maldon_road
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Posts posted by maldon_road
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So this....
...isn't saying you want McCain to win? 'If "god forbid" he doesn't make it to the White House' isn't saying you want him to win?
You didn't see it of course but my tongue was very firmly in my cheek.
Sorry, but it's plain as day that you are saying that you want McCain to win. You are no different from the other "non-Americans" who are expressing their view as to who they want to win the election, only difference being most of them want Obama to win.I've never really given any thought as to who I would prefer to win since for me it's hypothetical. I look at it more in the context of what would be in the interests of Canada and in terms of who would get along better with the Canadian government. On October 16th Canadians are going to re-elect Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. For which I am hugely happy. I think he can work with either Obama or McCain. Perhaps better with McCain. I can see some sparks with Obama if he (Obama) were to pursue a protectionist agenda.
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And I'm sure others think Obama would be better for their countries. As I said, their reasons are the same as yours.
What difference does it make whether you express your choice in a poll or not? How is it your business to say here that you want McCain to win but not their business to say it in a poll?
I'm not saying that I want to McCain to win. I said that in those areas of interest to me I think McCain would be better for Canada.
If that is splitting hairs, fine. I work in the field of politics and maneuvering your way around Ottawa where one party is in power but it's another whose votes count I find that I have been splitting a lot of hairs over the last 2-1/2 years.
If the American people choose Obama so be it. It's their country, their choice.
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You don't only believe he will win-- you want him to win.
What I have said is that in my areas of interest (foreign policy, the economy) McCain would be better for Canada. But I would not participate in a poll which asked me to express a preference as to who should be the President of the US since I would regard it as none of my business.
I have lived in the US during elections and have avoided getting into political discussions.
I'm guessing you wouldn't be wondering "why a bunch of foreigners want to give their views on something that is not their business" if they wanted Harper to win...My views would be the same regardless for whom foreigners had a preference.
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Doesn't piss me off in the least. How is that different from you, a non-American, saying you want McCain?
I believe that McCain will win - I came to that conclusion several weeks ago. It's up to Americans to decide if they want him.
But Obama created this by giving a campaign speech in a foreign country. When McCain came to Ottawa it was to address a business group on business issues.
Something tells me you won't be voting NDP anyway. Now if you were to see a poll in the next six weeks telling you that the majority of people in Uzbekistan want Harper to win, are you saying you 'sure as hell wouldn't vote for Harper?'
It didn't read the way I wanted it so I changed it.
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You mean every time the Republicans bring the experience card, they contradict themselves. "We need someone with years and years of experience, but two years will do"
It also prevents the Democrats from using the experience factor.
I watched a special on McCain and Obama on CNN about a week ago. I thought it was a fair review of the two men, warts and all - such as "The Keating Five" issue.
But it did bring home how little experience Obama has. Short time in the Senate and nothing relevant beforehand.
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Many Americans want many different things....but they all want to decide for themselves.
Dead on. These polls that show that 80% of the (non-American) world want Obama as president surely must piss off Americans.
If I see a poll in the next six weeks telling me that the majority of people in Uzbekistan want Jack Layton as Canadian PM I would have to wonder why a bunch of foreigners want to give their views on something that is not their business.
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How did I know that was going to be the one and only thing that the McCain/Palin supporters were going to pick up and comment on? I must have ESP, because it can't be that y'all are that predictable.
She got something right, so we best give her "kudos" for it, eh?
You're right. We're going to win it by not being afraid to criticize her (sorry about that
) and by being the better ticket.Yes, that's right.
Obama has been a dog since the primaries. The appeal to the Democrats that he engineered into a victory over Clinton doesn't seem to resonate with the public as a whole. McCain realized that Obama was selling personality and an MLK speaking voice so what the election needed was a face newer than Obama's . Which he has produced.
But the issue is: can it last until November 4th? There is no doubt Palin is entertaining. But will the public get tired of someone who really has a limited grasp of the issues?
But will it matter? The election is about the two at the top of the ticket, not the bottom.
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I don't think this election is going to rise or fall on Gov Palin's pronunciation of "nuclear" or whether she thinks dinosaurs wandered the earth 4000 years ago. Got to give her kudos though on pronouncing Amadinejhad.
The Demos are not going to win this election by Sarah-bashing.
...Her newly minted foreign policy is more belligerent than that of the Bush administration.None of that might matter. Back in 1980, a pollster discovered that most Americans disagreed with Ronald Reagan's stand on major issues, but they planned to vote for him anyway, because they liked him and identified with his core values.
And in a way, Ms. Palin's appeal is even greater than was Reagan's. She doesn't just identify with the average voter, she is the average voter.
As for her lack of experience, those average voters are not going to hold it against her. After all, people from her walk of life usually only get into the citadels of power on bus tours.
The challenge for Mr. Obama is to break this spell. He must remind voters that Mr. McCain is the presidential candidate, not Ms. Palin. And he must keep hammering home his claim that Mr. McCain embraces, almost in its entirety, the governing legacy of President George W. Bush....
If the Democrats can reorient the election back to the question of which party and candidates speak for the values and needs of ordinary voters, then Mr. Obama may yet come out on top.
But to do it, he must get those working independents to get over Sarah Palin.
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I agree, but let's not ruin the fun. Canadians are well versed in foreign policy...so much so that any city council member in Dawson Creek, BC is ready to become Prime Minister!
We once had a lawyer from Prince Albert. I doubt a city council member from Dawson Creek could be any worse.
I think the equivalent to Gov Palin would be the Premier of the Yukon.
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Ahh! A very astute observation....Americans are "stupid" and don't care about foreign policy!
Nothing to do with Americans. I would make the same observation about Canadians too - that they are more interested in domestic issues than foreign affairs.
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You may well be right. For many Americans, willful ignorance and stunning stupidity is viewed as an asset in a Presidential candidate. It make them feel he's more like them. Which is probably true. Would I was making a joke rather than an observation.
People will not care what she thinks about creation, contraception, God's role in the war in Iraq or her thin CV. Biden will try to embarrass her and she won't be able to name the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. People won't care about that either.
People voted for Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. And that was for President. This is only for VP.
Anyway since the primaries finished Obama has been on a slide - and that will continue all the way to November 4th.
Palin has been around the block enough times to be able to handle herself. She will be weakest in foreign affairs, the issue people are least concerned with.
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I sent a friend of mine in Nashville a copy of the Mallick commentary, being discussed on another thread. My friend is a Hillaryite who thinks Obama is more sizzle than substance.
Her response to the Mallick column was this:
Thanks for this article. There is some truth within, however, I think Palin has come across to a broader base (quiet female Republicans and all NRA folks, as well as families of special needs kids) than the author thinks.I personally think McCain has struck gold, which will propel him to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
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May would only emphasize the failure of Harper in this area and win votes from environmentally friendly conservatives. Or is the argument that environment friendly conservatives don't exist?
If they were THAT concerned about the environment they would be Liberals.
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Do you think Harper's image with women has improved?
It's not relevant. The Greens, NDP and the Liberals are all making GHGs a huge issue. That vote will split. May is brighter than Layton and speaks English a lot better than Dion. She will look attractive (politically, I mean) to the environmental set. The big loser could be the NDP.
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By all means let her speak. If it gets her votes it'll be at the expense of the NDP or Liberals.
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Maybe she'll burst into tears and start praying. That would certainly be unique.
I believe you have the elections mixed-up. You are thinking of Sarah Palin.
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Thank you. It made me wonder if you considered every opinion that doesn't agree with yours to be "sickening," if everyone who refutes what you say makes you want to barf, because that's the impression I was getting.
No. I apologize if it was read that way. It was definitely not intended to be a commentary on other poster's efforts. It was to add a little color to the gray format of this forum.
It's now a grand total of four days since Gov Palin was selected at Sen McCain's running mate and I'm not sure I have much of a picture of her yet. Sure I read that she is anti-birth control, wants to have creationism taught in the schools (surely not a federal matter) but that she was agreeable to benefits for gay couples employed by the state of Alaska.
I'd like to hear her talk - perhaps answering the questions bound to come up about her social views. And I want to hear her on the economy and on foreign issues - like Russia's warmongering. And of course the debate with Biden.
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(Just out of curiosity, are you ever able to post without the annoying "barf" emoticon?)
I didn't realize it annoyed people. I can just as easily not use it.
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You were commenting on the question as to whether or not Palin will be seen as someone promoting women's rights, and as someone who doesn't believe in birth control and doesn't believe in a woman's right to choose whether or not to take a pregnancy to term, one can hardly see her as 'promoting women's rights.' So putting aside the 'here and now,' none of us know how "history" will remember her, so that was merely your projection; your opinion. If the first woman VP doesn't promote women's rights, but does the exact opposite, I rather doubt if history will "forget" that. History very well may not see her as "a figure for womens rights," which is the comment you were responding to.
What I said was:
Sarah Palin immediately becomes a major figure in the struggle for women's rights.Not that she promotes it; but her election as the first female to the office will be seen as a "landmark". Whether she actually "promotes" women's rights will be seen after November 4th.
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It appears some true conservatives have finally started coming to their senses about McCain's decision:
http://www.city-journal.org/2008/eon0830hm.html
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postparti...id=opinionsbox1
A Republican consultant on National Public Radio pushed the fact that Palin had declared her Down’s syndrome son “perfection.” Other pundits noted that “she loves her family.” Many people—including Democrats—feel the same about their own families. Palin’s motherly dedication is admirable—though with a 4-month-old infant, and a disabled one at that, to care for, this may not be the best time to audition for the second-toughest job in the world.Only those with a perfectly healthy family may apply?
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If "history" were American's main concern, not how their country is being run in their lifetime, perhaps your 'point' would mean something.
No matter how Americans vote they will be making history. Either the first black Prez or first woman Vice-Prez. Whoever makes it might be a flop but will still be a "first". And that of course will happen even as they vote in the here-and-now and not worry about about what future historians might write.
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I just sooooo want to see something new, fresh, whatever, anything to get out there. The very thought of a debate with the old familiar faces (Harper, Layton, Duceppe + Dion - he's new, but I can already visualise him so well in my mind's eye) can be very depressing, n'est ce pas?
And a woman too. Not for the first time but one with more spunk than those juiceless females the Dippers had as leaders.
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With her opinions of birth control and abortion, she will be thought of as a figure for womens rights ?
I suppose Clarence Thomas is going to be though of as a major figure in the civil rights movement ?
Some would regard her as more representative of women than Hillary Clinton who just rode on her husband's coattails.
History will forget that she wanted "creationism" taught in the schools but she will be known as the first woman Vice-President of the United States.
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If McCain wins the election - which is what I expect - Obama and H Clinton become minor footnotes to history (as is the case always with the losing side in a Presidential election) and Sarah Palin immediately becomes a major figure in the struggle for women's rights.
Interviews with Palin
in Federal Politics in the United States
Posted
I don't think Palin did that badly in the interview - especially given that she was not exactly comfortable with the subject matter. I have listened to many politicians less coherent.
I have no doubt that Biden could drive her into the ground if he wanted to but perhaps at the same time generate even more sympathy for her.
The VP debate is the same night as the sole English language Canadian leaders debate. I am going to watch the Joe and Sarah show since Canadian debates are too chaotic and I already know whom I am voting for.