Yea pretty much. One of the things he committed to doing in his campaign is starting an investigation on the people who authorized torture. I think the only reason there isn't an investigation is because some Democrats hands are dirty in that mess too. It's really not as big of a deal to me as much as it is for others. That said if an investigation could prove that waterboarding lead to false information that was used to start up the Iraq War then I would be upset. Failing to get rid of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is another gripe. Since he's got so much to deal with already, I'll cut him some slack and remain optimistic. I just don't see either issue being addressed at all though. Maybe 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' if he manages to get a second term and has nothing to lose. It's too PC to deal with in a first term.
Yes. Yes I was. Palin single-handedly removed any doubt about who I was voting for. http://www.palinaspresident.us/ Side note: honest question... how in god's name did so many people think Palin held her own in the VP debate against Biden? Biden crushed her. At least in the Obama v McCain debates, both sides landed some blows. Biden v Palin reminded me of that old Kobe Bryant commercial where he was playing against a 12-year-old.
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W never call for closing of GTMO, diverted troops out of Iraq to Agfanistand, stop the economic bleeding (accelerated job loss) adding stability to the economy, etc. aso, W approved the torturing of detainees and lied to the American people
W sent troops to Afghanistan, as well as forming a deal to have troops withrawn from Iraq. W actually helped the US recover from a 2001 recession. It was W that initially bailed out all the banks, GM, & Chrysler(Though I disagree with the decisions that were made in doing so.)
I know a surprising number of Republicans who voted for Obama simply because McCain, with his age and his health a real issue, chose Ms. Palin. That was the ultimate deal breaker for a lot of folks, Republican or not. Just a stupid, stupid choice by Senator McCain that called his judgement into question at the worst possible time.
A lot of Republicans love her. McCain risked alienating his base, unless he chose someone like her. The Couric interview really hurt, but she did not cost him the election. He screwed himself with TARP, and his wanting to suspend the campaigns to deal with the economic crisis. At that point I didn't want to vote for him. It certainly made me want to go back and change my vote in the primary.
The same powerful minority love her as have loved the Religious Right. A minority. McCain's only chance was to broaden his appeal. Instead, he narrowed it by choosing Palin. It was his biggest mistake, in my opinion. He probably was going to lose anyway, but at least the margin wouldn't have been as great.
Who else is the base gonna vote for. At the point of choosing a VP candidate, you don't need to appeal to the base.
winner winner chicken dinner i realize it's antecdotal, but the hard-core McCain supporters I knew...some who had donated money before the pick...were flat out baffled by her nomination and felt it cost him the election, ultimately.
it's usually said that the side that gets their base out to vote...that energizes the base to talk it up and ultimately pull the lever election day...that side wins. the problem for the GOP, is that base has become small and marginalized. and there's a PERCEIVED loss of influence in the culture, generally....particularly with respect to social issues.
The only way McCain could have won would have been if the electoral landscape wasn't vastly different now, in which the majority of the country can no longer be controlled by a few mostly white voters residing in the southern & plains states....that was never really a natural state of affairs to begin with but the vagaries of the electoral college exaggerated it. The more operative question would be "what if we lived in a country in which McCain could have won"
McCain didn't appeal to the base. They felt as though many voters may stay at home. Her impact was very positive at first. She made the RNC, which actually moved McCain over Obama in the polls. Obama regained the lead after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, and opened it up after the Couric interview and McCain's request to suspend campaigns. McCain already held a substantial lead with independents before making a VP choice.
There is no republican base. It was a corporate controlled, cobbled together, coalition of manipulated, single issue factions with no consistancey of philosophy other than a self-serving and false sense of "patriotism". How can you justify their right to life position and the death penalty position under the same identity? However if McCain had won I think he would have found more opposition from within his own party than he would have from Democrats. He probably would have faced only gridlock and never acheive any legislative traction in his entire administration the kind of frustration that would have lead to only one term.
The unborn have done nothing. Criminals that have committed heinous and inhumane crimes that have been convicted by a jury of their peers. How can you even equate them the same? How can you give you freedom, but force criminals to live in prisons? How unfair to treat you differently. I have a harder time understanding how someone can be pro-choice, but against the death penalty on the basis of killing is wrong. Obviously those people don't believe a fetus/embryo is an it, rather than a person. I really have no idea how those people can believe that if they have seen/heard an ultrasound. Absolutely amazing to hear that heartbeat.
I am very sad to say this, but in two important aspects things would be the same. Obama has the same old militarist hacks getting us further into the quagmire in the Middle East-- Gates and generals responsible for assassination squads such as the guy just put in charge in Afghanistan. Also Obama has the same old crowd responsible for the financial meltdown trying like hell to maintain the outrageous strangle hold on our economy by some undeserving bankers. Otherwise there are some very important improvements already or coming: health insurance of some sort for all-- hopefully not just as a windfall for the private insurance leeches; better gas mileage for cars, more help for those behind on their mortgages; a stop to illegal settlement building in Israel etc.
Make up your mind? Which is it? Obama has already came out and said we should not be forcing our ways on other countries.
Infighting and anger from within his own party. Bitterness and frustration from outside. He would not have stood a chance. Even if his intended policies were exactly the same (which they weren't). At least Palin would have provided comic relief. Obama hasn't done anything yet that should upset the GOP base (other then get elected). His 'stimulus' spending would have been matched by McCain -- as it has been around the world. He hasn't done anything significant yet that the GOP would not have liked to do had they been able to. Difference being he's done it diplomatically and with competence. When he eventually gets to impliment HIS ideas, then the GOP may be pissed. But that's OK with me -- because I prefer his vision to theirs!
