The Presidential Election

[Marilyn]

By the way, because Texas is usually so neglected by the candidates, people are driving halfway across the state to try to see Hillary at one of her events only to be turned away because of the huge crowds. The head of the local democratic party is a friend of mine. He didn't try to go due to work conflicts, but he knows some folks who did who were turned away.

I will be interesting to see what happens when Obama makes his run through here. They are debating here later in the month. I think in Austin, but I'm not sure. Obama has spoken there twice, but it was months ago.

[HALEY]

Originally Posted by cindy0721

but its almost known that her hubby will have a input in this election too... think about it.. he is obviously VERY involved in her campaign.. what makes you think it will change IF she becomes president?

He's not a bad guy if he keeps his pants on, i don't care what anyone says Hilary is getting my vote and the rest of my family are voting for her, cause i can't stand Obama, i believe if he wins were all in trouble ... that's my two cents...

[Janet]

I just wish there was someone worth voting for, I don't trust either one. I think we're headed for disaster no matter who wins.

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by Janet

I just wish there was someone worth voting for, I don't trust either one. I think we're headed for disaster no matter who wins.

I wish that there was someone who really stood out as the right one.

[judy]

I have a good feeling about Obama. I would very much like to see him as President.

Actually, personalities aside, I don't see much difference between Hillary and McCain on the issues. Of course, McCain will probably be more conservative.

I will say that whatever her personality, Hillary has been a good senator for NY.
We have not suffered at all under her watch. She also feels strongly about certain issues that I agree with, such as medical coverage for all.

I don't feel that any of them would be a disaster at all. We're in economic trouble, in a war that should end, but how and when is still uncertain, we're faced with terrorism, the health care issue, the immigrant issue, and what else? Our education system is terrible in urban areas. Some of these, like the financial and terrorism problems are global, some are going to take years to fix, like the inner city schools. I think the values of many of our citizens are horrendous. I do not blame the government for this.

Each of us, like Angie's poem stated, needs to take responsibility for our own environments. I do like what Hillary said...."It takes a village to raise a child."
We need to take care of each other. Our government isn't going to do that anymore.

[Janet]

I loved your post Judy. I also agree with Diana. As for right now...none really stand out as the right one.

[Tink]

I've always considered myself an independant. So the 2 ruling parties have to party on without me. LOL

I think the main thing McCain lacks is charisma. He's about as appealing as a dead fish. While that shouldn't be a criteria for president, we all know it is.

Hillary I think is saying what she thinks we want to hear... regardless what her real game plan is. She put up with a cheating husband to achieve her personal goals and did her best to turn it around to her advantage. I don't want to see her elected, and I SURE don't want to see BILL back in the White House! I still can't believe so many have conveniently forgotten that he perjored himself under oath and was nearly impeached! Yet some will sing his praises as the finest pres we ever had. Sorry, but I'm not convinced.

Obama has some good ideas... he appeals to the working man... but he keeps saying "I'll bring change! We need change!" What kind of change is the question.

Also, with the history of what happens to black men when they rise too high... Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X just to point out the 2 most well known names in recent history...
Can you imagine if Obama were to be elected and was assassinated? There would be a race war in our country unlike any we have ever imagined. Radicals on both sides would be up in arms before his body was cold.

I don't care about the color of the president... a good president could be a smurf for all I care. Yet there are people who will care deeply and even if 99% of us are good with it, that 1% could assassinate him, start a race war and throw our country into violence unlike anything we've ever seen. I do think that needs to be considered.

I truly don't know who to vote for. I like Obama more than the other front runners... but I do worry about whether he'd be allowed to succeed.

[judy]

There was a quick "Person in the street" poll about Obama, and a young black man said that if he were to win, he'd be assassinated. Your fears are very real Tink!

[judy]

Originally Posted by Janet

I loved your post Judy. I also agree with Diana. As for right now...none really stand out as the right one.

Thank you very much

[Lindsey]

It doesn't really matter, but I'll throw in my two cents. Even here in Canada, we're pretty bombarded with stuff about the US presidential election! I'm a fan of Obama, and I truthfully can't really say why. He seems more personable to me. He seems less "I want to rule!" and more "I want to fix"
The thing I don't like is that you only end up with two choices. What if you don't like either?

[judy]

You're stuck with choosing the lesser of the two evils, which is why many people don't bother voting.

How do you guys do it?

[Tink]

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking of that Judy. I seriously feel we need to think beyond the elections... to what affect each would have on our lives. I think many think of the elections as they do a wedding... the big day itself gets so much attention that we lose focus of what the long term affects it will be.

Yes, it's long past time to have a woman or a minority represented in the white house... but are we really ready to deal with the repercussions?

[Lindsey]

Well, we have a whole crapload of people to vote for here There are a few big ones but a lot of little ones as well. I just checked wikipedia to see which parties were around for our last election and this is the list:
Conservative Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
Bloc Québécois
New Democratic Party
Green Party of Canada
Christian Heritage Party of Canada
Progressive Canadian Party
Marijuana Party of Canada
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)
Canadian Action Party
Communist Party of Canada
Libertarian Party of Canada
First Peoples National Party of Canada
Western Block Party
Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party
The Conservatives, Liberals, Bloc, and NDP are really the big ones. We had the Liberal party in power with Jean Chretien since the beginning of time (I swear, he was Prime Minister forever) but he stepped down and Paul Martin (Liberal) took over and there was this huge sponsorship scandal which forced another election. The Conservatives are now in power, but only as a minority government. They only ended up with about 40% of the vote, but it was more than any other party. So the minority government means that they are relying on the support of other parties to stay in power. If our current PM (Stephen Harper) starts making big decisions that the other parties are against, another election will be called. No minority government in the history of Canada has ever stayed in power for the full 4 year term!

[Marilyn]

Lindsey, that is a complicated system you have. We actually have many more parties if you really look into it, but the two real parties are the ones you hear so much about. The others are just there to kinda be on the record for having another opinion on things.

Tink, I never thought about "what if Obama was assassinated". That is really something to think about!! That would cause a race war for sure!!!. Just look at what happens when a white cop treats a black man badly on camera. That is nothing compared to what would happen if a black President were assassinated. And the blacks would forget that it took the approval of all the other races to get the black candidate elected. It's not like we as a whole have anything against him, but we would suffer none the less.

I agree, we don't have a very good choice this time. Basically of the three, I like Obama, but there are things that he is for that I am very much against. This year is a no-win. I do think a lot of people will just not bother to vote in the general election. I too am an Independent but with Libertarian tendencies. I just think the government needs to get out of our business. While I do think that we need to do something to make our healthcare more affordable for lower income people, I do not favor socialized medicine. There is a reason that much of the priviledged in the world comes to the US for their healthcare.

We need to each have our own personal moral system to dictate how we act and how we treat each other. The government is not the answer to all our problems. We need to take responsibility for our actions and teach the children in our schools from pre-K on to be responisible moral human beings.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

[judy]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Lindsey, that is a complicated system you have. We actually have many more parties if you really look into it, but the two real parties are the ones you hear so much about. The others are just there to kinda be on the record for having another opinion on things.

Tink, I never thought about "what if Obama was assassinated". That is really something to think about!! That would cause a race war for sure!!!. Just look at what happens when a white cop treats a black man badly on camera. That is nothing compared to what would happen if a black President were assassinated. And the blacks would forget that it took the approval of all the other races to get the black candidate elected. It's not like we as a whole have anything against him, but we would suffer none the less.

I agree, we don't have a very good choice this time. Basically of the three, I like Obama, but there are things that he is for that I am very much against. This year is a no-win. I do think a lot of people will just not bother to vote in the general election. I too am an Independent but with Libertarian tendencies. I just think the government needs to get out of our business. While I do think that we need to do something to make our healthcare more affordable for lower income people, I do not favor socialized medicine. There is a reason that much of the priviledged in the world comes to the US for their healthcare.

We need to each have our own personal moral system to dictate how we act and how we treat each other. The government is not the answer to all our problems. We need to take responsibility for our actions and teach the children in our schools from pre-K on to be responisible moral human beings.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Great post Marilyn! I agree with everything you said, and you said it so well.