Lets try something different.
OffHeGoes29
Posts: 1,240
Looking at most of the post here, they are negative. I don't see much in the way of positive constructive conversation here. So in the spirit of the Moving Train, lets devote this thread to:
List the reasons why your choice in a particular candidate is the best person suited to run this country.
HERES THE CATCH: No negative, sarcastic, personal attacks, conspiracy theories, or bashing of anyone's post here. There are more than enough of that going around in other threads. Its really simple, if you believe in a candidate, give your reasons why WITHOUT going into a long winded speech about how the other candidate is completely evil. I don't care who you support, just give us the POSITIVE reasons of why they should become president.
Example: I support Candidate X because he/she will do........
Not: I support Candidate X because Candidate Y is a .........
Lets try an experiment in respecting people's opinions.
List the reasons why your choice in a particular candidate is the best person suited to run this country.
HERES THE CATCH: No negative, sarcastic, personal attacks, conspiracy theories, or bashing of anyone's post here. There are more than enough of that going around in other threads. Its really simple, if you believe in a candidate, give your reasons why WITHOUT going into a long winded speech about how the other candidate is completely evil. I don't care who you support, just give us the POSITIVE reasons of why they should become president.
Example: I support Candidate X because he/she will do........
Not: I support Candidate X because Candidate Y is a .........
Lets try an experiment in respecting people's opinions.
BRING BACK THE WHALE
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
I love pretending!
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
Well that didn't take very long to fuck up.
I'm not talking about pretending. Most of us are voting this fall, so there has to be more to your vote than pure hatred for the other candidates?
I tried something like this before. It won't happen, unfortunately.
I hope that if I push it enough, it will. Its easier to say something negative than to say something constructive. I guess people are afraid to post their views? Its only strangers that read these posts, its not like your friends, family, and coworkers are here to judge what you have to say.
sorry for the reality byte...
everything is awesome!
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
I take it you caught Layton in that 1 on 1 with Peter Mansbridge the other day on the CBC?
Was he talking sense or what?
support up and coming alternate energy companies or subsidize big oil...hmm tough decision.
Don't hear much of that from the liberal/conservative team.
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
i missed it actually - i've actually worked with jack for many years on various activist issues (mostly environmental) and he hasn't changed much ... although i don't agree with all his political manoueverings - i do believe that he has the interests of the people at heart and i respect him for that ...
True bipartisan cooperation during his years as a senator. He has crossed party lines to work with people on various issues. In fact most hard line rep. have out casted him because of this.
His military experience is unique, he would be the only president who was a POW (that I know of), which gives him insight that no other president has ever experienced. Ike had more military experience, but testing your limits for 5 years in those conditions speaks a lot about his character. With that being said, he knows better than anyone what it means to send our troops overseas in this current uneasy time in the world. His stance on the treatment of detainees upholds their rights. Wants to raise military pay to avoid a draft. The Air Force cut 40,000 people in 06/07 to pay for its F-22 and Osprey programs.
Hes against most forms of big government involvement, trying to keep taxes low to prevent people like you and me from paying off wasteful spending in the long run. Wants to reduce military spending in wasteful areas.
He's environmentally minded more so then any other rep. in recent history. Even though he wants to drill more, which I am against, he has a more realistic out come to our energy plan. It doesn't matter who you tax more, us or the oil companies; we pay for it in the end.
I'm for privatized health care, the socialist system doesn't work, it just spreads shitty healthcare for everyone equally.
Pro 2nd amendment
And one thing I noticed about his character, he is the first person to tell you what he lacks. If he says he doesn't know enough about an issue, hes telling the truth. Something you don't see in politics.
I will tell you I disagree about his stance on Gay rights, abortion, and drilling. But he has said that he will do whats best for the country, not whats best for him.
The beginning is that I strongly believe the country may be irrevocably damaged if we have another President similar to George W. Bush. This is not a swipe against McCain; I'm sure he'd be more competent. But nevertheless the policies are remarkably similar, and we can have no more of it. Obama's background I find very appealing as a presidental candidate. As a community organizer he would've learned (as I am doing now) the necessity of building bipartisan coalitions and compromising to achieve objectives. This also shows me that he's actually spent time with people less well-off in our nation, working directly with them to solve problems. He's a constitutional law expert, which I think would be a lovely change of pace.
On the issues we seem to agree mightily; I agree with him that health care should be made affordable by the U.S. Government, and there should be a plan for everyone to buy into, but that you should not force people to change from their private coverage if you don't want to. I agree with him on the two main Homeland Security issues, that our ports need to be radically overhauled to be able to detect dangerous material, and that the most dangerous thing we have to work towards preventing is the acqusition of a nuclear/biological weapon on the black market by a terrorist group who then uses it in the U.S. I agree with him that there needs to be more focus on Afghanistan and less on Iraq, and it should not be discounted that he was entirely right about what was going to happen in Iraq in the following five years when most people, including some experts in the highest level of government, were dead wrong. On the biggest foreign policy decision of our time, Obama nailed it, and our sitting president did not.
In terms of energy, which is going to probably be one of the biggest issues, if not the biggest issue facing our country, Obama again gets it right. Energy is connected to everything, foreign policy, economics, etc. Simply opening offshore drilling stations here in America is not the answer; there won't be enough oil, it will take too long to have a positive impact on the price and we won't adjust our economy quick enough. And this is the only time I'll be negative; I just simply don't believe John McCain when he says we'll invest equally in offshore drilling and alternative energy. His record doesn't show it. Obama's record does, and he's right in that we need a new New Deal, one framed upon the basic tenet that our economy needs to afford us leverage when dealing with fundamentalist dictatorships in the Middle East and needs to protect ourselves and our planet. He's got the plans.
Finally, he's inspiring as a leader. This is often dismissed by his critics, but isn't one of the most important things a leader has to do is inspire his or her citizens? I believe that national service will improve drastically under his watch, our reputation in the world will be restored after a dark eight years, and we will be better equipped and better allied in military and diplomatic conflicts with our enemies.
OK, that's about it.
For Obama, foreign policy is the big area for me. We've seen how this past eight years went with bullying countries into support, and basically ignoring countries that you disagree with has gone. Combine that with our current neo-con vision of spreading democracy throughout the world, has been nothing short of a disaster.
Judgement is also an important part... Barack has been ahead of the curve with the war on terror. He was absolutely correct about Iraq before the war started, was months ahead with his focus on Afghanistan, and in terms of withdrawal, the Iraqi government, and even Bush have come closer to Obama's plan.
Obama also has a history of listening to both sides on issues, and I think that he has a better understanding of long term impacts of decisions.
While it may be a small issue, I also think that Obama & Biden coming from middle class families is a positive. I just think that coming from tougher roots, they both probably still have contact with friends and family who are not as well off.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
The best part is, Obama’s call to service isn’t strictly military. I love that. You mean, I don’t have to join the army to be considered an American. I don’t have to own a gun, don’t have to have slaved my entire life away just to earn the distinction of “salt of the earth” (which is the most condescending bull shit I’ve ever heard).
Obama wants to end this nightmare of war that has cost the lives 100’s of thousands of civilians whose only crime is being born in Iraq. I'm guessing only a small % of those who have died were terrorists. Gut feel, i don't have facts to back this up. There's too many dead and they didn't have terrorists stamped on their head when they were murdered. Makes me sick to my stomach that the Republican Party has succeeded with associating one religion with absolute hatred, that they’ve been able to instil this idea that every single person in the Middle East has a bomb and a gun and a distinct hatred for Americans. Absolutely not true. Under Obama, this shit will end soon.
John McCain makes me feel un-American. Always pandering to the idea that democrats never worked and that everyone in America is some kind of coal miner or steel worker just trying to get by. That’s absolutely not true and It's disgusting when he pulls out middle class buzz-words.
A vote for John McCain is a vote for 100 more years of war. I feel like we will be in a war with Iran and Russia because that’s going to be his answer to the problems they stir up, and because of all this “need” for military presence, there’s going to be a draft which I will beg anyone i know to take up their American right to dodge the hell out of. Fuck going to war. We weren't born to kill or be killed.
Obama’s tax cuts will benefit the bottom 80% of Americans. John McCain’s will benefit the wealthiest 20%. While both McCain and Obama plan to lower taxes for at least 95% of Americans, the Obama tax cuts are greater for those who need it the most. Yes, Obama plans to raise taxes on those who make over $2.5 million a year, but take a look at this data http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/competing-tax-plans-two-perspectives/ and see that John McCain’s plan cuts more taxes for the wealthiest than it does for the less well off. I don’t know where the McCain campaign got the idea that Obama plans to raise taxes on workers, just the top 1% of Americans.
John McCain and Sarah Palin support drilling in ANWR, and I absolutely do not. There’s one reason I can’t vote for McCain. Drilling for oil in America is not going to quell the rising price of gas, just destroy parts of the Earth and sections of it’s ecosystem that some people believe are very important to human beings sticking around for a while. He also has said repeatedly that he wants more nuclear power plants (I think 15).
Obama wants to rid us of the same dependence on foreign oil.
Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined. He also understands that doing that doesn’t mean we have to bring the oil home. It means changing the way we produce, consume and reuse our energy sources.
Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America. Sure, I can understand the desire to rid ourselves of foreign oil, but let’s do that by changing the energy infrastructure. Waaaaay better,as far as I am concerned, than voting for McCain.
There's a lot a stake for me, i have not had children yet. I want something better than this to bring them into. I don't have 'blind faith' that Obama is going to solve all our problems, i am not unrealistic as to what he can and can't do, but i do have hope that with the right people around him, he is the best candidate.
Say i'm wrong, and i'm placing faith and trust in someone that doesn't deserve it, obama gets in, and he continues with Bush doctrine, the conversation in 4 years will be much different. We won't be fooled twice now will we.
Clearly i'm hoping this will not be the case.
1. energy policy- the fact is, america is never going to be the manufacturing economy it used to be. big auto is not coming back and we cannot compete with china and other countries in terms of keeping costs down. this country became the powerhouse it is because of innovation and being ahead of everyone else in technology... nuclear power, autos, space program, internet and computers. renewable energy is the way of the future, period. i have long said i don't understand why we're getting beat by japan on this one. obama wants to turn it into another 'race for the moon' and i think that is spot on. we are capable of this and sooner than the current oil people want us to believe. it's a chance for us to rejuvenate our country's economy and prepare it for the 21st century.
2. war/military force- obama wants to get us out of iraq and let them take over. i agree. the prospect of being there for 100 years is not a good one. obama says we should never have taken our eyes off the prize in afghanistan and he is right. let's get ourselves back on track. his views also lend credibility to my belief that he would exercise military force in a far more reasoned and intelligent manner.
I'll agree with you on this one.
Justice Stevens and Justice Ginsberg will not be around much longer - whether they both retire or (heaven forbid) pass away while on the bench. If McCain is elected, that would mean two more conservative justices in the Supreme Court. No, thank you.
kevinbeetle: "Yes. When her career washes up and her and Gavin move to Galveston, you will meet her at Hot Topic shopping for a Japanese cheerleader outfit.
Next!"
because on a positive note, she is NOT a mainstream partisan hack.
I have seen her in congress relentlessly and FEARLESSLY standing up for what she believes in ... asking TOUGH questions that have left her utterly ostricized from the big machine.
I don't really give two shits if she is "crazy".
She is not bought and sold, and at this point that is ALL that matters.
We need ONE OF OUR OWN in the white house.
And i don't give a flying fuck if she is "electable".
People need to get over that in a big way.
I will HAPPILY "throw my vote away" rather than SELL IT OUT to some two faced shill of a rich man's con.
PS -
And Ron Paul is NO LONGER ON THE BALLOT, my friend.
Believe me he would get my vote if it was worth a lick at this point,
but you are throwing it away (LITERALLY) if you try to vote for him.
HE DOES NOT HAVE AN ELECTORAL SLATE UP FOR THE OFFERING.
YOUR VOTE LITERALLY GOES IN THE TRASH if you try to "write him in".
:(
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Iraq Veterans Against the War
www.ivaw.org
Please see my post above.
Please DO NOT TRY TO VOTE FOR RON PAUL
It is ABSOULTELY 100% WORTHLESS.
HE DOES NOT HAVE AN ELECTORAL SLATE ON THE BALLOT IN ANY STATE.
YOU CAN NOT LEGALLY VOTE FOR HIM!
If you wanted to vote for Ron Paul (i did) LISTEN TO HIS PLEA and VOTE FOR ANY NON MAINSTREAM CANDIDATE.
ANY ONE OF THEM.
Pick one.
I'm picking McKinney because i KNOW she is on the level.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Iraq Veterans Against the War
www.ivaw.org
nice reference to one of the greatest lines out of one of the greatest songs on riot act.
"no white or black just grey, can you feel this
world with your heart and not your brain."
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Iraq Veterans Against the War
www.ivaw.org
I hope I'm not derailing the thread here...
This bothers me...not your opinion, etc. but does it bother anyone else that the Supreme Court has become such a political institution? How is it that there are republican and democrat judges? It just seems wrong to have the president appoint individuals for such an important position, so that they must pander to one side or the other. I'm not sure how it should be or how to make it better, but it just seems stupid.
Anyhow...
I'm not sure whom I am voting for yet so some good things abotu both...
1) Obama - he is an inspiring leader as someone mentioned. I believe this is extremely important as president. You don;t have to have a ton of experience if you have a clear vision, clear thinking, surround yourself with "experts" you can trust, and you are inspiring. Obama certainly has a clear vision and is a clear thinker...the surrounding part can't be determined until he is elected (if he is elected). I also think he is right on taking our eye off the real threat in Afgh. and instead focusing on Iraq.
2) McCain - he has already showed that he will serve his country despite what is best for him. He seems to think for himself instead of only follow the party line. While he has little understanding of economics, I agree with his premise of lowering taxes and reducing spending (I hope he keeps to this if elected). I'm also for privitizing Social Security and against allowing the government to run the health care system. I align more directly with McCain on the issues than I do Obama.
Our country is in bad shape. We have two wars where our military people are tasked as the only Americans in the fight. Our big businesses are out of control because they have no controls or oversites on what they do. Our standing in the world, amongst friends and enemies is not where it was... or where it should be.We are divided amongst imaginary lines that define us by political affiliation.
...
I see more change in our current direction with Obama. Mostly because I find it awfully insulting to me, both, as an American and as a voter, when the ones who have been in the driver's seat for the past 8 years try to sell themselves as the ones who will bring a change in our direction. I remember the past 8 years... I remember the past 4 decades... no one can revise the history I lived through with political fast talk. If change was what they wanted, then why didn't change come while they were at the wheel?
War - I hear, 'The Surge is/has working/worked'. If that is the case, then, it would lead me to believe that the political process in Iraq has moved forward. Has it? I don't know, because no one is telling me. The only way I will see the surge as successful would be the drawing down of our troops over there. If violence is re-kindled... then the surge did NOT work and an ESCALATION of forces is what is and has always been needed. I cannot declare something such as the surge as successful or a failure until it has completed its lifecycle.
Economy - When Capitalism is left to grow without oversights and regulations... it will grow, but that growth will come at a cost. We are seeing the results of an un-regulated market that produced artificial growth as the dog eat dog market begins to comsume its own flesh. Someone made big money and the only trickle down we feel is their piss on our heads.
And my memory tells me that McCain was involved with the Savings and Loan debacle in the late 80s/early 90s. Another case where a few people made huge money while Joe American got screwed.
Foriegn Policy - We need our allies to be on our side... just as we need to be on their side. France and Germany are NOT the enemy. Places like Pakistan are. It is a bizarro world when Americans hated Europe and embraced Pakistan this decade. I stongly feel that Obama will be better and mending our relationships with our NATO Allies. Just because they refused to agree to our actions, does NOT make them our enemy. Just as agreeing with us (verbally), does not make Pakistan (Musharef) our friend.
Rove Effect - We, not the politicians... but, the American people, need to end this ridiculous idea that politics is sport. Your enemy is NOT the opposite political party or a person with an opposing view. This endless political campaigning to keep us believing this bullshit makes us weak... and it makes us stupid.
...
Other Issues:
Health care - I think than everyone should have access to the basic health care... flu shots, pre-natal, birth control... not just those of us who happen to work in a company that provides Health Care benefits. if everyone got flu shots.. then, maybe the minimum wage guy working at the taco joint I like to go to won't bring the flu to his work. That goes for the guy at the tire store or the Best Buys or any of the other places I go to.
Environment - I believe that Obama is more towards care for our environment than McCain.
Abortion - A non-issue, to me.
Gay marriage - See above.
Gun control - See above.
Presidential Ticket - Not a big fan of Biden... in fact... i don't particularly like him. But, the Palin selection is, at best, at par with H. Ross Perot's pick of Will Stockdale as a running mate. And i think I'd give Stockdale the Second Place award for Worst V.P. Candidate on an Ticket.
The only plus side I find on McCain would be with Defense. I believe that although there is no longer a Cold War... we still need to protect ourselves with technological advantages against possible future adversaries.
Hail, Hail!!!
They say you got to chose your side and, when its done.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
It ended in a great big fight and, when its done.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
Conflict each and every day, at home and in the streets, and in my soul every way.
Its hard to keep the faith, when I feels so far away.
Times i feel connected, times I'm runnin' away.
But Whoa Whoa, Cant you see, all the sickness, hunger, and poverty.
War on the land and war on the seas.
Whoa, War is a painful thing.
One argument that none of us can hide, is the one thats ragin down deep inside.
Tryin' to make a point, or have the last word.
But most the time people just tryin to be heard.
They say you got to chose your side and, when its done.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
It ended in a great big fight and, when its done.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
But how many people never eva broke a rule.
And how many people tryin to get their kids to school
And how many people prayin they only find a job.
And how many poeple are afraid of gettin robbed.
Whoa Whoa, nobody knows.
And whoa whoa, only god knows.
Numbers escalate, wall street, crime rate.
From the Bahgdad streets, to my city by the bay.
Hey they say you got to chose your side and, when its done.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
It ended in a great big fight and, when its done.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
And I say, can you say what you mean?
And can you mean what you mean what you say?
And can you say what you mean?
And can you mean what you mean what you say?
And can you say what you mean?
Every single day? Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Reach out a hand to somebody who needs a hand.
And reach out a heart to somebody torn apart.
Its hard, this livin, this life we've been given.
Locked in your soul, or locked up in prison.
Remember you have to reach high to be risen.
The day you let go is the day you are forgiven.
So they say you got to chose your side and, when its done.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
Nobody right now.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
And I say, one man got a jet fighter, and the other got a song.
Nobody right, nobody wrong.
I just hope whosoever gets to become President will get this country back on it's feet. Tough task though.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Iraq Veterans Against the War
www.ivaw.org
Yes that's my friend Michael Franti and his band Spearhead who just released this song and album last week All Rebel Rockers. He visited Baghdad, Iraq/Israel/Palestine back in 2004 He recorded his award winning documentary *I Know I'm Not Alone*. We thought he was crazy for going but he said he had to see it for himself instead of believing what was broadcasted on the news.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)