James Bond:

Only 6 months ago I joked about voting for Obama.  6 months ago it was sarcasm.  No longer.  Obama's  appeal is simple:  change.  

Nothing new about people wanting change, but if you look at how everybody is jumping on the Independent bandwagon it's in part a vote for what Obama can do but it's also a vote against the Establishment.  

I am a Thrashers season ticket holder. Every time I'd leave Philips arena after the game there was a black guy standing nearby, saying "Change, change". I just realized who it was.

 Кто сейчас является президентом России?

Для 10% россиян прошедшие выборы президента остались незамеченными – столько людей уверены, что страной по-прежнему руководит Владимир Путин. Однако подавляющее большинство (86%) знают, что новый глава государства – это Дмитрий Медведев.

Такие данные были получены в ходе опроса, проведенного Всероссийским центром исследования общественного мнения (ВЦИОМ) 17-18 мая 2008 года среди 1600 человек из 46 регионов России. Статистическая погрешность не превышает 3,4%. 

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Actually, that was me holding the "Change, Change" sign.

And with Obama practically in the White House, I've never been more proud to be black.  Now, what's more interesting is that both CNN and Fox are whispering 'Biden, Biden' for the Obama VP ticket.

wow.

As my favorite sexy girl would say "That's Hot"  Georgia is in play this election.  Between the Blacks, and me of course, a newly Independent, we just might make a difference.

Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.

Obama is gonna win.  McCain has never seen more out of touch.  The war has sunk this economy and people are tired of putting their entertainment budget into their gas tank.  It's time to tax the rich.

 

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"Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable."

I never disagreed that Obama is more likely to win.  I would have 100% certainty that dems will win, if only they were not so inept at nominating good candidates.

It's not that McCain is more out of touch.  He isn't, compared to the most liberal nominee in US history. 

The way I look at it, Dems lose about 20% cause they are dumb and just nominate REALLY wierd people.  Hillary would have been wierd too. Kerry was wierd.  In 2004, dems should have won 70-30, now - 75-25.  Result is 50-50, and this time maybe 55-45   

Biden would have won the general election, hands down.  70-30. 

If Obama picks him for VP, i don't think it would matter much.  I'd assume he would have to be one of the most irrelevant VPs ever.  I think the independent voters fully realize that Biden is not on board with Obama's Iraq approach, for instance.

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"Я это понимаю на рациональном уровне, но не могу принять на эмоциональном" --Бизнесмен Борис Березовский

75-25; 70-30, 50-50, 55-45?

geez.  how many scientific polls did you perform, or was this exit polling?

When you doubt the ability of the Dems to nominate good candidates did you consider the fact that more people in history voted in this primary?  How bad can they be?

And I don't even like the Democrats.

There is a reason this country is great - vision that impells change.  We have never ever stopped changing.  Politics and society are a pendelum.  We will swing far to the left and eventually end up back in the middle.  This is all good news.

 

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"Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable."

Egor:

Biden would have won the general election, hands down.  70-30. 

Are you out of your mind??? Biden is a moron who always uses the president elections to boost his image for HIS senate election. He constantly gets 1-5% vote in the president primary election for democrats, what a pitty, and yet he continues to do that. Why? Because that how he maintains his electability for the senate.

 

 

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James Bond:

75-25; 70-30, 50-50, 55-45?

geez.  how many scientific polls did you perform, or was this exit polling?

exit polling.  the "lesser of 2 evils" rationale, which is actually cited by over 50% of voters as a driving force.  Bush was elected twice, primarily by a swing vote who did not like Bush.

McCain is now polling arnd 50%.  Ask yourself - on what grounds?  . 

James Bond:

When you doubt the ability of the Dems to nominate good candidates did you consider the fact that more people in history voted in this primary?  How bad can they be?

Primaries, by nature, are not intended to weigh electability.  Superdelegates is a feeble/ineffective  attempt to remedy this.  As far as "how bad they can be", nothing i could say here would be taken seriously by you until about the second year of Obama presidency when you undergo your next personality shift

James Bond:

  

And I don't even like the Democrats.

neither does 80% of the voting public. 

James Bond:

There is a reason this country is great - vision that impells change.  We have never ever stopped changing.  Politics and society are a pendelum.  We will swing far to the left and eventually end up back in the middle.  This is all good news.

the middle is there for the taking.  you don;t have to swing.  you really don't.  And you haven't, as a nation.  Relatively speaking. Compared to other countries, even most developed, your political spectrum has been remarkably narrow.  Even narrower, in terms of viable national candidates. And THAT is the reason this country is great. 

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"Я это понимаю на рациональном уровне, но не могу принять на эмоциональном" --Бизнесмен Борис Березовский

Evgeny:

Egor:

Biden would have won the general election, hands down.  70-30. 

Are you out of your mind??? Biden is a moron who always uses the president elections to boost his image for HIS senate election. He constantly gets 1-5% vote in the president primary election for democrats, what a pitty, and yet he continues to do that. Why? Because that how he maintains his electability for the senate.

 Your points do not contradict my opinion.  You may well be right, i don;t know his motivations, and considering he knows he is unelectable in the democratic primaries, you can assign any motivation you like to him.  Maybe he wants to be VP first, so he could eventually skip the primaries like Al Gore and get a free pass to the general election.  I think that's a more likely motivation, because his senatorial seat is in no need of a boost.  His constituents worship the ground he walks on.

Interestingly, so do Hillary and Obama.  "Joe is right" i believe was the most frequently heard phrase in the democratic debates.  And not because they wanted to agree with them.  But because they had to.

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"Я это понимаю на рациональном уровне, но не могу принять на эмоциональном" --Бизнесмен Борис Березовский

Egor - since when do you cave in to Evgeny?  His points do not 'contradict' your opinion?  You LOVE  Biden.  Since when do you think Biden is a moron?? 

What's happening here?  I took a hard look at Biden because of YOU.  And now you are agreeing that Biden is a moron?

Sad.

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"Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable."

I was responding to the rest of the post, smart vs. dumb is a tough discussion, as we see in the other topic.  You and I have had similar discussions when i question the intellect of decisionmaking in the government, and you say "how can that be, they are all smarter than you "

What I don't get is how you are a Lou Dobbs fan - he says the whole gov't is dumb!

I just try not to get into that anymore, I know what i consider intelligent, and I don't expect anyone to share my subjectivity

For me, intellect is defined as about a 50/50 combination of the ability to process information contradictory to your current views (everyone is a genius when it comes to processing information agreeing with one's views), and extensive experience dealing with issues and observing situations and consequences - basically - showing a high learning curve.

You, Mr. Bond, I think are a relatively bright guy, but you've limited yourself by choice  - when you were a Bush apologist, you didn't weigh the other side.  Defended everything w/o discrimination.  When you switched, you completely abandoned that side, and now, without discrimination, defend this side and criticize the other.  If there's intellectual honesty, it would have to be somewhere in the middle.  That's when intellect wins out in politics.  Just my humble opinion.

If nothing else, we know there are "geniuses" on both sides of the US political spectrum.  Economists, political scientists, experts.  All infinitely smarter than us, as you've pointed out. 

 

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"Я это понимаю на рациональном уровне, но не могу принять на эмоциональном" --Бизнесмен Борис Березовский

The whole gov't IS dumb:  misplacing nuclear bomb parts, not able to figure out where the 'poison tomatoes' are from, economy going down the drain, and on and on.

Regarding my political switch: I don't apologize for supporting Bush.   I was happy to see the USA go over there and kick some butt.    I feel that once you get into a war you gotta stay the course; and so for 7 years I stood by that opinion.  But now we have to focus on the homefront.  Our country is in a real mess (mismanaged national finances).  And that's why we need a paradigm shift. 

So to answer your question, switching to Obama is my 50% ability to process, and then agree, with the contradictory viewpoint.  Let's give the other side a chance at running things.

 

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"Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable."