The next U.S. President (for non-US members only)

Sean Trane wrote: I don't believe Obama will conquer the democratic seat and if he does, I believe the Reps will win it for a third mandate ina row.... (too many whites not willing to vote for a black candidate) ... on the Rep side, I'm not that familiar with the candidate's names, but I just hope the friggin' pastor/priest gets crushed very quickly (in New Hampshire hopefully)

I think you might have been right about whites not willing to vote for a black man a few years ago, and there are still many, many Archie Bunker types left in this country.  But even my uber-conservative Anabaptist parents (who live in the South) have said that they would consider voting for a moderate or even the Democratic candidate (which could end up being Obama) after the beating this country has taken the past seven years.  So in that sense Bush may have inadvertently done more for racial equality during his term than any president in the past 30 years .

The "friggin' pastor/priest" is Mike Huckabee, and following his victory in the Iowa caucases he finished a distant third-place in both the New Hampshire and Michigan primaries.

In the past couple of weeks he has made comments about sending Iranians "to the gates of Hell" and "helping them" see their seven virgins in the after-life, plus had a pep talk with supporters after Iowa where he told them they were "God's army" and were girding themselves to "do the Lord's work".  I'm sure that in context these comments weren't quite as inflammatory as they sound, but that's the kind of stuff that'll get you put on the shelf in a campaign real fast, even in the South.  I'd say his 15 minutes of fame will be over in about another 3-4 minutes.

On the Hillary note, I'm really watching this race with interest to see how it develops, but her emo stunt in New Hampshire is kind of like that old "are you still beating your wife?" question: if she was really actually crying in that interview then one has to be concerned about the resolve and steadfastness of someone who would bawl in public also being in charge of the world's largest military and thousands of nuclear warheads.  And if she was faking it then one has to consider what lengths she would go to for the nomination, and whether she can actually be trusted at face-value on anything else.  She was bordering on the same act last night during the Michigan debates on TV, so it looks like that's her new strategy until/if it backfires.

I have no idea what Obama´s political ideas are... some info please.

someone very wise wrote: Dude, I would totally vote for the Zorn/Frith ticket.  Their motto would be like "We'll make every city Naked City."

I second this nomination.  Start petitioning.  NOW. 

Kucinich and Paul are the two best choices of a line up of bad choices.  

rileydog22 wrote: RON PAUL FTW

Peter wrote: things can only get better, Oval Office-wise!

Unfortunate turn of phrase as far as UK citizens are concerned, professor - when Tony B Liar was voted in in 1997 the song 'things can only get better' was played over and over at the victory party & on the radio for days. How little we knew...

Back on thread, I like most people here, would like to see Obama voted in for his avowed intent to genuinely improve US society, but who knows, eh? As uncle Frank said:

"Republican is fine if you're a multi millionaire,
Democrats is fair if all you own is what you wear,
But neither of them's really right,
'Cos neither of them care..."



I wonder if he were still alive if he would have tried...

Jim Garten wrote: Peter wrote: things can only get better, Oval Office-wise! Unfortunate turn of phrase as far as UK citizens are concerned, professor - when Tony B Liar was voted in in 1997 the song 'things can only get better' was played over and over at the victory party & on the radio for days. How little we knew... Back on thread, I like most people here, would like to see Obama voted in for his avowed intent to genuinely improve US society, but who knows, eh? As uncle Frank said: "Republican is fine if you're a multi millionaire, Democrats is fair if all you own is what you wear, But neither of them's really right, 'Cos neither of them care..." I wonder if he were still alive if he would have tried...

"'Bout that hot plate heaven, 'cause they ain't been there."  Love that song.  Off topic but the Dr. Koop song is my favorite on Broadway the Hard way.  "...it's the work of the devil so girls don't blow.  Don't blow Jimmy, don't blow Bobby, git yourself another hobby..."

rileydog22 wrote: el b�thy wrote: I have no idea what Obama�s political ideas are... some info please. The same as the other democrats.  They really all have the same message, they're just competing to see who can say the word "change" more times per hour.  Obama is winning in this category.

You realize the republican party is also doing that, right?

rileydog22 wrote: The republican side is the same, except that there is at least one single candidate (RON PAUL) who actually has an OPINION on any given issue, while everyone else simply gets their views verbatim from their party.

Well, it makes sense to join a political party in which you share mostly similar views, so it's common to notice relatively few differences for that reason.  It's mostly just the frontrunners, Clinton and Obama, who don't exactly give their stance on certain issues.  Look at Edwards or Kucinich and tell me they don't have opinions.

By the way, I don't really consider myself apart of any party, but if America wasn't so bipartisan, I'd probably vote for either the Green or Socialist party.

Vibrationbaby wrote: Well, I`ve gave up on politics a long time ago in my basketcase country but I voted for Hillary here just because if I`ve got to look at a person just about every day in the media well, she looks better than all the rest of the other monkeys.

Sad thing is there's a way too large segment of the electorate here that votes for someone based on superficial criteria like that.