I managed to refrain until about 20 minutes in. "I know what it's like to watch a loved one suffer, not just because they are sick, but because of a broken healthcare system. And it's wrong."
I watched it. I liked it. I certainly did not cry. If that was enough to get me to cry, then I would be crying every day.
Don't forget to voter everyone. It is not merely enough for Obama to win. The bigger the blow out the better. We need a repudiation of the last eight years that is undeniable. And it is not just about the presidency. The U.S. Congress, state legislatures, governorships, state questions, etc. will all effect us in quite a variety of ways.
I don't know why I would (or should) be moved to tears over 30 minutes of propaganda, paid for with money which never should have been there in the first place if Obama had stuck to his promise to take public financing.
I'm glad that most of you didn't react like I did. When the commercial opened with amber waves of grain--yes, just like in the anthem America--it amped up my cynicism real fast. And so did the presidential brass music. And so did the talk about hope, which comes off as saccharine to me no matter who's talking about it. I remember when they showed a speech where Obama was rattling off a list of promises, I even heckled at the screen "And a chicken in every pot!" And this is from someone who already voted for Obama. But then, I'm a little weird. Or maybe just too cynical.
Seriously, I didn't cry, but I am still amazed that someone as cynical and snarky as I am can still be moved by hearing this man speak. I actually think that he truly believes what he's saying. And it makes all the difference.
<>blockquote>I don't know why I would (or should) be moved to tears over 30 minutes of propaganda, paid for with money which never should have been there in the first place if Obama had stuck to his promise to take public financing.
That surprises me you didn't cry, you sure sound like a whiney-assed cry baby.
Willful denial. All of my conservative friends are pushing the socialism line hard, making jokes about "Barack Hood" stealing from the rich and giving to the poor (I thought Robin Hood was generally considered a good guy?). Joe the Plumber is still treated as a folk hero instead of the cynical opportunist he is. Everyone seems to be in denial that the Republican Party is on the verge of a major beatdown. I think they expect to lose, but they don't seem to realize how bad it really is. If if the Democrats don't sweep the board, they have a very strong strategic position in the 2010 Congressional races barring a catastrophe. If the Republicans lose big, they are likely on the outs until 2012 which will be the first time in 6 years that they will actually have a strong strategic position in the elections. Of course, by that time, the Democrats will have gerrymandered the Congressional districts to their advantage. Republicans here though aren't looking that far ahead. It's all "Sarah Sarah Sarah!"
Via the radical liberal Obama shrill, George Will:
McCain revived a familiar villain -- "huge amounts" of political money -- when Barack Obama announced that he had received contributions of $150 million in September. "The dam is broken," said McCain, whose constitutional carelessness involves wanting to multiply impediments to people who want to participate in politics by contributing to candidates -- people such as the 632,000 first-time givers to Obama in September.
Why is it virtuous to erect a dam of laws to impede the flow of contributions by which citizens exercise their First Amendment right to political expression? "We're now going to see," McCain warned, "huge amounts of money coming into political campaigns, and we know history tells us that always leads to scandal." The supposedly inevitable scandal, which supposedly justifies preemptive government restrictions on Americans' freedom to fund the dissemination of political ideas they favor, presumably is that Obama will be pressured to give favors to his September givers. The contributions by the new givers that month averaged $86.
Yeah, if all those first time presidential campaign donors special interest groups hadnt been able to donate $50-$100 of their own money in an economic crisis millions of dollars, then McCain wouldnt look so pathetic right now!
Hey TomButtHurt, want to tell us all about how OBAMA IS A MUSLIM next? Maybe how OBAMA WASNT BORN IN THE US?
lol.
Why are you always such a butthurt ass on my blog? You arent an idiot, why dont you ever contribute to science posts? You just always show up to bitch.
Typical. Someone posts something that obviously disagrees with the majority here and out come the personal insults. Of course pointing this out no doubt will be labeled as "whiny" (right wildlifer?), even though (like my first post), I'm just pointing out the facts. Or is it not a fact that Obama said he'd take public financing? Rhetorical question actually, because he said it.
Not that I should be swayed into a response by your straw men arguments but I'll reply anyways. I actually liked Obama for President to start with, which is why I fucking voted for him in the primary here in my state. But I eventually soured on him. This last stunt of his, and it was purely an attempt to get people to vote emotionally if they can't vote rationally, sealed the deal for me. Not that that means I'm going to vote for McCain, which seems to be the automatically stupid response /assumption from/of every dimwit who sees a criticism of Obama as a glowing endorsement for McCain. Rather, it just means that I will probably vote for my Congressmen and in my local elections, and vote on the repeal of the friggin blue laws in my county. For the rest, I'll let the country decide who is the "best of the worst" to run the country (or cast my vote for a 3rd party candidate).
As for my not participating in science posts ... post something scientific I find interesting and perhaps I will. :)
It's typical of us because your tedious, malicious, half-cocked horseshit is so repetitive and your skull is so thick that appealing to your sense of reason doesn't get the job done as quickly or effectively as giving a good hard reaming. I know you like to think that you're important, but every dipshit on the internet has regurgitated your pathetic arsenal of dishonest and counterfactual talking points to such an extent that we have them memorized.
If you're going to try to inflate your own already bloated sense of self-importance by delivering the same tired old cliches offered by every other half-cocked jackass who decides that he'll look really smart and considerate and oh-so-careful if he takes the easiest, most reactionary kind of cynical approach to the candidates possible, then you shouldn't be surprised when people see straight through your act and see you instead for the vacuous, ineffectual, empty-headed tit you really are.
I thought Robin Hood was generally considered a good guy?
He was. The problem is that anyone who does not plan on voting for Obama is completely mentally incompetent and emotionally retarded to boot. That would even be true if the Democrats nominated a sack of corn. It's doubly true now, though, because Obama is a good candidate, and will make a good president. Unlike some of the mendacious arm-chair pundits infesting this thread, he's actually honest.
And, by the way, supposing he was some sort of "redistributionist", which he isn't, that wouldn't really be a bad thing. Our distribution of wealth is unlike and is becoming more unlike the distribution of wealth in the other developed nations of the world. I don't really want to be the richest third world nation on the planet, but that's just me.
We really can't take another 4 years of Bush-style neo-con piloting. McCain promises change but he's Bush redux. McCain Rev. 2008 is very different from McCain Rev. 2000. He hadn't proposed any changes to any important Bush policy. McCain says hes going to get tough on lobbyists but fills his campaign and staff with them. The McCains change theme is borrowed from Obama; and for McCain, its a lie. The neo-cons have had their chance and they've driven the country into the ditch: constitutionally, economically, morally, and in international affairs. (The judgment of history on GW Bushs presidency will be: Epic Fail. Like the bumper sticker says: When Clinton Lied, Nobody Died.)
Economy bad? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. Economy good? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. How can such feedback possibly be logically correct? How can it be morally correct? As 1929 and now 2008 have shown, purely free markets are a disaster in economies the size of the US. McCain has pushed long and hard for financial deregulation. His top economic advisor is Phil Gramm, author and promoter of the loosening of the SEC regulations that have brought us to the current economic black hole. (The neo-cons continue to shout for less regulation to fix this problem: Driving towards a cliff? Press the gas harder ) The Masters of the Universe investment banks, run by those really smart guys have freely chosen to have their bottoms wiped (and covered!) by the US taxpayer by converting to commercial banks (Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.) These really smart guys have voted with their own feet and wallets: they needed more regulation and protection.
We are now viewed (rightly) internationally as a nation that will commit a first-strike war against anyone we don't like, that we will treat our prisoners in ways for which we prosecuted others for war crimes in the past. We will take and hold other nations' citizens without charge, access to lawyers or trial and we will torture them and "render" them to other countries for torture or death. (Everyone should watch the film "Rendition.") McCain has stated he would stop torture in the past; but now he doesnt seem so sure about it.
We now violate our own citizens' privacy and end-run the warrant system that is basic to our legal system (the government is not allowed to "go fishing.") More of this will be on the way with angry, tough-guy McCain.
Probably more than anything else: We also can't take any more Supreme Court justices in the mold of Scalia or Thomas. McCain has publicly stated that his models for Supreme Court justices are Scalia and Thomas. If you care about, for instance, the right to privacy generally, the right to use contraception, the right for consenting adults to privacy in their own homes and bedrooms, the separation of church and state, voting rights for minorities, retaining a womans right to choose an abortion, the right to be a homosexual and a full citizen, then you wouldnt want to vote for McCain.
McCain is temperamentally unsuited to be the leader of the free world. The adjectives that best suit McCains decision-making style are: erratic, hip-shooting, opportunistic, and self-serving. His behavior during the week of September 22, 2008 regarding the Wall Street Bailout bill was embarrassing even to conservative commentators: George Will described his actions as un-presidential. Will also described his running mate choice, The man who would be the oldest to embark on a first presidential term has chosen as his possible successor a person of negligible experience. McCain is not a maverick; hes just erratic and thereby appears to run counter to prevailing Republican themes. He does sometimes, almost by accident. I quote George Will again:
It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?
Channeling his inner Queen of Hearts, John McCain furiously, and apparently without even looking around at facts, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be decapitated. This childish reflex provoked the Wall Street Journal to editorialize that McCain untethered -- disconnected from knowledge and principle -- had made a "false and deeply unfair" attack on Cox that was unpresidential and demonstrated that McCain doesn't understand what's happening on Wall Street any better than Barack Obama does. (Washington Post, 23-Sep-08)
McCain, the oldest person ever to run for the Presidency (and who doesnt have the greatest health record), chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. The choice of Palin was a cynical sop to the religious right constituency of the Republican Party and it has worked for that purpose. It was also a failed attempt to appeal to women generally. Palin has negligible experience to prepare her for her potential role as leader of the free world. She only got a passport last year (as part of her role as Alaska governor, she visited Alaska National Guard troops in Kuwait. Its pathetically humorous to watch the campaign try to beef up Palins international resume: the proximity of Alaska to Russia, the Shannon airport, a single trip to Kuwait.) She has lied about her stance on the Bridge to Nowhere (which is just another facet of the lie that McCain will bring change.) Palin believes in young-earth creationism (YEC) and wants magic (so-called Intelligent Design) taught in the place of science in public schools. Palin believes the doctrine of her Pentecostal church such as speaking tongues and personal revelation and prophecy. Palin wants abortion banned across the board, even in cases of rape or incest or when the mothers life is in danger. What we dont want with her finger over the trigger to the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world is a person who thinks God will tell her what to do, who thinks that the war in Iraq is part of Gods plan, who believes anything as foolish as YEC, and whose most trusted counselor is First Dude Todd Palin. What we dont want facing our friends and enemies around the world is someone who is so ignorant of and disinterested in the rest of the world that she hadnt visited another country (besides Canada) until last year.
The biggest election issue since Bush was re-elected in 2004 (until the economy went into a tailspin) was how to get out of this wrong-headed and incredibly expensive in blood and treasure war in Iraq. McCain has said that he is willing to stay in Iraq for the next 100 years. We cant afford that. McCains plan would finally bankrupt the US. The US has never defaulted. Give us 100 years in Iraq and well be there. The war in Iraq, Abu Ghraeb, Guantanamo, and Rendition have given the US a blacking that it will take generations to remove. If the people we hold are guilty of something, then try them in the US under our court rules and convict them. If you cant, then by our normal moral standards we must set them free.
McCain is pathologically out of touch. The McCains make well over $6 million/year, almost all of it from Cindy McCains legacy. McCain doesnt know how many houses he owns. This is the person we want in charge of guiding the economy away from the brink we are on? This person understands what a person making $20,000 per year is facing? This person is motivated to help those at the bottom of the economic scale? Well, no, of course hes not. Several recent analyses have shown clearly that McCains plan is the neo-con plan: continue to move more wealth from the lower and middle classes to the upper class. Economy good? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. Economy bad? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. Deregulate everything.
McCain is wrong on the issues.
Theres no question that John McCain suffered as a POW in North Vietnam. However, he has been riding that horse for the last 35 years in order to manufacture his career and image. He has been a serial womanizer and neer-do-well. He graduated 5th from the bottom (894 out of 899) from Annapolis; and the family link of his admirals father and grandfather is probably the only reason he graduated. He slept around on his first wife and dumped her for a rich heiress, even though she stood by him through his captivity.
----------
Already voted for Obama. One of the proudest votes I've cast (I always vote.)
It was great to be able to vote for a moral, competent, INTELLIGENT, inspirational person for president, who also happens to be African American (I'm a white-boy.) I'm THRILLED to be able vote for a man who will, very likely, become our first black president.
I can't think of anything better to counter the "urban" cultural dogma that a black man will never get ahead because of whitey. This will give a great example to a generation of black kids.
I liked his call to take responsibility. I agree with him on the issues. Read his repsonses to the science questions and read McCain's. Who do you want in the most powerful seat in the world???
The biggest election issue since Bush was re-elected in 2004 (until the economy went into a tailspin) was how to get out of this wrong-headed and incredibly expensive in blood and treasure war in Iraq. McCain has said that he is willing to stay in Iraq for the next 100 years. We cant afford that. McCains plan would finally bankrupt the US. The US has never defaulted. Give us 100 years in Iraq and well be there. The war in Iraq, Abu Ghraeb, Guantanamo, and Rendition have given the US a blacking that it will take generations to remove. If the people we hold are guilty of something, then try them in the US under our court rules and convict them. If you cant, then by our normal moral standards we must set them free.
Funny thing is, my mother is a single mom supporting my half-sister and is expecting another child in February. She makes just above $20,000 annually as a sales associate at H.H. Gregg, and she can afford private health-care for herself and my sister (and a couple years ago me as well). This includes quarterly check-ups, dental, and optical. What's her big secret? We never lived above our means. She drives a used car from the 90's, lives in a small, three-bedroom house, rarely goes on vacation, buys from superstores like Walmart and Meijer (we lowly serfs at the bottom of the economic food chain actually depend on places like these so we can eat, so fuck off to you anti-megastore assholes), and doesn't feel compelled to max-out her credit every time something new and shiny comes along. That's the problem with America. People want to have everything and expect to give nothing in return. The concept of sacrifice is pretty much foreign this nation, yet somehow people come up with new and fantastic ways to blame everyone but themselves for the economic crisis we are in.
Truth is, President Bush didn't wave his magic presidential wand and kill our economy overnight. We did this to OURSELVES (with the help of the less-than-responsible lending practices of the majority of banks) and no one but OURSELVES can fix this. Just like our current president didn't wave his magical presidential wand over the stock market and crash it, neither Mr. Obama nor Mr. McCain will be able to wave their respective magical presidential wands and make the economy jump back to life. It's going to take trust in our capitalist system from shareholders and sacrifice from the rest of us. That means no getting another mortgage on your house just so you can install a pool in your backyard that's bigger than your neighbor's, or taking out a huge loan just to send your half-wit kid who couldn't get any scholarships to that fancy private university they barely got accepted into (they can work their way to it from State U or junior college).
Sad thing is, no one is going to change. I'll undoubtedly be called a bunch of unsavory names on this thread, Obama will win, the economy won't get better because people won't change their ways. Pretty soon, the heads of mid-level companies will look for cheaper pastures outside of the States because taxes will be too high. The upper middle-class will slowly start to feel the squeeze of the disproportionate tax burden, having become the new upper-class. It doesn't matter who is elected... If people don't start taking responsibility for themselves and quit relying on Uncle Sam to bail them out and powder their asses, our nation, as proud of it as I am, won't last long enough to see it's 300th year as the greatest country in the world.
Sigh. In this particular case TomJoe doesn't deserve to be insulted although Abbie is correct to quote George Will in response. There's no way to get around the fact that Obama did make what sounded pretty close to a pledge and then he went back on it. Obama isn't perfect, and frankly going back on the pledge was arguably the right thing to do. And compared to a lot of the junk that the McCain campaign has pulled this looks like serious small fries. But we shouldn't pretend that Obama is an angel. Put this in the same category as Obama's initial comments about the supposed vaccine-autism link.
That music was rather annoying. And though I know I shouldn't make fun of accents, I find a lot of American versions of English ... odd. Including Obama's.
Ah well. I'm hardly the target audience.
Could someone explain the US pensions system to me? Why the fuck does businesses get to adminstrate the pensions of their employees?!! What genius thought of that?!
This was emotional pandering? Well, duh! Do you think that the people who think their choices through would actually have any fucking doubts left by now? Cheeze! What the man needs now is to win over the fuckin' idiots who think they'd rather have a beer with McCain. (He doesn't claim to be on the vagon, too, does he?)
The link between communists and evolution once again confirmed.
Fortunately for you, you will live during exciting times.
BTW, pitbulls and other large dogs aren't allowed in China. Just so you know where you're headed. (Dogs scare others. And they eat more than their fair share of resources.)
I managed to refrain until about 20 minutes in.
"I know what it's like to watch a loved one suffer, not just because they are sick, but because of a broken healthcare system. And it's wrong."
I blubbered.
I believe I'll be able to tolerate this fellow at the helm for a time...
It's encouraging, that the odds on favorite to win this thing is at least just a little bit different than your average politician.
The world is a mess and Obama just needs to rule it... with his freeze ray.
You're joking, right?
I welled up a little... Then I nearly croaked from laughter reading the live blog at Wonkette: http://wonkette.com/403936/liveblogging-barack-obamas-fancy-teevee-info… . No one can liveblog like the fine people at Wonkette...
I can't believe I watched all thirty minutes of it. And I especially can't believe that it wasn't a waste of thirty minutes ...
I watched it. I liked it. I certainly did not cry. If that was enough to get me to cry, then I would be crying every day.
Don't forget to voter everyone. It is not merely enough for Obama to win. The bigger the blow out the better. We need a repudiation of the last eight years that is undeniable. And it is not just about the presidency. The U.S. Congress, state legislatures, governorships, state questions, etc. will all effect us in quite a variety of ways.
Do you think it's intentional to have the theme from the movie, "A Beautiful Mind" open the video?
VOTE!!!
Becca, you did better than me. I lost it when he was talking about improving schools.
But then, I cry during Kodak commercials.
I don't know why I would (or should) be moved to tears over 30 minutes of propaganda, paid for with money which never should have been there in the first place if Obama had stuck to his promise to take public financing.
I'm glad that most of you didn't react like I did. When the commercial opened with amber waves of grain--yes, just like in the anthem America--it amped up my cynicism real fast. And so did the presidential brass music. And so did the talk about hope, which comes off as saccharine to me no matter who's talking about it. I remember when they showed a speech where Obama was rattling off a list of promises, I even heckled at the screen "And a chicken in every pot!" And this is from someone who already voted for Obama. But then, I'm a little weird. Or maybe just too cynical.
Ummm... YEAH! But of course - I would always cry if I saw one of those AT&T commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpLVavdPQE8
Since I was live blogging it, I had to keep my wits about me.
I was very worried about this, but it went just find.
Amanda was getting a bit weepy at one point.
Yeah, just a little tearing, several times.
I used to like you and your posts. I think I love you now :D
No crying! There's no crying in politics!
Seriously, I didn't cry, but I am still amazed that someone as cynical and snarky as I am can still be moved by hearing this man speak. I actually think that he truly believes what he's saying. And it makes all the difference.
Yeah, he's really got the sincerity thing down pat. Maybe he'll even thaw my cynical heart.
What's the mood there in Oklahoma, ERV? I just sent my absentee ballot to Pawnee County since I'm here in NC.
And yeah, the last 5 minutes almost got me.
TomJoeBillyBobJeff
<>blockquote>I don't know why I would (or should) be moved to tears over 30 minutes of propaganda, paid for with money which never should have been there in the first place if Obama had stuck to his promise to take public financing.
That surprises me you didn't cry, you sure sound like a whiney-assed cry baby.
"What's the mood there in Oklahoma"
Willful denial. All of my conservative friends are pushing the socialism line hard, making jokes about "Barack Hood" stealing from the rich and giving to the poor (I thought Robin Hood was generally considered a good guy?). Joe the Plumber is still treated as a folk hero instead of the cynical opportunist he is. Everyone seems to be in denial that the Republican Party is on the verge of a major beatdown. I think they expect to lose, but they don't seem to realize how bad it really is. If if the Democrats don't sweep the board, they have a very strong strategic position in the 2010 Congressional races barring a catastrophe. If the Republicans lose big, they are likely on the outs until 2012 which will be the first time in 6 years that they will actually have a strong strategic position in the elections. Of course, by that time, the Democrats will have gerrymandered the Congressional districts to their advantage. Republicans here though aren't looking that far ahead. It's all "Sarah Sarah Sarah!"
Via the radical liberal Obama shrill, George Will:
Yeah, if all those first time presidential campaign donors special interest groups hadnt been able to donate $50-$100 of their own money in an economic crisis millions of dollars, then McCain wouldnt look so pathetic right now!
Hey TomButtHurt, want to tell us all about how OBAMA IS A MUSLIM next? Maybe how OBAMA WASNT BORN IN THE US?
lol.
Why are you always such a butthurt ass on my blog? You arent an idiot, why dont you ever contribute to science posts? You just always show up to bitch.
Its weird.
Typical. Someone posts something that obviously disagrees with the majority here and out come the personal insults. Of course pointing this out no doubt will be labeled as "whiny" (right wildlifer?), even though (like my first post), I'm just pointing out the facts. Or is it not a fact that Obama said he'd take public financing? Rhetorical question actually, because he said it.
Not that I should be swayed into a response by your straw men arguments but I'll reply anyways. I actually liked Obama for President to start with, which is why I fucking voted for him in the primary here in my state. But I eventually soured on him. This last stunt of his, and it was purely an attempt to get people to vote emotionally if they can't vote rationally, sealed the deal for me. Not that that means I'm going to vote for McCain, which seems to be the automatically stupid response /assumption from/of every dimwit who sees a criticism of Obama as a glowing endorsement for McCain. Rather, it just means that I will probably vote for my Congressmen and in my local elections, and vote on the repeal of the friggin blue laws in my county. For the rest, I'll let the country decide who is the "best of the worst" to run the country (or cast my vote for a 3rd party candidate).
As for my not participating in science posts ... post something scientific I find interesting and perhaps I will. :)
It's typical of us because your tedious, malicious, half-cocked horseshit is so repetitive and your skull is so thick that appealing to your sense of reason doesn't get the job done as quickly or effectively as giving a good hard reaming. I know you like to think that you're important, but every dipshit on the internet has regurgitated your pathetic arsenal of dishonest and counterfactual talking points to such an extent that we have them memorized.
If you're going to try to inflate your own already bloated sense of self-importance by delivering the same tired old cliches offered by every other half-cocked jackass who decides that he'll look really smart and considerate and oh-so-careful if he takes the easiest, most reactionary kind of cynical approach to the candidates possible, then you shouldn't be surprised when people see straight through your act and see you instead for the vacuous, ineffectual, empty-headed tit you really are.
Fuck you.
Erv,
hate to be a perfection troll, but isn't the line:
"...because the status is not quo."
Just saying.
Much love,
Nick
He was. The problem is that anyone who does not plan on voting for Obama is completely mentally incompetent and emotionally retarded to boot. That would even be true if the Democrats nominated a sack of corn. It's doubly true now, though, because Obama is a good candidate, and will make a good president. Unlike some of the mendacious arm-chair pundits infesting this thread, he's actually honest.
And, by the way, supposing he was some sort of "redistributionist", which he isn't, that wouldn't really be a bad thing. Our distribution of wealth is unlike and is becoming more unlike the distribution of wealth in the other developed nations of the world. I don't really want to be the richest third world nation on the planet, but that's just me.
Why John McCain doesnt deserve our votes:
We really can't take another 4 years of Bush-style neo-con piloting. McCain promises change but he's Bush redux. McCain Rev. 2008 is very different from McCain Rev. 2000. He hadn't proposed any changes to any important Bush policy. McCain says hes going to get tough on lobbyists but fills his campaign and staff with them. The McCains change theme is borrowed from Obama; and for McCain, its a lie. The neo-cons have had their chance and they've driven the country into the ditch: constitutionally, economically, morally, and in international affairs. (The judgment of history on GW Bushs presidency will be: Epic Fail. Like the bumper sticker says: When Clinton Lied, Nobody Died.)
Economy bad? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. Economy good? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. How can such feedback possibly be logically correct? How can it be morally correct? As 1929 and now 2008 have shown, purely free markets are a disaster in economies the size of the US. McCain has pushed long and hard for financial deregulation. His top economic advisor is Phil Gramm, author and promoter of the loosening of the SEC regulations that have brought us to the current economic black hole. (The neo-cons continue to shout for less regulation to fix this problem: Driving towards a cliff? Press the gas harder ) The Masters of the Universe investment banks, run by those really smart guys have freely chosen to have their bottoms wiped (and covered!) by the US taxpayer by converting to commercial banks (Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.) These really smart guys have voted with their own feet and wallets: they needed more regulation and protection.
We are now viewed (rightly) internationally as a nation that will commit a first-strike war against anyone we don't like, that we will treat our prisoners in ways for which we prosecuted others for war crimes in the past. We will take and hold other nations' citizens without charge, access to lawyers or trial and we will torture them and "render" them to other countries for torture or death. (Everyone should watch the film "Rendition.") McCain has stated he would stop torture in the past; but now he doesnt seem so sure about it.
We now violate our own citizens' privacy and end-run the warrant system that is basic to our legal system (the government is not allowed to "go fishing.") More of this will be on the way with angry, tough-guy McCain.
Probably more than anything else: We also can't take any more Supreme Court justices in the mold of Scalia or Thomas. McCain has publicly stated that his models for Supreme Court justices are Scalia and Thomas. If you care about, for instance, the right to privacy generally, the right to use contraception, the right for consenting adults to privacy in their own homes and bedrooms, the separation of church and state, voting rights for minorities, retaining a womans right to choose an abortion, the right to be a homosexual and a full citizen, then you wouldnt want to vote for McCain.
McCain is temperamentally unsuited to be the leader of the free world. The adjectives that best suit McCains decision-making style are: erratic, hip-shooting, opportunistic, and self-serving. His behavior during the week of September 22, 2008 regarding the Wall Street Bailout bill was embarrassing even to conservative commentators: George Will described his actions as un-presidential. Will also described his running mate choice, The man who would be the oldest to embark on a first presidential term has chosen as his possible successor a person of negligible experience. McCain is not a maverick; hes just erratic and thereby appears to run counter to prevailing Republican themes. He does sometimes, almost by accident. I quote George Will again:
It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?
Channeling his inner Queen of Hearts, John McCain furiously, and apparently without even looking around at facts, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be decapitated. This childish reflex provoked the Wall Street Journal to editorialize that McCain untethered -- disconnected from knowledge and principle -- had made a "false and deeply unfair" attack on Cox that was unpresidential and demonstrated that McCain doesn't understand what's happening on Wall Street any better than Barack Obama does. (Washington Post, 23-Sep-08)
McCain, the oldest person ever to run for the Presidency (and who doesnt have the greatest health record), chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. The choice of Palin was a cynical sop to the religious right constituency of the Republican Party and it has worked for that purpose. It was also a failed attempt to appeal to women generally. Palin has negligible experience to prepare her for her potential role as leader of the free world. She only got a passport last year (as part of her role as Alaska governor, she visited Alaska National Guard troops in Kuwait. Its pathetically humorous to watch the campaign try to beef up Palins international resume: the proximity of Alaska to Russia, the Shannon airport, a single trip to Kuwait.) She has lied about her stance on the Bridge to Nowhere (which is just another facet of the lie that McCain will bring change.) Palin believes in young-earth creationism (YEC) and wants magic (so-called Intelligent Design) taught in the place of science in public schools. Palin believes the doctrine of her Pentecostal church such as speaking tongues and personal revelation and prophecy. Palin wants abortion banned across the board, even in cases of rape or incest or when the mothers life is in danger. What we dont want with her finger over the trigger to the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world is a person who thinks God will tell her what to do, who thinks that the war in Iraq is part of Gods plan, who believes anything as foolish as YEC, and whose most trusted counselor is First Dude Todd Palin. What we dont want facing our friends and enemies around the world is someone who is so ignorant of and disinterested in the rest of the world that she hadnt visited another country (besides Canada) until last year.
The biggest election issue since Bush was re-elected in 2004 (until the economy went into a tailspin) was how to get out of this wrong-headed and incredibly expensive in blood and treasure war in Iraq. McCain has said that he is willing to stay in Iraq for the next 100 years. We cant afford that. McCains plan would finally bankrupt the US. The US has never defaulted. Give us 100 years in Iraq and well be there. The war in Iraq, Abu Ghraeb, Guantanamo, and Rendition have given the US a blacking that it will take generations to remove. If the people we hold are guilty of something, then try them in the US under our court rules and convict them. If you cant, then by our normal moral standards we must set them free.
McCain is pathologically out of touch. The McCains make well over $6 million/year, almost all of it from Cindy McCains legacy. McCain doesnt know how many houses he owns. This is the person we want in charge of guiding the economy away from the brink we are on? This person understands what a person making $20,000 per year is facing? This person is motivated to help those at the bottom of the economic scale? Well, no, of course hes not. Several recent analyses have shown clearly that McCains plan is the neo-con plan: continue to move more wealth from the lower and middle classes to the upper class. Economy good? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. Economy bad? Give tax cuts to the wealthy. Deregulate everything.
McCain is wrong on the issues.
Theres no question that John McCain suffered as a POW in North Vietnam. However, he has been riding that horse for the last 35 years in order to manufacture his career and image. He has been a serial womanizer and neer-do-well. He graduated 5th from the bottom (894 out of 899) from Annapolis; and the family link of his admirals father and grandfather is probably the only reason he graduated. He slept around on his first wife and dumped her for a rich heiress, even though she stood by him through his captivity.
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Already voted for Obama. One of the proudest votes I've cast (I always vote.)
It was great to be able to vote for a moral, competent, INTELLIGENT, inspirational person for president, who also happens to be African American (I'm a white-boy.) I'm THRILLED to be able vote for a man who will, very likely, become our first black president.
I can't think of anything better to counter the "urban" cultural dogma that a black man will never get ahead because of whitey. This will give a great example to a generation of black kids.
I liked his call to take responsibility. I agree with him on the issues. Read his repsonses to the science questions and read McCain's. Who do you want in the most powerful seat in the world???
http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/www/index.php?id=42
All the best.
I admit I got a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves....
The biggest election issue since Bush was re-elected in 2004 (until the economy went into a tailspin) was how to get out of this wrong-headed and incredibly expensive in blood and treasure war in Iraq. McCain has said that he is willing to stay in Iraq for the next 100 years. We cant afford that. McCains plan would finally bankrupt the US. The US has never defaulted. Give us 100 years in Iraq and well be there. The war in Iraq, Abu Ghraeb, Guantanamo, and Rendition have given the US a blacking that it will take generations to remove. If the people we hold are guilty of something, then try them in the US under our court rules and convict them. If you cant, then by our normal moral standards we must set them free.
Funny thing is, my mother is a single mom supporting my half-sister and is expecting another child in February. She makes just above $20,000 annually as a sales associate at H.H. Gregg, and she can afford private health-care for herself and my sister (and a couple years ago me as well). This includes quarterly check-ups, dental, and optical. What's her big secret? We never lived above our means. She drives a used car from the 90's, lives in a small, three-bedroom house, rarely goes on vacation, buys from superstores like Walmart and Meijer (we lowly serfs at the bottom of the economic food chain actually depend on places like these so we can eat, so fuck off to you anti-megastore assholes), and doesn't feel compelled to max-out her credit every time something new and shiny comes along. That's the problem with America. People want to have everything and expect to give nothing in return. The concept of sacrifice is pretty much foreign this nation, yet somehow people come up with new and fantastic ways to blame everyone but themselves for the economic crisis we are in.
Truth is, President Bush didn't wave his magic presidential wand and kill our economy overnight. We did this to OURSELVES (with the help of the less-than-responsible lending practices of the majority of banks) and no one but OURSELVES can fix this. Just like our current president didn't wave his magical presidential wand over the stock market and crash it, neither Mr. Obama nor Mr. McCain will be able to wave their respective magical presidential wands and make the economy jump back to life. It's going to take trust in our capitalist system from shareholders and sacrifice from the rest of us. That means no getting another mortgage on your house just so you can install a pool in your backyard that's bigger than your neighbor's, or taking out a huge loan just to send your half-wit kid who couldn't get any scholarships to that fancy private university they barely got accepted into (they can work their way to it from State U or junior college).
Sad thing is, no one is going to change. I'll undoubtedly be called a bunch of unsavory names on this thread, Obama will win, the economy won't get better because people won't change their ways. Pretty soon, the heads of mid-level companies will look for cheaper pastures outside of the States because taxes will be too high. The upper middle-class will slowly start to feel the squeeze of the disproportionate tax burden, having become the new upper-class. It doesn't matter who is elected... If people don't start taking responsibility for themselves and quit relying on Uncle Sam to bail them out and powder their asses, our nation, as proud of it as I am, won't last long enough to see it's 300th year as the greatest country in the world.
*foreign TO this nation
sorry for the typo
Sigh. In this particular case TomJoe doesn't deserve to be insulted although Abbie is correct to quote George Will in response. There's no way to get around the fact that Obama did make what sounded pretty close to a pledge and then he went back on it. Obama isn't perfect, and frankly going back on the pledge was arguably the right thing to do. And compared to a lot of the junk that the McCain campaign has pulled this looks like serious small fries. But we shouldn't pretend that Obama is an angel. Put this in the same category as Obama's initial comments about the supposed vaccine-autism link.
Oh, I cried all right. Our country is hurting, our people are hurting. He's offering hope and vision. I just hope he can deliver.
I didn't cry. I couldn't stop smiling. Even through the stories: I smiled because I heard them, I knew them.
A political commercial about issues and policies instead of attacks?
Complete sentences instead of soundbites?
Him? For President? I smiled.
I *want*.
Obama: He's not ready to lead!
/quotemine
That music was rather annoying. And though I know I shouldn't make fun of accents, I find a lot of American versions of English ... odd. Including Obama's.
Ah well. I'm hardly the target audience.
Could someone explain the US pensions system to me? Why the fuck does businesses get to adminstrate the pensions of their employees?!! What genius thought of that?!
This was emotional pandering? Well, duh! Do you think that the people who think their choices through would actually have any fucking doubts left by now? Cheeze! What the man needs now is to win over the fuckin' idiots who think they'd rather have a beer with McCain. (He doesn't claim to be on the vagon, too, does he?)
The link between communists and evolution once again confirmed.
Fortunately for you, you will live during exciting times.
BTW, pitbulls and other large dogs aren't allowed in China. Just so you know where you're headed. (Dogs scare others. And they eat more than their fair share of resources.)
Obama had me at the waving wheat.
I'm a sucker for wheat in the wind.