American 2008 Election

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: PhilsCafe

Originally posted by: SkiGeek ...Can someone explain to me why there are people who think it's a good idea for Sarah Palin to be the Vice President?   ...quote>

They probably thought they need someone female to profit from the Hillary effect and someone from outside the D.C. establishment to promote change... it was strategy all the way. quote>

Okay, I can see that.  It's insulting since it plays into the "any woman will do" line of thinking but I'll admit it was intriguing when her selection was first announced.  It was indeed an attention-getting move.  but where is the substance behind it?   How can people still think this is a good idea?

I was reading a "what if" commentary (which of course I can't find now) that imagined different VP scenarios.    I found myself thinking "ya know, that would have worked with me".

Unlike the Obama campaign who looked for someone who can actually step in. quote>

Isn't that the job of the Vice President?  I know people, who aren't even Americans, who googled the duties of the US VP to find out what the job description was.   I would have thought that any candidate would have done at least that much.

That's why I think that ticket is the better package altogether.quote>

I have to agree.  It could have gone other ways but, given where we are, I have to agree.

I could see McCain, Obama, or Biden going toe-to-toe (I guess that should be eyeball-to-eyeball) with someone like Putin.   Yes, Obama is inexperienced but at least he comes across as having some thoughts in his head.   We may not agree with all of those thoughts but at least they exist.   I think of Palin and Putin and her "gosh, golly" winking routine and I just want to cringe.  Is this supposed to be cute?  Since when is cute a positive factor for this job?

I really don't get it.   I am really missing something that many people see as a desireable factor.

[Duke87 1,070]

Bit of pre-election humor:

Barack Obama dies and is standing in front of the pearly gates waiting to get into heaven. Saint Peter asks him, "Why should you get into heaven?" Obama says "Well, I was very active in my community for a while, I was a senator in congress, and I was the first back president of the United States." Sant Peter says, "Wow, that last one's pretty ipressive. Whan did that happen?" Obama replies, "about twenty minutes ago."

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

I could see McCain, Obama, or Biden going toe-to-toe (I guess that should be eyeball-to-eyeball) with someone like Putin.   Yes, Obama is inexperienced but at least he comes across as having some thoughts in his head.   We may not agree with all of those thoughts but at least they exist.   I think of Palin and Putin and her "gosh, golly" winking routine and I just want to cringe.  Is this supposed to be cute?  Since when is cute a positive factor for this job?

I really don't get it.   I am really missing something that many people see as a desireable factor.quote>

Actually, they may not really want Palin as President.  It may well be that they consider the alternative to be worse.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: hym

Actually, they may not really want Palin as President.  It may well be that they consider the alternative to be worse.quote>

On what planet would Joe Biden be a worse President than Sarah Palin?  

I wouldn't be so concerned about the Vice President if I believed that either McCain or Obama would survive the first term.   But, deep in my gut, I have the strong feeling that both of them are at high risk, albeit for different reasons.

On a less morbid note, I think this cartoon is a little bit harsh towards McCain but otherwise accurate:

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Originally posted by: hym

Actually, they may not really want Palin as President.  It may well be that they consider the alternative to be worse.quote>

On what planet would Joe Biden be a worse President than Sarah Palin?

I wouldn't be so concerned about the Vice President if I believed that either McCain or Obama would survive the first term.   But, deep in my gut, I have the strong feeling that both of them are at high risk, albeit for different reasons.quote>

It's not about Biden.  It's about Obama.  They may both be at risk, but that doesn't mean anything will actually happen to them.  I'm sure Obama's supporters, and a lot of his detractors too, figure he'll be eligible to run again in 2012.  They're concerned about what an Obama administration would be like, not a Biden administration.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: hym

It's not about Biden.  It's about Obama.  They may both be at risk, but that doesn't mean anything will actually happen to them.  I'm sure Obama's supporters, and a lot of his detractors too, figure he'll be eligible to run again in 2012.  They're concerned about what an Obama administration would be like, not a Biden administration.quote>

 

I can understand that. 

but why are people talking about Palin 2012?   It seems like a bad joke to me but there are those who take it seriously.  I honestly do not understand what those people are thinking.

Can someone who actually likes Sarah Palin explain it to me?   Supposedly she has "energized" a group of people.  Why?

Edit:

I was reading a "what if" commentary (which of course I can't find now) that imagined different VP scenarios.    I found myself thinking "ya know, that would have worked with me". quote>

I found it in a blog.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Barack Obama's grandmother dies

Barack Obama was raised by his grandparents in Hawaii

The grandmother of US candidate Barack Obama has died on the eve of the presidential election.

Madelyn Dunham, 86, had cancer. She had been a key figure in Mr Obama's early life, and helped raise him.

When her health deteriorated last month, the Democratic candidate left the campaign trail for two days to visit her in Hawaii.

Mr Obama has spoken of their strong bond and referred to her in some of his most powerful campaign speeches.

Announcing her death on Monday, Mr Obama said: "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility.

"She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."quote>

[TV-VCR 15]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

Barack Obama's grandmother dies

Barack Obama was raised by his grandparents in Hawaii

The grandmother of US candidate Barack Obama has died on the eve of the presidential election.

Madelyn Dunham, 86, had cancer. She had been a key figure in Mr Obama's early life, and helped raise him.

When her health deteriorated last month, the Democratic candidate left the campaign trail for two days to visit her in Hawaii.

Mr Obama has spoken of their strong bond and referred to her in some of his most powerful campaign speeches.

Announcing her death on Monday, Mr Obama said: "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility.

"She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."quote>

quote>

How sad.

Well, here comes Tuesday. God, this is going to be tight.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

Barack Obama's grandmother dies

Barack Obama was raised by his grandparents in Hawaii

The grandmother of US candidate Barack Obama has died on the eve of the presidential election.

Madelyn Dunham, 86, had cancer. She had been a key figure in Mr Obama's early life, and helped raise him.

When her health deteriorated last month, the Democratic candidate left the campaign trail for two days to visit her in Hawaii.

Mr Obama has spoken of their strong bond and referred to her in some of his most powerful campaign speeches.

Announcing her death on Monday, Mr Obama said: "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility.

"She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances."quote>

quote>

 

Wow Sympathy votes.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Maybe some sympathy votes yes.

Though rather sad she won't be there to see him take the presidency, such a shame

[DFire870 2]

That is sad that she passed away, a day before election day. He did say that she probably wouldn't make it until then, but the fact that she died so close to him possibly winning the presidency is sad.

On another note, my sister's having a baby tomorrow, and she wants Obama to win, so it would be weird if she had the baby when they announced Obama as the winner.

[Boggy1 45]

I would find it very very worrying if this got him Sympathy Votes. Surely you vote according to the party, and candidate, the issues, and the positions, rather than whether or not his grandmother just died?

Needless to say, RIP to her. She was obviously a very strong woman, and was a major figure in Obama's life. Shame she couldn't hold on till Inauguration Day.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: TV-VCR

How sad.   quote>

Very sad.   It's a bit unusual for elderly people to die right before a significant event.  A surprisingly large percentage of them "hold on" until some milestone then die soon afterward.   Usually it's a birthday or an anniversary.  For Henry Fonda, the milestone was his first Oscar.

Well, here comes Tuesday. God, this is going to be tight.quote>

I am off to go set up the polling place.   I'm one of those little blue haired ladies in tennis shoes who sit behind the tables, checking people in.    We can't pop the seals on the machines until tomorrow morning but we can get the room set up tonight.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Originally posted by: TV-VCR

How sad.   quote>

Very sad.   It's a bit unusual for elderly people to die right before a significant event.  A surprisingly large percentage of them "hold on" until some milestone then die soon afterward.   Usually it's a birthday or an anniversary.  For Henry Fonda, the milestone was his first Oscar.

Well, here comes Tuesday. God, this is going to be tight.quote>

I am off to go set up the polling place.   I'm one of those little blue haired ladies in tennis shoes who sit behind the tables, checking people in.    We can't pop the seals on the machines until tomorrow morning but we can get the room set up tonight.

quote>

 

Not going to the game tonight?

Have fun pole setting.

[threeswept 12]

Originally posted by: Boggy1 I would find it very very worrying if this got him Sympathy Votes. Surely you vote according to the party, and candidate, the issues, and the positions, rather than whether or not his grandmother just died?quote>

You underestimate the stupidity of people.  There will be a multitude of people voting for ridiculous reasons and this one will definitely be one of them.

[confused04 14]

LOL.... CNN just made fun of Minnesota after discussing what can only be described as just the dirtiest, ugliest, most annoying, clawing-at-the-eyes campaign in state history. They praised Minnesota's electoral history with great figures such as Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, and Paul Wellstone. They added that seeing the Coleman-Franken-Barkley brawl has been rather amusing. They added that despite our strong progressive tradition, we elect odd people (Jesse Ventura). Then this line came out (roughly).

"With all these political greats, we are stuck with THIS... the gene pool in Minnesota must have thinned a bit." Wolf Blitzer was a bit wary once one of his analysts said that. Funny and sad.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

Not going to the game tonight? quote>

Nope.  I need to be at the polling place at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday morning to start my 18+ hour day, which rules out going to a Monday night game.   So my nephew is using the tickets.  He is in high school and usually doesn't get to go to Monday night games but school is closed tomorrow. 

Have fun pole setting.

quote>

It was fun 

[Duke87 1,070]

...what's more shocking to me is that someone who's running for president still had a living grandparent. I never would have expected that.

If you're in your 40's and still have grandparents alive, I'd say you're pretty lucky. My mother had lost all four of hers by the time she was 30 and my father, even younger. Hell, I'm only 20, and two of mine are already gone. One never even lived to see any grandchildren.

The timing is rather coincidental, though. You know there will be people who'll be trying to interpret it as some sort of message from god or something.

EDIT: Damn it, Collegehumor. You've done it again.

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

I'm working the polls for my school tomorrow too, but I couldn't get myself to sign up for the 7AM shift, so I'll be moseying up my way there by 11:30

[hamsterTK 93]

In some families it's not uncommon for there to be great-grandparents. I had a great-grandmother until a few years ago.

Long lines of extremely healthy people having kids in their teens or early 20's and that's what you get.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: ilikehotdogsalot

 I'm working the polls for my school tomorrow too, but I couldn't get myself to sign up for the 7AM shift, so I'll be moseying up my way there by 11:30 quote>

Shift?  You get a shift?   We don't get no blinking shifts.  

I will be there at 5:45 a.m. and stay until the shut-down is finished.   The polls close at 8:00 but everyone who is in line at that point gets to vote.  It takes about 60-90 minutes to go through the shut-down procedures.   (I was not a happy camper in February when they extended voting hours.)

Wait a sec . . .  you are working the polls in what capacity?   Here, official poll workers must be registered voters, which means they must be at least 18.    I guess it depends on what job you are doing.

Originally posted by: hamsterTK

 In some families it's not uncommon for there to be great-grandparents. I had a great-grandmother until a few years ago. quote>

But you aren't old enough to run for President.

Long lines of extremely healthy people having kids in their teens or early 20's and that's what you get.quote>

Some families crunch the generations together, others spread them apart.  My grandmother lived to be 101 but she didn't start having her kids until her 30s.  A bit unusual back in those days.

[blade2k5 1,523]

I'm one of those lucky ones who had a great Grandmother until I was 24. She passed a day after her 88th B-day in 1988. She even outlived her own daughter by 8 years who passed away a week after my 16th B-day. Both parents are gone now as well.

[underwearman2007 0]

Personally, if I could vote (I be 14 years old), I would vote for the Libertarian Party Canidate, Bob Barr. But not over the person, but of his party's ideals. They are non-interventionist, which means that they are not going to get into anymore conflicts unless they have to (like if Russia Decides to invate a NATO country). If you read about them, and their ideals, they seem like the best choice for America.

PS: I just wrote a massive paper for History.

[TV-VCR 15]

Deviating a bit from the current topic, I was watching ABC News and I was absolutely disgusted with how wrong they were with so many facts and points about the election... it was almost as bad as Fox News. It's like George and Charlie are on another planet. I'll stick with Reuters, thank you.

Originally posted by: Duke87 Someone "having no chance of winning" is not a good reason not to vote for them. It's exactly that kind of attitude that creates this ridiculous two party system. It's exactly that kind of attitude that I despise. I voted for Bob Barr. Yes, I know he's not going to win. No, that's not going to stop me from voting him. I think he's the best candidate for the job.

People say that voting for a third party candidate is "throwing your vote away". That's bullcrap. The only way you can throw your vote away is to not vote. Then you've really thrown your vote away. quote>

Only problem is, there are countless amount of people who have the same mind set. Resulting in a bit of a cascade.

I hate human psychology.

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Shift?  You get a shift?   We don't get no blinking shifts.quote>

Well, you're probably getting paid, we're only doing it to get stinking service hours

Wait a sec . . .  you are working the polls in what capacity?   Here, official poll workers must be registered voters, which means they must be at least 18.    I guess it depends on what job you are doing.quote>

Well, I guess 'working the polls' isn't really the correct term. Going up to people in line and telling them to make Education a Priority and helping them get situated and helping lost people throughout the school.

I can't wait!

[Joesocwork 4]

Just came back from voting.  I got there 20 minutes early and the line took about an hour and a half.  The Magistrate jabbed at me stating we should have left at 5:00 not get up at 5:00!    I found the poll workers to be very gracious and helpful and absolutely no one in line was in a foul mood during the wait.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Rock The Vote

[Boggy1 45]

On the News just now they showed Obama voting at the polling station. Eh? How does that work? Does he just vote for himself? Or am I missing some vital intricate part of US politics?

Oh, also, nice Featured Article(s) on Wikipedia today.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: Boggy1 On the News just now they showed Obama voting at the polling station. Eh? How does that work? Does he just vote for himself? Or am I missing some vital intricate part of US politics?

Oh, also, nice Featured Article(s) on Wikipedia today.quote>

 

I wonder if he had to go back to Chicago to vote. or do they have a polling place for congressmen to use.

[zane900 1]

Originally posted by: Boggy1 On the News just now they showed Obama voting at the polling station. Eh? How does that work? Does he just vote for himself? Or am I missing some vital intricate part of US politics?quote>

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes I wonder if he had to go back to Chicago to vote. or do they have a polling place for congressmen to use.quote>

Obama is voting for himself in Chicago.

The line is about three hours long in my neck of the woods.