The like, newest new election thread

[John Smith]

I'm not going to spend hours and days researching her every step as Governor of Alaska. Based on her recent responses, she DOES seem out of her league. But part of that is that the McCain camp shooled her on what to say and how to respond to various questions. It was VERY obvious to me that that was the case, as she seemed like a totally different person than the person giving the speech at the RNC.

 

I'll grant you that she doesn't have the intellect of most....maybe all.....VP's of history. But a HUGE part of being a good leader is connecting to people and making people feel comfortable and good about themselves. Like it or not, she DOES do that.

 

Ronald Reagan (I'm guessing you just rolled your eyes in disgust and/or vomited) probably had less foreign experience than Palin. Many didn't think Reagan was qualified to be President. But he was strong and had convictions and made people comfortable. I think of a President as a football coach....the best coaches surround themselves with great, smart, work-aholic assistant coaches and try to get the best athletes they can find. Reagan surrounded himself with such people to help him.

 

To me, Palin seems to be the kind who is VERY MUCH a people person and a listener and learner. I have NO doubt that, should she be VP, she'll get up to speed.

 

And I should remind all that it is JOHN McCAIN who would be President, not Sarah Palin. It's been 45 years that a President died in office.

You don

[kwall]

Who would have been the right pick? Romney?

meh, i don't know, romney always seemed kind of slimey to me; but much better than palin. btw, you still haven't corrected your misspelling of uriah heep.

[John Smith]

Does McCain have to deal with this stuff?

 

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/0...obama.sign.cf13

 

Palin has also talked about the media not wanting a joe-sixpack in the white house I would hope that we all would not want an average American Joe-sixpack in the white house. I don

[Edie]

reagan had been deeply interested and involved in national politics for years before even becoming governor of california. palin started thinking about national policy a few weeks ago.

 

 

so you'd hire a guy as your coach who knew nothing about football and yet "made people feel comfortable and good about themselves"?

 

QFT

 

Reagan for decades had been passionate about his opposition to Communism, so the man obviously had thoughts about the wider world.

 

QFT x2

 

i'm stuck because i don't want obama to be president and yet i'm not sure i can bring myself to vote for mccain.

 

 

Just harken back to the last time you wanted someone to be president -- that clearly hasn't worked out so well. So just be like George Costanza and do the opposite of what you would normally do -- that will be a winner!

[jakobnicholas]

i'm stuck because i don't want obama to be president and yet i'm not sure i can bring myself to vote for mccain.

 

 

 

 

Ditto.

 

(Though, I must say, reading some of the responses from Obama supporters on this board will make it easier to vote for McCain.)

 

 

 

 

The most fascinating thing to me is the free-skate that Obama has gotten ever since challenging Hillary in the primaries.

 

He's a great talker, he's a calm and cool customer, he's good looking. But I'm still mystified how he of limited background is now being hailed as the savior of our country.

 

 

To me, it's his confidence or percieved confidence that's catapulted him into the stratosphere. It's like people are afraid to question or don't question him. And the few times they do, he has a confident-sounding answer and he says it in a calm, cool way that makes people believe him.

 

I give him a ton of credit for that. Clinton did that. Reagan did that.

 

 

 

I love this Obama quote from early April:

 

"Foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."

 

 

When Obama says that, somehow people say, "damn right!"

 

 

Seriously? He knows and understands the world better than John McCain?

 

 

When Democrats hear that, yes, they DO believe it. It's amazing to me.

[Sir Stewart]

I must say, reading some of the responses from Obama supporters on this board will make it easier to vote for McCain.

 

What a great way to make a decision on who to vote for!

[John Smith]

He probably does understand the world better than McCain. All McCain has is experience, the quality of that experience is in question as is his judgement on how he woudl react in the future. Odds are that he would repeat the questionable judgement of the past.

[MrRain422]

Ditto.

 

(Though, I must say, reading some of the responses from Obama supporters on this board will make it easier to vote for McCain.)

 

 

 

 

The most fascinating thing to me is the free-skate that Obama has gotten ever since challenging Hillary in the primaries.

 

He's a great talker, he's a calm and cool customer, he's good looking. But I'm still mystified how he of limited background is now being hailed as the savior of our country.

 

 

To me, it's his confidence or percieved confidence that's catapulted him into the stratosphere. It's like people are afraid to question or don't question him. And the few times they do, he has a confident-sounding answer and he says it in a calm, cool way that makes people believe him.

 

I give him a ton of credit for that. Clinton did that. Reagan did that.

 

 

 

I love this Obama quote from early April:

 

"Foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."

 

 

When Obama says that, somehow people say, "damn right!"

 

 

Seriously? He knows and understands the world better than John McCain?

 

 

When Democrats hear that, yes, they DO believe it. It's amazing to me.

 

It's not just about experience, though (though experience is an important factor). It's also about they use that experience to make judgements and form their worldview, and McCain's preference for total war doesn't make as much sense to me as diplomacy does.

[John Smith]

What a great way to make a decision on who to vote for!

 

The responses fom Jacob have consistently been the same so I have little doubt that his opinion has been swayed one way or the other by this board.

[bjorn_skurj]

I'll say it again - judgment is more important than experience. (See: Abraham Lincoln.)

[John Smith]

The most fascinating thing to me is the free-skate that Obama has gotten ever since challenging Hillary in the primaries.

 

He's a great talker, he's a calm and cool customer, he's good looking. But I'm still mystified how he of limited background is now being hailed as the savior of our country.

 

To me, it's his confidence or percieved confidence that's catapulted him into the stratosphere. It's like people are afraid to question or don't question him. And the few times they do, he has a confident-sounding answer and he says it in a calm, cool way that makes people believe him.

 

I give him a ton of credit for that. Clinton did that. Reagan did that.

 

Congrats you bought the narrative. Someone send a box of cookies to Rove & co there are people out there buying the narrative they set out about Obama.

[lost highway]

The issue of McCain's foreign policy expertise is an interesting one. As he boldly illustrated at the debate, he has an extensive knowledge of U.S. military history and a number of large and small operations abroad. What I find disturbing is the fact that he is constantly and exclusively viewing our big world through a military lense. He would often get off topic and start to drop historical references and change his focus to another country. His tone sounded like an intellectual veteran coaching his grandchild in a game of Risk, or Axis and Allies. You could almost see him licking his chops.

 

Obama brought him two important points:

 

1. You were wrong about every condition that motivated your push for the U.S. to attack Iraq.

2. Afghanistan is the greater of two follies and it is much more pressing right now than Iraq.

 

 

McCain offered a clear response on neither. He defended his push for Iraq with the Surge that happened years later and almost completely ignored any comment on the growing necessity for an increase in troops in Afghanistan. His single minded, topic changing rhetoric looked a little flimsy next to Obama's outspoken agenda which was much more information oriented.

[Winston Legthigh]

McCain offered a clear response on neither. He defended his push for Iraq with the Surge that happened years later and almost completely ignored any comment on the growing necessity for an increase in troops in Afghanistan. His single minded, topic changing rhetoric looked a little flimsy next to Obama's outspoken agenda which was much more information oriented.

Yeah, but what Obama doesn't understand is ______________________.

 

A strong part of Obama's performance was that he would directly and immediately address perceived misstatements made about him by McCain. I don't recall McCain doing the same - instead he would just make his creepy smiley face and occasionally cough/laugh.

[markosis]

a HUGE part of being a good leader is connecting to people and making people feel comfortable and good about themselves. Like it or not, she DOES do that.

When I look at Sarah Palin, it does make me feel better about myself. Suddenly being unemployed and living with my uncle for free doesn't seem so pathetic.

 

For the record, I'm voting for Ralph Nader. I listened to him speak for maybe 3 minutes after the debate last week, and in those 3 minutes he provoked my emotions in a way that McCain and Obama miserably failed to do in the preceding 90 minutes.

[kwall]

would it really be that bad if Obama wins? seriously. I think not.

if he didn't have a democrat-controlled congress, i would agree.

[sweetheart-mine]

in the last thread someone, i can't remember who, had received one of the terrorism!-vote-mccain propaganda discs and was going to listen and report on it. did that happen and i missed it? can't find it but am very interested.

[mfwahl]

Yeah, but what Obama doesn't understand is ______________________.

 

A strong part of Obama's performance was that he would directly and immediately address perceived misstatements made about him by McCain. I don't recall McCain doing the same - instead he would just make his creepy smiley face and occasionally cough/laugh.

I don't think McCain looked at Obama during the entire debate.

 

in the last thread someone, i can't remember who, had received one of the terrorism!-vote-mccain propaganda discs and was going to listen and report on it. did that happen and i missed it? can't find it but am very interested.

That was me. Sorry haven't seen it yet. Now that I've seen this week's true blood maybe I'll give it a spin tonight.

[sweetheart-mine]

I love this Obama quote from early April:

 

"Foreign policy is the area where I am probably most confident that I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain."

 

obama is clearly more deeply interested in active diplomacy than either of them. he has his foreign-policy priorities straight. to me that means he does understand the world better, will listen to the rest of the world rather than merely talk at it, and is in a better position both to carry out effective diplomacy and to make subsequent decisions based on it. no contest.

[Good Old Neon]

in the last thread someone, i can't remember who, had received one of the terrorism!-vote-mccain propaganda discs and was going to listen and report on it. did that happen and i missed it? can't find it but am very interested.

 

I received one, though I think my wife may have tossed it. I

[gogo]

Obama lived in Indonesia for part of his childhood (and no, I'm not making an argument that this counts towards foreign policy experience, I'm just wondering...). Who was the last president or presidential candidate who lived outside of the U.S. for any significant period of time (not counting time spent in the U.S. military)?

[sweetheart-mine]

I received one, though I think my wife may have tossed it. I

[MrRain422]

Obama lived in Indonesia for part of his childhood (and no, I'm not making an argument that this counts towards foreign policy experience, I'm just wondering...). Who was the last president or presidential candidate who lived outside of the U.S. for any significant period of time (not counting time spent in the U.S. military)?

 

Does Clinton's time at Oxford count?

[JUDE]

How about McCains time in South East Asia?

[EL the Famous]

i've been to canada...

[John Smith]

McCain was Born in the Panama Canal Zone and frequently moved with his father