There was a time when that was largely true. Not lately though. Big money has corrupted them all - Republicans and Democrats alike.
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Ben Franklin was a wise man.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Franklin
Hopefully we're not that corrupt. ;)
Ive never stated for or against Obama, I try to keep an open mind when voting for a president no matter the party he is affiliated with. Nor do i take the things they say word for word when they are trying to sell them selves.
Justs seems hes lost before he has even gotten started.
In regards to change, I dont know what people where expecting... sworn in on Monday and the economy back on track by tea time Tuesday?
Taking what we have now and fixing it within 4 years seems like a speedy recovery compared to most things of this magnatude.
I also get the feeling that people are pointing the fingure at Obama and even placing blame for the economic landfill were wading through at the moment. But common sence tells me that it took a good many years to get us into this mess and it will take just as long if not longer to get out of it.
I think you’re right again, it will take a while to get out of this mess and yes, Obama did not get us in it... Although his voting record in the senate did not help either… Since he didn’t have one!!! ;)
No, I guess he is like Kennedy he came out of no where and the dems fell in love with his charisma. I will never forget the first time they threw him out in the Primary… I was like who is this????
As bad as this sounds he is a black man that is well educated and can speak well… The Dems jumped on the chance to round up the minority vote… The plan was transparent.. but, I do admit it worked to perfection..
I think it is taking the easy way out to say that Obama won because of the "minority vote" effect. The truth is much more complex, Republicans lost ground with Hispanics which share many of the "conservative moral values" probably due more to the stance on immigration than the color of Obama's skin. They lost ground with females and educated young professionals as well again not due to the color of his skin. In all honesty, Obama won just 5 or 10% more of the African American vote than Bill Clinton did, certainly not enough people there to "win the election".
Perhaps it was the priorities he spoke so eloquently about: Healthcare, Environment, and Education that swayed the majority of people. Again perhaps it was how poorly the people perceived the Republicans had governed over the past 8 years. Neither of those have to do with the color of his skin. He won the democratic primary by determining early how to campaign effectivly in the smaller states and staying close enough in the larger ones. Last time I checked that didn't have anything to do with skin color.
I think that grass-roots 20-somethings had a big part of his election. They aren't a big burden on society, they aren't heavily invested in themselves, their long term goals are limited to 2-4 years. They bought the mantra of Evil Bush and genuinely wanted change. But they were sheep. They never looked past 'change and hope'. They never considered what trillions of dollars of debt would do to them when they were 40 with three kids and a mortgage. They never analyzed nationalized health care beyond liberal rhetoric. They still believe in live-and-let-live utopia. They don't understand the real world because they don't live in it. Hope and Change.. that's all we need, right?
Wrong. You need your money more than the other guy because your kids need food and your car needs repairs. You don't want to wait a year for a CAT scan. You don't want to pay your neighbors mortgage by canceling your kids soccer classes. Hope and Change are emotions... not reality. People hate us and want us dead and you can't talk your way out of it. Governments rarely delivery services well for long.
The funny thing is that after the election, all of the supporters just disappeared. It was fun to be part of the campaign. It was hip and cool. It was what everyone (including the media) was doing... being part of history. But voting for a man and then partaking in government are two different things. Voting his hip. Driving to your city council meetings every other Tuesday is tough. Signing up for a Twitter from Barrack is cooool. Writing to your congressman on key issues is dull.
Barrack capitalized on the premise of his election and the people bought it. A socialist, America-hating, liar that associates with terrorists, election fraudsters, and business criminals . We have turned our back on Capitalism and entered the new age of entitlements. When your nation’s enemies are pleased with to whom you elect as your President, you know it’s going to be bad.
I think you make great points Beaker, but why did Obama beat out Hillary?
I think that there were three major factors that contributed to Obummer's victory:
1. Bush (and, by extension, GOP) fatigue. It would be an understatement to say that Bush was an unpopular president; he was unpopular with nearly everyone for varying reasons. Leftists thought he was a right-wing fascist, conservatives thought he was disappointingly liberal, and the mostly disinterested middle was swayed by the unbridled bias of the adversarial mainstream media. Furthermore, Bush's PR efforts were either disastrous or non-existent. Despite this, I think that history will be gentler to Bush than most would predict; for the remainder of his presidency following 9/11, he kept America safe from Islamist terrorists, he liberated 50 million people from unspeakable tyranny--most of whom are Muslims (who, in the history of Islam, has done more for Muslims?), and--good news to conservatives, at least--he appointed two exceedingly well-qualified originalist Supreme Court justices.
While those Americans who take their freedom for granted will forever prattle on about how awful Bushitler was, the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, who would not have experienced freedom were it not for Bush's interventionism, will remember him more fondly. Nonetheless, the American people were largely fed up with Bush and his party. I have to admit, I was more than ready for the guy to swagger off into the sunset, myself. Now I miss the good ol' days of just a few months ago.
2. An expertly packaged and marketed leftist whose handlers ran perhaps the most brilliant political campaign in US history. Obama's campaign and its willing accomplices in the media made him an international icon. Everywhere you looked, Obama. Hope. Change. From the posters straight out of the Kremlin's propaganda archives to the massive and glorious spectacle of the DNC speech, Obama's campaign put on a clinic, outclassing the McCain campaign in every way. This wasn't Coke vs. Pepsi. It was Coke vs. Shasta.
Obama is diametrically opposed to everything Bush, and different in almost every way--at least as far as the public's perception is concerned. He's more articulate and intelligent, or is he? Bush is inarticulate. We get that, but Obama, as has become abundantly clear when off-prompter, is no better. It seems to me that Obama is more suited to anchoring a sports desk at some news channel than serving in his present role. Bush is not the most intellectually gifted president in our history, to be sure, but his intelligence has been ridiculously underrated. I recall a bumper sticker with a chimp-like Bush caricature and the phrase "Like a rock, only dumber." Obama's intelligence, on the other hand, has been undeservedly overrated to the same extent. As the emperor continues to lose articles of clothing and the gaffes continue to mount, an increasing number of Obama voters will realize that the guy is simply not as smart as they thought. They should have realized this when he named Biden his running mate. Obama is no Bill Clinton, and I seriously doubt he is any smarter than his predecessor. In the darkest recesses of my conscience, I secretly wonder if Obama is a shining example of an affirmative action beneficiary. Merit didn't get him into office, and it may not have gotten him into Harvard, either.
3. An influential and compliant propaganda machine in the mainstream media. Do I even need to bother supporting this? MSNBC, for example, was Obama campaign headquarters, and still is. Keith Olbermann is a certified Obama boot-licker, and I have no doubt that he would perform sexual favors for his messiah if he could. Even Rachel Maddow, despite being less rabid than her colleague, has surely questioned her sexuality in view of Obama. I mean, what guy wouldn't? Just look at those abs!
http://www.extrememortman.com/wp-con...ma%20beach.jpg
The members of the mainstream media are so far in the tank for Obama that he could give them a Dutch oven in bed, and they'd thank him for it. Question: Does The One's flatulence stink? I bet Chris Matthews, that brown-nosing sycophant for whom the mere sound of Obama's voice brings about full-body orgasms, could tell you. Sure, these people are paid to peddle their left-wing talking points on their shows, but MSNBC put Olbermann and Matthews in the anchor chairs for campaign events. MSNBC isn't in the business of objectively reporting news, nor is the source for all its stories (and those of nearly all media outlets in the country), the New York Times. During the past campaign season, the entire mainstream media, led by the Grey Lady, lost any credibility it still had. Maybe that's why MSNBC and CNN get their asses handed to them by FNC on a daily basis, while newspapers all over the country are going belly-up.
Pal, I think you put it more a lot more tactfully than I did about this subject...
I realize that people will bristle at this notion, but the truth hurts..
The other points you make are right on!!
But, I do admit I am still scratching my head over why Hillary lost if not for the fact that the liberal machine was putting him in simply because of your points…
Hillary made a tactical mistake. She relied on Super Tuesday but the reality is without Michigan and Florida the little states mattered more.
In the grand scheme of things this really was her election to win I think people in the Democratic party were surprised by Obama. I think the goal was really to run him seriously a bit later.
Obama found a winning combination of states that relied on winning the smaller states and staying close in the bigger ones.
Unlike the Republican party the Democrats changed so the primaries are not winner take all. This system is relatively new in their primaries I believe so I bet when boy Clinton ran the primaries he didn't have to worry about it.
Well at least that is my take on it I could be wrong though.
I read a small little story in the SF Chronicle one night that state that Hilary's staff was keeping the press away from Hilary and that the press wasn't at all pleased. The staff was upset at some of the questions that they were posing to Hilary but not to Barrack.
I think what happened to Hilliary is that she pissed off the press and the press then elected Barrack. They shifted all focus from 'the first female president'to the 'first black president'. solely because they didn't like her attitude. The people didn't make this choice, the media did. Hilliary went from shining star of the liberal media to a foster kid in just a month.
Just as the media picked McCain. He was almost ready to drop out of the race at one point... his coffers dry. But the media realized that any other RNC candidate had a fighting chance against the Chosen One, so they pushed McCain knowing full well that his wishy-washy policies and his age would be factors that would drive some on-the-fence voters towards the historic candidate.
From Obama's comments regarding the auto takeover: "Let me say it as plainly as I can. If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired just like always. Your warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it has ever been because, starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warranty."
That's the worst car ad I've ever heard. Who in their right mind would buy a GM or Chrysler product?
Wake up, people. Your messiah just fired the CEO of a private company. He is abusing power left and right, every day.
Here's something really scary:
"Let me say it as plainly as I can. If you seek health care at an ObamaCare hospital or clinic, you will be able to receive medical treatment just like always. Your health will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it has ever been because, starting today, the United States government will stand behind your health care."
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help." --Ronald Reagan
Next will be healthcare and big oil... Hell ya I'm scarred! Wife works for a big health insurance company and I for big oil... We are sooooooo screwed.
Didn't the Bush administration do the very same thing when they made the CEO of AIG resign last year?
I do not agree with the bail-outs, but if they are going to happen, then I don't see a problem with placing conditions on the enormous and unprecedented loans being given to these companies. If they don't like the rules, then they should quit asking for money.
I sort of agree, but you know me... I'm the slippery slope guy. If the White House can dictate who runs a company receiving handouts then where does it end? Car design? Warranty options? Dealership expansion?
Maybe any company that receives any form of a tax credit should also fall under the 'ownership' of the government?
Remember.... Fascism allows for private companies to exist but only under the control of the federal government. And this is what Barrack wants. Fascism in America. Not socialism - where there are no private companies - but Fascism.
It's because elite, Harvard educated liberals know better than you - the poor, uneducated masses.
Big brother has come.
Obama's tax pledge up in smoke.
"One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.
The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.
This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.
To be sure, Obama's tax promises in last year's campaign were most often made in the context of income taxes. Not always.
"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."
He repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime." "
And another reason Obama sucks ... he makes Michael Moore happy. Here's a glowing endorsement of Dear Leader's "Superhero Move" in firing the president of GM.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/me...dex.php?id=246
Gah, GM should have gone bankrupt and died, instead of taking the federal money. The company is just a reanimated corpse at this point.
Seeing columns like this one makes me think too much about Chavez and Castro.
Aside from the environmental factor, keep in mind that Obama has repeatedly asked the American people for self-sacrifice in these hard times. Just don't ask him for the same; he'll gladly have the American taxpayers foot the bill for his $1000 pizza. This after his world apology tour, which surely cost many millions since he thought it prudent to bring 500 people with him. He believes himself to be royalty, but he may just be our most ignoble POTUS ever. And no, I haven't forgotten ol' Slick Willy.
Looks like we didn't get the whole story. Here it is:
" I spoke with the restaurant’s manager, John Fitzgerald, and he gave me some things that we call “facts,” ones that cast Sommers’ trip in an entirely different light.
The best one is the first: Ace of Spades slammed Obama’s environmental cred for “jetting in” Pi’s chef, making it seem as though the guy was hopping a private gulfstream, or worse, partying down on Air Force One.
In fact, Chris Sommers flew commercial.
Not only that, he flew coach.
Not only that, he had already planned a business trip to DC, so the restaurant paid for his travel!
John also told me that Chris Sommers is one of the most dedicated people he knows to the environmental cause.
In fact, his restaurant buys carbon credits from a wind farm in Colorado.
Not only that, they recycle about 75% of their waste.
Not only that, John himself is going into the green building business. You couldn’t find a worse case for environmental hypocrisy.
Finally, Barack Obama isn’t saddling the American taxpayer with the tab for this feast. He’s picking up the tab, for local ingredients, out of his own pocket.
"
OK, but the President still had chicken on his pizza. Start the proceedings for treason.
In that case, I rescind my comments. Perhaps, as in this case, we have simply misunderstood Obama, who may very well be the Messiah, after all.
:lol2:
When the French think that the standing US President is "weak and meek" there is something wrong:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6098836.ece
No Jesus For You
I'm not sure which is more infuriating - the fact that the Obama administration asked for it to be covered or the fact that Georgetown complied with their request.
I think its particularly offensive that Georgetown complied with their request.
You're not surprised that he would want to improve relations with dictators who share his economic views are you? "Create wealth from the bottom up..." What he means by this is not actually creating wealth, but redistributing the wealth from those who earn and create it at the top and giving it to those on the bottom who do not.
How many of you have gotten job offers from poor people?
Obama: "They need a government that is working to create jobs and opportunity for them, rather than simply giving more and more to those at the very top in the false hope that wealth automatically trickles down"
I don't know what Constitutional authority the federal government has to 'create jobs'. And wealth does trickle down. You're retarded if you think otherwise.
This picture kind of says it all:
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/PO...ama.chavez.jpg
I would actually push for rapid drop of all sanctions with Cuba. The faster we can begin free trade and export our culture to that country, the faster it flips.
I'm not so against it either Squidly. I don't think we should just concede every position to them openly (The Communists there will claim "victory over America" which Obama seems to be handing all his Socialist buddies), but I certainly think we need to re-think and re-tool the economic sanctions.
I have a hard time looking at the picture of Obama and Chavez and reading a Chavez quote like this:
"I hereby accuse the North American empire of being the biggest menace to our planet."
Does not compute.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archive.../04/023357.php
I believe he makes a very valid point.
I think you can get paralyzed holding old grudges. I think it would be very sly and effective to extend an olive branch and then import our society through the back door.