#129497 - 2004-11-13 02:40 PM
Re: One man's opinion
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Sealeopard
KiX Master
Registered: 2001-04-25
Posts: 11165
Loc: Boston, MA, USA
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I'm actually enjoying the thread as it is very civilized. I've seem these type of thing turn ugly very fast, though.
I can give you my two cent's worth (European prvodes a better value than US cents though ;-) ). Bush won the election because he got over three million more votes and the absolute majority of the electoral college. That's the obvious one. Secondly, in order to win, the Bush campaign had three choices, a) make Democrats vote for Bush, b) make Independents or undecided vote for Bush, c) make conservatives and Republicans vote for Bush. The campaign tried a little bit of a) and b) but excelled at c). So, why was c) so successful? Because the campaign mobilized conservative voter who might otherwise not have voted. So, instead of focusing on the existing voter pool, the Bush campaign added more Republican-voting people to the pool. Also, if one would look at the states that Bush and Keery won, one will see that the states are virtually identical with, I believe three exceptions. New Hampshire switched from Republican to Democrat (comparing the election results from 2000 to 2004) and the two "battleground" states of voted Bush. Additionally, Bush also won 31 states, thus form whatever point you look at it, he garnered the majority.
This mean that his campaign was more successful in making people vote for him by addressing specific topics of value for those particular voters. Some voted for him because they're against gay marriage, stem cell research, for the War Against Terror, or something else.
What one has to remember though is, that in the US a lot of discussions are being reduced to so-called sound bites and the 15 minutes of fame associated with them. What I'm missing are in-depth discussions of various topics, neither of which either Kerry or Bush performed. For most voters it's more about the "for or against" decision and about stability of convictions, a.k.a no "flip-flopping". Also, if somebody says I'm against the War on Terror but I support the troops, a lot of people see this as contradictory statements.
My personal pet peeve is the fact that the United states are virutally bankrupt as Congress is required to raise the National Debt Ceiling by the end of this year in order for the Federal Governmnet to continue paying it's bills. Combine this with changing demographics, i.e. increased retirement by the Baby boomer generation, and there's a huge problem ahead for the US (as several European countries incl. Germany, as well).
Anyway, I didn't vote (not eligible due to lack of Citizenship) but I'll accept the results of a democratic process independent of whether it suits my personal convicion or not. There's a new chance in tow (Congress/Senate) or four (President) years. It'll be interesting to see who's going to run for President on the Republican side then (Schwartzenegger, Romney, Cheney, McCain,...).
_________________________
There are two types of vessels, submarines and targets.
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#129498 - 2004-11-14 09:32 PM
Re: One man's opinion
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Cybex
Getting the hang of it
Registered: 2004-07-21
Posts: 81
Loc: Brandon, FL.
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Quote:
It'll be interesting to see who's going to run for President on the Republican side then (Schwartzenegger, Romney, Cheney, McCain,...).
Sealeopard,
I am pretty sure it will not be Schwarzenegger since The Constitution of the United States, Article II, Section 1 states that in order for a person to become President of the Unites States of America the must be a natural born US citizen. (I doubt you will see an amendment either) Cheney is too controversial and old… Everyone else could be in the running. Don’t forget about Dr. Condoleeza Rice, if Hillary makes a run for the office in ’08, I think the GOP will counter with Rice in either a VP or Presidential position.
_________________________
Common sense isn't so common.
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#129500 - 2004-11-15 03:11 PM
Re: One man's opinion
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Jack Lothian
MM club member
Registered: 1999-10-22
Posts: 1169
Loc: Ottawa,Ontario, Canada
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Another man's opinion.
There is a saying in politics that incumbents can only beat themselves, they cannot be otherwise beaten. It seems to be a truism in Canadian politics.
My opinion is that the economy was the key. As long as the economy continued to at-least semi-perform, Bush was going to win because people would be content. I don’t think the war in Iraq is yet at a level that it really impacts on the psyche of the American people, so people voted on the personal things.
As to who will run next & win. Look at the last few Presidents: Bush, Clinton, Bush, Carter, and Reagan. Who would have predicted these winners 4 years before they won? In all the western democracies, politics & the public’s perceptions are currently very volatile. Vote swings are becoming incredible & in my opinion cupreous. Maybe democracies are chaotic systems much like the weather, which is fundamentally unpredictable once you move a week or so into the future.
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Jack
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#129502 - 2004-11-15 03:35 PM
Re: One man's opinion
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Chris S.
MM club member
Registered: 2002-03-18
Posts: 2368
Loc: Earth
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Quote:
politics and weather... so many things in common.
just like in politics, everyone likes to complain about the weather but nobody does anything about it.
That was the best post in this entire thread.
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#129503 - 2004-11-15 04:53 PM
Re: One man's opinion
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Richard H.
Administrator
Registered: 2000-01-24
Posts: 4946
Loc: Leatherhead, Surrey, UK
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Quote:
politics and weather... so many things in common.
just like in politics, everyone likes to complain about the weather but nobody does anything about it.
They're not that similar. There's not much you can do about the weather if you don't like it except move to another country.
Now, wait a minute...
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#129505 - 2004-11-15 07:04 PM
Re: One man's opinion
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NTDOC
Administrator
Registered: 2000-07-28
Posts: 11625
Loc: CA
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Quote:
That was the best post in this entire thread.
Oh!, so then should I delete this thread 
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#129506 - 2004-11-15 07:41 PM
Re: One man's opinion
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Chris S.
MM club member
Registered: 2002-03-18
Posts: 2368
Loc: Earth
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Quote:
Quote:
That was the best post in this entire thread.
Oh!, so then should I delete this thread
If that is what you want to take out of my comment, sure.  
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