Diamonds
Well-known member
Tom I love the passion and I could not agree more with what you are saying.
McCain and Obama
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Tom I love the passion and I could not agree more with what you are saying.
kwr
Well-known member
kwr
Well-known member
The news surrounding Palin has had me checking various sites over the last 48 hrs. The only sense I can make of what seems to be a bit of a debacle is that elements of the Republican party (? Rove) are pulling the strings, have decided the election is unwinnable and want to destroy McCain and any part of the party that supports him.
I usually don't subscribe to conspiracy theories but this whole episode has made me wonder.
Kevin
I usually don't subscribe to conspiracy theories but this whole episode has made me wonder.
Kevin
Gordon Gray
Well-known member
Hi Tom,
Right on Bro. If McCain does get elected, I think people like you and I should seriously look at buying land in Canada and starting an audiophile hippie compound.
You will, of course, be the compound master and monitor excessive loudness levels as well as assuming other appropriate responsibilities
Sample exchange, in the compound, after GG is suspected of violating the "Loudness Ordinance".
GG to Tom.
But Tom, I checked the volume with my recently calibrated RAT SHACK SPL meter and it was 96.57777 db at 3 meters.
Tom to GG.
Sorry GG, I sent the Loudness police out to check and they verified that the actual "PEAK" loudness was 97.1378 db. You are therefore in violation of compound rules and are sentenced to listening to Yanni for 36 continous hours at a level not to exceed 97 db.
GG seen leaving the compound, carrying his speaker wire so he can hang himself after he has listened to Yanni for 36 continuous hours.
What do you think, big guy?
Also, I'm sure everyone has heard that Ms. Palin's 17 year old daughter is now pregnant. Bummer for the daughter but based upon Ms. Palin's brief foray into public service and past experience, one must seriously question Ms. Palin's ability to assume the office of the Presidency should Mr. McCain get elected and die or become unable to serve as President.
GG
Right on Bro. If McCain does get elected, I think people like you and I should seriously look at buying land in Canada and starting an audiophile hippie compound.
You will, of course, be the compound master and monitor excessive loudness levels as well as assuming other appropriate responsibilities
Sample exchange, in the compound, after GG is suspected of violating the "Loudness Ordinance".
GG to Tom.
But Tom, I checked the volume with my recently calibrated RAT SHACK SPL meter and it was 96.57777 db at 3 meters.
Tom to GG.
Sorry GG, I sent the Loudness police out to check and they verified that the actual "PEAK" loudness was 97.1378 db. You are therefore in violation of compound rules and are sentenced to listening to Yanni for 36 continous hours at a level not to exceed 97 db.
GG seen leaving the compound, carrying his speaker wire so he can hang himself after he has listened to Yanni for 36 continuous hours.
What do you think, big guy?
Also, I'm sure everyone has heard that Ms. Palin's 17 year old daughter is now pregnant. Bummer for the daughter but based upon Ms. Palin's brief foray into public service and past experience, one must seriously question Ms. Palin's ability to assume the office of the Presidency should Mr. McCain get elected and die or become unable to serve as President.
GG
Admins, could somebody get that TomDac guy out of here? I am now thinking we would be better off with a Democratic President for the next four years. That would probably force the Republican Party to finally hit rock bottom and put up a real candidate in 2012. If Obama f***s this thing up, it is only four years right?
I am now thinking we would be better off with a Democratic President for the next four years. That would probably force the Republican Party to finally hit rock bottom and put up a real candidate in 2012. If Obama f***s this thing up, it is only four years right?
McCain's choice of running mate could be considered reckless, even by party insiders [nod to KWR].
Yet I'm still not prepared to make a call on this woman... By Friday this thread will take off and the real debate will start.
~VDR
Yet I'm still not prepared to make a call on this woman... By Friday this thread will take off and the real debate will start.
~VDR
OK, I am finally going to weigh in on this thread. Here are a few of the reasons I do not support John McCain.
I think McCain is a doddering old career politician who will say and do anything he can to get elected. He pretended to be a maverick in 2000 and catered to the independent vote. When he was crushed by Bush, he then decided to completely kowtow to Bush for the next eight years and now he is presenting himself as a born-again conservative. He has flip-flopped on just about every major issue. He is hot-headed, cannot think on his feet, and is just plain old. He just turned 72, while the average life-span for men in this country is 75. This makes his VP pick potentially very important for the future of this country.
So who does he pick? Someone with less than two years experience as a governor and only small-town government experience before that. She is a staunch christian conservative, who is pro-life, pro abstinence-only education (it worked so well for her own daughter) and she also advocated teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. She has no national political experience and no foreign policy experience. In other words, she is on the ticket solely to pander to the evangelical christian vote, with no concern to how well-suited she is to assume the job of the presidency should the need arise. This pick is a slap in the face of every american that is dealing with a soured economy, high gas prices, mortgage crisis, credit crunch, housing meltdown, jobs being shipped overseas, ballooning federal budget deficits, and so on.
What's worse, is that McCain didn't even sit down and meet with Palin in person before he chose her. WTF???? One of the most important choices you have to make as a candidate, picking the number two person on your team, and you don't even bother to meet with her to see what she is all about? To judge her character and abilities for yourself in person? This alone is reason enough to not support McCain. He has utterly failed his own campaign in his biggest decision so far. After 8 years of Bush, I really don't wish to trust the running of this country to another idiot that makes dumb decisions.
What is really kind of funny to me is that I have found that most current McCain supporters voted against him in 2000 in favor of Bush. Well, their first choice turned out so well (a solid candidate for worst president ever), and now they want us all to support the guy they thought wasn't as good as Bush eight years ago. Ha! Fat chance.
So how about it, McCain supporters? How many of you voted against him and for Bush in the republican primaries eight years ago? And of those, how many of you think our country is better off today than it was eight years ago? Just curious.
I think McCain is a doddering old career politician who will say and do anything he can to get elected. He pretended to be a maverick in 2000 and catered to the independent vote. When he was crushed by Bush, he then decided to completely kowtow to Bush for the next eight years and now he is presenting himself as a born-again conservative. He has flip-flopped on just about every major issue. He is hot-headed, cannot think on his feet, and is just plain old. He just turned 72, while the average life-span for men in this country is 75. This makes his VP pick potentially very important for the future of this country.
So who does he pick? Someone with less than two years experience as a governor and only small-town government experience before that. She is a staunch christian conservative, who is pro-life, pro abstinence-only education (it worked so well for her own daughter) and she also advocated teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. She has no national political experience and no foreign policy experience. In other words, she is on the ticket solely to pander to the evangelical christian vote, with no concern to how well-suited she is to assume the job of the presidency should the need arise. This pick is a slap in the face of every american that is dealing with a soured economy, high gas prices, mortgage crisis, credit crunch, housing meltdown, jobs being shipped overseas, ballooning federal budget deficits, and so on.
What's worse, is that McCain didn't even sit down and meet with Palin in person before he chose her. WTF???? One of the most important choices you have to make as a candidate, picking the number two person on your team, and you don't even bother to meet with her to see what she is all about? To judge her character and abilities for yourself in person? This alone is reason enough to not support McCain. He has utterly failed his own campaign in his biggest decision so far. After 8 years of Bush, I really don't wish to trust the running of this country to another idiot that makes dumb decisions.
What is really kind of funny to me is that I have found that most current McCain supporters voted against him in 2000 in favor of Bush. Well, their first choice turned out so well (a solid candidate for worst president ever), and now they want us all to support the guy they thought wasn't as good as Bush eight years ago. Ha! Fat chance.
So how about it, McCain supporters? How many of you voted against him and for Bush in the republican primaries eight years ago? And of those, how many of you think our country is better off today than it was eight years ago? Just curious.
Diamonds
Well-known member
The thing with Sarah Palin is that she is very average. We need to have exceptional people running this country not people that you want to have a beer with. We tried that once and we see how that worked out. No longer can we stand for normalcy in the highest office of the land.
TomDac
former MLO owner/operator
I used to like McCain years ago when he seemed to think for himself.
Picking Palin was the worst thing he could've done, IMHO. I think it may be just a plan to get all the oil we can out of Alaska if McCain wins... That's the Republicans energy plan..
Financial prosperity is where Bill Clinton left us. 8 years later we are in financial ruins and the rest of the world views Bush as a complete idiot. And this country voted him into office for a 2nd term!?!? I just don't get why you would want to vote Republican again after this...
GG, I can't do Canada.... Too cold for me. Mexico is more likely. LOL!
btw.. you should see what they're talking about on the other forum I visit regularly (Honda V4 forum).. it's all about how they're gonna vote for McCain because Obama is black and they like Palin cuz she's a MILF.... Friggin' SAD.
Picking Palin was the worst thing he could've done, IMHO. I think it may be just a plan to get all the oil we can out of Alaska if McCain wins... That's the Republicans energy plan..
Financial prosperity is where Bill Clinton left us. 8 years later we are in financial ruins and the rest of the world views Bush as a complete idiot. And this country voted him into office for a 2nd term!?!? I just don't get why you would want to vote Republican again after this...
GG, I can't do Canada.... Too cold for me. Mexico is more likely. LOL!
btw.. you should see what they're talking about on the other forum I visit regularly (Honda V4 forum).. it's all about how they're gonna vote for McCain because Obama is black and they like Palin cuz she's a MILF.... Friggin' SAD.
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Hi Rich, I'll take a stab at this one....... Not that I'm a big McCain supporter, he actually scares me with some of his transportation / infrastructure feelings.
Myself I'd love to see a legitimate Third Party in this Country, because of late I don't think either the Dems or Repub's are worth a *@#%^ !
Yes I voted for Bush in round one, then Liberterian in '04.
As far as better off these past eight years, some areas yes, alot of areas no. I'm not blameing Bush for all of it either, after all WHICH PARTY CONTROLLS CONGRESS ?????
With respect to the other "hot topics" you mentioned, I for one do not put all the blame on our Go'vt. Espescially credit and mortgage issue, people dumb enough to live champagne lifestyles on beer budgets deserve what they get !!!
You know what.....when Obama wins this thing in Nov, becomes Pres. in '09 combined with the democratic majority that he will have to work with, I suspect he will have everything 'ship shape' by 2010 ! LOL !!!
Diamonds
Well-known member
The democratss have controlled Congress for one year out of 7. That is a load of BS! George Bush has had full support from Congress to do whatever the hell he wanted for 6 years.
Let's not put the blame on the Democrats quite so soon.
Diamonds,
Not puttin the blame on any one party or persons back. Although I do feel Congress as a whole is a bigger problem than our Presidency.
Regardless, as I said in my last statement when Obama gets elected, he will have the majority to straighten this mess out !!
eknuds01
Well-known member
I admit that as far as politics goes, I am relative novice. I've only had the chance to vote in the last 2 elections. Having said that I don't see how one man (the president) is directly responsible for everything wrong in this country.
A hot talking point is how much worse off we are vs 8 years ago. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I doubt employment (or unemployment) is drastically higher now that it was 8 years ago. The same major issues: health care, energy, security, education were problems 8 years ago (and before that) and they are still here today. The DOW actually hit a record high under Bush's watch not that long ago. There are other positives, but no one ever accentuates them. It's all about pointing fingers, casting blame, and a 'what have you done for me lately' mentality. No one wants to accept responsibilty for anything any longer it seems.
Back in the late '90s we had the dot.com bubble and with that came a record number of people wanting to own homes. Greenspan lowered the rates which allowed home ownership to be much easier. Now we have the credit crisis, and Bush is getting the blame for that. I haven't looked at it, but I would be interested to see if Clinton had a hand in deregulating the financial/banking industry 10+ years ago. Cleary this industry does need reforms - it needs common sense rules and across the board simplifications that make the whole process (and the paperwork) easier to understand.
With respect to the economy, I think it transcends any would-be politician. It's bigger than any one man. It's always tough to see how one president's policies are affected by previous administrations.
I will be voting for McCain - no question about it. Just because he's a republican, doesn't mean he's going to run things the same way Bush did. In my opinion, the libs have no plan. Their response, on all fronts, is to bitch about everything and promote change on a grand scale. Change is fine - some things absolutely need to be addressed. But when you ask ANYONE, I mean ANYONE about Obama, and why they like him, you know what 99% of those people say? They don't know. Obama is just different, and that's good enough.
I am with Dave in that we do need another party. If I had it my way, I'd throw out ALL of Congress and start over!!
A hot talking point is how much worse off we are vs 8 years ago. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I doubt employment (or unemployment) is drastically higher now that it was 8 years ago. The same major issues: health care, energy, security, education were problems 8 years ago (and before that) and they are still here today. The DOW actually hit a record high under Bush's watch not that long ago. There are other positives, but no one ever accentuates them. It's all about pointing fingers, casting blame, and a 'what have you done for me lately' mentality. No one wants to accept responsibilty for anything any longer it seems.
Back in the late '90s we had the dot.com bubble and with that came a record number of people wanting to own homes. Greenspan lowered the rates which allowed home ownership to be much easier. Now we have the credit crisis, and Bush is getting the blame for that. I haven't looked at it, but I would be interested to see if Clinton had a hand in deregulating the financial/banking industry 10+ years ago. Cleary this industry does need reforms - it needs common sense rules and across the board simplifications that make the whole process (and the paperwork) easier to understand.
With respect to the economy, I think it transcends any would-be politician. It's bigger than any one man. It's always tough to see how one president's policies are affected by previous administrations.
I will be voting for McCain - no question about it. Just because he's a republican, doesn't mean he's going to run things the same way Bush did. In my opinion, the libs have no plan. Their response, on all fronts, is to bitch about everything and promote change on a grand scale. Change is fine - some things absolutely need to be addressed. But when you ask ANYONE, I mean ANYONE about Obama, and why they like him, you know what 99% of those people say? They don't know. Obama is just different, and that's good enough.
I am with Dave in that we do need another party. If I had it my way, I'd throw out ALL of Congress and start over!!
TomDac
former MLO owner/operator
yeah.. that would be ideal. For me, voting for the President has always been about the lesser of two evils.
Lets hope the lesser :devil: wins this election.
Tom:
This is truly a sad but honest assessment of how much of our country makes their decision of which way to vote in any given election. We are a country made up in large part of prejudiced, uneducated slobs with no real clue about what really matters. A large part of the electorate in this country (on both sides of the aisle) are poorly informed, biased to the point of foolishness, and completely unable to make an intelligent choice about the person (rather than the party) running for office.
twich:
I understand the sentiment. But I don't think it would help all that much the way our government is structured. You would never have a third party that got any majority in Congress, so all you would get is a lot of stalemate like you get in other countries that have multiple parties. Sometimes stalemate can be good, but other times things need to get accomplished. I am not so sure having a viable third party would change things that much. As voters, we have to demand more of the politicians we have and also of the media. We have to get away from the sound bite mentality and start doing to work to inform ourselves of the real issues we face.
You forget that the republicans have been in control of congress and the presidency for seven of the last eight years. They were in complete control of what got accomplished in this country during the first seven years of Bush's reign, and therefore they shoulder the lion's share of the blame for our current problems.
As for the mortgage crisis, I agree with you that people need to take personal responsibility for their decisions. But lack of regulation led to predatory lending practices and bad decisions made not just by individuals, but by banks and mortgage companies (including fanniemae and freddiemac). Now some of these banks are asking the federal government to bail them out for their mistakes. Where is their corporate responsibility and why should the taxpayers bail them out for their poor decisions? If we do, should we not regulate them more closely to assure this does not happen again in the future?
So you are saying that what took republicans seven years to really screw up good, Obama should be able to fix in a year? I think it may take a little longer than that.
eknuds:
Eight years ago the question was how to deal with our budget surpluses! Now we are dealing with record budget deficits. Eight years ago we were not engaged in a costly war, not dealing with the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on our own soil, and not saber-rattling with Iran and Russia. Eight years ago, oil was under $40 a barrel and gas was 1.20 a gallon! Eight years ago, the unemployment rate was hovering at 4%. Today, it is rising and rapidly approaching 6%. Eight years ago, housing prices were rising, not falling. Eight years ago, we were debating the president's inability to keep his pants zipped, not his inability to speak a coherent sentence. Eight years ago, there was a whole lot more ice on the polar ice caps. Eight years ago, the city of New Orleans was alive and well. Now it is mostly a ghost town. I could go on . . . and on . . . and on.
While you may wish to vote republican again this time around because you think McCain will be different . . . I subscribe to the notion that stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Well, I guess you haven't bothered to read this document then, have you?
Blueprint for Change (pdf file)
Please show me where McCain's "plan" is so well laid out.
That makes for a good sound bite, but it is really just a copout. Who would you replace them with? What makes you think it wouldn't very quickly end up right back where it is now? Until we start getting higher quality people going into politics and we as voters start choosing them based on their intellectual abilities and ideas vs. what color they are and how good looking they are and which party they belong to and which god they worship and so on, then nothing is going to change.
In my opinion, one of the first steps we need to take is to eliminate the career politicians. Anyone who seeks to stay in office for an indefinite period of time has no one's interests in mind but their own. I put McCain in this category, as I do Biden. Both men have some great qualities. But both have long since sold their souls to the corporate coffers. We need a limit of say, four terms as a congressman and two terms as a senator. Just like we limit the presidency. That would go a long way to fixing our problems, I think. The line-item veto is another.
This is truly a sad but honest assessment of how much of our country makes their decision of which way to vote in any given election. We are a country made up in large part of prejudiced, uneducated slobs with no real clue about what really matters. A large part of the electorate in this country (on both sides of the aisle) are poorly informed, biased to the point of foolishness, and completely unable to make an intelligent choice about the person (rather than the party) running for office.
twich:
I understand the sentiment. But I don't think it would help all that much the way our government is structured. You would never have a third party that got any majority in Congress, so all you would get is a lot of stalemate like you get in other countries that have multiple parties. Sometimes stalemate can be good, but other times things need to get accomplished. I am not so sure having a viable third party would change things that much. As voters, we have to demand more of the politicians we have and also of the media. We have to get away from the sound bite mentality and start doing to work to inform ourselves of the real issues we face.
You forget that the republicans have been in control of congress and the presidency for seven of the last eight years. They were in complete control of what got accomplished in this country during the first seven years of Bush's reign, and therefore they shoulder the lion's share of the blame for our current problems.
As for the mortgage crisis, I agree with you that people need to take personal responsibility for their decisions. But lack of regulation led to predatory lending practices and bad decisions made not just by individuals, but by banks and mortgage companies (including fanniemae and freddiemac). Now some of these banks are asking the federal government to bail them out for their mistakes. Where is their corporate responsibility and why should the taxpayers bail them out for their poor decisions? If we do, should we not regulate them more closely to assure this does not happen again in the future?
So you are saying that what took republicans seven years to really screw up good, Obama should be able to fix in a year? I think it may take a little longer than that.
eknuds:
Eight years ago the question was how to deal with our budget surpluses! Now we are dealing with record budget deficits. Eight years ago we were not engaged in a costly war, not dealing with the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on our own soil, and not saber-rattling with Iran and Russia. Eight years ago, oil was under $40 a barrel and gas was 1.20 a gallon! Eight years ago, the unemployment rate was hovering at 4%. Today, it is rising and rapidly approaching 6%. Eight years ago, housing prices were rising, not falling. Eight years ago, we were debating the president's inability to keep his pants zipped, not his inability to speak a coherent sentence. Eight years ago, there was a whole lot more ice on the polar ice caps. Eight years ago, the city of New Orleans was alive and well. Now it is mostly a ghost town. I could go on . . . and on . . . and on.
While you may wish to vote republican again this time around because you think McCain will be different . . . I subscribe to the notion that stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Well, I guess you haven't bothered to read this document then, have you?
Blueprint for Change (pdf file)
Please show me where McCain's "plan" is so well laid out.
That makes for a good sound bite, but it is really just a copout. Who would you replace them with? What makes you think it wouldn't very quickly end up right back where it is now? Until we start getting higher quality people going into politics and we as voters start choosing them based on their intellectual abilities and ideas vs. what color they are and how good looking they are and which party they belong to and which god they worship and so on, then nothing is going to change.
In my opinion, one of the first steps we need to take is to eliminate the career politicians. Anyone who seeks to stay in office for an indefinite period of time has no one's interests in mind but their own. I put McCain in this category, as I do Biden. Both men have some great qualities. But both have long since sold their souls to the corporate coffers. We need a limit of say, four terms as a congressman and two terms as a senator. Just like we limit the presidency. That would go a long way to fixing our problems, I think. The line-item veto is another.
Total agreement Rich, Oh and BTW, you didn't take my statement about Obama having everything 'ship shape' by 2010 literally ....did you ?? LOL !
Also, I personally know MANY people that are better off today than eight years ago, myself included. My industry, Railroading is without doubt stronger today. The nation as a whole, could it be better, yes, and may our next President lead us in that direction !
As far as unemployment, not a useless figure, but very missleading none the less, for approx 3% are hardcore "lets suck the system dry deadbeats". Please don't get me started on welfare ....Grrrrrrrr!!
While energy and its associated costs have contributed much to our recent wows, this country NEEDED a wake-up call.....AGAIN ! Afterall we as a nation ignored the last two ! Oh, btw, our gasoline cost is still cheap last I looked compared to the rest of the civilized world.
Oh hell, enough of this political crap.......are we READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL ????
eknuds01
Well-known member
eknuds:
Eight years ago the question was how to deal with our budget surpluses! Now we are dealing with record budget deficits. Eight years ago we were not engaged in a costly war, not dealing with the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on our own soil, and not saber-rattling with Iran and Russia. Eight years ago, oil was under $40 a barrel and gas was 1.20 a gallon! Eight years ago, the unemployment rate was hovering at 4%. Today, it is rising and rapidly approaching 6%. Eight years ago, housing prices were rising, not falling. Eight years ago, we were debating the president's inability to keep his pants zipped, not his inability to speak a coherent sentence. Eight years ago, there was a whole lot more ice on the polar ice caps. Eight years ago, the city of New Orleans was alive and well. Now it is mostly a ghost town. I could go on . . . and on . . . and on.
While you may wish to vote republican again this time around because you think McCain will be different . . . I subscribe to the notion that stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Well, I guess you haven't bothered to read this document then, have you?
Blueprint for Change (pdf file)
Please show me where McCain's "plan" is so well laid out.
That makes for a good sound bite, but it is really just a copout. Who would you replace them with? What makes you think it wouldn't very quickly end up right back where it is now? Until we start getting higher quality people going into politics and we as voters start choosing them based on their intellectual abilities and ideas vs. what color they are and how good looking they are and which party they belong to and which god they worship and so on, then nothing is going to change.
In my opinion, one of the first steps we need to take is to eliminate the career politicians. Anyone who seeks to stay in office for an indefinite period of time has no one's interests in mind but their own. I put McCain in this category, as I do Biden. Both men have some great qualities. But both have long since sold their souls to the corporate coffers. We need a limit of say, four terms as a congressman and two terms as a senator. Just like we limit the presidency. That would go a long way to fixing our problems, I think. The line-item veto is another.[/QUOTE]
I have looked over Obama's plan.
FYI: here's McCain's: http://www.johnmccain.com/
You'll see it's full of party rhetoric and the usual poltical mumbo-jumbo, just like Obama's. While Obama is indeed preaching about sweeping reforms, improving everything from education to energy, I still see nothing more than another liberal candidate that wants more government and higher taxes. He wants to cover all Americans with some sort of universal healthcare plan...well who pays for that?
When I made my remark about throwing out Congress, I was alluding to term limits. I don't get it why the President is restricted to a max term of 8 years, but senators can get re-elected over and over. I want new blood in there! Yes, you'll always have dirty and corrupt politicians. Solving that problem goes to the heart of the matter - the federal government is too big and can no longer support itself or function the way it's supposed to. I am vehemently opposed to more goverment, higher taxes, more (and larger) federal programs that don't work and are horribly inefficient.
I am not sure what you are getting at with long spiel about 8 years ago vs today. Yeah, gas was cheaper 8 years ago, and it was way cheaper 20 years ago. Home prices, in general, have had a long-term upward bias and because of predatory lenders, greed, and the US obsession with trying to turn a short term profit on anything and everything, that bubble burst. Is this Bush's fault as well? Will electing Obama automatically fix things? Please, tell me Rich, what makes Obama so special?
I don't doubt that this economy has it's flaws and I really don't trust the metrics the government churns out (GDP and CPI) to address the health of the economy.
Make no mistake, Rich. I am as frustrated and irritated as the next guy. But deep down, I just see Obama has another liberal candidate that wants to raise taxes and expand a government that is already too large, too slow, and full of self-serving politicians. McCain is far from perfect, and, sadly, we don't really vote for candidates any longer - we vote against. We vote for the guy that sucks the least.
Eight years ago the question was how to deal with our budget surpluses! Now we are dealing with record budget deficits. Eight years ago we were not engaged in a costly war, not dealing with the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on our own soil, and not saber-rattling with Iran and Russia. Eight years ago, oil was under $40 a barrel and gas was 1.20 a gallon! Eight years ago, the unemployment rate was hovering at 4%. Today, it is rising and rapidly approaching 6%. Eight years ago, housing prices were rising, not falling. Eight years ago, we were debating the president's inability to keep his pants zipped, not his inability to speak a coherent sentence. Eight years ago, there was a whole lot more ice on the polar ice caps. Eight years ago, the city of New Orleans was alive and well. Now it is mostly a ghost town. I could go on . . . and on . . . and on.
While you may wish to vote republican again this time around because you think McCain will be different . . . I subscribe to the notion that stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Well, I guess you haven't bothered to read this document then, have you?
Blueprint for Change (pdf file)
Please show me where McCain's "plan" is so well laid out.
That makes for a good sound bite, but it is really just a copout. Who would you replace them with? What makes you think it wouldn't very quickly end up right back where it is now? Until we start getting higher quality people going into politics and we as voters start choosing them based on their intellectual abilities and ideas vs. what color they are and how good looking they are and which party they belong to and which god they worship and so on, then nothing is going to change.
In my opinion, one of the first steps we need to take is to eliminate the career politicians. Anyone who seeks to stay in office for an indefinite period of time has no one's interests in mind but their own. I put McCain in this category, as I do Biden. Both men have some great qualities. But both have long since sold their souls to the corporate coffers. We need a limit of say, four terms as a congressman and two terms as a senator. Just like we limit the presidency. That would go a long way to fixing our problems, I think. The line-item veto is another.[/QUOTE]
I have looked over Obama's plan.
FYI: here's McCain's: http://www.johnmccain.com/
You'll see it's full of party rhetoric and the usual poltical mumbo-jumbo, just like Obama's. While Obama is indeed preaching about sweeping reforms, improving everything from education to energy, I still see nothing more than another liberal candidate that wants more government and higher taxes. He wants to cover all Americans with some sort of universal healthcare plan...well who pays for that?
When I made my remark about throwing out Congress, I was alluding to term limits. I don't get it why the President is restricted to a max term of 8 years, but senators can get re-elected over and over. I want new blood in there! Yes, you'll always have dirty and corrupt politicians. Solving that problem goes to the heart of the matter - the federal government is too big and can no longer support itself or function the way it's supposed to. I am vehemently opposed to more goverment, higher taxes, more (and larger) federal programs that don't work and are horribly inefficient.
I am not sure what you are getting at with long spiel about 8 years ago vs today. Yeah, gas was cheaper 8 years ago, and it was way cheaper 20 years ago. Home prices, in general, have had a long-term upward bias and because of predatory lenders, greed, and the US obsession with trying to turn a short term profit on anything and everything, that bubble burst. Is this Bush's fault as well? Will electing Obama automatically fix things? Please, tell me Rich, what makes Obama so special?
I don't doubt that this economy has it's flaws and I really don't trust the metrics the government churns out (GDP and CPI) to address the health of the economy.
Make no mistake, Rich. I am as frustrated and irritated as the next guy. But deep down, I just see Obama has another liberal candidate that wants to raise taxes and expand a government that is already too large, too slow, and full of self-serving politicians. McCain is far from perfect, and, sadly, we don't really vote for candidates any longer - we vote against. We vote for the guy that sucks the least.
eknuds01
Well-known member
Right on, Dave! I am much better off now compared to the last 2-3 years. I know lots of people are better off now vs 3,4, or 5 years ago. I am a firm believer in being the captain of your own ship! YOU are in charge of your destiny!!
But the Doom and Gloom media would like nothing more than to keep us in the doldrums at all times!
You talked about the energy issue before, and you are 100% correct. Just because is cheap (compared to most other nations) that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be looking to get over our foreign dependence on oil. This country, all of us, need to unite on an initiative to tap other sources of energy! I am hoping the jolt at the pump is enough to push this country in the right direction.
