Whatever.

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Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

People are more than entitled to their opinion. That said, many of these are the same people who voted George W Bush based on the idea that they'd like to have a beer with him. How's that working out for the country?


I don't spoeak for every Palin supporter. Now you can say that you talked to a Palin supporter who can and did know the difference between executive and legislative even if I didn't go through the naming of examples. As for executive experience. I look at this from a business perspective. The size of where she governed is less important than skill set she got from that experience.


As for education, need I remind you that George W Bush has a degree. It isn't the be all or end all. It certainly doesn't trump the fact that he took delegates he didn't earn during the primary. It doesn't trump that he said he would filibuster FISA then didn't. It doesn't trump the fact that he said during the primary that giving Americans universal healthcare meant forcing poor folks to choose between health care and rent(which he has now flip flopped on). It doesn't trump that his surrogates called anyone who didn't support him during the primary racist and he stood by and said nothing.


At the end of the day, I know who McCain is(and trust me we have areas where he and I disagree). I don't feel that way about Obama. I see him as a "creation" and it certainly doesn't help when you have people in the Illinois Senate that call him as much. It doesn't help when you have people like Pelosi, who basically abstained from her responsibility to be a check and balance, cheerleading for him. It doesn't help when you have Dean picking up the DNC and moving it to Chicago and have him cherrypicking the rules to make Obama the primary winner. There is a hidden agenda and I am not convinced this agenda benefits anyone other than the powered elite in the democratic party. These are same elites who have collected six figures for the last two years to name post offices and continue to talk about steroids in sports publically but discuss the economy that effects us all behind closed
doors.

Why i am hearing a Clint Eastwood western movie theme song in the background here? I feel like everyone is about to draw their guns!

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"Go on, get outside, get the stink blown off ya!!"

CWaltz - your posts are very interesting. On one hand, it sounds like you think I am a Bush supporter, which I know cannot possibly be the case. And then it seems like you throw out so many things at once, that it's like throwing spaghetti on the wall - SOMETHING has got to stick.

Just a few things from your last post intrigue me to comment:

1/ I find it heartbreaking that many people voted for Bush because they saw him as someone they'd like to have a beer with. I see the same sort of thing happening with Palin, and I don't think that works out.

2/ I know you're looking at it from a business perspective. You are the first person I've seen who has even tried to answer my question about executive experience. Except maybe Aliadam - I can't recall.

3/ Bush, to me, is not a valid example of someone who has a degree. He received poor grades, and I believe he only got into Yale based on the influence of his family. Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar, I believe. I think Obama was head of the Harvard Law Review. I'm not talking about someone skirting by in the bottom 10% of his class, like McCain. I agree that people with an education do and can make mistakes, but given the choice- I'd rather put my eggs in the basket of the person who has worked and studied hard to get to where he is than the person who just slid by in school.

4/ As for your last paragraph, I do like many things about McCain, and there are things about Obama I'd change. Obama was not my pick from the primaries, but he is the democratic candidate. Any chance McCain had, for me, was blown when he chose Palin. I believe that McCain sold out his values in order to get the nomination, and I no longer trust him. That's just my opinion. We all have a wealth of information available for us to read and filter, and we'll all come to different conclusions.

You think you're right. I think I'm right. That's all there is, really.

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Okay, I don't want to debate all the issues, because frankly you all are discussing about twenty thing at the same time I my fingers would get too tired But I DO want to discuss this part of your post. I find this sentence insulting. I voted for Bush and make no apologies for it. It had NOTHING to do with wanting to have a beer with him. Is he my favorite president? No. Do I agree with every decision he's made. Absolutely not!! But if I went back and had the same knowledge I had on those two election days, I'd vote the same way. Nothing to do with beer drinking again.

Being an admitted liberal democrat, I'm not sure you can speak for people who voted for Bush and why they did so. If you're speaking of the "charisma/likability" factor, then yes, he probably had more. Just as Obama has more now. Do you want me to say that everyone that votes for Obama is because they'd rather have a glass of expensive wine with him? I do think it's unfortunate that things like "perception" play such a huge role in politics, but obviously they do or we wouldn't have all these posts about accents, how much their clothes cost, etc. So this race, the "charisma" card is in your guy's favor. All the people voting for "change" even when they have no idea what that means and if the "change" will even benefit them or hurt them is based on the charisma factor.

And you can't say that people are voting for Palin (which people keep saying although it's actually McCAIN people!!) because they want to have a beer with her. It's insulting to those of us voting for McCain because we agree with his policies and are afraid of the policies that Obama will pass without a filter in congress. It makes it seem as if people make that decision it HAS to be because they have some lame, uneducated reason. I'm sure people on BOTH sides have lame, uneducated reasons for their votes just as I'm sure there are people on BOTH sides who vote because they understand the issues and think one candidate better fits their beliefs.

See why I couldn't address all the issues?!?!?!

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I knew someone that voted for President Bush because he thought Bush would be the better of the two to have a beer with. You just cannot argue with a person with logic like that, I know, I tried.

I am so surprised how people react when they watch a debate forum. If you remember the republican primary debates: Romney, McCain, Giuliani, and Huckabee ALL did this to each other! And, more specifically, they did it to Ron Paul HEAVILY. Anything he said about the economy, foreign policy, was laughed at directly into their microphones. THAT was disrespectful. No body cried foul.

Are we going to call every move in an exchange between a man and a women sexist? It sort of gets silly. It commonplace in debates to disagree silently with one another. And, to me, usually Biden was simply smiling at her little quips which were funny. I, personally, didn't see Biden be disrespectful to Palin. He seemed to be showing restraint from his usual demeanor which is usually more "speak your mind, apologize later".

But it's all perception, really. I think Biden was going to be viewed as sexist regardless, part of his own doing since saying something to the effect that Palin was "attractive". But if we really want strong women out in the world, we have to stop crying foul when we see men and women interact. If he would have been terribly hard on her, it would have been sexist too. It just seems like a no-win!

I have a hard time using the "sex card" because I think equality means just that.

And I know someone who voted for Clinton the second time because he really cared about families. I almost barfed. And another who didn't vote for his opponent because he was "old." So, yeah, you will find people who for one particular candidate for less than educated reasons on both sides.

Aliadam, I think it's fair to say you know I wasn't talking about you. You read news sources, you think for yourself, you make your own choices. But, unfortunately, many people do not. And many people voted for Bush because they found him to be "like them", "a regular guy" and "one of us" even though he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I'm sad to say that my best friend of the last 30 years told me she voted for Bush because he's Christian. I asked "What about Kerry?" She asked "what about him?" I said "He's Catholic." She didn't know that. AND SHE'S CATHOLIC!!! So, she voted for a guy because he's Christian, but didn't vote for the guy who shares the same faith as her, because she just followed superficial reports. THAT'S the kind of voter I'm referring to here. Not people who voted for Bush because they believed in him or liked the policies he talked about.

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I agree that all the different issues is getting confusing! But it does seem as though when I say something, you are assuming I am talking about "ALL" instead of "SOME." I do believe SOME people are voting McCain simply because Palin is a woman, or because they find Palin to be "a hockey mom like me" or some other nonsense reason. Just like some people will vote for Obama just because he's half-black, or just because he's a good speaker or charismatic. There are always percentages on both sides who vote for superficial reasons. Just like there are some who are one-issue voters, be it the union, or gay rights, or whatever. So, really, I think we are in agreement. But I CAN say that SOME people are voting for Palin because they somehow relate to her as being "one of them". I've seen it in blogs. I've seen people on TV say that. I've heard people be interviewed on the radio and hear that. So, SOME people are doing that. Just like maybe some are voting for McCain because he's a VietNam vet. Or Obama because he was born in Hawaii. Not everyone really puts thought into their vote. On BOTH sides.

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