Politics United States Presidential Election Thread

[mrcongojack]

Lol, they really never tried the whole season...



Yup Edwards is dropping out today...I can believe Obama and Clinton took everyone out...

They certainly did a better job of taking out the opposition better than Mitt and McCain are... they can't even get rid of Ron Paul. I guess that just goes to show how divided the Republican party is right now.

I'm kind of sad to see Dennis Kucinich go... he was my favorite candidate.

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

They certainly did a better job of taking out the opposition better than Mitt and McCain are... they can't even get rid of Ron Paul. I guess that just goes to show how divided the Republican party is right now.

Not all candidates stay in it to win it - they stay in to bring issues and POVs to the forefront in debates and try to force the real contenders to take a stand one way or the other.

Edwards dropping out is disappointing for me - I feel that the celebrity status of Obama & Hillary, as well as the historic implications of their respective campaigns, really overshadowed a good, sound candidate.
As I am now a full member of middle class America (sole breadwinner with a wife & house to support) I really felt like he was the candidate who would improve life the most for me and people like me. With him out, my only real choice now is Obama.

I'd like to comment on one thing Mike Huckabee said that I very much agree with - a handout is the wrong way to avoid/soften recession. He suggests pouring money into America's infrastructure - its roads, bridges, etc, as doing so not only creates jobs, but results in 100% of the money being spent on America and American "goods."

Discuss.

 

[Flavor]

Does endorsement make any difference with the voters?

It could with Latinos. Kennedy is also liked by labor unions and it could also potentially make Massachusetts another state which could swing into Obama's favor.

If Edwards is going to endorse anyone, it'd probably be Obama. It's pretty unlikely that he'll endorse Clinton.

I'd like to comment on one thing Mike Huckabee said that I very much agree with - a handout is the wrong way to avoid/soften recession. He suggests pouring money into America's infrastructure - its roads, bridges, etc, as doing so not only creates jobs, but results in 100% of the money being spent on America and American "goods."

More work on public goods means more taxes. Increased taxes means less money a consumer can spend on something else. Increasing taxes could potentially have even more drastic consequences (such as reducing consumer spending).

The American economy for the last 6 years has been prosperous due to alot of spending through consumers. IMO a handout is the wrong way to go. You don't get $600 in the mail and say, "Hey, I think I'm going to buy a house! or a car!" The Bush Administration needs to try and stimulate purchasing if it wants to keep us afloat in the short term. But then again, the whole subprime issue and fear with the state of banks and loans leaves us in a dangerous position. I don't think there's an easy way out of this situation America's dug itself into.

 

[Leen]

Huckabee is over. McCain is going to win for Republican. The recent win by McCain, trailed by Romney just affirms my speculation that Huckabee's campaign if over. But I do agree with a lot of people that he will make a good Vice-President candidate. =D His evangelical influence can be very useful.

It's a shame for Edwards to pull out. =/ I could definitely understand why he did that though. Obama and Clinton are just trying outpopularize one another. Sigh. I wonder if this is actually an election to choose the best candidate or just another popularity contest for the rich and the bossy?

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

Endorsements only matter to people who respect and value the opinion of the endorser. Demographical makeup has nothing to do with it.

Anyone watch the debate on CNN tonight? Ron Paul is a pretty terrible speaker, but when it comes to certain issues (borrowing money out of thin air) he is so very, very right.

 

[KyanWan]

Huckabee's a fool - and this is coming from the mouth of a Republican.

Personally - I believe his ideas are outright moronic. That guy winning anything - would be a disaster. If we tossed MORE money into roads and such, it would not be good. I do agree that maintenance is essential - however - creating more than what we have at this time is foolery.

Things I would consider good:

- Railroad subsidy / credits - Encourage a shift from highway to rail. It worked excellent back when we needed transport most ... and with our aims at cutting pollution - an engine that can transport *trucks* at a fraction of what it costs ( monetarily & pollution wise ) a single truck to.

- Tax relief for SMALL businesses & employers - based on job growth & incentives passed on to employees. If you create jobs - you should be rewarded. If you provide healthcare for your workers, you should be rewarded as well. If this were limited to Small businesses who employ 5-50 workers or something of that nature. Larger businesses - don't need more help than they already get.

- Kill the war & world police force. Seriously. We need to go mostly Isolationist - and let the UN handle the dirty work. There's 6,000,000,000 people in the world - we're a drop in the bucket. Let the world handle the dirty work.

So , right there - there's huge savings.

But here's what I, personally, consider most important - education.

Now, I do notice there's handouts, people crying that they're not making enough money, etc. I hear "give more foodstamps", "give more federal aid", "tax cuts", etc -

Erm, the way I see it -

Aid should be on an effort-put-in basis. Handouts, free-lunches - non-existent.

If you want foodstamps - here's your requirements:

1- Get a job.
2- Get educated. Get your GED. Enroll in community college.
3- Gov't pays for your education IN FULL. Get decent grades -OR- have your instructors vouch that you're putting forth real effort - or your assistance is ceased.
4- CASH handouts do not exist. Give credit towards essentials ONLY: food, clothing, utilities, healthcare. Absolutely no spending money. You want cash to spend on yourself, work for it.

Once you prove you're actively seeking a better life, then you get more benefits. But again - cash - no. Work for cash - get a job like everyone else.

That's my idea of handouts. The "teach a man to fish" way.

 

[lordHokage]

Endorsements only matter to people who respect and value the opinion of the endorser. Demographical makeup has nothing to do with it.

In my personal opinion, I strongly believe that endorses put their representation on the line and I don’t respect nor value their opinion.

 

[mrcongojack]

Holy crap...Super Tuesday is tomorrow... how will I ever sleep?

Hillary and Obama did turn down the rhetoric in their last debate, which was nice. They just got to the issues. It was great and all, but I got ready for a blood bath. It was kind of a let down.

 

[Athena]

Being bombed by a woman President or being bombed by a black President is a novelty for the rest of the world, for about two seconds.
Being bombed is being bombed, you still end up dead.
Wake me up when America elects pacifist atheist poor person as President.
THAT would be real news.

 

[Gold Knight]

The race has certainly taken an interesting turn since the Iowa caucus, I'm kind of embarrassed I jumped to conclusions so quickly at that point. I was in a lousy mood back then.

It looks as if Hillary is going to beat Obama at this point after all. I think Nader declaring himself in the race is going to make things miserable for the Dems though.

On the Republican side, it looks like McCain does have the lead. Only thing I can think of that can help Romney if he actually picks another Republican candidate to run for his vice president (Huckabee or Rudy) that will help him get some more votes. Huckabee would be ideal, since by staying in the race he's still drawing a lot of the votes that Romney would have had otherwise. It's almost forcing Romney to consider asking him to be his VP.

Otherwise it's probably McCain's win. To be honest, though, I don't see much difference between McCain and Hillary. It almost seems to me like McCain is Hillary in men's clothes. As as a Republican, I'm not really thrilled at all by that. I'm probably going to vote for Romney tomorrow but I have little hope at this point.

 

[godofthesunn]

regardless of who wins well life will continue for us folks here in the usa yeah USA.. if i recall correctly the apocolypse is in 2012 so meh.. lets just enjoy these next 4 years until skynet takes over

 

[Gold Knight]

Originally 1997 was the day of judgment, though. We're fine.

The main concern I have is just keeping our country safe right now - and I believed that being in Afghanistan and Iraq and keeping the Taliban and any would-be dictators on the run was the answer to aiding in spreading better and stronger governments over the world. Still do. But as soon as we leave, it's all for nothing. They'll all be given a chance to regroup and be deadly again, and America, Britain, and any other countries opposed to their tactics will be under attack again. The 4,000 soldiers we'll have lost in Iraq will be in vain. Maybe that's what the rest of the world wants to happen - I don't know. But I didn't expect it from our own countrymen. It's pretty much Vietnam all over again, we're almost fighting ourselves as much as we are the enemy.

I'm going to vote for Romney now, see ya guys later.

 

[lordHokage]

I wish all the presidential candidates good luck on this big Super Tuesday.

 

[xi0]

Originally 1997 was the day of judgment, though. We're fine.

The main concern I have is just keeping our country safe right now - and I believed that being in Afghanistan and Iraq and keeping the Taliban and any would-be dictators on the run was the answer to aiding in spreading better and stronger governments over the world. Still do. But as soon as we leave, it's all for nothing. They'll all be given a chance to regroup and be deadly again, and America, Britain, and any other countries opposed to their tactics will be under attack again. The 4,000 soldiers we'll have lost in Iraq will be in vain. Maybe that's what the rest of the world wants to happen - I don't know. But I didn't expect it from our own countrymen. It's pretty much Vietnam all over again, we're almost fighting ourselves as much as we are the enemy.

I'm going to vote for Romney now, see ya guys later.

The number of lives lost in this war isn't comparable to Vietnam really. The main difference between this war and Vietnam is that as Americans, we had seemingly noble intentions there.

With the war in Iraq, the intentions weren't so noble. The Bush administration used our unity after 9/11 and our rapid success in Afghanistan as a rallying cry to go against one of our old "Enemies" in Hussein. But we all know now that Iraq had NO WMDs, and had NO involvement in 9/11. So why were we there in the first place? Hussein's regime was a Baathist secular government that was anything but influenced by Muslim Extremism. Sure we knew he was a tyrant, and that he treated his people like crap, but we could name a half-dozen other regimes that should have gone before him. Hussein was in power in Iraq because WE put him there. This war was for securing the Oil fields that made Iraq so rich. That's it. Period. No argument is necessary.

Now, when we pull out of Iraq, will we be worse off security-wise? There's a good chance that's true. But it's no one's fault but our own. Instead of spending money own fortifying our homeland and it's infrastructure, we wasted it on a war, that for all intents and purposes, looks like it has no end.

Our soldiers will probably have died in vain when it's all said and done, but what else is there to do? Have more die? Be there for decades ie Korea? The only plus to having a presence there is the oil.

With all this focus on Iraq, the government hasn't focused on Afghanistan like it should. That job should have been finished first, and now the Taliban has undergone what seems to be some sort of resurgence.

It's all a mess now. I want to vote for someone who WILL end the war in Iraq ASAP. The candidates on the Democratic side have pledged to end it, but who even knows if that will happen. I see Obama doing it before Clinton would though.

 

[mrcongojack]

Originally 1997 was the day of judgment, though. We're fine.

The main concern I have is just keeping our country safe right now - and I believed that being in Afghanistan and Iraq and keeping the Taliban and any would-be dictators on the run was the answer to aiding in spreading better and stronger governments over the world. Still do. But as soon as we leave, it's all for nothing. They'll all be given a chance to regroup and be deadly again, and America, Britain, and any other countries opposed to their tactics will be under attack again. The 4,000 soldiers we'll have lost in Iraq will be in vain. Maybe that's what the rest of the world wants to happen - I don't know. But I didn't expect it from our own countrymen. It's pretty much Vietnam all over again, we're almost fighting ourselves as much as we are the enemy.

I'm going to vote for Romney now, see ya guys later.

So we should let more of our boys, my friends, perhaps even me (although I doubt they would instate the draft) get killed, just because four thousand have already? Should we really compound the number of dead boys?

And news flash - Dictators are rallying all over the world, even though we are in Iraq. North Korea's getting close to developing the bomb. Iran's just as crazy as ever. In fact, if it wasn't for us the current President wouldn't be in power. Intervening in world affairs has caused us nothing but trouble, and has given us some of our worst enemies.

And according to a commissioned report from Congress we are not prepared for another 9/11. This war in Iraq is more of a danger to homeland security than it is aiding it. Our port security is not as good as it should be, 88% of National Guardsmen are unprepared for an attack on this country, and this war is just a financial burden. For the sake of national security, I hope we get out of Iraq.

 

[lordHokage]

Congratulations to ALL the presidential candidates for a job well done.

​

 

[Athena]

Hooray for up to 28 consecutive years of Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton. And Jeb is waiting in the wings...

 

[Koen]

Hooray for up to 28 consecutive years of Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton. And Jeb is waiting in the wings...

and after that?

Spoiler

chelseas turn

 

[yoniekai]

our country has been a suck up to the US for around a century now. not that its not that bad, i just want good relations with the US and Phils, not pure command. our president right now is a major sheep to bush and his administration. that's why im hoping for a democrat to win. with a democrat i feel relations are more independent. like bill.

not that im sexist, but a lady president, president of the most influential country in the world, just doesnt cut it for me. i saw hillary's tears video, and it just strengthened that thought. plus in basing who is stronger - mentally and capability, obama is, he started from the ground up, hillary started with bill. and really, when i see hillary's videos or photos, i just hate her guts, cause she feels weak, like bill and bush, that feeling like this person is weaker than you. a person i want to be president is someone like lincoln, who has just an aura of strength and confidence. obama feels that way

 

[lordHokage]

Hooray for up to 28 consecutive years of Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton. And Jeb is waiting in the wings...

After Jeb Bush for president, Chelsea Clinton is next in line.