American 2008 Election

[Boggy1 45]

I'm so happy that I just want to go hug someone. It's a truly awe-some feeling, that finally the United States may get back onto it's footing again. Congratulations Obama, and congratulations America, maybe now you can finally gain some well-deserved world respect back.

[Psycho_Teddy 25]

Originally posted by: Sir_Nuttingham I'm happy for the Americans that Obama got elected. He was by far the best choice for hard working, non-rich Americans, as well as the rest of the world in world-politics. Still I find it a fairly poor democracy when all you get to choose between is liberal-right (democrats) and conservative-right (republicans). No offence, but I thing the US should reconsider stating it's the most democratic country in the world, because it's obviously not.

Nothing against American people though! I made good friends over there! Congratulations!quote>

I totally agree with you 100%.  I hate the fact that we have these other parties but they are so underfunded that their candidates never get their feet off of the ground in the elections.  I would love to see a day where there is legitimate competition between the Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian, and Socialist parties (there may be more that I'm not aware of but those are the major ones).

As for the second comment, again, I take no offense.  Most educated Americans know that this isn't a democracy, it's a democratic republic.  Our President should rephrase his gameplan by saying that he's "Spreading democratic republicanism".

[Aontan 0]

Originally posted by: amal81 I couldn't care less who became the president of US...but I loved the new holograms on CNN! quote>

 

Hell yeah, that was cool!

Anyway, well done Obama and well done to the US electorate - you've done us all a huge favour.

[The_sanderson 6]

I

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Meg 368]

I have been through more Presidential elections that I care to count.  This one has been different.  I kept wondering what would happen if certain people had done certain things at various points along the way.

I wonder what would have happened if McCain had been allowed to do what he wanted to do and pick Joe Lieberman as a running mate.    I really do believe that a McCain-Lieberman ticket could have won my age group.   and my age group, being the size that it is, might have swayed things the other way.   The Republican party decided instead to pander to the extreme right wing conservatives and go with Palin which drove the moderates screaming in the other direction.

Looking at things this morning, I have to say that all of that doesn’t matter.  Never before have I seen crowds of people rejoicing in the streets after an election.  I have seen a crowd like that in a city after a Superbowl victory but never multiple crowds like that in multiple cities after a Presidential election.  The what-ifs and the maybes don’t matter now.  The tide has turned.

For a couple decades now, the extreme right wing conservatives have been pulling the country in the direction they want it to go.  The rest of the country has finally declared that enough is enough; they don't want to go there.  

Some people are very concerned that the American people were just majorly hookwinked.  I can certainly understand that concern.   It is a bit worrying to see people so enthralled.  (and that's the word that keeps coming to me:  enthralled)

At the end of the day, it came down to this:  the American people are desperate for change.  McCain did not make a convincing case that he could bring that change about.

I've seen several pendulum swings during my decades on the planet.  Two things are always true:  life goes on.  and the pendulum will swing back again.  

I just hope we can make some real, meaningful progress in the meantime.

 

[Aontan 0]

Found this and thought it was interesting:

---

Obama hot favourite to win 2012 election

05/11/2008 - 07:38:05

Barack Obama is already odds-on favourite to win the 2012 US election, according to a leading bookmaker.

A spokesman for Paddy Power said Obama is 4-5 favourite to win the next presidential election.

They have made John McCain’s vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin 3-1 favourite to win the Republican nomination in 2012 and 7-1 to beat Obama in that election.

Odds are also available on who President Obama will choose as his Secretary of State.

Diplomat Richard Holbrooke is 9-4 favourite with Anthony Lake and Richard Lugar sharing the 7-2 second-favourites tag.

An outside bet is former two-time Democratic president Bill Clinton at 33-1.

His wife, Hillary, is at odds of 66-1 to get the job.

The bookmakers are also offering odds on which event will happen first under President Obama.

A full troop withdrawal from Iraq is favourite at 2-5 followed by the capture or death of Osama Bin Laden at 6-1.

© Thomas Crosbie Media 2008

---

The day after and they're talking about 2012 already...

But, what do people think will happen with Obama's cabinet and first major action as President come January?

[craizedmanic 0]

Frist let me say that I thought both partys placed men that was not what the nation needed. However I feel that McCain is the lesser of two evils. From all of the replys (as well as the nation reaction) I have notice just how blind people are. Just how ignorant the nation as a whole really is. You Obama fans rushed into a decison desparate of a change. I ask will the change you seek be the change that happens? I feel that over the frist few months the people who can truly look at the world open-minded will see that it will not be that change. I do not dislike Obama because of his race (that in no way plays a part in my feelings towards him). I am simply just trying to look at this has an open-minded person ( it is very hard to do). Some of you have dissmissed the accusations of Obamas patriotism that was placed on the internet. It stated that he chose not to face OUR flag. He does not say OUR pledge of allegiance, and that his father was enovled with terrorism. I am sure that there are others I have left out. These however are the main ones in my opinnion. Can we the American people take the chance that these statements are not true. I say no we can not. The simple possiabilty that they may be true is enough not to risk it. Unfortunately not many share my opinions. I did not get the user names but if you read them then you see it when you get to the post. The statement was made in the post that he basically could care less of the fcat that Obama did not face our flag and that he (the poster) did not pledge the allegiance anymore. That he had done it all the way through elementry school and was all pledge out. He then asked if that made him unpatriotic, and stated that his grandfather was a very decorated solider. My answer to him is Yes that makes him along with all others that do not show their respect to our nation symbols of freedom to be very UNPATRIOTIC. I also believe that his grandfarther would share my opinion. Those symbols are the very same symbols in which his grandfarther fought to protect. This great nation was founded on prinicpals that in todays world are forgotten. Anyway back to Obama. The main thing that people are not talking about is his name. You see Obama has in fact all ready changed this world this nation. Hussain is his middle name and the press is unable to place that in the main line media. Maybe I am misstaken but does the frist amendment of our Constitution not have the freedom of the press and speech in it. This simple and to many unharmful action taken by Obama is just the start of his so called change for America. For all of us that were not mislead by his words and can see him for him can tell he has a completely differnet goal than that in which he claims to have. I watched his acceptance speech last night. I watched his persona his body language. Joy and happiness were far from what he was showing last night. He smiled a total of three times I think (not many at all. He had dislike all over his face. Love for this country is not even a thought in his mind. What kinda of man especially the frist African-American man to become president not show more excitement. I feel to vote for a man because of the color of his skin is ignorant, and that goes both ways. For all that voted for McCain just because he is white is just as ignorant as those that voted for Obama just because he is black. Now just think really think if Obama as already made a change (as small as it may be to some) not being president what is to come. The freedom of the press and speech have already begun to be taken away. What right will Obama take away next in his "change". (I know things are kept out of the press all the time, but this is different. How because his name is Hussein its proven its fact. All other cover up causes what have you may or may not be true). Maybe I stand alone on this maybe I dont. Whatever the cause maybe the next four years will be interesting (if we last that long). Again I hope that my opinions are taken for what they are. That is just trying to get people to see that what looks good and sounds good is not and most of the time not good. Obama along with very other president in history always says what is needed to get elected and then does something else. I just hope the something esle is not something this nation can not handle. For the one thing you learn in history is that all great nations eventually fall.

[nazaguy 0]

Originally posted by: craizedmanic Frist let me say that I thought both partys placed men that was not what the nation needed. However I feel that McCain is the lesser of two evils. From all of the replys (as well as the nation reaction) I have notice just how blind people are. Just how ignorant the nation as a whole really is. You Obama fans rushed into a decison desparate of a change. I ask will the change you seek be the change that happens? I feel that over the frist few months the people who can truly look at the world open-minded will see that it will not be that change. I do not dislike Obama because of his race (that in no way plays a part in my feelings towards him). I am simply just trying to look at this has an open-minded person ( it is very hard to do). Some of you have dissmissed the accusations of Obamas patriotism that was placed on the internet. It stated that he chose not to face OUR flag. He does not say OUR pledge of allegiance, and that his father was enovled with terrorism. I am sure that there are others I have left out. These however are the main ones in my opinnion. Can we the American people take the chance that these statements are not true. I say no we can not. The simple possiabilty that they may be true is enough not to risk it. Unfortunately not many share my opinions. I did not get the user names but if you read them then you see it when you get to the post. The statement was made in the post that he basically could care less of the fcat that Obama did not face our flag and that he (the poster) did not pledge the allegiance anymore. That he had done it all the way through elementry school and was all pledge out. He then asked if that made him unpatriotic, and stated that his grandfather was a very decorated solider. My answer to him is Yes that makes him along with all others that do not show their respect to our nation symbols of freedom to be very UNPATRIOTIC. I also believe that his grandfarther would share my opinion. Those symbols are the very same symbols in which his grandfarther fought to protect. This great nation was founded on prinicpals that in todays world are forgotten. Anyway back to Obama. The main thing that people are not talking about is his name. You see Obama has in fact all ready changed this world this nation. Hussain is his middle name and the press is unable to place that in the main line media. Maybe I am misstaken but does the frist amendment of our Constitution not have the freedom of the press and speech in it. This simple and to many unharmful action taken by Obama is just the start of his so called change for America. For all of us that were not mislead by his words and can see him for him can tell he has a completely differnet goal than that in which he claims to have. I watched his acceptance speech last night. I watched his persona his body language. Joy and happiness were far from what he was showing last night. He smiled a total of three times I think (not many at all. He had dislike all over his face. Love for this country is not even a thought in his mind. What kinda of man especially the frist African-American man to become president not show more excitement. I feel to vote for a man because of the color of his skin is ignorant, and that goes both ways. For all that voted for McCain just because he is white is just as ignorant as those that voted for Obama just because he is black. Now just think really think if Obama as already made a change (as small as it may be to some) not being president what is to come. The freedom of the press and speech have already begun to be taken away. What right will Obama take away next in his "change". (I know things are kept out of the press all the time, but this is different. How because his name is Hussein its proven its fact. All other cover up causes what have you may or may not be true). Maybe I stand alone on this maybe I dont. Whatever the cause maybe the next four years will be interesting (if we last that long). Again I hope that my opinions are taken for what they are. That is just trying to get people to see that what looks good and sounds good is not and most of the time not good. Obama along with very other president in history always says what is needed to get elected and then does something else. I just hope the something esle is not something this nation can not handle. For the one thing you learn in history is that all great nations eventually fall.quote>

Wow, your right, his middle names Hussain. I got it, he must be the re-incarnation of Saddam Hussian. Obama is part of a secret plot to destroy America!!!!!

[The_sanderson 6]

dadyrghluv said: ok, im officially moving to canada now!

barack obama will not salute the american flag, so what kind of president is that? is this what the people really voted for? i heard he's from kenya anyways, and wont produce a birth certificate. to be president u have to be native born american, which he is not.

oh here i come canada, i'll miss u america!quote>

I would not go out if the president of my country have some parents of another nation.

As a matter of fact,the president of my country have Africa parents in a distant way too.

Other presidents of my country - good or not - have parents of another country too.

And i don´t live in Africa!

[The_sanderson 6]

I think racism must be a proibition in this community.

Not all Iraq are evil,someones are good.

In other countrys too.

It make me feel bad see,including here,that if a civic person do a crime,only some part of our nation knows...

If a stranger do a crime,all the nation,and part of another country,knows.

[projectadam 0]

Originally posted by: Jasoncw

Originally posted by: WillG_75

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy

Never have I been so ashamed to be an American.quote>

How depressing.. care to elaborate on that? Think your country should be rather proud when only decades ago you were attacking African-Americans as they even attempted to vote. You may feel ashamed, a majority are not.quote>

The fact that he wants to turn the US into a socialist country lost my vote and my respect. Yeah, kudos to everyone from overcoming the problems of the 60's, but that shouldn't have anything to do with this election. But alas, many people voted for Obama for the fact he is black, ignoring the fact that he will give money earned by working citizens to the lazy and the fact that he has voted for higher middle class taxes nearly 100 times. Ignoring the fact that he was linked to racists, terrorists, radicals and conspricists, Ignoring the fact that his wife hates America, and ignoring the fact that much of his campaign was won by playing the race card, ignoring the fact that he voted to send big CEO's on vacation,ignoring the fact that he proposed higher taxes on small business, less health care coverage, no plans for the future, no plans to create new jobs, etc.quote>

About race, CNN, with their polls, compared people who thought race was a very important factor, and who they voted for, and they found that just about as many people voted for Obama because he was black as people did McCain for being for white (or for not being black at least).  So the, "he won because he's black" isn't true.

quote>

 

Vote by race according to CNN's polls. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1

Whites: Obama 43% McCain 55%

African-Americans: Obama 95% McCain 4%

Latino: Obama 66% McCain 32%

Asian: Obama 61% McCain 35%

I do not know how you can say that race was not a factor in this election?

[Joesocwork 4]

First of congratulations to Senator Obama and his supporters.  The election truly was history in the making.  I hope that certain chapters in American history can be closed for once and for all.  I believe that Deity is in charge regardless of who the leaders are of any nation.  And I continue to feel very blessed to be a United States citizen.  

Having said that, as someone who supported Senator McCain, I hope President-Elect Obama will be judicious how he addressses many of the promises he made and issues that he said he supports.   I have fears that if he and Congress carry out what all that was stated by him, by congress, or by supporters, that our current economic problems will worsen, that United States citizens will potentially lose economic and civil liberties, that the status of the United States will weaken with many nations, and that many international foes will strengthen in their aims against our country.  But like I said, God is in control regardless, so I'll pray Deity's will is done no matter what and that in the process we also don't suffer the negative consequences I fear.

[Mtg2192 0]

Its at times like these when people begin to think: What is the officially most capitalistically free city in the world?

Hong Kong

What is one of the largest and most successful cities in the world?

Hong Kong

What was the least capitalistic nations in the world?

Russia

What country had such a horrible economy that the country itself went under from lack of money in 1991?

Russia.

As this short study clearly shows, capitalism is successful.

Free market creates competition, which creates efficiency, which encourages people to compete more, which makes things even more efficient. A fully capitalistic economy will only speed up. When government tries to get involved with the economy and regulate the way businesses work, the economy slows. Look at the effects of taxes on inflation in any situation. Inflation is the visible slowing of the economy.

The economy is a cycle. You get money from your job, you spend that money on food, shelter, taxes, those who receive that money spend that money on food, shelter, taxes, (except the government, which spends money often on weapons, vehicles, and other things produced outside the USA (not that other people don't), and the government will not spend this money directly on you (aside from army/police) unless you do NOT have a job, are NOT contributing to society, and are on welfare), eventually, the cycle goes back around when somebody spends money on your business or employer; then you are paid and the cycle continues.

When you increase taxes, there is less money to spend on food and shelter (and leisure, appearances, many other things, but food and shelter are basic and expensive), so companies have to raise the salaries they pay people, so it costs more to pay for things, so your company needs to raise its salaries for workers, so the workers have to spend even more because those who are buying from your company raise their salaries, which increases the cost of products.

This is inflation. It is a natural result of excessively high taxes and a coercion to pay them. Sometimes the cost is even greater than it seems.

That's what this nation elected with Obama. Do we need that?

[Meg 368]

Being a poll worker, I have a few stories about polling process itself . . .

 

My precinct has the tradition of celebrating a first time voter.  Voters line up to see a check-in judge (that was my job this time around).  After we find them in the poll books, we give him a small printout and a machine access card so they can get in line for a voting machine.

 

Whenever one of us poll workers identifies someone who is voting for the first time, we shout “first time voter!” and the rest of us clap and cheer.   Usually this is a relatively rare event but it happened frequently yesterday.

 

The typical first time voter is about 18 or 19 years old with a scattering of 20 and 21 year olds who didn’t bother to vote in the mid-terms.   Yesterday, we had the young ones plus a wide range of people from other age groups.

 

One of our first time voters was a 61 year old woman.  She brought her mother along with her.  Her mother hadn’t voted in over 40 years.  I wanted to ask what was wrong with them but my job description precluded that.

 

One was a 40-something who had his wife and child in tow.   He just became an American citizen last year and was clearly psyched at being able to vote here.

 

One of the 19 year olds arrived with his mother.  She wanted to go into the voting booth with him.  I reactively said “No, you can’t go with him!” and then paused and went through the conditions under which that would be allowed.  Of course, none of those conditions applied to him.  She was simply being a helicopter parent.   I pointed out that, if he was old enough to vote, he was old enough to vote without his mama hovering over his shoulder.  She had to admit that was true although I could tell it was painful for her to let him go.  I was glad that the voting regulations didn’t allow her to follow him.

 

One was a very professional looking 30-something woman.  I didn’t recognize her as a first time voter.  The unit judge picked up on it when the woman expressed confusion over how to work the machine.   Her excitement at being there should have given me a clue.

 

I have to say that I am very pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the process went.  There were no horror stories about machine malfunctions or violent crowds.   My precinct had a 67% turnout.  I have never seen a turnout that high.  I had thought the percentage was higher than that until I realized that we had registered over 200 new voters since the primary, an increase of 17%.

[balkair 6]

eh, excuse me, but capitalism is NOT successful. You can see now, with the global crisis, that capitalism is collapsing... And Russia operates a capitalist economy nowadays...

[Yoman3 5]

Originally posted by: balkair eh, excuse me, but capitalism is NOT successful. You can see now, with the global crisis, that capitalism is collapsing... And Russia operates a capitalist economy nowadays...quote>

Oh yeah, Communism has been much more successful, since every state that has ever had such an economy has either collapsed, is currently not a great place, or has moved towards capitalism.

[ilikehotdogsalot 311]

It'd be nice to point out that Hong Kong is only a small region that doesn't have the large population Russia does.

[TV-VCR 15]

Alright people, please, please, do some research on the candidates before you start posting these stupid, uneducated opinions. Typing about what you've heard on the TV and then adding your own insane ideas and beliefs to it does not make you look smart. Seriously.

[balkair 6]

Originally posted by: Yoman3

Originally posted by: balkair eh, excuse me, but capitalism is NOT successful. You can see now, with the global crisis, that capitalism is collapsing... And Russia operates a capitalist economy nowadays...quote>

Oh yeah, Communism has been much more successful, since every state that has ever had such an economy has either collapsed, is currently not a great place, or has moved towards capitalism.quote>

I never said communism could work - especially in today's globalized society. But dont go around telling me that capitalism did good to the world! Entire economies are collapsing!

[projectadam 0]

Originally posted by: ilikehotdogsalot It'd be nice to point out that Hong Kong is only a small region that doesn't have the large population Russia does.quote>

 

Okay, ask the people in India how they like Democracy and Capitalism. India is the 7th largest in land and 2nd largest by population, is that a big enough country to use as an example? Since they have left their socialistic approach their reserves have went from $5.8 Billion to $1.089 trillion in 17 years!!! Now they still have a lot of poverty but I think that the majority would agree that India is in better shape now compared to 20 years ago.

In addition, belfastuniguy thanks for lumping all Americans as being the same off one post. Guess what, that is what makes this Country great. We are a very diverse group of individuals that can express themselves because of our freedoms and for the most part we are getting along together. You can find every religion in the world sometimes in the same neighborhood here and we are not running around here strapping bombs and killing massive amounts of innocent people because they believe this or voted for this person. I like how everyone loves piling it on the good old US of A because we are so involved in the world political scheme. Do we always make the right decisions? Of course not. Have we helped a lot of people just like they have helped us? I would like to think yes.

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[panthersimcity4 162]

Okay, I'm getting pretty p'd off.

- Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. NOT KENYA.

- He was baptized into the United Church of Christ, so even if he was a Muslim he would technically be considered a Christian.

- His father was a Muslim but when Obama was born his father was an atheist.

- Obama has saluted the flag a million times. Just once he doesn't and all of a sudden he's unAmerican?

- His middle name is Hussein. How does that affiliate him with GASP OMG Saddam?

- Bottom line, HE WON. Which obviously means most of America thinks hes the best choice to run America.

[football_fever 6]

Hussein is an Arabic name going way way back that means handsome or beautiful. He's not Muslim, he's not a terrorist, he's an American citizen, and he's our next president.

To those that for some reason believe otherwise, please please PLEASE do your research and don't base your opinions on internet rumors or lies from smear campaigns.

Apparently he smiles three times during his speech...but if he smiled the whole time would you say he only smiled once?

[Blazerhawk 162]

I'm disappointed that Obama won, mostly because I supported McCain.

That being said Obama's victory is historic and I congratulate him on that. Now he gets two months off to plan and prepare for the worst mess any President since FDR has inherited. In my opinion the Democrats have two years to get this nation back on track. If they have Obama will likely be elected again in 2012. If not, the Dems will lose control of the House and possibly the Senate. Americans generally are not patient.

As far as capitalism vs. socialism vs. communism, you have to remember that each has have their pros and cons. Capitalism is a system that allows growth and prosperity. Socialism presents more solutions to economic hardships. Communism prevents corporate exploitation, and, in theory, is fair. On the flip side, Capitalist crashes are to be expected and exploitation will occur. Socialism chokes out some new ideas and limits growth. Communism tends to lead to government exploitation and lack of incentive to work. I look at it this way, no system is perfect, some are just better than others.

Finally, I will say this. Liberal policies can be beneficial in moving forward. Child labor laws, medicare, and social security were great ideas. No doubt Obama has his. Just remember that ideas need planning. And as you move forward, don't leave your morals behind. Morals are one of the few things that separates man from wild animals.

[The_sanderson 6]

In my own opinion,socialism have problems as capitalism have problems too.

Two different ways, no one is perfect.

In the future,if we have real prosperity (human society), with no exceptions, maybe noone will be used.

IF WE!

[threeswept 12]

This is inflation. It is a natural result of excessively high taxes and a coercion to pay them. Sometimes the cost is even greater than it seems.

That's what this nation elected with Obama. Do we need that?quote>

 

Let's see, last time I checked, taxes pay for the pipes that feed water to your home, roads for you to drive on, traffic signals to prevent idiots from driving "me first, me first" through an intersection, schools in which children must learn, prisons to house criminals, military equipment to protect you, firemen and police to protect you - must I list more. To think that a nation or state would function without paying taxes - or very little taxes - to pay for its infrastructure and upkeep is utterly absurd. 

With a swelling population and a more complex infrastructure, taxes in the US will increase. No doubt. Even Reagan raised taxes after saying he wouldn't. And, McCain would be no different. Those TWO wars in Iraq aren't being paid for from someone's piggy bank - it is surely being paid for out of your taxes. However, I do not like the idea that my tax dollars are bailing out banks, auto manufacturers and insurance companies. If the US is based on capitalism...well, survival of the fittest. What goes away will be replaced by another.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: balkair

I never said communism could work - especially in today's globalized society. But dont go around telling me that capitalism did good to the world! Entire economies are collapsing!quote>

Because some key people got greedy and made some critical mistakes, not because the overall system was flawed.

You'd hope that people would then learn fro the mistakes, but those mistakes are not unlike the ones that led to the great depression...

Because, you know, learning from history is for nerds.

It is for this reason that you need reasonable regulation on things. Why it's a good idea to, for instance, have a minimum wage, have laws limiting child labor and requiring workers have decent working conditions, etc.

But scrapping capitalism completely would be the opposite of improvement. It's not a perfect system, but it's the best one we've got. Hopefully you can try and patch up some of the biggest imperfections with regulations but there's only so much of that you can do before you start to infringe upon the rights of the individual and of the private company.

eh, excuse me, but capitalism is NOT successful. You can see now, with the global crisis, that capitalism is collapsing... And Russia operates a capitalist economy nowadays...quote>

Yeah, but Russia isn't exactly doing the best job of it. A good model with poor execution isn't much more effective than a bad model. The problem really is that the idea of totalitarianism is very ingrained in Russian culture and so they have trouble properly embracing capitalism on a societal level and properly handling it on a governmental level.

Capitalism has, despite ups and downs over the years, worked pretty well for the US. But our culture of liberty and freedom is much more conducive to it flourishing.

Like with a lot of things there's a balance to be struck. Too little regulation and capitalism runs rampant and destroys society. Too much and it's choked out since it doesn't have the freedom it needs to operate properly. I'd say we're doing a lot of leaning towards the too much control side of things these days. I believe it was the oil shale thread where I said that we were "regulating ourselves into obliviion". Putting too much control in the hands of the federal government is a dangerous path to go down. You never want to put too much power in one place, since that inevitably leads to said power being misused and abused.

Socialism may seem nice as an idea but the fact of the matter is it suffers from the same problem that its close cousin, comunism, does: it's an excellent idea in theory but a poor one in practice, since it operates under the false asumption that people care about the well-being and betterent of each other and no one is ever selfish and greedy. The flaw isn't quite as glaring as it is with full-blown communism, but it's still clearly there.

The interesting part is that this is the exact same critical flaw that the opposite end of that axis, anarchy, has. Great idea in theory, but it doesn't work in practice since sometimes people will do bad things. Not everyone is always going to be nice to everyone else and act for the beterment of all instead of the betterment of themselves at the expense of the rest.

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

My precinct has the tradition of celebrating a first time voter.  Voters line up to see a check-in judge (that was my job this time around).  After we find them in the poll books, we give him a small printout and a machine access card so they can get in line for a voting machine.

 

Whenever one of us poll workers identifies someone who is voting for the first time, we shout “first time voter!” and the rest of us clap and cheer.   Usually this is a relatively rare event but it happened frequently yesterday. quote>

Glad I didn't go to vote at the polls in your precent, then. That would have been more than a little embarassing.

I don't like having undue attention drawn to myself when I'm among strangers. I prefer to try and blend into the crowd. For one, because bringing attention to yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to trouble (that attention can effectively yell "Oooh! Mug me!", for instance). For another, because having people watching me makes me very nervous and uncomfortable.

Funny things is, it's ecactly the opposite when I'm among people I know. Then I'm loud and disruptive.

[threeswept 12]

I don't like having undue attention drawn to myself when I'm among strangers. I prefer to try and blend into the crowd. For one, because bringing attention to yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to trouble (that attention can effectively yell "Oooh! Mug me!", for instance).quote>

 

Or, you become Joe the Plumber and instantly the nation and media is delving into your personal life digging up all of your failures and misfortunes.

[IDS2 3,368]

This is really cool that Boy Baracko is president! Just how I wanted it. Kind of weird to think that ol' Father George is leaving after 8 long years. Thinking back, he wasn't awful, not even really that bad, just a bit less capable than we'd like. Conservative Republicans have no place in the 21st century, and John McCain, while he is a brilliant politician and is definitely qualified to be president, is a Conservative Republican, an all-industry and every man for himself viewpoint. He and George and especially the evil Sarah Palin really care about the buff, warlike, polluting powerhouse we were at the turn of the century. No, that's really not popular, and since we actually care about peace and the environment, I think Obama was the best choice.

Regarding the senate race, I don't really like either candidate, Coleman or Franken, so it would make sense that they're in the closest senate race in the whole country. 495 votes with Coleman ahead because of his victories in the small, rural Joe counties like Nicollet and Crow Wing. Franken won Hennepin and Ramsey and St. Louis and frankly (no pun intended) he deserved Washington and Anoka as well. I think Kloubachar and Franken would be a great team, and Coleman is fine, but I think I like Franken as the underdog and he also seems to be very prepared and rehearsed-listen to him, he's a genius (except he likes that group that hates the Boy Scouts because they include god with the country-then I don't like him.)

I'm also disappointed that Madia lost to Erik Paulsen, this geeky Star Battle Convention guy who won District 3 Representative. He has this goofy smile like he's in some constant state of euphoria, but looks don't matter-Ramstead did a fine job, and since he endorsed Paulsen, I'm sure he'll be fine. Madia is only about 30 so he has about 20+ more chances to run...lol.

Overall? My expectations came through except for Rep. which I thought Madia might squeak by. Franken/Coleman are waaay too close for comfort, I think Franken deserves this since he had an early lead and they're tied at the moment, but if Coleman gets reelected that's fine. Why can't we have a senior senator like Biden? Every state deserves a Biden. Someone who's really practiced and knows what they're doing.