2008 USP(G)ET pt. II: counting the days to 2012 primary thread 1

never too high, never too low

^^^ wisdom learned from being a Braves fan for many years

http://thepage.time.com/2008/10/07/dan-perry-john-edwards-sex-scandal

lol google

Gingrich and Beck make laughable claim that if McCain had opposed the bailout would be winning

(never mind the fact that Obama's support of the bailout does not appear to have hurt him at all)

Gingrich Launches '12 Run

the lol claim there is that if he backtracked he could save face, which would actually probably just serve to sink him further. i'm beginning to think the republicans are trying to throw this election.

Gingrich would be a funny campaign. Not a very likable guy.

in a way its not so hard to read this election as - um I think it was Tombot? - suggested, that the Repubs are basically sacrificing McCain. He was never a great party asset anyway, so they're cutting their losses and letting him have his moment in the spotlight while going down in flames. Problem with that reading is that the entire Republican brand and coalition are so hopelessly fractured and tattered right now, its hard to see this as part of some grandiose plan for survival when everyone in the party is clearly flailing really, really really hard

im pretty sure if there was a republican movement as organized and as powerful as you say they probably would've been able to get rudy elected or something

i think it's more likely that they want mccain to get elected bcuz they seem him as someone they can constantly move right (as he has already voluntarily) but are just flailing this time around

I kind of feel like now would be a good time for progressives to take over the Republican Party.

make it so

bull moose sounds too palin

McCain is Bob Dole, except not as funny and a disinclination to refer to himself in the third person.

preview of Palin administration

joe biden will take up part of that burden xp

BOB DOLE DOESN'T LIKE IT

bob dole knew he was bob dole

lol they have fucked up arms

McCain has a pen so you may have something there.

no party tries to lose an election, though certain people may decide not to run.

look we all know that the next president is going to inherit a country that has been monumentally fucked. there is very little room for a success story over the next four years. so, the thinking goes, obama could be a carter - one and done - blamed for everything. and (channelling talkingpointsmemo here) that's certainly possible. so why not let somebody else take the fall?

but the way i see it america NEEDS someone with the intelligence and wit and history of caring about the less fortunate in exactly these sorts of times.

secondly, no matter what happens, an obama adinistration is going to appoint untold numbers of good people with an actual belief in the agencies they work for. they're going to be able to put money into things that have been starved for it for years. all the invisible infrastructure of grant-making and outreach that has either withered or been forcibly slashed over the last eight years will start to grow back. (and that's not even to mention the supreme court.)

an obama adinistration is going to appoint untold numbers of good people with an actual belief in the agencies they work for.

^^^this. Whenever my leftier friends complain loudly about whatever foreign policy/executive power fuckup Obama has committed to (Zbiggy Brzinski, FISA, etc.) my default defense is "jesus christ can't we at least have someone in the Oval Office who will be dedicated to the idea of a functional government?" Like, somebody who's committed to actually trying to deliver basic services?

I think the likelihood that Obama will be a Carter is pretty slim actually. He seems a lot more politically savvy than Carter was.

Not that we'll end up being any better off for it, but I think someone else (named. . . Bush. . . maybe) will get a lot of the blame for how crappy the next four years are.

http://slog.thestranger.com/files/2008/10/Big-Timber-bigot-2.jpg

secondly, no matter what happens, an obama adinistration is going to appoint untold numbers of good people with an actual belief in the agencies they work for. they're going to be able to put money into things that have been starved for it for years

I reeeeeallly want to believe this. The bare minimum of competence is all I require.

the thing i'm really excited about, but which i haven't seen much comment on, is how much obama - and biden - are talking about education. it comes up in every speech. more preschool stuff. more headstart stuff. more investment in schools full stop. i really hope it turns into the priority it seems it is. that and health care are the key to everything. but all the other stuff, from the department of the interior to HUD to superfund stuff - all that stuff is going to get knowledgable motivated people with a sense of a mandate behind them.

I hope they make college easier to afford.

what gets me excited is the prospect of working for somebody smarter than me

anybody else get the feeling that the financial crisis has taken the wind somewhat out of the sails of people whose first reaction to government spending is "how ya gonna pay for it??" it's like, uh, they're the government. they can pay for anything if they think it's important enough.

The next administration will reinvent the term "conservative budget."

Whether McCain or Obama wins, both has a better stated policy on science than the present administration, so that's a start.

http://phuzion.mirror.waffleimages.com/files/d7/d752e30791c0fe6d27ed51e5940c8c3c343f8f13.png

"TAXPAYER!"

http://yeswecanholdbabies.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/obama_011.jpg

vs

http://media.tumblr.com/0WrWNqJCPerb3gbd0JWaj334o1_500.jpg

http://www.houstonrealnews.com/blog/img/f295/MWWeawMcCain.JPG

http://frum.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NDFiNTQ1YjIxNjdhZGQwNjRlZjczMmEyMTUyMjM1MWY=

frum doesnt like the ayers hateorade

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1070975/Man-shot-times-street-racist-gunman--wearing-Barack-Obama-T-shirt.html

maybe i should have started a new thread ...

INTN'L INCIDENT - RACIST LONDON MAN SHOOTS OBAMA SHIRT WEARING BLACK MAN BOTTLE OPENER SOCCER TIPPING CONTENT INSIDE

TIPPING

too controversial

I'd like to see london airgun man shipped in a crate to Washington DC, where they just repealed our local gun ban, and basically everybody has an obama t-shirt. I'd really like to see it.

Well, given U.S.'s (cough) gun control laws, I fear the driving-into-anti-Obama-territory-with-an-Obama-bumper-sticker crime factor will rise if Obama wins. I'm definitely not trying to promote fear because of this. But we should be prepared for at least more isolated incidents of civil terror, or more right-wing militia bullshit, unfortunately.

oh definitely I was just saying I would consider the outcome hilarious if london perp tried that shit in my town.

it will be "interesting" to see if our new domestic surveillance and counter-terror authorities can tackle a renewed threat from domestic wingnuts a la clinton era with the same "effectiveness" that has prevented a successful attack on U!S! SOIL! for the past six

oh wait it's october duh. seven.

How's the availability for Obama shirts in London? Are they available in proper shops or do street vendors have 'em?

One of the weirdest(and best) things about this election season; there's a thriving market around here for _bootleg_ (and homemade) campaign merchandise. Seriously.

What times we live in.

i watched the debate at a friend's house in the boonies and when i came out my obama-stickered car had been keyed on the drivers side from back tire to front

given that apparently the dude across the street 'jokes' about assassinating the homie i prob won't be hanging out at their house for debate #3

ugh i'm sorry!