I like that line"The president is not a statistician." I wonder what the hell he is?
blatham wrote:Quote:Everybody notes that the White House backed away from the quite cheery forecast it published last week that about three million jobs would be created this year. Attributing the estimate to "number crunchers," White House spokesman Scott McClellan explained, "The president is not a statistician."
http://slate.msn.com/id/2095750/
Gotta love it when his own spokesman has to admit Bush didn't know what he was talking about!
It's the same for all, just write down everything Kerry says he's going to do then compare it to what actually happens if he's elected.
Brand X
We know what Bush says and what he does. Why would anyone in his right mind re-elect that lying,failure.
Kerry is probably worse, the only good thing would be possible gridlock.
They both probably suck. We realize that. But there's no way anyone could suck as bad as Bush. I hope.
Brand X
Worse than the evil devil? Impossible!! Is it written "cast out the devil"
Eva's quote, "Gotta love it when his own spokesman has to admit Bush didn't know what he was talking about!"
Seriously, can anybody name one thing this president has claimed that turned out to be true?
power corrupts, absolute power is kinda neat. (somebody said that)
One of the really unfortunate consequences of the dualist partisanship that exists is the uncareful thinking it engenders - the 'one party is equally as bad/good as the other party' cliches. I'm not pointing just to you, brand, but to all instances of this, and they are very common. Unfortunately, third party candidates tend to enforce it, as Nader did.
A similar laziness is seen in 'all politicians are equally corrupt' claims.
A difficulty for all of us is that falsehoods, deceits, and secrecy make it difficult for citizens to penetrate what is going on and what policies are are actually in place and who is making the decisions (and who is tempting, or pushing around, those decision makers).
It seems to me that those issues are ones in which most of us, regardless of philosophical affiliation, can come together on, precisely because they encourage the sort of information which we can use to make informed choices.
Issues like campaign finance reform, media concentration, and transparency in governance perhaps ought to occupy our attention rather more than the Matt Drudge idiocies.
bocdaver wrote:I really don't know whether it can be said that the "economy is strong and growing" for all persons in the United States. All I really know is that my porfolio did very well in 2003. I, for one, am quite content.
I don't understand this statement. Is it your contention that if I am unemployed it means the economy is not "strong and growing" for me? That's kind of like saying that if I take a shower on a sunny day, for me it's raining.
People lost jobs every day of the last 100 years. Their personal experience did not define the economy, even for them. I've been unemployed both in "good" and "bad" economies, and found jobs in each. My employment status didn't change the economy, though the economy had an impact on how easy it was to find a job. WHICH MEANS that those who are jobless now are better off with the economy growing than they would be were it not.
kickycan wrote:They both probably suck. We realize that. But there's no way anyone could suck as bad as Bush. I hope.
Yeah, but they could suck AND we could get our arses blown up.
Uranium enriching equipment found in Iran now.
Brand X
Quote:Uranium enriching equipment found in Iran now.
Let's be honest. Any nation that wants WMD's of any type be they Nuclear, biological or chemical can get them. The US, with all their power cannot stop that. The story in the news this AM confirms that the nuclear secrets sold in Pakistan originated in Europe and was sold by European companies. Further when caught people got little more than a slap on the wrist. All of Bush's posturing will not stop it.
As a matter of fact, Bush's posturing only makes this world a more dangerous place. The "axis of evil (North Korea and Iran)" has much more than Iraq ever had, but look who this administration decided to attack? Their aim is not only off 180 degrees, but their rhetoric is off twice that!
Of course, its just another poll, but it is the most comprehensive, in-depth sampling of nationwide voter sentiment to date.
Quote:
Zogby: Bush Leads in Red States, Kerry Ahead in Blue States
Voters Hardened on the Economy, War, Gays Marriage
A new poll conducted by Zogby International for The O'Leary Report and Southern Methodist University's John Tower Center from February 12-15, 2004 of 1,209 likely voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points found that if the election for president were held today, Democrat John Kerry would edge George W. Bush 46% to 45% in the "blue states" - or states won by Al Gore in the 2000 election. In the "red states," or states won by George W. Bush in 2000, however, Bush wins handily by a 51% to 39% margin
In terms of right direction/wrong direction, blue state voters felt the country was headed in the wrong direction by a 47% to 45% margin while red state voters felt the country was headed in the right direction by a 50% to 40% margin...
... Forty-seven percent of blue state voters rated Bush's job performance as good or excellent while 51% said the president's job performance was only fair or poor. Fifty-five percent of red states, however, rated the president's performance and good or excellent while 45% had a fair or poor opinion of the President's job performance.
On the issue of a strong economy and low unemployment versus job creation, Blue State voters who feel a strong economy is a bigger priority than job creation by a 50% to 40% margin while Red State voters also agreed by a 48% to 40% margin a 49% to 40% margin ...
... Fifty-three percent of Blue State and 59% of Red State voters felt the Democratic filibuster of judicial nominees was wrong ...
... While the issue of gay marriages dominates the news in San Francisco and Boston, a majority of Americans remain opposed to the idea. Fifty-two percent of Red State voters and 50% of Blue State voters support such a constitutional amendment ...
... Bush was the clear choice among Red State voters (53%) and Blue State votes (47%). Only 31% of Red State voters and 35% of Blue State voters felt Kerry would do a better job in dealing with rogue states and leaders ...
... Fifty-seven percent of voters who have a 401-K retirement plan or investment in the stock market feel a strong economy is a higher priority than job creation compared to 33% who felt job creation was a higher priority. A strong economy was a bigger priority even among non-investors. By a 46% to 43%, non-investors also feel a strong economy was more important than job creation. Current members of the military, by a 54% to 40% margin, and veterans, by a 50% to 40% margin, feel a strong economy is a bigger priority than job creation. Those voters who never attend church feel a strong economy is the bigger priority by a 60% to 32% margin while daily and weekly church-goers also feel the economy is a higher priority by margins of 52% to 41% and 56% to 35% respectively. Fifty-three percent of gun owners think a strong economy is the higher priority compared to 38% who favored job creation. Voters who follow NASCAR, high school sports and little league feel a strong economy is a higher priority by a 47 to 41% margin. Non-NASCAR voters also feel a strong economy is more important by similar margins of 48% to 41% ...
... Fifty-one percent of voters agreed that a constitutional amendment should be passed that grants marriage only to unions between a man and a woman while 43% of voters disagreed ...
... Fifty-percent of voters said Bush would do a better job
(of dealing with terrorists and rogue states) compared to the 33% of voters who felt John Kerry would do a better job. Fifty-eight percent of current military members and 53% of veterans feel that Bush would do a better job while 32% of current military members and 27% of veterans gave the nod to Kerry ...
For those really interested in such stuff, the entire report is well worth the $50.00 and the hefty download. Resamplings are scheduled, and it will be most interesting to see how The Electorate's mood develops as The Campaign becomes two-sided.
au1929 wrote:Brand X
Quote:Uranium enriching equipment found in Iran now.
Let's be honest. Any nation that wants WMD's of any type be they Nuclear, biological or chemical can get them. The US, with all their power cannot stop that. The story in the news this AM confirms that the nuclear secrets sold in Pakistan originated in Europe and was sold by European companies. Further when caught people got little more than a slap on the wrist. All of Bush's posturing will not stop it.
I disagree, it has brought it to the forefront to be dealt with if nothing else to increase communication and accountability. I agree WMD's will be slipped by all we can do, but posturing as we are is better than ignoring IMO.
Just an aside: the question was (and this is published as well in the press release as in other online sources)
Quote: Q. Who would do a better job of dealing with Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein, Moammar Gaddafi, North Korea and Iran? George W. Bush or John Kerry?
and not, as timber quoted
(of dealing with terrorists and rogue states).
A better question is who would all those thugs vote for this election, the answer would be Kerry.
Timber
The Gallup poll that was shown on TV yesterday Had Kerry winning over BUsh by 12% and Edwards over Bush by 10%.
Polls are used give journalist a lazy way to make news, especially 8 months out.
