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Barack Obama is the next President of the USA
Topic Started: Nov 5 2008, 12:08 AM (4,726 Views)
Justin-ZNS
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Gwennie
Nov 5 2008, 10:27 PM
I find it very telling that NEVER has a Democratic party presidential candidate been so overwhelmingly accused of being a socialist/having a socialistic agenda....UNTIL it was a black man running.* Very, very telling indeed. (and I have personally been of voting age for NINE USA presidential elections, so I know of what I speak.)

* and it's always been the same, basic agenda. Increase public spending for programs like education, health, welfare....and increase taxes on the upper upper class to pay for it. Nothing about that Democratic Party agenda has changed, except it was a black candidate espousing it.
I agree with this to an extent, I never remember a candidate being so brutally accused of socialism before. His ideas don't differ that greatly from past presidential runners, and it seems like they received far less criticism that Mr. Obama. Like Ice said, some of his ideas might be a little socialistic, but people are treating it as if he's going to turn the country into a hardcore communist country. Not to mention the country has always has some socialist aspects of it in the past.
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Starlake
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Tanith
Nov 6 2008, 05:41 PM
I hope that those people who are Anti-Obama give him a fair chance as president. He has a lot of work ahead of him, more so than a president elect has had to contend with for a long time.
That's very true. Both Obama and McCain were very brave for trying to tackle this, regardless of who won.
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Gwennie
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I want to share this from Susan Eisenhower, the granddaughter of the late former USA President, Dwight Eisenhower. (republican):

Quote:
 
Why Obama Should be our Next President

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 2:00pm - Susan Eisenhower

For more than fifteen years, I have regularly appeared in the media as a foreign policy expert. I've always tried to be accessible to everyone from all ends of the political spectrum. Citizen dialogue and education, I believe, are the cornerstones of a vibrant democracy. Over the years, I have been interviewed by outlets of every ideological stripe, but recent experience tells me how far our public discourse has deteriorated.

In February of this year I announced my support for Barack Obama. As a lifelong Republican I decided to support this Democratic contender because he has, I believe, the energy, the intellectual capability, as well as the temperament and the steadiness to lead this country during this perilous time. Since then, I've appeared on many television and radio programs hosted by people who do not like Senator Obama. Compared to my experiences over the years, these interlocutors have been aggressive and the subtexts of their questions have inappropriately implied that anyone who supports the Illinois Senator is either unpatriotic, uninformed, or simply a fool.

On top of this the McCain campaign has engaged in incendiary "Robo" calls and misleading brochures, which promote baseless personal smears. John McCain says Obama is a socialist, and Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) actually suggested that Obama is a "Communist." This is nonsense. Obama is advancing a tax policy that was first adopted by Republican President Teddy Roosevelt, and the Obama proposals do nothing more than return us to Reagan-era tax levels.

People who share traditional Republican values have nothing to fear from Senator Obama, that's why other distinguished Republicans like General Colin Powell, Senator Lincoln Chafee, Congressman Jim Leach, Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein, Bush Defense Policy Board official Ken Adelman, and the iconic conservative names of Buckley and Goldwater are now associated with Obama's campaign.

We have had many chapters in American history when fear has gotten the better of us and "guilt by association" or "guilt by race, ethnicity or gender" has prevailed. But we must be better than that. In today's fractured and challenging times, spreading false rumors is not only divisive, it is downright dangerous. We will only survive if we pull together and unite as a nation.

As we vote on Tuesday, we should pause and look at our communities and be grateful that many fine, talented people want to serve our country in this period of dislocation and crisis. We must shrug off the fear mongers who have tried to sell us an election season of devils and demons who don't exist.
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Nivexonix
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Interesting read Gwennie. Thanks for sharing.

I'm really looking forward to what Barack does in the 100 days in office. It seems like he has a lot of support, including me, and while he does have a lot to live up to, I see him capable of dealing with it. McCain's speech after the results were announced was by far something unexpected. He didn't seem like he did throughout the rest of the campaign. I hope that he is able to calm a lot of people down so we don't have to worry as much about security for Obama. I was told though that he was as protected as President Bush during the campaign because of how many death threats he received. It's both great to see we've passed the racial boundary in the free world, yet we still hold on to many of the simple ideas that we have no physical proof of.
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Ben
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Nivexonix
Nov 6 2008, 11:00 PM
I'm really looking forward to what Barack does in the 100 days in office.
What is the significance of 100 days?

In other news, Obama's office is continuing their foray into social media with the launch of http://change.gov/
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Nivexonix
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In the past, I believe the first 100 days was the significant mark as to whether a President had done a good job or not. I may have read about this more than once. I'm sure historians will be looking at what Barack does the first 100 days.
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Justin-ZNS
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Hmm, what I would do for a .gov domain! Did George W. have a website like that when he was first elected?
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JFK
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Justin
Nov 6 2008, 11:42 PM
Hmm, what I would do for a .gov domain! Did George W. have a website like that when he was first elected?
Not that I am aware of, However he did googlemap his ranch.... Undoubtly to plan for his many vacations. ;)
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Dennis
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That change.gov thing makes me angry. There is no office of the president elect. Barack Obama is still just a US Senator until his inauguration. The .gov TLD is for official government websites, not non-profit 501C(4) organizations.
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FOS
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IceMetalPunk
Nov 6 2008, 04:36 PM
1) "Socialist" is a scary word. It is almost always associated on some level with communism, and so it strikes fear in the hearts of all.

However, communism is only one specific type of socialism. Therefore, communist-inspired emotions probably played a bigger role for the people who believed this propaganda tactic than it should have.
I'm a Socialist. Does that scare you? Third generation, too - we're breeding. :P Communism doesn't strike fear in my heart at all. It would be the ultimate ideal, if it weren't for the slight flaw that it tends not to work very well. Even though we're your allies and were throughout the Cold War, it's never been that much of an issue for us. Arguably Bush Sr, Bush Jr. and in particular Reagan gave us as much, if not greater cause for concern. McCain & Palin of late, too.

Indeed. And from everything I've read/seen in recent months, I'd tend to agree. Although I quoted this part of your post just in case the above came across as cherry picking - I appreciate that you developed your point beyond the two sentences I've focused on. ;)


I've said all along, including several times here / on the previous support board that I simply couldn't see what was so special about Obama. The 'great orator' tag in particular didn't resonate at all. Once Hillary Clinton was out of the race, I wanted him to win rather than McCain, of course. We all have a vested interest now more than ever before, whether we're Americans or not, in who's occupying the hot seat in the White House. Solutions to the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and the global recession can only come from that man, after all. But anyway, I digress - now I see it. Still not from a personal point of view - he's got a lot of convincing to do yet to win me over fully. But it's impossible to ignore how his victory has swept the world. He's already taken great strides towards repairing America's shattered international reputation, and he hasn't even taken up residency yet.

I was shopping on Wednesday afternoon, and they had local radio on over the tannoy system (the norm in this shop, rather than anything specifically due to Obama's victory). They were playing back excerpts from the phone-in show which had aired that morning, and the level of good spirits and sunny optimism was unreal. A new leader has been elected in another country, after all. He's not our president, and at the end of the day he's just another politician, isn't he? Well apparently not. Had McCain have won, internationally the mood would've been one of doom, gloom and abject despondency. Reading through this thread, there are some who aren't at all happy with the outcome. All I can say to that is make hay while the sun shines, because right now the world loves you.
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Jeremy
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Dennis
Nov 7 2008, 12:23 AM
That change.gov thing makes me angry. There is no office of the president elect. Barack Obama is still just a US Senator until his inauguration. The .gov TLD is for official government websites, not non-profit 501C(4) organizations.
Some people will find anything to &@^!& about.
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Stephen
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I would argue Dennis that there is an office of the President-elect. He had a security briefing yesterday. Called leaders of dozens of countries, is putting together his Cabinet and his agenda. Seems to be a lot of work to me.

And he is certainly not just a Senator until his inauguration. Secret Service coverage and his press conference today would indicate as much. And the same goes for VP-elect Biden. They are not just Senators now.
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Darren Gilmour
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Iam from the Uk ... and thought Mcain was the man for the job... I liked Srah Palin but obama seems a nice person too.
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TheLetterQ
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Quote:
 
That change.gov thing makes me angry. There is no office of the president elect. Barack Obama is still just a US Senator until his inauguration. The .gov TLD is for official government websites, not non-profit 501C(4) organizations.
The same thing would have happened had McCain been elected, with the possible exception that you wouldn't be complaining about it. There still would have been a transition effort. I don't see how it doesn't merit a government domain, since their picking future appointments for government(!) posts. Whoever it is that is responsible for approving .gov domains thought it was worthwhile. As for the office thing, I'm not sure, but I don't think he means "office" as in "elected position". In the context it is used it could just as easily mean "place with a desk, probably a computer, a phone and stuff"

The hundred days is a time period where the legislature usually helps the president in enacting his agenda. Probably the most famous first 100 days were FDR's, where much of the New Deal (socialism!) was enacted.

In other president-elect news, Rahm Emmanuel (Illinois congressman, mastermind of the 2006 dem house takeover) has accepted chief of staff, Robert Gibbs (leader of Obama's campaign press operation) will be press secretary, and David Axelrod (Obama Campaign lead strategist) will be a senior adviser. Apparently the talk is that there is a good chance that current defense secretary Robert Gates will be kept on.
Edited by TheLetterQ, Nov 7 2008, 04:15 PM.
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Choco-ZNS
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I love the google ads that pop up while you're reading political topics.
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WELL, DID HE?!?!?!?!?!

In any case, I am not happy with the outcome of this election, but in my opinion, both candidates were mediocre choices. The one that won wants to spread his mediocrity to everyone by taking from the rich, and the other wanted to keep mediocrity exactly where it was, with the poor. So yeah...

And then there was Nader. :)
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