Friday, June 6, 2008

And then there were two

We could wait until the dust settles and Barack Obama officially says no thanks to Hillary Clinton, but let's go ahead and get this party started. Do any of you really think Obama has a chance against John McCain? If so, please, without being nasty, self righteous or condescending, tell me why. I guess there are really two questions here. Do you think Obama will choose Clinton as a running mate, and do you think Obama, who is much more popular, should be president instead of the seasoned veteran, McCain? Did you notice I didn't bring race into the issue? Good, because I don't want you to either. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream is alive and well. Let's judge these two men on the content of their character, not the color of their skin. This is now a race to determine who will run our country for the next four years. Let's start peeling away the layers and looking at what each candidate stands for, not what each candidate looks like.

16 comments:

Tom McMenamin said...

Stan, who brought race into the conversation ? You did and within a sentence you're the one patting yourself on the back for being open-minded enough to be able to see through the color barrier. Why does it even have to brought up...it's a non-factor ! You remind me of the people that i've met in the past that when they meet a gay person for the first time, try to prove how open-minded they are by using a phrase such as "I have an Uncle that's gay" or "One of my best friends is gay"
It's usually the people that have to preface a statement with "I'm not a racist" or "I'm not a sexist", to prove how open-minded and free-thinking that they are, are more times than not the polar opposite !

Anonymous said...

Well I can say for a fact the I contributed to Hillary's campaign more than once during the primary. So I was a big supporter. That being said, I will be voting for McCain in the coming election!!

Unknown said...

Tom, I brought it into the conversation hoping to prempt something similar to what you just wrote, which is about 100 words off the topic I wanted to start a discussion on. I guess it didn't work. Race is not a 'non-factor' as you suggest. We could discuss it in a future post, but I was hoping to talk about the character of each candidate in this post. So, do you have a comment on the real topic or did you just want to pick apart the post?

Anonymous said...

I don't think John McCain or Barack Obama are good candidates for president of the United States. Joe Biden would be my choice but since he dropped out, I went for the second most qualified, Hillary Clinton. Since that doesn't seem to have worked out either, I suppose I will write in Biden or Clinton on the ballot this November. If Obama were to choose Biden or Clinton as VP, then I might change my mind but then again, my opinion doesn't really matter becuase most of America is following the unimportant issues like race, religion, and who has the better personal appearance rather than who is the most qualified to lead the country on important issues like the economy and the war in Iraq. Whoever our next president is, certainly isn't going to have an easy time fixing what's been broken...I wouldn't want to be in their shoes whether they are Republican or Democrat. Too many problems to fix. Too many promises already made that can't be fullfilled by McCain or Obama. Maybe Hillary should be thankful she isn't going to inherit this mess because when it isn't easily fixed, we , the public and the media, will crucify the next president and label them as a "bad president". Good luck to whoever it ends up being...you're going to need it.

Anonymous said...

"Do any of you really think Obama has a chance against John McCain?"

Apparently 48% of America right now thinks he dies, while only 42% thinks that he doesn't.

And that's without the campaign even getting started. Remember a year ago when Hillary Clinton was the popular favorite to win the nomination and probably the general?

Obama has shown he's a much more skilled campaigner than anyone expected, one who can respond effectively to the laundry list of outrageous charges leveled against him. McCain, on the other hand, has been sitting quietly out of the media spotlight for the past four months. Obama has been completely vetted. McCain's skeleton closet is just waiting to be blown open (and there's a lot of skeletons in there).

The electoral map favors Obama. Of the states that John Kerry won in 2004, Obama trails only in Michigan and New Hampshire, while McCain trails in Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Missouri and Iowa. That equates to a 283-255 Electoral Vote win for Obama. There are also other battleground states that Obama could easily swing to his column (Michigan and New Hampshire, both within razor-thin margins, as well as Virginia and North Carolina).

So I don't think there's any doubt that Obama "has a chance" against John McCain. I think the real question is "does Barack Obama have a chance of crossing the 300 EV threshold?"

-pb

Anonymous said...

When you really think about it Obama most likely will win in November. First off he can raise money, compared to McCain. 2.The Black man and the young will come out in force to vote for Obama. 3. Obama has registered a load of new voters, with more new voters coming down the pike. I really doubt McCain has any new registration plan of any consequence. Obama will just out hustle McCain for the nom,ination. Republicans sometimes have to remember what about the other half, and there is a lot of the other half especially if they are motivated voters. Just look at Mont. County! This county will be a Democtratic Bastion within 4 years.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I think Obama has a chance against McCain. Ever since his keynote speech in 2004 it was clear that he believes in bringing as many people as possible toward the center, and he continues to work at finding common ground. There needs to be an end to this polarizing us-against-them, Red States vs. Blue States mentality, both here and abroad. Although we have a global economy with instant communications, there are still governments and cultures with different needs and approaches to problems. And right here in America there are segments of the population with different needs and ways of looking at their problems. It is intelligent, not a sign of weakness, to try to get people to understand and respect each other. Unity is one strong message that Obama brings to the table. Policy will follow.

I don't think Hillary would make a good vice president. She is too smart, capable, and experienced to languish in some Undisclosed Location. She can continue to be effective in the Senate--if the Democrats take more seats in the fall, she would certainly be in a senior advisor position. There are other cabinet and advisory positions where she can use her skills. She needs to be free to move about, to speak and negotiate, not run meetings and warm the bench.

Anonymous said...

I reallly am not sure which candidate will win or is more qualified, but, the saying opposits attract -- this will probably bring in a VP and Cabinet filled with new people and fresh ideas on how to bring about peace - through talks, not guns and ease the crisis with the oil companies, health care and jobs being shipped overseas. Finances?? - A new congress either more Dem. or Rep. should do it. So, watch for the trend - who will fill the positions as stated above?

tlees2 said...

John McCain doesn't sound like a "seasoned veteran" to me. He sounds like someone trying to distance himself from George W. Bush without actually changing any of Bush's policies. I think Obama will win in a close election. This will be good for our country because we need a new direction and we need an influx of young talent into our government. Obama would bring this.

Anonymous said...

OBAMA will lead the folks to the fruit punch. The pied piper of Illinois will take all the rats with him. We will destroy this Beautiful Country from within with him at the helm.

tlees2 said...

"OBAMA will lead the folks to the fruit punch. The pied piper of Illinois will take all the rats with him. We will destroy this Beautiful Country from within with him at the helm."

Actually, Bush has pretty much done this already.

Anonymous said...

Question 1: Oh yes, Obama has a chance against McCain. Just look closer at McCain.

Without being nasty, self righteous or condescending – I hope tongue-in-cheek is ok.

Experience counts with what you do with it.

How’s that war for cheap oil going anyway? McCain wants to stay in Iraq – the majority of the country wants out.

McCain has experience as the lead Republican singer with the great band from the 80’s – The Keating Five – with their hit “Bail Out My S&L, Uncle Sam”.

Let’s look at values. Last week a story surfaced on various media outlets, including WPHT, the treatment of McCain’s first wife. When she loses five inches to a car accident, he ditches her for his current heiress-wife about a month after the divorce is final. (Drink Bud if you like McCain. (Isn’t Bud being sold to a Belgium concern?))

Reading further into the stories, it appears that McCain broke up a marriage to get to his first wife.

I can only hope there are some Democrats at the controls who can figure out how to attack McCain, Willie Horton-style.

Obama is listening about the war. Anything that goes wrong on the war between now and the election for the Bush Administration, it will renew calls to get out, favoring Obama even more.

How much experience did Lincoln have entering the White House?

That guy from Illinois had one term in Congress a dozen years before running. He did a lot of his time in the State House. Lincoln seemed to do OK.

Obama’s story is much closer to Bill Clinton’s than Hillary’s: raised by a single mother, high powered education, marries a very smart woman, comes out of nowhere to outsmart more experienced rivals.

The worst thing against Obama is his former pastor. Obama took his time and allowed the pastor to self-destruct, making his decision to cut ties with him very simple. If he did it any sooner, Obama would have been accused of throwing Wright under the bus.

The other garbage is made up stuff generated by Hillary and the Republican machine to attempt to drag him down.

If there was something else out there it would have been found.
Keep underestimating this guy at your own risk.


Question 2: No Hillary – No way!
The country is split in half. One half of the country is now voting Democratic. If the primaries were a referendum on Hillary, she only took half. That means three quarters of the electorate is against her. Do not underestimate the “Anybody But Hillary” vote in the Democratic Party.

She is the best thing Karl Rove has going for him.


There are a lot of good people in the Democratic Party who can fill the bill.


Question in return – Does McCain take a woman running mate to become a complete pander bear?

Riggstad said...

Does it really matter who we think is the better man for the job?

Because off our Electoral college this race will come down to 5 states...

Michigan
PA
Florida (again)
Ohio (again)
and New Hampshire

Win 4 of those 5 and you have the new president...

I also predict a very low voter turnout this time around. I mean could either party have done any worse?

The democrats put up a guy with Zero experience, and Hillary?? I mean please?

The republicans put up an Actor, and a relic who seems to have given up on his views and values for those of others just to get into the whitehouse.

Does anyone of any intelligence really sit back and become excited about our choices this fall?

How disappointed are you in the lack of real effort by either party?

Anonymous said...

New Hampshire??
LOL!
How about Colorado and Virgina?

Anonymous said...

There are two Candidates - I'm not too keen on either one, but the VP and his appointed officials to head the various agencies is of great importance. In 1993 we attended a Navy Reunion in St. Louis - you guessed it - it was flooded. Now, exactly what has our Government (Federal & State) done to help these towns along the Mississippi? New Orleans was just another warning, that if you do not take care of business when it happens - you will loose. We need to have a well rounded cabinet that is interested in our safety - created by Nature or outside troubled countries.

Anonymous said...

Our next President needs a well rounded Cabinet as Anonymous said on 6/19. The disasters created by Nature or outside troubled countries has caused most of our problems now. I'm tired of higher taxes that are not used to improve the lives of citizens here in the USA, but for foreign countries that have nothing else to do but make trouble for their neighbors and that meaning the USA too. We have two great candidates - it's the people that surround them that is of great importance. I hope Richardson is considered because he would be of great assistance with the hispanic arena.