Barack Obama Elected President!

[GoldenDogs]

Wales... Actually, the truth is that I wasn't going to vote at all. As recently as probably three weeks ago, I had no intention of voting because I have been quite disgusted the past few years with politics, the state of things, etc. As I watched the Democratic Primary, I was a little uncomfortable with how Hillary was treated by the press and her own party. On the other side, it was clear McCain would be the Republican's guy and he certainly wasn't someone I would choose. As for Obama... I didn't know a damn thing about him or where the hell he came from -- same issue as so many have of Palin today. We forget that Obama came out of nowhere, too, but somehow his rise to national prominence the past year is more palatable to some. I frankly don't get it.

I personally think both parties have failed us big time and we desparately need an alternative. More and more, the Republicans and Democrats seem so disconnected with the mainstream and it has become more important to stay in power than properly run the country.

I have distinct opinions of each candidate running... some of my thoughts may surprise you.

[Jess]

I don't like hate-filled posts either, but I thought were probably going to support McCain/Palin regardless. :lol: I edited this after reading your previous post. Sorry.

On a related note (but not related to the quoted post here), I did think that Palin's speech was pretty hateful.

Hmmm, maybe Democrats ought to resurrect some GOP quotes after Ann Richards' convention speech and throw them back out.

[Jess]

I thought Hillary was treated well at the convention. You know, I think she and Bill were given their full due and they were entitled to that.

I have to agree with you to a very large degree about both parties letting us down. The Republicans are more concerned with moral issues -- to the point of snobbery in my opinion -- and the Democrats run from what we are. We are liberal. I like Republicans better when they were only partrician. Now they are so holier than tho.

[Wales2004]

Not that I think you should have to say but just because I'm guessing, is it safe to say that you don't like Obama? You say that you don't know anything about him or where he came from but you seem to imply that you know about Palin and it's people other than you that don't know who she is.

I heard of Obama in 2004 because of the rave reviews he received over a speech he gave at the Democratic National Cionvention. I was prompted to read the speech to see whether I agreed and I listened to it and thought he was an impressive speaker. I read his bio and I subsequently heard various political pundits tossing his name around as a potential presidential candidate.

He was tagged as up and coming in 2004. The shocker probably was that no one expected him to actually run this soon. Hillary Clinton was supposed to have the nomination wrapped up before the process even began so it was like being ahead in a race when a runner seemingly appears out of nowhere to beat you.

Had Palin's name been tossed about by pundits back then, I would have already heard of her as well.

At this point I find it odd that you could say you don't know anything about Obama or Palin if you were implying that. I get if you don't like what you've seen but I don't get saying you don't know a thing about him.

[Wales2004]

The reference was made to her treatment during the primaries not the convention if that helps and IA that the GOP was better when they were only partisan. I don't think politics and religion should be mixed. It's fine if a politician is religious since that's quite personal but I don't think a political party should be used to push religious platforms.

[GoldenDogs]

I paid absolutely no attention to the primaries back in 2004, so I was not aware of Barack then. The first I had actually heard of him was last year when he appeared on the scene, first challenging Hillary for the nomination. Palin? Last week was the first I had heard of her. I have been sort of disconnected from politics the past few years, quite unhappy with the state of things. I still maintain that the choices we are now presented with -- these two tickets -- are woefully lacking. For each of us to vote partyline is fine... but do any of us REALLY think these candidates are the best the respective parties could do??

Personally, I think the election will be all about ideology. If your beliefs lean left, you'll vote for Obama regardless of any other factors out there. If you lean right, you'll vote for McCain. I have no doubt that all four candidates are nice people and well-intentioned. I hate how each side demonizes the other... it is so pointless. I guess it makes it easier when you can develop a hate for the opponent... makes all the character assasination and lies tolerable, I suppose, and gives the media plenty of good stuff to tirelessly perpetuate. I think if it wasn't for our irresponsible, sensationalistic media in search of ratings, we might actually have a decent race about ideas and policy positions.

I believe either John McCain or Joe Biden could effectively serve as President. I don't believe Barack Obama or Sarah Palin are qualified to be our country's chief executive -- however, I am comfortable with either one of them serving as Vice President. And, yes, I realize I have flipped the Democratic ticket. I did that on purpose. LOL. With regard to the Democratic ticket... I believe Hillary Clinton would have had the best chance to win the Presidency and I am certain she was the better-qualified candidate in the Democratic primary.

Plus, it would have been a really weird thing in the history books to see the line of Presidents listed as Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton. LOL!!

[Jess]

You know during the primary both Hillary and Obama attracted a lot of people who were new to politics. I think they were true believers and took things a little personally. I know I was really mad when she went on Fox. I think Bill Clinton was pretty mad about being thought of as racist. He's not. I think Hilary was upset that everyone thought she should just get out of the race. I don't know that the Clinton and Obamas will ever been best friends, but I hope the convention put some of the rancor behind the party.

[Jess]

Everybody can talk about qualifications for being president, but nobody can say what they are. Nobody is "qualified" to be president. It's a bigger job than one person. It was not designed to be what it is now.

All I can hope for is they make decisions in the best interest of the country, hire good people and seek good advice. Also, I think right now they should be able to build credibility with foreign countries. I also think they should be able to lead and to inspire citizens to be a little better than we naturally are. I expect a president to lead. I think Obama can do that, and do it better than McCain. I don't like McCain's saber rattling. We've had enough of that with Bush.

I do agree strongly with Wost on one point. I really do not think politicians do us any service with the nasty way they conduct campaigns. I don't like these speeches where they just make [!@#$%^&*] up and say it.

I admit, I worry about McCain's temper. I just really did not like Palin. I just don't like her. You know, I would not vote for a Republican if I personally loved him though.

[Wales2004]

I don't like the character assasinations either but the interesting thing about how it's viewed to me is that Obama is always guilty of it whether he participates in it or not. I've mainly seen him go after McCain on specific issues and I've mainly seen McCain go after him in a personal way. I think that Obama has been pretty respectful but he's going to be blamed whether he is or not and he's used to that sort of thing.

I generally think the candidates are never the best their parties have to offer. Part of that stems from none of them ever lining up with all the things I want so that's on me to some degree.

I think a portion of voters look at issues that affect them and vote accordingly except for those who have pledged eternal allegiance to a party and vote party lines no matter what This election will be influenced by some other factors as well.

The qualifications for president are minimal. Leadership skills are important and communication skills as well. It's not so much to me whether a person is qualified but whether I see the person as a leader. I think a leader of this country needs to be able to deal with the diversity of the people in this country as well.

[Wales2004]

I pretty much agree with all you've said. If you lived here you might have been swayed into voting for Arnold. I've voted for Democrats and Republicans so it's not an issue for me. There are some seemingly decent members of both parties that don't go overboard on the rhetoric and sincerely attempt to accomplish things.

Even though I skipped the convention viewing I am glad it's over. I probably should skip the political shows and spare myself the constant repetition of what does Obama need to do now blah blah. There are only a handful of those pundits that are not completely annoying. And I'll say again that MSNBC should have pulled David Gregory's show instead of Dan Abrams. The only thing I like about his show is the intro.

I saw a clip of Keith Olbermann and he seemed really disturbed by the 9/11 clip that was shown at the GOP convention which reminds me of what I find the most distasteful about the Republican party right now: their constant fear mongering. People are supposed to be afraid of war, afraid of every country except the ones that Republicans say are okay, afraid of Obama because he was born in the exotic state of Hawaii, because of his middle name and it goes on and on. Hope is a joke and fear is not.

What is the guide they follow for the religion they push because if it's the Bible then they must've skipped the Biblical passage about Faith, Hope. and Charity.

[Jess]

I do not think that Obama has ever launched a personal attack. He has never spoken ill of Palin. I think the Democratic convention was overall very positive. Obama has said how he differs on issues with McCain. That to me is fair game.

I agree totally. You are right, I would have voted for Arnold. I actually think he has been a good governor. He seems very effective from what I read in the paper. What really bothered me about both McCain and Palin is they lied. I also look forward to Obama discussing the fact that McCain will tax people's insurance benefits.

[JackPeyton]

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/73191

[Roman]

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/...nton-statement/

[Roman]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/po...,7511696.column

And, I'll say something that seems to be lost here.

When your VP pick outshines you......you did not do a good job. Did JM talk about anything specific last night? All I'm still hearing is about SP. The last time I checked.....

She wasn't running for POTUS.

[Roman]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200809050001?f=h_top