]

To me US elections are a soap opera to me.
You can't judge a good employee by his words in an interview.
This is why companies pass tests.
Same happens with presidents.

So to me, this debate is just a show.

 

[tl8]

Maybe not the real thing, but a good ideas anyway http://www.iftheworldcouldvote.com/

 

[Pilot7893]

Totally Obama. Mcain and Pallin are just phsyco

 

[FALCONFLYER]

I'm just wondering can any of the Americans name the Prime Minister of Australia, without looking it up on the internet.

No I can't. Sorry to hurt your feelings

 

[Redstone]

I wouldnt vote for either. All politicians lie to get into office and then never do what they say. Then when things go wrong people blame their opposing party. We have the electoral college so does voting even really matter? These people have no loyalty to anyone but the large corporations and wealthy campaign contributers that fund their campaigns. Sadly it all seems to be just wishfull thinking. Whoever wins doesnt matter it will just be more of the same. Also why is it that people think all political thought can be summed up in terms of: Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative as if it could all be just that simple. No third party will ever get too far in an election and the two we have sure seem like there both bought and paid for. Sorry to rant on but American elections are just an act.

 

[pattersoncr]

I wouldnt vote for either. All politicians lie to get into office and then never do what they say. Then when things go wrong people blame their opposing party. We have the electoral college so does voting even really matter?

Do you even know how the electoral college works?

 

[GregBurch]

... whistling as I stroll past the graveyard, I'm struck by a certain asymmetry. Back in 2000 and 2004 we heard deafening howls about a stolen election and rigged voting. Mounting evidence indicates that systematic voter registration fraud on a scale of at least hundreds of thousands of votes has been under way for months. But it's been done by a leftist organization, ACORN, strongly associated with the rise of Barak Obama.

As I whistle past the graveyard, I hear ... the crickets ...

 

[pattersoncr]

You're not by any chance looking for unbiased and balanced news coverage are you Greg? You must be joking.

By the way, I read you most recent blog post. I hope things aren't as bleak as that but I'm afraid you're right.

 

[Urwumpe]

Greg: You mean the same people who printed "Barack Osama" on the forms?

 

[Kyle]

All I gotta say, WE NEED REAGAN!

 

[Missioncmdr]

No third party will ever get too far in an election...

Because people like YOU do not vote for them.

There are six candidates that are on the ballot in enough states to win the election. And yet, even people on this forum (some of the most intelligent people on the Internet) do not even give them a second thought. If people would take their heads out of their asses for a minute and actually listen to what candidates like Barr and Nader have to say instead of just writing them off as third-party and independent no-bodies that have no chance to win the election, then we might not be stuck with a broken two-party system and they might be able to offer some actual change in this country.

 

[Andy44]

I may vote third party, but I'm under no illusion that it will be anything more than a protest action (which no one will even be aware of). Even Ron Paul implicitly seems to agree with me on this, since he called a news conference of the more prominent 3rd party candidates from the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian parties (Barr slapped Paul in the face by canceling out at the last minute). Paul's message was basically, "Vote for anything but the Republican or Democrat to show your dissatisfaction with the status quo". This is not the message of someone promoting a particular philosophy, since the Green is basically communist and the Libertarian is the opposite.

If Paul actually thought the Libertarian or the Consitutionalist had a chance to win, he would pick one and support him. Heck, that's why Paul ran as a Republican; he has stated that the system is set up so that if you want to have a real impact, you have to do it through one of the two major parties.

All academic, since we are going to get Tweedle-Dumb or Tweedle-Evil, as the 2-party tag team continues.

 

[fort]

Because people like YOU do not vote for them.

Yes. I saw yesterday a video of Ralph Nader who pointed out very old and happy memories to me. But I had the feeling by listening to it which it must be considered in the United States as a quasi socialist now ( and maybe since always ?). At least a "leftist" ( if the word exist in english).

___________________

Les non dupes errent. Jacques Lacan.

 

[Missioncmdr]

I may vote third party, but I'm under no illusion that it will be anything more than a protest action (which no one will even be aware of). Even Ron Paul implicitly seems to agree with me on this, since he called a news conference of the more prominent 3rd party candidates from the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian parties (Barr slapped Paul in the face by canceling out at the last minute). Paul's message was basically, "Vote for anything but the Republican or Democrat to show your dissatisfaction with the status quo". This is not the message of someone promoting a particular philosophy, since the Green is basically communist and the Libertarian is the opposite.

If Paul actually thought the Libertarian or the Consitutionalist had a chance to win, he would pick one and support him. Heck, that's why Paul ran as a Republican; he has stated that the system is set up so that if you want to have a real impact, you have to do it through one of the two major parties.

Ron Paul's press conference was excellent. He was right when he said that voting Constitution, Libertarian, Green, or Nader would be a much better decision then voting either Republican or Democrat. Although I will admit I do not know nearly anything about the Green Party, but if you say they are basically a communist party, then voting for them may not be such a good idea, but I digress.

Even if you do choose to vote third even if it is only in a protest action, I say that is a good thing. Here is a good video that explains the idea better than I can:

A side comment, you are right about how Ron Paul said that the only way to the Presidency is to get through one of the two major parties. Of course, Paul has also said that Americans are starting to "wake up" and realize that the federal government is not working right anymore. I suspect that if things continue the way they are going now, we can expect some major changes to happen in this country (and maybe even the whole world) and hopefully for the better. Probably not this election, maybe not even the 2012 election, and perhaps not even the 2016 election, but somewhere down the line, people are not going to take more of the same anymore.

And to think, when this year started, I did not even know of Ron Paul at all. His Republican nomination bid has opened up a lot of peoples' eyes (including my own). Hopefully, this type of movement will only get stronger as time goes on, but I digress, again.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, Ron Paul has actually endorsed Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin. Strangely enough, that does not seemed to have helped his popularity very much. I guess some people are wary about putting what they concieve as a theocrat in office.

 

[Andy44]

EDIT: Forgot to mention, Ron Paul has actually endorsed Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin. Strangely enough, that does not seemed to have helped his popularity very much. I guess some people are wary about putting what they concieve as a theocrat in office.

Well, after the way Barr snubbed Paul, I think it's rather amusing. I don't like overly religious candidates myself, but really, neither Sarah Palin nor the Constitution Party are "theocrats". I would call them "annoyingly religious". Really, they are an overeaction to the Left's longtime strategy of trying to marginalize religion and promote secularism in a religious country. Many Americans feel that their religious heritage is threatened and so they are vulnerable to muttonhead politicians that wear their religion on their sleeves. If the Left had just left people's religion alone, there would never have been a Moral Majority.

That said, the Constitution Party has a fairly liberty-oriented platform.

 

[Cairan]

This whole election is going to end up bad before the 4th... I am afraid either someone's going to gun down Obama AKA "Barack Hussein Osama the Arab Terrorist" or some nut case might go as far as blowing John McCain's head off after the elections for handing down the country to these "damned socialists".

McCain and Palin, by taking all these negative shots, have removed the safety latch on a very dangerous and unstable mixture of fear, anxiety and racism from some who really believe whatever unverified information is thrown at them by people they agree with and who reinforce their fears and beliefs.

I really give credit to McCain for the noble effort he is putting very lately to put the lid back on the stuff, but I'm afraid that's going to be as easy as extinguinshing hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide after mixing...

 

[Andy44]

This whole election is going to end up bad before the 4th... I am afraid either someone's going to gun down Obama AKA "Barack Hussein Osama the Arab Terrorist" or some nut case might go as far as blowing John McCain's head off after the elections for handing down the country to these "damned socialists".

McCain and Palin, by taking all these negative shots, have removed the safety latch on a very dangerous and unstable mixture of fear, anxiety and racism from some who really believe whatever unverified information is thrown at them by people they agree with and who reinforce their fears and beliefs.

That is simply an incredible post. As in "not credible". Where are you getting this information? Somebody attack McCain for "letting the other side win"? Really?

 

[Cairan]

I am not saying someone is actually planning it in their basement, but move back a few years and remember the Oklahoma City bombing...

This was perpetrated by wackos who really believed what they were doing was "good", although their rationalisation of it was rather thin for a sane person...

We will also never know why JFK got shot by Oswald... Whatever were the reasons... Or to proove my point that some really unstable people exist out there, let's look back at Reagan's assassin-wannabe... He said it was to impress Jodie Foster! Way to go! I'm sure she was all moved by this gesture...

To go back to current events, I watched people shout, live on national TV, at McCain for him to get tougher. For him to take on the "Osama, an... arab". People who in their minds are genuinly frightened at what their country would become if Obama was to get elected. And by not much of a stretch, might actually think that being "friend with a domestic terrorist" is actually conspiring to take control of the country on their behalf.

Some message boards are filled with hate towards Obama, and the reactions from the crowds at recent town hall meetings I have seen, with McCain getting begged at to get "tougher" in his rhetoric, having to comfort an old woman that Obama is NOT an arab, is NOT a terrorist, despite their latest ads calling into question the "true" nature of his relationship to Ayers, indicates a very unstable situation from my perspective.

Out of 300 000 000 US citizens, what are the odds that some crackpot who fell in 2000 for the dirty campaign against McCain in the primaries then, and in 2008 really believed that this 72 year old man is a liberal in disguise, out to set back and go against what this unstable person believes, won't plan and carry out such an evil and despicable plan as to take revenge on John McCain.

I really hope this is not the case. I really do not wish any harm to come on either Obama, Biden, Palin or McCain. Democracy must be understood by all to be preferable to any form of violent process in the selection of national leaders. But, presidents, candidates and other public figures have fallen in the line of fire on too many occasions.

I have no doubt the Secret service agents responsible for the well-being of both party's tickets are considering such scenarios, as they always do, but the sad thing is that whoever looses won't benefit from this protection after the elections.

So to conclude: Although I do not have information that someone IS planning something against one of the candidates, either a loosing McCain or winning Obama, it is NOT farfetched to think this might be possible in the current context...

 

[Urwumpe]

Andy44: The hatred scenario is not really very unlikely, at least Palin plays the hatred card pretty often in her public events, radicalizing her following. There is a parallel to the murder of Martin Luther King in her speeches and the reactions of her audiences (Like a few people shouting "Kill him" or "Traitor").

No politician killed King or Robert Kennedy - but their political opponents both used radical rethorics, intended or unintended. Of course, one lunatic will one day think, that his action is good and will be appreciated by the society he is in.