Originally posted by: shinerburke
Originally posted by: Craig234
Originally posted by: shinerburke
Honestly I don't see how anyone can be excited about any of the candidates.
Obama - Great speaker, empty suit.
I don't think you can say one way or the other yet.
Can you show me things from this point in the 1960 campaign giving any indication JFK would go on to be such an incredible leader for peace, a moral leader for civil rights, etc.?
At this point in that campaign, he had little more than Obama in terms of looking like more than a rich kid typical politician IMO, to most of the nation.
Go re-read Obama's speech on race in the Wright controversy and see if it's empty suit.
I just get the feeling from watching/listening to him that while he may hold strong beliefs in one or two areas, that he would end up governing by polls. I hate the very idea of that.
Here are a few thoughts on that topic:
There are worse things than governing by polls. *Every* president governms by some combination of polls and his agenda. There are things every president would like to do that they do or don't do, do faster or slower, do more or less, based on the public's opinion of the policy.
There are leaders who do more of their own agenda, who have more agenda - but that can be good or bad.
Reagan's agenda to support the most rich and attack our nation's political system of government representing the people ijnstead of the powerful was harmful. JFK's agenda to lead a racist nation to change its view was a good agenda. The issue is far less their following polls, than what their agenda is, who they are representing - the people of the powerful.
But McCain is *far* more a poll-watcher - is there any policy he has not compromised himself on over pubclic opinion and politics - than Obama, though both have done it.
I have to admit that the guy can be inspiring, but I want to see more substantial plans laid out. Of course that goes for McCain as well.
I agree with you, Obama has too many vague platitudes. But I have to ask at this pint, if the basic party differences are not yet clear enough for you for voting after the last 25 years, how can you say that? Just Obama being generally a democrat and McCain being generally aligned with the modern Republican party should be far more than enough for the purpose of deciding, even while you are right to want more on the details.
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Do you want more abuse of power like theUS attorneys being pressured to prosecute innocent democrats andnot prosecute guilty repulblicans, and the president lying about the things the administration does, as Bush has from saying al his wiretaps had warrants to saying that his administration did not torture?
Do you want more extremists anti-government ideologues bankrupting the nation and crrippling the government's functionting in order to steer huge sums to private contracters?
Do you want the rich yet more rich and the poor more poor furthering the concentration of wealth, do you want to see the average American laid low economically to cut labor costs?
The basic agendas, who the candidates will serve, is clear, if not in McCain's statements (he's not going POW to say POW what he'll POW do, he'll talk POW about something else).
Your comments rerally suggest to me that you are using something other than the important issues, which are already clear, in selecting.
I think that's why the campaigns are so much about the trivial and personality to make you 'like' a candiidate - the people who decide on policy mostly already firmly know who they'll vote for, but the voters who wait until they are voting and decide how they feel, do they like the guy, are the targets of the campaigns.
