Huge Win For Obama In South Carolina Primary Saturday!

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Not to mention he's a much better face for America than they've had in 8 years. Every time I see Bush a part of me thinks: "God I hate America."

It would be nice to shut that part up. And it would be REALLY nice for America to stop behaving in such hateable ways.

Your absolutely right. The US should go back in time to when every thing was happy and joyous and suicide bombers killed people other than Americans - ahh those were the good times.

Some people make me sick.

Good win for Obama - makes super Tuesday more interesting as it places the black vote against the woman vote with men likely going 60/40 for Obama.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by blankall

I'm not so sure why people are predicting a democrat loss if clinton gets the nomination.

She polls almost exactly the same as Obama against McCain

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...obama-225.html

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...inton-224.html

Head-to-head polls mean nothing until the actual campaign starts. Can you imagine the mud the Republicans could throw at Billary? Especially if they get a moderate right-wing guy in there like McCain. She wouldn't have a chance.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by peter12

Head-to-head polls mean nothing until the actual campaign starts. Can you imagine the mud the Republicans could throw at Billary? Especially if they get a moderate right-wing guy in there like McCain. She wouldn't have a chance.

I think McCain would beat her but she'd probably beat anyone else.

Bill needs to shut up and fade away though. Soon.

Cowperson

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by blankall

Personally, I don't care either way who wins. The presidency is always more of a figurehead position. I'm just kind of curious why so many Canadians seems to blindly follow Obama despite knowing very little of his political positions. People talk about him being less devisive than Hillary?

I actually know as much as I reasonably can about Obama's political positions. I have read all of his positions on various issues and have watched debates and such.

Here is a link to an outline of Obama's political positions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politic...f_Barack_Obama

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I think McCain would beat her but she'd probably beat anyone else.

Bill needs to shut up and fade away though. Soon.

Cowperson

Yeah, I agree. McCain is the only shining light in a bad group of Republicans. Actually, for a guy his age he could almost be a lock for presidency.

I found your comparison of Obama to Carter pretty interesting. His foreign policy is certainly weak enough, as well as his almost non-existent economic platform.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I think McCain would beat her but she'd probably beat anyone else.

Bill needs to shut up and fade away though. Soon.

Cowperson

I think that one of the biggest mistakes that Hillary is making is allowing herself to be photographed with Bill in tow. The message is that she's not going to be president, Bill is going to be the power behind the throne. Thats the problem with generational politics. With Bush he was finishing his dads business in the middle east. With Hillary its continuing the work of Bill.

It might not be true, but perception is reality, especially with a media saavy generation.

I think this election is honestly the Republican's to lose. I like McCain, he's more of a moderate republican, and I think he gains a lot of points due to his age, experience and track record.

Obama is probably going to be penalized due to his age, his experience level, his lack of foreign policy exposure, and sadly his race.

Hillary will be penalized because of her generational affiliation with Bill, her policies, and her sex.

Its all good that American's say that they want a woman or a minority in office, but a large part of that power base of voting is white, over 40 and extremely distrustful.

[peter12]

I don't think that it's Obama's race so much that is going to penalize him, but the appearance/illusion of racial polarized politics. I don't think anybody cares that he's black. I mean, come on, with his upbringing he's more of a dark-skinned WASP than anything. However, it does look like he cobbled together an interesting enough racial coalition in South Carolina. That could still win him big states like California, but remains to be seen.

With Hilary, it's Bill. That will kill her. Didn't he refer to their campaign as "we" on Saturday? As in... "we fought really hard". What an awful slip-up.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I think this election is honestly the Republican's to lose. I like McCain, he's more of a moderate republican, and I think he gains a lot of points due to his age, experience and track record.

.

As pointed out in the Frank Rich/New York Times column I posted earlier, the Republicans will only nominate McCain holding their noses and there are many who would rather lose the election than have McCain representing them.

He's the only Republican who can win but they might not want him.

That simply highlights that BOTH parties are desperately in need of shedding the extreme but very loud partisans that have been controlling them lately and I think the American public agrees with that somewhat, hence, as I noted earlier, middle-of-the-road appeal of a Democrat like Hillary, who would hang around Iraq for awhile, and McCain, a Republican a lot of Republicans hate for his "liberal" points of view.

It's also an odd observation that independents are a big prize but independents seem to favour a young black whippersnapper/idealist who would exit Iraq immediately AND an old codger/war hero who would stay there indefinitely.

I think Obama, at this moment, but maybe not at another moment in history, would be a sad mistake for America . . . . . Carter, in spite of his recent rehabilitation, left office with lower approval ratings than GW Bush II currently has.

Also, I think I have to turn this board off for a few days so I can get some work done.

Cowperson

[Vulcan]

I don't buy that Obama would be another Carter. He hasn't backed down from Hillaray's attacks and doesn't seem to mind getting down and dirty.
He's just gotten the Kennedy's backing who are comparing him to a young JFK. I don't know a whole lot about the guy but he can sure give a good speech which I see as uniting the Americans.

[FireFly]

I think the biggest issue for ANY of the candidates will be to get MORE people out to vote. I don't see the swing vote being the difference, I see the non-voter being the difference. They haven't done very well at marketing the importance of this election, rather they're focusing on how interesting the race is.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by peter12

With Hilary, it's Bill. That will kill her. Didn't he refer to their campaign as "we" on Saturday? As in... "we fought really hard". What an awful slip-up.

He's not the only one. This weekend, I was listening to a speech from Hillary, and she kept using the term "we" when talking about the presidential accomplishments from the 90's. She clearly wanted to take part of the credit.

I've never been a Hillary supporter, but that really turned me off.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Table 5

He's not the only one. This weekend, I was listening to a speech from Hillary, and she kept using the term "we" when talking about the presidential accomplishments from the 90's. She clearly wanted to take part of the credit.

I've never been a Hillary supporter, but that really turned me off.

Yeah, that's pretty terrible. I think she's turning alot of Democrats off with this Bill nonsense. It also kind of turns me off as she was supposed to be the "feminist strong women" type of candidate, but what kind of strong woman has to hang on her "cheatin'"husband's arm to run a campaign. Why are women flocking to vote for her? Or is that an illusion?

[Table 5]

I still think the best option for America would be an Obama-Bloomberg ticket....you'd have your idealist with Obama to inspire the country (and let's be honest, this country needs an attitude adjustment), and you'd have your business man in Bloomberg to be there to run it properly (I know most non-NYers don't know the guy, but he is a very shrewed and forward thinking dandy of a man).

[4X4]

And what kind of strong woman cries?

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I still think the best option for America would be an Obama-Bloomberg ticket....you'd have your idealist with Obama to inspire the country (and let's be honest, this country needs an attitude adjustment), and you'd have your business man in Bloomberg to be there to run it properly (I know most non-NYers don't know the guy, but he is a very shrewed and forward thinking dandy of a man).

I don't know that the US is ready for a dandy just yet...

[Thunderball]

I'm not sure Obama is ready to be President. Don't get me wrong, he's a likeable enough guy... but his policies are pretty weak, and his foreign policy is far too simplistic. Sad thing is, he's by far the best Democrat candidate. Clinton is phonier than a $3 bill, and Edwards is a bridesmaid... he has nothing special about him and limited appeal.

The Republicans also have a horrible showing of candidates with the exception of John McCain. I think that he would be the ideal leader for their side. Moderate republicans tend to have the best balance of policy and ideology, sort of a blend of the best parts of Democratic and Republican playbooks. Giuliani isn't exactly loved, but he'd be an excellent foil for McCain. It be nice to have candidates who aren't taking their marching orders from an evangelical cult... I mean church.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I think this election is honestly the Republican's to lose. I like McCain, he's more of a moderate republican, and I think he gains a lot of points due to his age, experience and track record.

Really? The republicans to loose? With Bush's approval rating in the toilet, no real conservative in the race now that Hunter and Thompson are out, and an unpopular war still claiming lives? I think the democrats could run a bag of sand and walk away with this election - people are going to come out and vote against the party in power and that is going to translate into a Democrat president, and give them control over both houses, and more state governorships, more city councilors, etc. etc. etc. This election should prove to be a watershed for progressives in America.

McCain is too 'old-guard' republican to win a General Election. There's no way liberals and progressives will vote for a republican, and he's too far left for conservatives. His only 'base' is moderates and I think even moderate Democrats would vote for that bag of sand before any Republican candidate.

Here are some of his policy quotes from his website:

Health Care -
Bringing costs under control is the only way to stop the erosion of affordable health insurance, save Medicare and Medicaid, protect private health benefits for retirees, and allow our companies to effectively compete around the world ... promote competition throughout the health care system - between providers and among alternative treatments.
[emphasis added]

Iraq & Military -
A greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq ... John McCain thinks it is especially important to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps to defend against the threats we face today.

Abortion -
John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states.
[emphasis added]

Gay Marriage -
The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman.

Stem Cell Research -
John McCain opposes the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes ... Furthermore, he voted to ban attempts to use or obtain human cells gestated in animals.

Environment -
John McCain believes that America's economic and environmental interests are not mutually exclusive, but rather inextricably linked. Our economic prospects depend greatly upon the sustainable use of ample and unspoiled natural resources. By addressing this problem responsibly, John McCain believes we can meet our obligation to be proper caretakers of creation.
[emphasis added]

Gun Control -
Gun control is a proven failure in fighting crime ... John McCain opposes restrictions on so-called "assault rifles" and voted consistently against such bans ... John McCain opposes bans on the importation of certain types of ammunition magazines and has voted against such limitations ... He voted against an amendment that would have banned many of the most commonly used hunting cartridges on the spurious grounds that they were "armor-piercing." ... John McCain has opposed "waiting periods" for law abiding citizen's purchase of firearms.

all quotes from www.johnmccain.com

[arsenal]

If Obama can surround himself with good advisers, ones who have experience in the roles they are in, then he should be fine. Also, if he knows where he wants the US to be in 4 years time, as far as domestic, economic, foreign, etc, and he can fill those roles properly, I think the US can turn around.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

I'm not sure Obama is ready to be President. Don't get me wrong, he's a likeable enough guy... but his policies are pretty weak, and his foreign policy is far too simplistic.

George Bush has demonstrated that the people around him are just, if not more, important than the president himself. If Obama is humble enough to acknowledge his own weaknesses, and smart enough to fill his staff up with people who can shore them up, then he will be fine.

[Flames2007FIRE IT UP]

A big thing working against McCain is his long history in the Senate. Very easy to bring out bills he has changed his mind on, things he was wrong on, etc, etc. The longer a person is in the Senate the tougher it is to be president, that is why Gov. tend to win the Presidency. I think McCain will have a very tough fight in the general election no matter who he faces. How does he defend a bad economy and unpopular war, both the fault of his party?