Election Thoughts
I guess it’s time for me to weigh in on the coming election, and I hope I do not lose any of you as friends. I am proud of our country in this election for nominating a black man, and almost nominating a woman for President. Imagine such events happening 40 years ago – no way! As far as I can determine, race is not a big factor in this election, and neither was sex bias. Sure there was a little of both – but it was subdued, and the mainstream did not really consider those biases. So we have come far indeed!
First, please let me say that I think we’ve got the two best candidates running for president in decades, and by the way Hillary handled herself in the debates against Obama, I found I liked her too.
If you look back to the last two elections, we had Bush, no ones favorite, in both 2000 and 2004, running against Gore, a real stiff in 2000, and Kerry in 2004 who was even stiffer. Be honest, would any sane person want Kerry’s wife as first lady? I think not.
Obama is a visionary, a terrific orator who can motivate the country at large, and, apart from some surprising reversals (read public funding), seems consistently on his message. He is calm, intelligent, and thinks things through.
My only worries concerning Obama are that the world is a dangerous place, and getting more so lately with Russia’s recent muscle flexing and the resurgence of Islamic extremists in Pakistan. Obama seems a little too trusting in the power of talk and personality to solve problems, and if he appears weak in any way, some one is going to really test his resolve in a violent confrontation.
In the 60’s, a newly elected Kennedy met with the Soviet Premiere Khrushchev. Historians say Kennedy was possibly a little too accomodating at the Summit, and likely appeared indecisive to the Russian. The Soviets saw weakness in the new and inexperienced US President, and decided to push him. Just months later we were deep in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and at the brink of nuclear war. That’s what Biden meant when he said Obama would be severely tested, a fact that, as Obama’s running mate, he was stupid to bring up.
Secondly, the Rev Wright relationship is troubling – I would have left a church that seemed unpatriotic or even hinted at racism. It troubles me that Obama remained a member for years while the Rev Wright made his statements. In contrast, the episode with Ayers is nothing to worry about because I believe Obama when he says he didn’t know the man was an anarchist from the 60’s and 70’s. If you meet someone at a party, are you responsible if the guy you met blew up a bank 20 or 25 years previously? Of course not.
Obama did hang with a lot of leftists in his younger days, but I feel he has become more moderate. In short, I like Obama and would vote for him in a nanosecond if he had more experience.
Biden is a nice fellow, lots of experience, but with the fatal flaw that he can not shut up or quit while he is ahead. He always seems to get in trouble with his mouth. I watched the hearings to confirm the last Supreme Court Justice, and Biden was on the committee. Each senator got 20 mins to question the nominee, and Biden’s only question was 18 minutes long! That left a total of 2 mins for the judge to answer. Do we really need this guy making government more efficient?
McCain is the maverick he says he is. He has been a pain in Bush’s ass for years now, and is almost single handedly responsible for getting Rumsfeld fired. He spoke out strongly against the cruel interrogation policies at Abu Graib and Guantanamo. So you really can’t believe it when Obama paints McCain as another Bush. He is not.
McCain has proven, time and again, that he is willing to work with and embrace Democrats to get important legislation passed. He even, with Senator Lieberman, got that group of centrist Senators from both parties working together to break the gridlock to get federal judges confirmed.
He is NOT kidding about reform either, it’s been his most important goal for at least a decade. We all know that Washington desperately needs reform. McCain does however, have a temper, but so far seems to control it well.
I think Palin’s nomination served a dual purpose – first obviously, to cynically snag Hillary’s followers; and second, to push his reform agenda. To me however, Palin seems a bit of a lightweight for the Vice Presidency. She seems more like a mid level congress woman, certainly not a VP. Her Joe Six Pack cutesiness and those flirty winks make me think of a high school bimbo, not a potential VP.
A friend of mine said McCain, at 72, is old enough to fart dust. If anything goes bad with McCain’s health, his choice of Palin sure as hell will make my sphincter tighten.
My idea of this year’s perfect presidential ticket? Hillary Clinton and Colin Powell, too bad it will never happen.
Who am I voting for in this election? It’s private, but now you know why I will choose whom I choose. Please everyone, VOTE!
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hehe…old enough to fart dust… Aww, I’m too immature for that comment!! 🙂
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Your dream ticket isn’t bad. My dream ticket — I think McCain should have chosen Condi Rice. I think that would’ve been a strong ticket — You’ve got race, gender and age covered!
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I was a Hillary supporter and I’m still not in love with Obama but I voted for him.
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A tastefully written political opinion of the candidates.
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yes – Hillary and Colin would have been a splendid ticket!
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you haven’t lost me. a woman who votes against womens rights doesn’t make me want her as vp. mccain is so old i worry he will die like, tomorrow. i will vote my dear, i always do. but this time i am not happy.
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I like your points, especially about Obama–I always like reading thoughtful criticism and feel I gain a lot of perspective when I do. I agree that Obama is much more of an idealist and thinks he can solve everything with peace talks. Actually that’s a very European point of view; my boyfriend expresses a lot of similar opinions. McCain however, has a very “America-the-superpower” attitude, which can be very dangerous in international politics. It’s what has ruined our reputation over the years. So in my mind, it’s a touch call–definitely a toss-up. But mostly I’m interested in what you have to say about McCain’s policy on 1) war and 2) downsizing government power. Those are two things that you didn’t mention, and two things that are EXTREMELY important in the decision-making process for more liberal voters. It’s going to be a phenomenal election… I’m looking forward to Tuesday!
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Interesting – and I agree with a lot of the things you say. For me, Sarah Palin is such a deterrent, though – especially given that McCain is neither young nor in full health. I don’t get to vote, of course, though… So are you living in America? I suppose I always assumed you were living in Ireland…
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Also voted.
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Good to hear such well-reasoned thinking here. I am comfortable with my decision, and come-what-may, feel this is probably the most important election most of us have ever seen. It is exciting to see such enthusiasm at the polls. Wishing you well, always … Emma
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I’m shocked,truly. We’ve just come through 8 years of the dumbest president that ever warmed a seat in the Oval Office and you are willing to give Grampy McCain and Miss Prom Queen your vote. Dear God that woman is so stupid that if she were lucky enough to have the IQ of a carrot she’d still be the dumbest one in the bunch.
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Regarding your comment about the Cuban missile crisis I guess for someone who never went through it I can understand how you feel. However, the way that JFK handeled it was correct. We didn’t didn’t initiate a nuclear holcaust and Russia got the point. I shudder to think what will become of this country if we elect McCain and Palin.
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My vote is not private … I’m voting for Obama/Biden. If people don’t want to be my friend because of that, so be it. It would be a “friendship” under false pretenses anyway. Everyone seems to forget that when America was attacked on September 11, 2001 we had a conservative Republican in the White House! People talk about Obama’s foreign policy experience, but I think if someone has a planto attack they’re going to try to go through with it no matter who is president. Diplomacy cannot be over emphasized or underestimated. Even rogue nations respect a hardline diplomatic president. In my estimation, it is when we choose not to have dialogue with them at all that we run the greatest risk for such attacks. It’s like that in life. This is one of the reasons I had such a difficult time with McCain not looking at Obama in the first two debates. It told me what type of president he would be. If you oppose him he will consider you not worth looking at. Either that, or he’ll be too intimidated to look his opponent in the eye. For an adversary to be dealt with matter-of-factly one must look that adversary straight in the eye. None of that eye-winking stuff. Obama is the man!
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I read through your message and then all the notes you recieved and was feeling very politically minded, but then I gained the greatest perspective when I saw the Tom’s of Maine advertisement at the bottom of the page: “If you want to create change, change your deoderant.” If only politics were that straight forward.
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Mostly I’m just rambaling…I’ve been without any real entries in a while. I like this entry btw. Very open minded and real. The sphincter thing made me laugh… ~
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i couldn’t have said it any better, myself, friend. how come no one ever talks about the fact that obama is a heavy smoker? He could just as easily develop cancer and drop dead in office.
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would that make him a dustbuster? enjoyed this one, even though you left us hanging. again.
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Your points are expressed quite eloquently. Thank you. I thought I was the only one aware of the fact that McCain was the LAST candidate most of the right-wing Repubicans wanted nominated, simply because he IS considered a radical by the party. I remember listening to Limbaugh more than four years ago ranting about McCain. I can’t agree 100% with your perception of Obama’s lack of knowledgeconcerning Ayers, however. I’ve worked with several AA’s very strongly involved in politics, and even *I* know about Ayers. When Obama’s name first came up as a possible presidential candidate, I looked up the Rev. Wright’s homepage. I knew then that Americans should take a close look before committing to Obama. One doesn’t go to a Church for years on end because you DISAGREE with the preacher: you go because you like and agree with the message coming from the pulpit.
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You got a sticker? Wow…I’m majorly impressed! ROTFLOL! I can’t decide whether I should stay up to the wee hours, or just wait for the news tomorrow morning. I hate all the rhetoric and “predictions” based on numbers coming from “less than 1% of the reporting precincts”…
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You compacted many concerns quite nicely. I hope you will feel comfortable with the outcome yesterday and feels optimistic with the future.
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i’d vote for colin powell
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