Then why did I, for the first time in my life, vote for a presidential candidate who was not a Republican? You are just too self-absorbed young man!
I don't want to comment on anything except, I'm in agreement with giddyup, that the 'change' mantra is just a campaign slogan/battle cry and not exactly a new theme. Whether it is divisive or anything else being mentioned in this thread, I don't know (campaigns are competitive, but things aren't in a vacuum... everything is relative) ermm.. yeah, as I said, just wanted to comment on the slogan.
It was exactly how Ronald Reagan won. <object width="434" height="370"><param name="movie" value="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/flash/player.swf?id=4380"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/flash/player.swf?id=4380" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="434" height="370"></embed></object> In some way, Reagan's repetition of this mantra was self fulfilling. By people believing that there was "A new morning", they acted as if it were true and made it happen.
All that is fine for both Reagan and Obama. I was just objecting to DonnyMost's use of the word platform as a description of what it meant. He actually wrote "platform/idea" and the latter is more appropriate than the former.
Whatever your motives, giddy, if I didn't say it before (I may have), you really have my admiration. If you and anyone else cares to check, for months I've been saying that I knew numerous Republicans, or independents that usually voted Republican, who were telling me that they'd had enough and were voting Democratic this time. They weren't jivin' me, either. McCain carried Texas by 11% on election day (George Bush took the state in 2004 by 23%), Obama polling 44%. Gore and Kerry each managed 38% in Texas. That's a big jump. It bodes well for the future. If Barack can have a good first term, we'll continue to increase the "blue" in the Lone Star State. Now, you may not like that trend, but it's good for Texas, in my opinion. We've been taken for granted to often by both parties. One because they always assumed we were in the bag, and the other because they always assumed it was hopeless. It is no coincidence that we've consistently sent out more in taxes to the Federal government than we get back in Federal programs. Perhaps that will begin to change. I hope so.
From his own lips... <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pMvohE_otJ4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pMvohE_otJ4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Congressional Quarterly confirms it. Obama at about 40% and Biden at 54%.
In your haste to... so something... you've missed the point. I'm not denying McCain's alliance with the president's initiative. The point being made was that the general congressional attitude was one of agreement likewise, so McCain was not alone. Was it a one-issue victory: the war?
