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StephenLong · Joined: 14 May 2007 Posts: 173

i got it.

cgage2 · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 192 Location: US

The problem is not so much the president, but the American society, itself. Like Tolstoy said, a world leader is only a figurehead profiting from an immense social force behind him. Bush couldn't even manage a Mcdonalds restaurant. He receives his power from a political party with millions behind them.
Societies are divided into two types: individualist, collectivist. The US was born 250 years ago as the individualist's dream. (gold rushs, land rushes, self-made millionaires, robber-barrons, etc.) This lead to the rise of super-capitalism which in turn gave birth to the megamonster - corporatism, which Bush is the chief representative of.
Corporatism uses the media to hypnotize the American people. It tells them that unless we murder gazillians of middle-eastern people, they're coming here next.
The media hypnotizes them with the exploits of a silly girl who is going to jail for a few days because she was driving while intoxicated.
Keith Olbermann pointed out that the day Bush suspended Habeus Corpus,
50 million people were absolutely entranced by who will be the next "American idol". In other words, everyone was watching television the day that Jeffersonian Democracy died.
Cindy Sheehan quit and went home. She gave up on the US.
Cindy called Hillary Clinton a Republican man dressed up like a woman Democrat. After the democrats caved in this year, Cindy pretty much called all of them Republicans disguised as democrats!
Obama is probably a good choice but there is no way America will elect an African American at this time. He will only split the vote and give republicans an advantage.
Edwards would be a good choice. Dennis Kucinich would be great.
America needs a miracle.

beancurdturtle · Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:40 am Post subject:

flying_pig319 · Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 369

(I'm baaack)

I think Obama will win, actually (though I'm afraid to say it, because it seems like candidates have an advantage if they're not expected to win- in the Democratic side at least. Republicans are different- they don't like a loser. Democrats like the underdog, they like to be "different").

I'm rooting for Edwards, though. He's by far the most liberal of the last three Democratic candidates.
He's the only one with a plan for Universal Healthcare: Obama only has one for kids, Clinton had one but trashed it because she decided to use the money to support NAFTA (!!).
He has a plan to put computers with internet access in all homes by 2010, I think is the year.
He's the only one who wants to get all soldiers out of Iraq immediately, and he has the fewest requirements for keeping any soldiers in Iraq (only if US personnel are in danger)- Clinton and Obama both plan to keep soldiers in Iraq to train new Iraqi govt with weapons and stuff...
He's the only one who has never taken any money from businesses/lobbyists... (Obama hasn't THIS election, but he did when he was elected senator. In fact, he took tons of money from a healthcare company, when one of the major things in his platform was getting money for healthcare companies!)
He doesn't have a stupid slogan like "CHANGE" that people will interpret in whatever way they want because it doesn't mean ANYTHING.
He's very young, charismatic, and electable.
He's honest- he doesn't promise anything if he's elected, except that he'll work as hard as he can.

I think (and I hope) Richardson will be Vice President.

The end.

//Edit://
And cgage2, I think your thoughts about the conflicting individualist vs. collectivist natures of American society being it's downfall is very insightful and wise. I think it may cycle though- at least with the American youth, being "different" is now "in", although I'm not sure how easy it is to break the mold. If being different is "in" because everyone says so, we're really still in a collectivist phase...
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peace-monger

Bob S. · Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 1767 Location: So. Cal

flying_pig319 · Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 369

Yeah, I've had a really busy summer (I went to India!) and school year. SATs and classes..

You don't like Edwards for the same reason my mom doesn't like him (she's a doctor), but I'm just judging him on how he is now, for better or for worse.

If you realize that Obama's slogan is manipulatively meaningless, doesn't that show that he's not so naive?
Edwards, I feel, does have that genuine, almost naive quality. He says exactly what he plans to do and has definite principles, and he trusts the American people that we'll care about that (the actual issues), rather than all the how-you-present-yourself crap.
(I was watching a democratic debate, and participating in an online forum while watching it, and someone actually said, "Oh my gosh, Hilary's the only one not wearing an American flag pin on her jacket!!". That's what's wrong with America- caring more about stuff like that than the actual issues).

Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHjbVWNN_cU
It's from a year ago, and he's not as polished as he is now, but it's still one my favorite videos of him. Maybe it'll sway you Wink

I really like what he says about it being our (the American people's) responsibility to work to change our habits- we can't expect that a president will do it all for us, that's just the convenient thing to say. You can tell that's NOT rhetoric- Americans don't want to be told that they have to work, but it has to be said.
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peace-monger

flying_pig319 · Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 369

Oh no!! He dropped out!!

I could cry.
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peace-monger

ClarissaMach · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:10 am Post subject:

I haven't studied profoundly about the cadidates yet to express my opinion with confidence.

Today I watched the debate between Barck Obama and Mrs Clinton. The former really impressed me.
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Stormy Weather.

flying_pig319 · Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 369

Clarissa-

I'm glad you liked Obama. You are smarter than 47% of American voters (the percentage that currently supports Clinton).
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peace-monger

Bob S. · Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 1767 Location: So. Cal

flying_pig319 · Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 369

Oh my gosh, that helping-old-ladies thing is my mom's favorite Obama quote!
You two have Obama-ESP.

I'd vote for Michelle Obama!
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peace-monger

k.m.m · Joined: 23 Jul 2006 Posts: 121 Location: Riyadh

I think "Racism in the US will kill any good presidents".

Stockholm, February 9:
If Barack Obama becomes the next US President he will surely be assassinated, British Nobel literature laureate Doris Lessing predicted in a newspaper interview published on Saturday.
Obama, who is vying to become the first black President in US history, "would certainly not last long, a black man in the position of President. They would murder him," Lessing, 88, told the Dagens Nyheter daily.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/us_vote_nobel_literature_britain_sweden_lessing

kmm

Tone · Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 175

We can't predict the future but let's hope bad things will not happen to everyone.
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