the answer depends on how many people really put country over partisan allegiance.
the idea of an elderly and ailing president with military tunnel vision, and a veep that is so unprepared as to be unable to articulate personal, policy or even administration views and goals scares me more than anything a foreign government can threaten.
the best i can do is support obama, vote for him and cross my fingers that a majority of people realize that continuing to do the same things over and over while expecting a different result is the definition of madness.
that said, if mccain is elected, it won't be the first time that the average american has voted against their best interests lately.
@DontTreadOnMe,
If not this time, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future if our country isn't destroyed.
You folks are far too pessimistic. The sky isn't falling, and focusing on the fact that your ideal world doesn't exist is misleading at best. There are problems, serious problems that our society and nation is facing today. Most of those problems will not be easily solved, and whatever solutions we find there will be unintended consequences that we'll perceive as new problems. So it has always been since before the dawn of civilization, and so it will likely be on the day the last human departs this mortal coil.
People make mistakes and bad judgments as individuals, and the potential for error increases as decisions are made that affect more, and more people. What is "good" for one, may be "evil" for thousands. And, what is "good" for thousands is almost certainly an evil loss of liberty to individuals. We humans have tried both ways of ordering our societies, and the best that has been accomplished is to find a balance between the individual and society as a whole. No where has that been better designed than in the capitalist system that has evolved in the United States under the Constitution.
"Who will lose this election?" Better is to focus on who will "win" this election, and that is the entire polity of the United States whether the new Administration is headed by Obama, or McCain. Neither will be able to deliver on extravagant campaign promises, and most of the problems we face will not be solved no matter who is elected. The President has awesome power and responsibilities, but that power is constrained and limited. The new President will be hamstrung by Congress, and tax dollars will continue to be wasted on pork and earmarks. The financial crisis will have to be dealt with, and no amount of finger pointing will make solutions any easier.
American is alright, and it will continue to prosper so long as we "keep the faith", do our duty with honor and compassion. Being a conservative Republican, I believe that Sen. McCain is the better choice to meet the challenges that we will face. I'm afraid that Obama is ill equipped for the job, and that his political philosophy is likely to hinder rather than help us through the next several years. Differences of opinion will be settled at the polls, and a new Administration will continue to serve the Constitution as best it is able. We are winners, and thinking like losers is in a way a betrayal of our traditions.
@Asherman,
Some people talk about the GOP and the Constitution in the same paragraph as if they know what they're talking about.
@Asherman,
Asherman wrote:We are winners, and thinking like losers is in a way a betrayal of our traditions.
the thing is, ash, that for several years, any whiff of a problem got swept under the rug; "everything's just fine. go shopping. buy a house. the surge is working."
it's difficult to be a winner when no challenges are acknowledged to exist.
btw, it's not focusing that an ideal world doesn't exist. it's more like realizing that the one we have right now is less good than it was.
mccain offers me no improvement. obama seems to. i'd rather go with the positive view that we can do better. and that we ought to.
@DontTreadOnMe,
Don't cha know? We're a country of whiners.
@cicerone imposter,
cicerone imposter wrote:
Don't cha know? We're a country of whiners.
oh... yeah. fergot. who was it that said that? that was er... uhhh... i know! it was barack obama!
wait. no it wasn't. i lied. it was phil gramm (aka il duce ). the economics adviser to john mccain.
You guys are right...we've already lost - all of us!
No point in voting. It's a total waste of time.
Stay home and get drunk or high or just meditate or play Scrabble.
Obama is as bad as McCain and McCain is as bad as Obama.
Why bother?
Don't listen to e-brown, he's a Pollyanna - stay home.
@DontTreadOnMe,
Quote:the answer depends on how many people really put country over partisan allegiance.
Yes indeed, because we that anyone who could possibly vote for McCain can't possible put their country first.
Quote:the idea of an elderly and ailing president with military tunnel vision, and a veep that is so unprepared as to be unable to articulate personal, policy or even administration views and goals scares me more than anything a foreign government can threaten.
A remarkably idiotic risk assessment.
Quote:the best i can do is support obama, vote for him and cross my fingers that a majority of people realize that continuing to do the same things over and over while expecting a different result is the definition of madness.
Well you can only do your best.
Quote:that said, if mccain is elected, it won't be the first time that the average american has voted against their best interests lately.
Yes, quite a lot of them voted for Gore and then Kerry, and many of them plan to vote for Obama.
I see your point.
@Finn dAbuzz,
Finn dAbuzz wrote:Stay home and get drunk or high or just meditate or play Scrabble.
Or multi-task and do all four. For extra fun, invite Finn over.
I fully intend to vote for my candidate, and make no mistake, I believe Obama is the best we have. I expect his hands to be tied, though, and that we will be digging ourselves out of a hole for the next several administrations. That is the loss I believe we have already taken.
@FreeDuck,
FreeDuck wrote:
Finn dAbuzz wrote:Stay home and get drunk or high or just meditate or play Scrabble.
Or multi-task and do all four. For extra fun, invite Finn over.
oh, i dunno. i've already had enough of finn's kind of fun via oral surgery this week.
the other stuff sounds okay though.
