What if McCain Wins (and other ramblings)

[JohnM]

I apologize in advance for my ramblings……but what will you do if McCain actually wins? According to CNN polls, Obama is already a lock. But what if the ghost of Dewey is out there and CNN hasn’t been polling the right people? I guess that’s why we have an election and don’t select a President based on a random sampling of 500 people.

Anyway, for the rambling part, the discussions in this forum have been so anti-McCain that it gets infuriating sometimes. Now, I’m not a big McCain supporter, but I also don’t believe Obama has all the answers. I can’t help but think sometimes, where do some of you get off? You poke fun at Pallin for being a “hockey mom” (nothing wrong with that, and I bet a good number of you have been, are or will be “soccer/football/baseball moms) but someone made light of Biden shopping at home Depot and you were all over him….”leave Joe alone”. What’s the diff? (Actually, I might question his judgment, he should be shopping at the Delaware equivalent of McClendon’s). You poke fun at her life style, doing things Alaskans do. I don’t know where anybody here was raised (I suppose if I went back through past threads, I might find out), but if you were raised in Alaska, that would be your lifestyle as well.

I don’t see the name Obama any where in the name of this blog. It’s supposed to for open discussion, yet those who don’t agree get ridiculed out of here or bashed. And don’t say if you don’t like it stay out, which I believe I saw somewhere. I can’t ever recall an opposing opinion that got the response “That’s a valid point”, only an attack about how wrong it is. The House used to provide some lively debate, but even he admitted “what’s the point”?

So, Obamans, what’s your plan if McCain wins? How will your life be different regardless of who wins? If Obama is elected, will you light a fire, kick back, sigh and say “Aaahhh, Nirvana. All is right with the world. What’s broken is now fixed.” Is your passport all in order, because sure as shootin’ (might have been a Palin joke on my part — sorry) if McCain wins, we’re going to hell in a handbasket?.

Oh, and TR, perhaps some better screening is order to keep the dissidents out.

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[Cait]

Well first of all, I don’t think their polling the right people. It’s narrowed down to people with landlines basically and that discounts a lot of young voters. As someone who has only been old enough to participate in the last two elections I know from experience not to get my hopes up too high. Anything is possible.

My mother always told me that it’s not polite to discuss politics and this forum is an excellent example of why. People are so passionate about how they feel about their candidate or their opinions that it borders on how people feel about religion anymore. I’m glad that people are so aware as to feel passionate about politics, but it’s when people (either republican or democrat) are unaware or misinformed that I get peeved. Not at the people on here but the reasons why we are all duped into thinking certain things about candidates. It gets me mad about media, prejudices, and spinning of facts about things that are so important to the American people. Of course I’m more aware of it when it targets Obama, but I think there’s reason to be mad on both sides.

I think that often times, the people pointing the fingers are the ones who have not backed up their points with facts or sources. If we could do that without the personal opinions getting to entrenched into our comments there wouldn’t be too much to bicker about.

And like the post I made in the off-leash-dogs post, it only takes one bad apple to ruin it for a whole group. I regret that there are people on here that make comments about Obama being a terrorist, not loving America and quoting Ann Coulter. It’s a crying shame as far as I’m concerned, but I truly appreciate the factually based and respectful conversations I’ve had on here with other members from various political parties.

And if Obama does win – for the record I still think we’ll still have a long long road ahead of us. I think we can all agree on that.

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[Cait]

Oh – and the ripping on Palin? I don’t think it’s just the hockey mom thing – I think it’s the way that she parades it around as a qualifier for being vice president or as a way to relate to the American people. People have made fun of Obama for having a terrorist’s name, having funny ears and have poked fun about his experience as a community organizer… publicly… in a formal political forum. I think the only thing you should REALLY feel sorry for her about that is even on par with this character smearing is the whole pregnancy debacle. The hockey mom thing? It’s working for her more than it’s hurting her, so again… I wouldn’t waste too much time feeling sorry for her. It’s what endeared her to the American public in the first place.

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[hopey]

Hi. Could you please choose the “Elections 2008” forum when making posts like these? It’s in the drop-down menu when you make a new post. Thanks.

The only person who can move posts is the “keymaster”, lowmanbeach.

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[JohnM]

Cait,

I’m not really feeling sorry for her, and I realize being a hockey mom is not a qualifier to be be vice-president, but niether is shopping at Home Depot. I was trying to make about the way people are treated, act and react in this particular forum. I actually believe too much time is spent on Palin when it is McCain everyone should be focused on. But I also think she was right when she said the pulse of America can be found at soccer field. I also agree that if Obama wins, we we will have along way to go.

I also agree that if Obama wins, we we will have along way to go. (But what I if said “But is it the right way?” What would become of me? That’s a theoretical question by the way)

And I also agree with your comment “I regret that there are people on here that make comments about Obama being a terrorist, not loving America and quoting Ann Coulter.”

Sometimes this forum goes to far overboard.

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[WSB]

Moved.

For anyone who missed an explanation of one reason this really matters – besides proper categorization if you choose to browse by forum section instead of just the open “recent discussions” list – if you use RSS to get updates on a forum section that interests you, and a popular new topic is launched in the wrong section, your feed gets cluttered up with all those updates till the topic is moved to where it belongs. The perennially-in-progress back-end upgrades hopefully will include defaulting to “open discussion” rather than “reader recommendations,” but that’s the default now because that was the original reason the forums were launched. Just check the dropdown before you launch a topic and make sure the right forum is chosen. Thanks! – TR

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[rampinrodney]

If the McCain/Palin ticket wins I’m moving to Iraq….

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[JohnM]

Sorry TR. I meant to do that but hit send before I did.

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[GenHillOne]

I will move to any country with a national health system and a neutral army…there are plenty to choose from.

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[Cait]

But what I if said “But is it the right way?” What would become of me? – JohnM.

You’d be asking a very legitimate question. There are risks either way, definitely. I’ve often said that politics is a game of the lesser of two evils. I have my reservations about Obama to be sure, but being young and hopeful I suppose it just makes sense.

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[bcollins]

I knew the “move to another country” comment would come out. Kinda lame.

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[angelescrest]

Kinda real. Can you imagine another four years of this bs? Or, perhaps the realityof the morass that we have “fallen into” hasn’t quite hit home?

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[GenHillOne]

Maybe bcollins, but – and no offense to JohnM at all – it’s kind of a lame question. What do you think we’ll do? We’ll all suffer. We’ll have to start all over, working to get better people into office that can make a difference. And we will.

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[bcollins]

America…love it or leave it. Have you heard that one? I think it’s just as lame. If you don’t participate to make a better situation (and just complain) you should leave. If you can’t compromise or wish to participate in democracy…you should leave. Or do you think there is a grand conspiracy and that votes all across the country are being faked?

You probably stomp away if you don’t win at marbles as well don’t you?

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[bcollins]

Suffer? I seriuosly doubt that anyone on this thread is truly suffering. I would say we know little about suffering and more about whining. Don’t get me wrong, I think there is more suffering…but I think there is as much whining.

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[JanS]

as I said in another thread, I remember bringing my daughter into this world on Oct. 21, 1980, a few weeks before Ronald Reagan was elected president. I remember holding her ad wondering what kind of world I had brought her into. I was not then, nor have been since then, a fan of Ronald Reagan. I don’t rever him as some in our country have. But…the world did go on, and we are still here.

I am much, much more afraid of the McCain/Palin ticket. I think his age is showing, and I truly don’t think that he has the stamina, nor expertise(he has stated publicly that he doesn’t have any economic expertise), to lead us in the next 4 years out of the morass this country is in. Add to that Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan. He will be 85 before the first year is out.

And…Sarah Palin can be a hockey mom, and a Governor…but she doesn’t have the expertise to deal with these tough issues no matter how much the Repubs backing her wish that she did. And if something happens to John McCain, what then? He overlooks her now, she’s just an appendage to him. He doesn’t seem to communicate with her on things, to wit, her reading about pulling out of Michigan in the newspaper , for goodness sake.

We need the top two people to be able to communicate, to work together. These are damned tough times. If, by some slim chance, that duo wins, the world will go on, but I wonder exactly how well our world will do that. And holding feet to the fire will take on a whole new meaning. It’s an extremely sobering thought.

Or…we’ll read things like this :(tongue firmly planted in cheek)

Immigration Crisis on our Northern border

Op-Ed Essay from the MANITOBA HERALD, Canada

A flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has

intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to

stop the illegal immigration.

The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among

left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt, pray,

and agree with Bill O’Reilly. Canadian border farmers say it’s not

uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists

and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.

I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood

producer huddled in the barn,’ said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose

acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and

hungry. ‘He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range

chicken. When I said I didn’t have any, he left. Didn’t even get a chance

to show him my screenplay, eh?’

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher

fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers

that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. ‘Not real effective,’ he

said. ‘The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much

they wouldn’t give milk.’

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals

near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them

across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. ‘A lot of these

people are not prepared for rugged conditions,’ an Ontario border

patrolman said. ‘I found one carload without a drop of drinking water.

‘They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.’

When liberals are caught, they’re sent back across the border, often

wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have

been circulating about the McCain administration establishing

re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to shoot wolves from

airplanes, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for the

Rapture.

In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of

crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus

trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a

half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration

authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen

passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were

alive in the ’50s. ‘If they can’t identify the accordion player on The

Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age,’ an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are

creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan

Sarandon movies. ‘I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian

economy just can’t support them,’ an Ottawa resident said. ‘How many

art-history and English majors does one country need?’

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[bcollins]

Please explain your suffering or the morass you are in because of Bush. Understand…I support Obama, but I’d like to think it’s because of his ideas and not my fear or irrational reflexes.

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[GenHillOne]

bcollins – huh? was I not clear?

“We’ll have to start all over, working to get better people into office that can make a difference. And we will.” I do participate and expect that I will continue to do so. If McCain wins the presidency, which was the question, I will work to get someone better next time, which was my answer.

And I think you would be very surprised at what many are going through. It is presumptuous for you to think that people here aren’t having problems and that they are not afraid.

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[JoB]

John M

Here’s what i don’t understand.

We have a failed foreign policy. War first and diplomacy later just isn’t working… and changing the tune in the last year of a 8 year presidency is too little too late.

We have a failed economic policy. Our national debt alone weakens our nation beyond anything that could have been imagined.

Our president is so worried about domestic unrest that he mobilized an entire battalion on American soil and that is where it will be stationed.. . something that hasn’t happened since just before the Mexican American war…

and that’s the least reactionary explanation for why he has mobilized that force.

BTW.. using that force in Iraq or Afghanistan would free up National Guard forces that are supposed to be doing the job of disaster assistance…

We spent a 100 million dollars on security for the two political conventions…

We employ a private army in Blackwater and other security forces that is better paid and better provisioned than our own armed forces.. and is at least as large as our armed forces in Iraq..

and they are not held accountable to either our laws or the Iraqi laws.

We just bailed out major financial institutions without insisting that they comply with any kind of federal oversight.

We are headed into what is expected to be a severe recession at the least and a depression equaling the great depression at the worst.. and we have taken the world economy with us.

And we have been fed the lie that everything is just fine for the last 8 years.

At what point do you say something is wrong with this picture?

Now you may believe John McCain when he says he is going to do something about the mess we are in.. but at what point did he actually begin to admit that we had a problem?

He still thinks we have no problem in Iraq. He says the surge is working… and we should do the same thing in Afghanistan.

Suddenly he is behind regulation.. but he was one of the leading forces for deregulation.. especially the legislation that erased that little line that used to keep personal and commercial banking separate.

And his VP pick isn’t exactly reassuring.

I know more about the state of our economy, our national institutions and world affairs than Sarah Palin… and i am exceedingly unqualified to be president should something happen.

She will be next in line for the presidency should something go wrong for John McCain whose medical issues alone make it highly likely that she will be sitting in the Oval Office for at least limited periods of time.

What about that works for you?

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[bcollins]

Genhill then tell me. Let’s move from myth to fact. Not second hand…

As I said, I am sure there is more. Just not on this thread as a result of Bush.

I support Obama. Not whiners.

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[JohnM]

By the way, my comment ” (But what I if said “But is it the right way?” What would become of me? That’s a theoretical question by the way)” was in the context of the my original discussion, which was forum responses to pro-McCain statements. Perhaps I should should have added “would I be severly chastised and shown the error of my ways?

would I be vored out of the forum?

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[GenHillOne]

What myth exactly, bcollins? I want better for our country than we’ve had. I believe that is more likely with Obama than McCain. This election has moved me to action and I will continue to participate. Finances have been better for me in the past, I am worried, and I know many who are in dire situations. What I’ve said is pretty simple and straightforward, so I’m not sure what your digging for in my comments.

Edit to add: if you keep editing your comments, it’s very difficult to respond

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[bcollins]

then I will drop it

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[angelescrest]

Iraq is a morass. All the suffering it brings and all the consequences being felt and not yet felt on many different levels. The guy marched in there with a personal vendetta NOT knowing full well that you can’t stuff a democracy down another country’s throat. No WMDs…remember? Unilaterally….

If only for Iraq alone, this guy is responsible for horrendously wreckless behavior in office, the outcome of which SHOULD be a collective suffering by all of us, BUT because we don’t get to see coffins, because the articles of truly wrecked lives are published sporadically and generally only about lives of Americans, we can sort of forget about it all, huh?

This is a morass to me, and that’s just a thumbnail sketch, and just one “lil” thing. You disagree?

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[JoB]

John M..

i think it’s far too easy to decide that this is some big contest and focus on the contest and not the outcome.

it does matter who is in the white house..

we have just experienced an inexperienced president who may just now be learning his job after nearly 8 years..

but was elected the first time because people liked him..

and the second because maybe he would get around to doing what he said he would do the first term. (Honest to god, that was exactly what the endorsement in the largest newspaper in St Paul gave as their reason for endorsing him for the second term.)

This isn’t about them and us.

It’s no longer about one party being better than the other.

It’s about getting someone in the white house who realizes there is a problem that needs to be fixed and is willing to look for the best solutions.. not the most popular sounding solutions.

If John McCain wasn’t a republican, even republicans would be hard pressed to say that he is the man for the job.

And if Sarah Palin was on the democratic ticket.. you would be leading the comments on her inappropriateness for the job.

I am really sorry the republicans didn’t field better qualified candidates…

but when does the time come when the outcome is more important than the game?

For your own financial welfare, it might be now.

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