POLITICAL ISSUES

[texaspackerbacker]

Harlan, seriously--not merely a rhetorical question, are you against Obama because of his positions on the issues--which I have described as Horrendous? Or do you oppose him simply because of various quirks about him as an individual?

I hope it's the former, but I think it's the latter.

Elections IN GENERAL choose parties first and foremost. However PRESIDENTIAL elections are not like that. If you go back the last 50 or 60 years, probably well over half that time, we had a president from one party and a Congressional majority from the other. It sort of looks like we are headed for that again.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Harlan, seriously--not merely a rhetorical question, are you against Obama because of his positions on the issues--which I have described as Horrendous?

I really don't have any problem with Obama's offical positions. But then again, he's so new on the scene I'm not sure what he is about. He's made some real gaffs reflective of his inexperience.

I'm a little concerned that he might pull troops out of Iraq too quickly. But I'm ready for a timetable for withdrawal, as long as it is long enough, say 4 years. So difference between him and McCain may not really be so great.

I think that Obama is unqualified to be president. He had only been a big league politican for a year before he started running for president.

But honestly, my strong allegiance to the democratic party would probably allow me to grit my teeth and overlook his experience shortcoming if I wasn't so turned-off by some of his supporters. I think the process by which he got the nomination was quite ridiculous, the media was completely slanted. Pundits who supported the Clintons in the past decoded their recent remarks and discovered they are racist devils.

The atrocity of the Bush Adminsistration has fueled the rise of the left in the democratic party. They are feeling their oats. I agree with them on many policy issues, but the venom with which they have pushed "the Obama Way or the Highway" has me choosing the highway.
I'm comfortable with four years of McCain - or until death do us part.

[gex]

'till death do us part thats fuckin funny Harlan.
Here's one I got textd to me today:
.........................BREAKING NEWS..........................
Today Barack Obama said he may not be able to fix the American economy, but he can nigger-rig it.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

What makes him different from Reagan, Clinton, and Bush? What a question!

Obama is evil personified, America-hate personified.

I would never even come close to portraying Bill Clinton--with ALL his scandals and bad positions--as remotely as horrific as Obama. The country literally would be very lucky to survive 4 or 8 years of an Obama presidency.

If anybody would respond that I'm indulging in vague generalities here, the specifics are all there in the original post of this thread.

If you can't read and comprehend, please refrain from posting.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Watching McCain is a little like seeing Muhammad Ai at the end of his career. He floats like a bee, stings like a butterfly. McCain's time was 2000. We'll see in the debates if he still has enough of his marbles to get the job done. I like McCain a lot.

[hoosier]

I'm not buying it. What ever happened to your spiel from before the primaries ridiculing people who vote based on candidate persona when we all know that elections are really about putting one or the other party apparatus in power? Does the vote-for-the-party-not-for-the-candidate logic only hold for people who are swayed by persona instead of "experience"?

I believe strongly in two ideas that have come into direct conflict:
1) Elections choose parties first and foremost.
2) Obama is an unacceptable choice to be president.

This is a dilemma. I am forced to compromise one of my deeply felt views. The fact that I'm throwing my lot in with the Republicans reflects how negatively I view the Obama candidacy.

OK, I reiterate my "I'm not buying it" in relation to your point #2. In the larger context of US politics, Obama and Hillary are nearly indistinguishable on the issues. Your first choice is Hillary and your second is McCain??? Come on! The real reason, IMO, that you find Obama "unacceptable" is that you're pissed that your side didn't win the primary. The other stuff you trot out (Obama's inexperience, Obama's campaign playing dirty, Obamamania as cultural pathology equalled only by 1930s fascism) are all rationalizations.

[Joemailman]

Watching McCain is a little like seeing Muhammad Ai at the end of his career. He floats like a bee, stings like a butterfly. McCain's time was 2000. We'll see in the debates if he still has enough of his marbles to get the job done. I like McCain a lot.

Our recent Presidents have visibly aged considerably during their time in office. Doesn't the fact that McCain, as you acknowledge, appears to be past his prime now give you pause as to how well he will be able to handle the stress the job brings for the next 4 years?

[Harlan Huckleby]

Our recent Presidents have visibly aged considerably during their time in office. Doesn't the fact that McCain, as you acknowledge, appears to be past his prime now give you pause as to how well he will be able to handle the stress the job brings for the next 4 years?

this is a serious concern. I'm gonna watch McCain closely this summer. I don't care about his health so much as his mind.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Your first choice is Hillary and your second is McCain??? Come on! The real reason, IMO, that you find Obama "unacceptable" is that you're pissed that your side didn't win the primary. The other stuff you trot out (Obama's inexperience, Obama's campaign playing dirty, Obamamania as cultural pathology equalled only by 1930s fascism) are all rationalizations.

I'm driven more by emotion than reason, but you are off in suggesting I'm mostly disappointed that Clinton lost. I went through a period of imaging Obama at top of the ticket, and with an experienced hand like Clinton or Biden in VP, and I thought that might be an effective team. But about then the campaign turned even uglier. I'm really disgusted with the dirty politics.

More developments today!

First Clinton fed rumor mill of Obama's Muslim ties with clever "as far as I know" subliminal message.
Then she inflamed racist passions by noting she has strong support of white working class.
Today she topped herself by suggesting possible assasination of her opponent.

I just took a look at Huffington Post and am reminded why I will never have anything to do with Obama supporters.

[Freak Out]

If you think this primary is ugly just wait...Mac is loading up with the worst in the biz...it's going to be interesting to see how Hussein handles himself. I think Mac loses it at some point and people get a little freaked.

[Harlan Huckleby]

If you think this primary is ugly just wait...Mac is loading up with the worst in the biz...it's going to be interesting to see how Hussein handles himself. I think Mac loses it at some point and people get a little freaked.

The campaigns haven't been dirty, its the pundits and the supporters.

The republicans are not going to do anything to Obama worse than what OBama supporters have been repeating about Clinton for months. The "Republican Sleaze Machine" is not dirtier than Maureen Dowd or Bob Herbert.

[Freak Out]

If you think this primary is ugly just wait...Mac is loading up with the worst in the biz...it's going to be interesting to see how Hussein handles himself. I think Mac loses it at some point and people get a little freaked.

The campaigns haven't been dirty, its the pundits and the supporters.

The republicans are not going to do anything to Obama worse than what OBama supporters have been repeating about Clinton for months. The "Republican Sleaze Machine" is not dirtier than Maureen Dowd or Bob Herbert.

Of course the candidates have kept it pretty clean...just like Dubya did in 2000.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Of course the candidates have kept it pretty clean...just like Dubya did in 2000.

well ya, that's always the way. But I didn't see any evidence of much dirty business between Clinton and Obama. It was the people themselves that organized themselves into vicious cheering sections.

[texaspackerbacker]

So typical.

The pathetic leftists have ventured out from under their rock--Tyrone, Joe, Hoosier, but NOT to discuss issues--the loser leftist positions which cause forum leftists and leftist politicians alike to run and hide, but to spew a few inane one liners and whine about the non-issue of McCain's age.

Obama is an incompetent America-hating piece of shit--for all the reasons outlined in post #1 of this thread, and you whiney piss ants don't even have the balls to defend the scumbag's positions.

Harlan, you described Bush's presidency as an "atrocity". How about you? would you care to discuss issues? Like how protecting America from repeats of 9/11? Like the turnaround in the war that has caused leftists and their media buddies to stop even talking about it? Like how BAD the economy would have gotten after 9/11 if some idiot like Gore would have RAISED taxes instead of lowering them? Like how the propagandists of the leftist media have switched to promoting economic problems when other than gas prices, things are fine? Like how they can get away with blaming Bush for high gas prices when the God damned idiot America-hating environmentalists have prevented using so much American oil and building new refineries and nuclear power plants? Like if you could possibly cite anything I didn't mention to rag on Bush about? Like how any of those things come remotely close to being atrocious?

[Harlan Huckleby]

after a good night's rest, I've softened my position. If I live long enough, I'll give fair consideration to Obama's daughters if they run for public office.