It's time for a New Election Thread

[Sir Stewart]

Ridiculous little light story - When I was canvassing this weekend, the operation had us also gather info about the two local NH races for Senate and Congress.

I didn't know the Dem candidates' names in either race, so I came up with mental hints to remember them - Jean Shaheen reminded me of "Cindy Sheehan" and Carol Shay-Porter reminded me of the Johnny Cash song "Hey Porter".

Near the end of the day, punch-drunk, I was face-to-face with a man who had just confirmed his support for Obama, so I followed up: "What about the local races...(umm)...C-c-cindy...Sheehan (shit)...and and...(don't say it)...h-h-hey Porter?"

He just smiled and said he'd be voting Democrat.

[quarter23cd]

Exactly, sweetheart-mine. I used to have a lot of respect for McCain, and was choosing Obama based on the actual issues, not because Obama is some kind of second coming. But between his answer to the outbursts from the "fringe" at his rallies and his repeated use of the term "pro abortion" at the last debate I lost the remainder of my respect for him. The increase in negative campaign tactics is really the last straw for me.

Yep. Its all or nothing for him at this point, because I think he has pretty well eviscerated his reputation with anybody who wasn't already firmly on his side to begin with in this election. Which is kind of sad, really, for a guy who has long had a pretty decent reputation across the board. McCain the presidential candidate is barely recognizable, at this point, from who I thought he was at the beginning and my opinion of him has plummeted. Is it really him we've been seeing over the past several months or has he just given in to campaign advisers who tell him "this is how Republicans win elections in the 21st Century"?

 

The biggest reason it sounds completely implausible when he says stuff like "I'm not Bush" is because the tone of the campaign down the stretch is a lot like what another round of Bush/Cheney/Rove would have felt like. If you can't communicate how your policies are substantially different from your predecessor and your campaign persona isn't much different, then how do you go about distancing yourself from him???

[sweetheart-mine]

Exactly, sweetheart-mine. I used to have a lot of respect for McCain, and was choosing Obama based on the actual issues, not because Obama is some kind of second coming. But between his answer to the outbursts from the "fringe" at his rallies and his repeated use of the term "pro abortion" at the last debate I lost the remainder of my respect for him. The increase in negative campaign tactics is really the last straw for me.

 

yes, we almost wrote the same post! and i think colin powell also would agree with your last sentence here.

[sweetheart-mine]

Yep. Its all or nothing for him at this point, because I think he has pretty well eviscerated his reputation with anybody who wasn't already firmly on his side to begin with in this election. Which is kind of sad, really, for a guy who has long had a pretty decent reputation across the board. McCain the presidential candidate is barely recognizable, at this point, from who I thought he was at the beginning and my opinion of him has plummeted. Is it really him we've been seeing over the past several months or has he just given in to campaign advisers who tell him "this is how Republicans win elections in the 21st Century"?

 

The biggest reason it sounds completely implausible when he says stuff like "I'm not Bush" is because the tone of the campaign down the stretch is a lot like what another round of Bush/Cheney/Rove would have felt like. If you can't communicate how your policies are substantially different from your predecessor and your campaign persona isn't much different, then how do you go about distancing yourself from him???

 

yes, at this point, i think "who is the real john mccain?" is the question! i really would like to know.

 

edit: p.s. i watched the old "stepford wives" movie the other night. it didn't help.

[jakobnicholas]

Yep. Its all or nothing for him at this point, because I think he has pretty well eviscerated his reputation with anybody who wasn't already firmly on his side to begin with in this election. Which is kind of sad, really, for a guy who has long had a pretty decent reputation across the board. McCain the presidential candidate is barely recognizable, at this point, from who I thought he was at the beginning and my opinion of him has plummeted. Is it really him we've been seeing over the past several months or has he just given in to campaign advisers who tell him "this is how Republicans win elections in the 21st Century"?

 

 

 

What else is McCain supposed to do?

 

 

After the economic meltdown, McCain dropped 10 points down. Since going negative, McCain seems to have gained 3 or 4 points.

 

 

HE HAS NO CHOICE. Is he to do nothing and then lose by 15 points?

 

 

 

His only hope is to convince Americans that Obama is inexperienced and to suggest he's a radical freak with ties to unsavory characters like Ayers and Wright. Constantly saying such things WILL put doubt in some voters' minds.

 

 

If McCain loses, he'll go back to being the likeable Senator he was before. C'mon folks...McCain wants to WIN.....so he's doing the only thing can do.....which unfortunately, is to go negative. That's politics.

[uncool2pillow]

Apparently you haven

[kwall]

I can't imagine anybody being complacent at this point.

This sucker is over over over......

[Good Old Neon]

Ridiculous little light story - When I was canvassing this weekend, the operation had us also gather info about the two local NH races for Senate and Congress.

I didn't know the Dem candidates' names in either race, so I came up with mental hints to remember them - Jean Shaheen reminded me of "Cindy Sheehan" and Carol Shay-Porter reminded me of the Johnny Cash song "Hey Porter".

Near the end of the day, punch-drunk, I was face-to-face with a man who had just confirmed his support for Obama, so I followed up: "What about the local races...(umm)...C-c-cindy...Sheehan (shit)...and and...(don't say it)...h-h-hey Porter?"

He just smiled and said he'd be voting Democrat.

 

Sort of unrelated

[gogo]

Ridiculous little light story -

In response to your funny Cindy Sheehan story, here's kind of a sad one, from the other coast:

 

Cindy's world: Things are getting downright weird for Cindy Sheehan, the world's most famous anti-Iraq war activist.

 

Sheehan, who is running an uphill fight for the San Francisco congressional seat held by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is telling the world via her "Cindy for Congress '08" Web site that she is now the target of a dirty-tricks campaign.

 

According to Sheehan, the first sign was at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August when she returned to her hotel room just in time to catch a maintenance worker who supposedly was changing a lightbulb. She thinks he was actually bugging her phone.

 

Then two weeks ago, Sheehan says, she was invited down to the "We the People" music festival in Los Angeles - only to be prevented from speaking once she arrived. The next day, she heard from a reporter of an alternative newsweekly that no less than L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was "involved in the decision to silence my voice."

 

Then last week, she filed a restraining order against a former volunteer who allegedly has been sending threatening e-mails. On her Web site, Sheehan says "we now know (he) was probably spying on us for the Pelosi camp." Pelosi's people brushed off the suggestion as absurd.

 

The taillights on her campaign's RV were subsequently busted out. Not long after that, Sheehan writes, four young men walked into the campaign office on Mission Street, acted like they wanted to register to vote, then "grabbed one of our computers and beat an intern over the head when she tried to stop them."

 

To top it off, Sheehan says, she has been summoned to jury duty in San Francisco on "the week of, you guessed it, the elections!"

 

But for Sheehan, the most compelling evidence of dirty play involved the robo calls that her campaign made to voters. The idea was to start last Monday, she says, but then "we started getting phone calls and e-mails blasting us for sending out the calls at 10:30 on a Saturday night." The candidate noted that people tend to find such late-night calls "extremely annoying."

 

"Was it just a 'glitch' in the system, as the owner of the robo-call company claims, or overt sabotage of the campaign?" Sheehan wrote, before concluding: "The stakes are high and I have a feeling 'they' won't stop at anything to assure that the tyranny of incumbency continues."

 

By the way, Sheehan campaign manager Tiffany Burns tells us that "except for these little bumps, everything is going great."

 

There's obviously no way she's going to win against Nancy Pelosi. The best she can hope for is to put a smidgen of a dent in Pelosi's landslide, and get a bit of publicity out of that. The idea that Pelosi, or anyone with any shred of sense about how this election is going to go, would put even two seconds thought into sabotaging Sheehan's campaign is ridiculous. The thing about the music festival, maybe. But other than that... Is she paranoid? Is this strictly an attempt at publicity for her campaign? I don't know, but it just seems sad to me.

[John Smith]

Did you move to this country in 2005?

 

I

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Things are deteriorating very rapidly as this campaign draws to a close.

 

One side accuses the other of associating with terroritsts and the other side predicts race and class war if their candidate loses.

 

This is fascinating.

 

Politics is the original blood sport. I have been enthralled with watching this thing unfold since New Hampshire (McCain making his comeback and Hillary making the Democratic nomination a two horse race).

 

As things continue to spiral, we should remember that we all have a vested interest in the success of WHOEVER is the winner of this election. We tend to marginalize and ridicule our political 'opponants' (in the Great American Tradition), losing sight of the fact that both candidates believe in this country and this process. Both have the best interests of this country in mind.

 

No matter who wins, he will face a daunting challenge both at home and abroad. No matter who is elected tough choices will have to be made. I hope that we don't see the 2012 campaing start November 5.

 

We would all be better served if we could find a way to maintain a sense of civility here.

[Sir Stewart]

Things are deteriorating very rapidly as this campaign draws to a close.

 

One side accuses the other of associating with terroritsts and the other side predicts race and class war if their candidate loses.

 

If you're referring to what I said about the potential for rioting if Obama loses - it was not a partisan statement at all, it was just an observation.

[Mrs. Peel]

One side accuses the other of associating with terroritsts and the other side predicts race and class war if their candidate loses.

 

I don't fully agree with this. One candidate accuses the other of associating with terrorists, while some members of the public predict race and class war if their candidate loses. Unless I missed statements made by Obama on the race issue, there is a BIG difference between the two points.

 

We would all be better served if we could find a way to maintain a sense of civility here.

Now this I agree with.

[jakobnicholas]

What else is McCain to do? Gee run on his issues maybe? He has issues that he says are mainstream, doesn

[Analogman]

I am not much of a Family Guy fan - but did anyone see this:

 

Family Guy - McCain/Palin Scene

[Edie]

I think its been pretty civil here, all in all. Politics always results in differing opinions, even when we fundamentally agree.

 

Republican pundits can write off Powell's endorsement (and subsequent possible position in the administration), but the fact remains that it could sway some on the fence. Powell is looked at as being above the fray -- and honorable to the end -- not as a pandering politician. So undecided voters may look at this as being yet another straw that will get them to vote for Obama.

[embiggen]

What bothers me is that McCain and Palin don't do anything to stop it, and even seem to instigate it by asking "Who is the real Obama?" and walking away (Palin). When McCain was asked about this at the debate, his answer should have been "I don't agree with it, I don't condone it, and although I can't control what people say, I'm completely disgusted by it."

 

 

Palin said out right today that Obama is a socialist. it's fear mongering, pure and simple.

[kwall]

Palin said out right today that Obama is a socialist. it's fear mongering, pure and simple.

i'd say people aren't afraid enough of his socialist policies.

[John Smith]

It's because many voters DO want change......but they're not so sure they want one of the most liberal Senators to head a soon-to-be very liberal Congress. A good chunk of voters simply can't decide the worse of two evils.

 

That is a bunch of crap. Every single democrat is the most liberal in congress depennding on who you are talking to. If the issue is Kennedy tomorrow he will be the most liberal, if it is Pelosi the next day she will be and on and on. More talk radio bullsh*t

 

How about we start talking about the most conservative members of congress as being the truely scary people they are? Palin may not be in congress but she is one frightening person. Michelle Bachman (Bush stalker from MN)? Hmmm calling for new McCarthy style hearings? Interesting. How about McCian himself? Portrays himself as a centrist, but still wants to keep the disasterous far riaght policies of the past 4 years going? Conservatives still want to push the same crap in the same packaging even as they see it fail miserably. I see that portion of the equation as being far more dangerous to the long term health of our nation. So take the "Most liberal" crap and shove it. And please none of this "but that's not what conservatism is as I believe it" crap. Because conservatism today is what you see, it's not what you dream. the reality of it has separated its self so far fromt he theory that the theory of it might as well be a distant myth.

[embiggen]

What else is McCain supposed to do?

 

HE HAS NO CHOICE. Is he to do nothing and then lose by 15 points?

 

 

he has much better choices than to run a negative campaign based on lies and playing on people's fear. I think most people are tired of hearing all the "socialist" and "pals around with terrorists" crap. and it is CRAP!

[explodo]

I believe when Obama wins....which it seems he most surely will.....the national political pendulum will swing about as far left as possible. And that's a good thing. Because when it swings back in 2 or 4 years, it's gonna swing further right than what we've had in a long time.

Why would it not be twenty or thirty years? Since Reagan, with the exception of Clinton as President, the nation has been rolling to the right. Obama will have his challenges (understatement of the century), but if he can make it even look a little bit like things are going in a good direction, it could put the right out to pasture for a very long time.

[Mrs. Peel]

i'd say people aren't afraid enough of his socialist policies.

 

I really don't understand the socialist angle. Don't taxes always redistribute wealth? As Colin Powell said, the money always goes back to the people in one form or another. How does Obama wanting to adjust the amount equate to socialism? What, besides the dollar amount being paid, would actually change?

I'm seriously asking, because I don't understand where this comes from.

[MattZ]

What else is McCain supposed to do?

 

HE HAS NO CHOICE. Is he to do nothing and then lose by 15 points?

 

I understand that this is politics. At the same time, McCain initially suggested that Obama would rather win an election and lose a war. By doing so, he insinuated that Obama would put himself and his own goals ahead of what was best for this country.

 

If we admit that McCain is doing what he is doing because "all's fair in politics," is it really any different? Going negative may help him in the polls, but doesnt the country end up losing a different sort of "war"? McCain seems fine with that. Are we better off as a country by polarizing the folks in the "pro-America" sections of the country? Or trying to paint a legitimate presidential candidate as a terrorist sympathizer? Why isn't that McCain putting himself before country?

[Good Old Neon]

Based on all you say, shouldn't Obama's lead be about 20 points? Bush has an approval rating of under 25 percent. Everyone says McCain is just gonna be another Bush. Our economy is horrendous. McCain is old. McCain chose a VP who's inexperienced.

 

Why, if on the surface it seems such a no-brainer to vote for Obama, is it still fairly close?

 

 

It's because many voters DO want change......but they're not so sure they want one of the most liberal Senators to head a soon-to-be very liberal Congress. A good chunk of voters simply can't decide the worse of two evils.

 

 

 

 

I believe when Obama wins....which it seems he most surely will.....the national political pendulum will swing about as far left as possible. And that's a good thing. Because when it swings back in 2 or 4 years, it's gonna swing further right than what we've had in a long time.

 

 

The Obama Porshe looks real good now. But, wow, what a sticker shock might there be.

 

I think you might be a little bit nutty.

[mountain bed]

Ridiculous little light story - When I was canvassing this weekend, the operation had us also gather info about the two local NH races for Senate and Congress.

I didn't know the Dem candidates' names in either race, so I came up with mental hints to remember them - Jean Shaheen reminded me of "Cindy Sheehan" and Carol Shay-Porter reminded me of the Johnny Cash song "Hey Porter".

Near the end of the day, punch-drunk, I was face-to-face with a man who had just confirmed his support for Obama, so I followed up: "What about the local races...(umm)...C-c-cindy...Sheehan (shit)...and and...(don't say it)...h-h-hey Porter?"

He just smiled and said he'd be voting Democrat.

It's ok man. We're all getting a little tired as this thing comes to a close. Hey, at least you didn't have to canvass 57 states!