President '08

[Eric]

That is right, no one will take this country by force. We will destroy it on our own. It is the only flaw in democracy. After a while people take for granted what the have. I don't care what anyone believes really, I just wish they would believe in something. If people don't care enough to get involved in the process that provides their freedom they will wake one day without it. Then they will understand what freedom is and be unable to experience it.

Yep, exactly, and if you look at some of the youth of today, it isn't very promising. Public schools have become a part of society where self-esteem, not competition, something that will actually mean something to them in the real world, has become the main focus. The classes aren't really difficult. It's not preparing them well enough for college and life out of school. The easy route doesn't work that often, just ask Glenn Mason

The thing with democracy is that the people need to run the show. It's up to them to decide what to do with their lives. Personal responsibility. It isn't easy, but people in this country have to step up sooner or later. Some of the youth of today is absolutely spoiled because they have a roof over their heads, food on the table, stay home and play Grand Theft Auto and watch MTV. Go to Uganda and see how fun it is over there. Still, the thing that irks me most is how people think that the President is soooooooooo bad and that conservatives are soooooooo bad and that the extremist terrorists should get off the hook with impunity because the religious right's intolerance in America is the reason that they're P.O.ed. They have no clue at all because they've never experienced anything outside of this country. Spend a day or two in Iran and see how fanatical the government is and maybe James Dobson won't be such a bad guy when you get back

Sorry, I'm just rambling on

[Eric]

Was there anything wrong with that? The guy said something obscene on his show, he has the right to cut him off. The radio network can't be held responsible for stuff like that.

CNN a little?

O'Reilly is a very smart guy. I find it very hard to dispute his points. Do you watch the O'Reilly Factor that often? I'm just asking, because he usually gives the opposition the final word. Sometimes he does blow up (he called someone a lunatic on his show 2 weeks ago, probably uncalled for) but he admitted in his book, Culture Warrior, that he can be a little immature at times and he said he tries very hard to ignore that side of him. It doesn't happen that often.

I'm of the opinion that sometimes there has to be war. It's inevitable. If we lived in some kind of utopia, there wouldn't be any need of war. However, we are dealing with human beings. Crazies like Hitler and Ahmadenijad need to be confronted one time or another, or freedom and our way of life will be steamrolled.

[bama_girl]

btw- I don't see blitzer being a lefty.

don't let ol wulfs stick-in-the-mud persona fool you

bill o'reilly makes some good points but he leans too far to the right and gets ridiculous sometimes.

i would vote for mccain if he would swear to try to make lobbying illegal like he has talked aobut doing in the past. lobbyists are the root of all that is evil i don't think it will ever be illegal though, due to lobbying of course

[Spence]

I am confused on who to vote for because to be frank probably i don't like any of them, they're all liars. I just think that poverty is a big issue and should be so i most likely will be voting dem unless maybe hilliary is dem primary because she really a republican undercover, but i can tell you right now i WILL not be voting for mcain.

First, being 18 doesn't mean you can't be plugged in or that you can't have different idea's on how you think things should be. You should get involved and try to find the truth, whatever that may be. I do think, though, that everyone should be open-minded and willing to except good idea's even if they come from someone from a different party then you support. The idea behind the two party system is to work together to find solutions that equally benefit both side's ideals.

Don't get cynical about the system, get involved and follow what you believe is right. You and I probably are from different ends of the spectrum on our beliefs, but that is good. Just stay involved and form your opinions based on your ideals and the facts and don't get disinterested.

Also, if you think that poverty is the big issue that needs to be solved. Find out how to solve it, for good and finally. Then vote for the guy that follows your ideals, but don't vote for a party. Vote for a person. Voting for parties is why our political system is so screwed up. Listen to all sides, uncover fact from fiction and follow what you believe.

[Eric]

I'm about as far as O'Reilly is on the Politicometer. I believe that he's a very fair-minded individual as he does give both sides in a debate equal say. Most times he doesn't fly off the handle like he did a couple weeks ago.

I'm reading Culture Warrior a second time because it brought up some great points. Stuff like how the New York Times wouldn't re-print those Muslim cartoons (and I wouldn't have either, it was a slap in the face to Muslims) but how the NYT defended a picture hanging in a museum that had Mary, mother of Jesus, covered in feces as "artistic expression". There are many more examples in it.

He really does love this country and its opportunities and he does believe that personal responsibility, not "nuturing" (a.k.a. socialism, redistrubution of wealth), is the key to success and prospering in this great country of ours.

[Spence]

I will look more into it and align my politics with theirs.

That is how to make our system work. I have been an independent almost all of my voting life. Although I tend to lean conservative, I have never voted along any party line. Their are some really bright people on both sides and you also have lots of pols that play to the crowd and get votes by telling people what they want to hear. If you look for the bright ones with good ideas you are heading in the right direction. There is nothing wrong in wanting an end to poverty or war. Finding an end to each that doesn't put us in a deeper hole is how you arrive at a solution. I don't know anyone that is for war or poverty. It is finding out how to end problems like these that people disagree on.

[Spence]

Not really, I just have some good horse sense. My parents always taught us to think for ourselves and be willing to admit when we are wrong. The first part is easy, it is the last part that causes the problems.

[..fanatic]

I have gone to a peace march, because i believe that war is heck stupid.

If everyone thought like you, we'd still be under British rule.

[Eric]

..Fanatic, can't you see that, eventually, people like Ahmadenijad would come over to our point of view? Peace really does work with lunatics.

[Eric]

Thoughts on the stuff so far?

This is probably one of the toughest elections to call as of the moment that I can remember. We know that Gulliani will get the Republican nomination. That's a given because McCain isn't far enough to the right, Romney just isn't as popular, and there aren't any other real challengers. Unless you count Fred Thompson who isn't running as of the moment.

With the Democrats, it's an interesting situation. Will Hillary get elected? One one side, you have a good portion of the women voting for Hillary and on the other side, you have all of the people that realize how much of a phony she is. Obama has a good shot at it.

So, if I had to pick, expect Obama/Richardson and Gulliani/Huckabee to run against eachother.

Just some thoughts, why aren't people voting for Tom Tancredo? He's the only guy who gives a crap about our borders, why not him? He has my vote right now, but he has no shot whatsoever, unfortuantely. We need more Tancredo's in office. Huckabee would be a good president too....

[Spence]

I'm holding out for Fred Thompson. I really like him and I hope he throws his hat into the ring. He has the charisma and the debating ability to win. He also has the intelligence to lead. He is the only one that I would feel good about voting for right now.

[Dossenator]

I just now sat and read all the post from the beginning on this topic. I am, like many of you, a person that leans to the conservative side. Spence I call myself and independent as well....however, I have found that the last few elections I voted for Republicans only (not just presidential elections...I vote whenever their is any kind of election).

I do want to make a few comments:

First I would like to say that freedom is not free. Sometimes war is necessary to protect our way of life. I saw a great documentary a few years ago...wish I could remember the name of it. It was showing a cameraman, just a few months before Pearl Harbor, going all across America and asking the common citizen if he thought we should enter WWII. They showed thousands of people. The overwhelming majority said no....it's their fight and it's their problem. Many said if we leave them (the Nazi) alone then they will leave us alone. Doesn't this sound a lot like what we are hearing from the left these days. Nuts like, Ahmadinejad in Iran, and the nut in North Korea, Kim Jong Il, are a threat to the entire civilized world. They cut their people off with the rest of the world and feed them with propaganda that supports their stance. They are using the same tactics that Hitler did to pursuade their people. I know a man that was able to flee Iran. He is here in California now. The stories he told are unbelievable. I don't have time to go into it completely but he lived in fear of his government on a daily basis. He said he did not understand why so many Americans were not happier with their situations.

bar3cat5...you made a mention of the Republicans scaring you because they reminded you of communists. Well, the opposite is why I have not been voting for any Democrats in the last few elections. The democrats seem to be leaning more and more to a socialists philosophy. I read Barack Obamas autobiography. He is a socialists...he does not come out and say it but look at what he stands for. He came out last week and said if elected president that everyone will have health care. Those that can't afford it will be given it free by the government. That ammounts to about 43 million people getting free health insurance paid for by me and you. He said that it would be paid for by increasing the taxes, and doing away with the Bush tax cuts to those who make over a certain amount of money. You see that is not how democracy is suppossed to work. The problem with socialism is that it strives to make everyone equal. That in principal sounds good but what it does is bring everyone down. Why should succussful people be punished for being successful. I am not against helping the less fortunate. However, I don't believe in free handouts either. I was raised in a house where I was never hungry but money was tight. My parents lived from paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes it got pretty rough, but I always had a roof over my head and food on the table. My dad at times had 2 or 3 jobs and my mom worked outside the home and took care of me and my sister. It would have been much easier for them to go and get on some social program but I was taught you work for what you get. I saw many other people do the opposite of what my parents did. They exploited the system. They sat at home and drew free money off the government. My wife has an aunt and uncle that have not worked in over 25 years. They found out that if they were married they were going to stop getting their free money from the gov (food stamps, etc). So they got a divorce....they still live together and act as if they are married....that is until they think that the gov is hot on their trail and one of them will move out for a month or two. What a way to live. That is just one example...I could go on and on.

Do you know that the Democrats in Congress all ready have the papers drawn up for a huge tax increase and are waiting to see if a democrat is elected. If so they will pass a tax increase that will amount to the biggest single tax increase in the history of the United States. You see they want to bring the bottom 10% of the population up at the expense of the other 90%.

Not sure who I am going to support for president right now. I defenitely will not be supporting any of the democrat nominees. I think the two Republicans I would lean towards right now are McCain and Huckabee. Are their any third party candidates that have shown any interests in the election? If so the media does not talk about them.

The problem with the media is they lean so heavily to the left. The reason why Fox sticks out is that they are the only ones that are not leaning that way. Shows like the Oreilly factor are not meant to be unbiased. They are talk shows. I don't mind shows like that leaning one way or the other. However, when I watch the News......I am suppossed to get unbiased reporting but I don't. Here is Los Angeles it is liberal beyond belief. A few days ago they said lets take a look at how the top presidential candidates are doing on their campaigns....they said another rough day for Republicans....they showed one candidate and a man saying I wouldn't shake hands with you...your mormon, then they showed a lady who would not let go of Rudi Guliani's hand and blaming him for not evacuating the World Trade Center's quicker, and it went on and on....then they said another victory for Democrats today...they showed Obama and crowd cheering, they showed Hillary and a crowd cheering....and it went on and on.....they gave no meaningful insight into any of the candidates....they did not show you why people were cheering for the democrat candidates.......the whole thing made me sick. The only purpose of the story was to shed positive light on the democrats and negativity on the Republicans. I want a real news station that says here are the candidates....here is what they believe....give everyone equal time....show the positive and negative on each candidate....and then let the people decide what to think. Don't do the thinking for us.

I will stop for now. Seem to be rambling on. Good discussion though.

[Eric]

That's the thing though. People in a democracy get what they vote for. I hear of people complaining about "oooh, politicians, those lying scumbags, etc." but they go out and vote for either Democrats or Republicans all of the time. This happens on both sides.

There are plenty of congress people who will defend the constitution. There just aren't enough

Ron Paul has been getting scrutinized for what he said about us possibly provoking all of the hatred in the Middle East. Some of it is true to some extent. The main root, though, is their propoganda. The powers that be in those countries hold their people back and not allow them to get past the colonialism and the Crusades and whathaveya. I just saw a Palestinian school play on Youtube and the kid was waving around an AK-47. It's insane. Pardon me, but I don't think that America is the root cause of it all. I don't necessarily think that Ron Paul would say it is, it's just that when he said that, it possibly struck the wrong cord in that instance.

[Eric]

Doing more research on Ron Paul, he would be my 2nd choice of the Republicans. Tancredo seems like the best candidate to me, but he has zero chance of winning, unfortunately.

Paul is the closest thing to conservative besides maybe Huckabee and Tancredo. I read the Wikipedia article since I didn't exactly know all of his platforms, and I'd think he'd make a great president, actually.

While I think that American influence in the Middle East has given the crazies ammunition to paint us as the bad guys, most of those situations were the correct things to do. Paul isn't like an isolationist pacifist or anything, he voted to use force against Afghanistan.

[bama_girl]

i started out as a conservative moderate, then i was a way right winger and then i was a middle of the roader again and now i think they are all idiots and i almost don't care anymore until lobbying is seen for what it is and made illegal and several poloticians go to jail after long drawn out trials and such, our votes don't really mean squat anyway.

eh, pardon my apatheticness (is that a word??? )
maybe i'll get fired up about it closer to election time.