American voters angry over the war in Iraq and corruption on Capitol Hill Tuesday night punished President George W. Bush and his Republican Party, handing control of the House of Representatives to Democrats and putting GOP control of the Senate in jeopardy.
In nail-biting midterm elections viewed as a referendum on Bush’s leadership, Republicans appeared likely to lose at least 30 seats in once-safe GOP congressional districts. The losses ended a 12-year Republican stranglehold on the House.
The tide of anti-Republican sentiment also put Democrats within striking distance of seizing power in the Senate. Democrats gained at least three seats of six seats they needed to win, and were leading in three decisive Senate races. At least one Senate race, in Virginia, appeared headed for a recount and possible litigation.
Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid said the House results showed a “wind of change” in America. “All over America tonight, they have come to the conclusion that a one-party town (in Washington) simply doesn’t work,” Reid said.
Democrats needed a net gain of 15 seats to take control of the House of Representatives. At press time, NBC projected a 30-plus seat gain for Democrats.
The signs of trouble for Republicans began almost immediately after polls closed across the country. In Pennsylvania, a state which has suffered the country's third highest casualty rate in Iraq, incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum lost to Democratic challenger Bob Casey. In Ohio, Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown defeated incumbent Republican Senator Mike DeWine, while anti-war sentiment cost moderate Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee his seat in Rhode Island.
The Senate race in Virginia was shaping up as the closest race of the night. With 99 per cent of ballots counted, Democrat James Webb led incumbent Republican Senator George Allen by just 2,700 votes. Demorats were also ahead in Montana, where Jon Tester had built a 10,000-vote lead over Republican Senator Conrad Burns. A late-night turnaround for Democrats in Missouri gave Claire McCaskill a 25,000-vote lead over incumbent Republican Senator Jim Talent. McCaskill declared victory early Wednesday, even though the outcome wasn’t finalized.
“We are not breaking out the champagne bottles yet.
It's going to be a long night,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Congressional Committee.
Republicans, however, lost several key bellwether House races early in the evening, setting a sombre mood at GOP campaign headquarters.
At press time, Democrats were leading in several key House races across the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, but a strong Republican turnout in the South was preventing a complete blow-out.
Evidence of the Democratic trend among voters was also apparent in elections for governor in several states.
Voters in Massachusetts elected Deval Patrick, making him the first African-American governor in the state and ending 16 years of Republican control in the governor's office. In Ohio, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland also ended 16 years of Republican control.
The Democratic takeover of the House likely spells big trouble for Bush as he prepares for his final two years in office. While Bush will still set America's foreign policy, Democrats will likely ramp up pressure on the White House to change course in Iraq.
They could also scuttle Bush's legislative agenda and, with House committees under their control, launch a bevy of investigations into the administration's pre-war planning and controversial anti-terrorist programs. In Ottawa, the Conservative government said it would work “constructively” with Democrats on trade and border issues.
“We’ve done that before and we’ll do so again,” said Jason Kenney, parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “We think that the leadership of both parties understand the importance of the Canada-U.S. relationship.”
While midterm elections are typically characterized by low turnouts, voters headed to the polls in higher-than-expected numbers.Election monitors reported sporadic problems with electronic voting machines used in dozens of states, but fears of widespread balloting problems were largely unrealized.
In Ohio, a judge ordered polling stations to remain open past the 8 p.m. closing time in the Cleveland area because of voting problems.
There were also reports that Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former president Bill Clinton, had difficulty casting a ballot for her mother, incumbent Senator Hillary Clinton in New York. The balloting capped the most expensive and, arguably, vicious midterm election campaign in American history, with both Republicans and Democrats spending record amounts on negative advertising.
In a sign of the hostile political atmosphere, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday night it had opened an investigation into allegations of voter intimidation in the Senate race between incumbent Allen and Webb, the Democrat. Several voters reported receiving automated "robo-calls" urging them not to go to the polls, or directing them to the wrong polling station.
In heavily Democratic Maryland, some voters were handed sample ballots suggesting Republican Senate candidate Michael Steele was actually a Democrat.
Two major polls conducted in the final days of the campaign showed double digit leads for Democrats, but several others suggested Republicans had gained some momentum. Bush spent the last 10 days of the campaign stumping for Republican candidates and arguing Democrats wanted to withdraw troops from Iraq before victory was assured.
The U.S. president cast his ballot at a fire station in Crawford, Texas, before returning to the White House to watch election results.
Though his name wasn't on the ballot, Bush was the focal point of a campaign that took place against the backdrop of escalating sectarian violence in Iraq and growing public skepticism that the U.S. can win.
More than 100 American soldiers were killed in October alone, one of the highest casualty rates since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Even as Bush defended his strategy, many endangered Republican candidates spent much of the campaign distancing themselves from White House policy.
Exit polls showed the war in Iraq, terrorism and corruption in Washington topped the list of concerns among Americans as they cast their ballots. The exit polling, conducted by the Associated Press and the major U.S. networks, became notorious following the 2004 presidential election after results indicated momentum for Democratic candidate John Kerry.
But the polls, this year conducted among 8,211 voters, were revamped to try avoid misleading results and better reflect the broader electorate. The exit polls found more than three quarters of voters cited corruption and scandal as the biggest election-year issues.
Many of the voters motivated by anger over Washington scandals identified themselves as evangelical Christians, hinting at deep disaffection within the Republican base.
About two thirds of voters cited Iraq as a motivating factor in their vote. Of those voters who cited Iraq as a key issue, two thirds said they were opposed to the war and were voting for Democratic House candidates.
Although two thirds of voters said terrorism was a big issue, they cast their ballots evenly between Democratic and Republican candidates.
The exit polling also showed six in 10 of voters were motivated by national issues over local issues — a result viewed as potentially bad news for Republicans because of the focus on Bush's stewardship of the country.
"The president has said that Democrats are going to cut and run in Iraq. The voters are cutting and running from George Bush and the Republican (rubber) stamp Congress," Schumer said before polls closed.
The Republicans also spent much of the campaign defending themselves against a litany of allegations of political malfeasance over the past year by members of Congress. Former Republican House majority leader Tom DeLay resigned last year after being indicted on accusations of improper fundraising. Two other Republican congressmen — California's Randall Cunningham and Ohio's Robert Ney — quit after convictions on bribery charges. And disgraced Florida congressman Mark Foley stepped down in September after revelations he sent sexually explicit e-mails to teenaged congressional pages.
Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives since 1994 and, heading into Tuesday night's election, held 230 of the chambers 435 seats.
The Democrats held 201 seats, with one independent and four vacancies. The GOP has held the Senate since 2002 and went into the midterm elections with 55 seats to the Democrats' 44. There was one Independent. Though every House seat and 33 Senate seats were contested, the election was ultimately to be decided in only a few dozen key contests.
While several big-name candidates were in tough re-election races, others spent election night more relaxed. Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat rejected by his party over his support for the Iraq war, easily won re-election as an Independent candidate. Clinton was headed for easy re-election amid speculation she plans to make a bid for the White House in 2008.
In California, incumbent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was also expected to win comfortably over Democratic challenger Phil Angelides.
The chances of a democrat being the next president just got much better.
US President George W Bush has announced the resignation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, following the Democratic victories in legislative elections.
Should read Rumsfeld first scapegoat of Iraq debacle.
Good to see him go,nothing but a warmonger.
Rumsfeld is not a scapegoat, he's the perpetrator. Lookup what a scapegoat is.
Bolton has resigned as US Ambassador to the UN. It says a lot about Bolton and the way he was appointed that when Coffi Annan was asked if Bolton has done a good job as an Ambassador he said, "He's done the job expected of him." There has been universal agreement amongst the ambassadors to the UN that Bolton going is a good move, except by our ambassador, who along with two tin pot island regimes are the only ones who have always voted with the US on every resolution.
Quoted Text
Bolton resigns as US Ambassador to UN
Facing opposition from key senators, US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, will leave office in a matter of days, the White House announced today.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said President George W Bush had reluctantly accepted Mr Bolton's decision to leave the UN post when the current session of the US Congress ends, possibly at the end of the week.
Mr Bush had bypassed the Senate in August 2005 by appointing Mr Bolton to the position when the lawmakers were in recess, avoiding the confirmation process and angering senators concerned that Mr Bolton had a temper and intimidated intelligence analysts to support his views while at the State Department.
Mr Bolton and White House officials felt that if the full Senate had had the chance to vote on his nomination that he would be confirmed, but some senators in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee opposed him.
"Despite the support of a strong bipartisan majority of senators, Ambassador Bolton's confirmation was blocked by a Democrat filibuster, and this is a clear example of the breakdown in the Senate confirmation process," Ms Perino said.
Mr Bolton is the second Bush administration casualty since the Democrats swept to power in last month's Congressional elections.
Outgoing Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down from his portfolio the day after the Democrats' victory.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
Yes Rumsfeld was one of the (if not the main) perpetrators of the Iraq war. But he wasn't the only one, Cheney also played a large part so Rumsfled being the only one to get the boot at this stage does make him some sort of scapegoat as Cheney and other neo-cons were also involved.
I'd like to see Bush also thrown out of office for this very serious calculated mistake. The President (or elected leader) should have to take responsibility for the wrong-doings or bad information he was given by his inner circle. It appears our leaders are immune and can simply pass the buck when they do something wrong.
In business more often than not the CEO has to take responsibility when things go south, like the Enron CEO who was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in jail.
Hilary Clinton has announced she will stand for the US Presidency in 2008. Does she have a chance? I think she'll poll okay but is the US "ready" to consider a woman president?
Then there is the Barack Obama factor, though the Republicans are making a big deal that if he became president it would set a bad example because he smokes.
Hypocrites, when first a large chunk of the Republicans funding comes from the tobacco industry (as it does for our parties (all sides)), and when they were asked to do something about the alarming increase of celebrities smoking in movies they refused.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
I found an excellent site for people to look up who voted for what. Interestingly, everyone is bringing up the fact that Hillary voted for the war in Iraq. Of course, because Obama is new to office, that little scuff mark is not on his record.
The URL is a link to Hillary's profile, but you can search anyone in office and see how they voted and what they voted for.
It should be an interesting race to the Whitehouse...
Obama formally enters White House race
Democratic Senator Barack Obama has launched his bid for the United States presidency with a speech in the hometown of former president Abraham Lincoln.
Thousands of enthusiastic supporters watched on as Senator Obama delivered his speech in Springfield, Illinois.
The 45-year-old is widely seen as the first African-American with a realistic chance of winning the presidency.
Senator Obama says Americans have the chance to unite as one people reaching out for what is possible.
"That is why, in the shadow of the old state capital where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today, to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America," he said.
Senator Obama addressed America's involvement in Iraq, saying he has a plan to bring all US troops home over the next year.
He also acknowledged his relative political inexperience.
"I recognise that there is a certain presumptuousness in this, a certain audacity to this announcement," he said.
"I know that I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington but I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."
I'm surprised this political storm on Howard's massive gaff hasn't got a run in this board yet.
Even Republicans are distancing themselves from Howard and are criticising him. JWH went running to the US ambassador last night looking for support like he used to do with Schieffer, but with the current ambassador McCallum he only got the line "That is internal Australian politics and nothing to do with me."
Quoted Text
Obama dismisses Howard's Iraq criticism Prime Minister John Howard has set off a firestorm between Australia and the US Democratic Party after he criticised the Iraq policy of Barack Obama, a wildly popular Democrat who is potentially the next president of the US.
Mr Howard, a close ally of current Republican president George W Bush, said a presidential win by Mr Obama, who wants to withdraw US combat troops from Iraq, would be welcomed by al-Qaeda.
Democrats have reacted with disdain, with Mr Obama saying if Mr Howard is so strongly supportive of the war in Iraq then he should send another 20,000 Australian troops into battle.
"I would also note that we have close to 140,000 troops in Iraq, and my understanding is Mr Howard has deployed 1,400, so if he is ... to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq," Mr Obama told reporters in the mid-western US state of Iowa.
If Mr Howard did not take up the invitation, Mr Obama said the comments became nothing more than "empty rhetoric".
"I think it's flattering that one of George Bush's allies on the other side of the world started attacking me the day after I announced (I would run for the 2008 Democrat presidential nomination)."
Mr Howard started the fight when he criticised Mr Obama's plan to withdraw US combat troops by March 2008.
"If America pulls out of Iraq in March 2008 it can only be in circumstances of defeat," Mr Howard told Nine Network on Sunday.
"If I were running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."
Mr Howard is under pressure over Australia's involvement in the war, with opinion polls consistently showing the conflict is unpopular with Australian voters.
The latest ACNielsen poll in Fairfax newspapers has the opposition Labor party 16 percentage points in front of the governing coalition on a two-party preferred vote while Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd also leads Mr Howard in the preferred prime minister stakes.
Labor has pledged to bring Australian troops home, through negotiation with the US, if it wins office later this year.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer later weighed into issue, saying Mr Howard has every right to speak out.
He dismissed Senator Obama's suggestion that Australia should boost its troop commitment to Iraq by 20,000 it if was so strongly supportive of the war.
"That would be half of our army. Australia is a much smaller country than the United States and so he might like to weigh that up," Mr Downer told ABC radio.
"It's entirely appropriate the Australian government expresses its view in a free world. You won't get anywhere trying to close down debate."
The foreign minister, in Turkey for meetings with the secular Islamic democracy on security, repeated the government's belief that a US withdrawal from Iraq would mean victory for al-Qaeda.
"A precipitous withdrawal by the United States from Iraq would be a catastrophe."
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd on Sunday demanded that Mr Howard withdraw his statements.
"Mr Howard must not allow his personal relationship with President Bush to impact on Australia's long-term alliance relationship with the United States," Mr Rudd said.
"I disagreed with the coalition's decision to invade Iraq ... But I have seen it as my role to discuss the future of Australian foreign policy on Iraq, not lecture United States citizens on how they should vote in the upcoming presidential election."
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
Such a small gaff that has made the media around the world, has every major media outlet in the US commenting on it, mostly negatively, has the US Democrats saying that Howard better hope they don't win the next election and he is still PM of Australia and even has Republicans telling Howard to butt out of US politics.
It was a big gaff and totally wrong in every account. Not even the new US ambassador McCallum would stick up for him as the previous ambassador Schieffer used to.
It was not the opinion and legitimate debating point Howard made but how he went about it, linking Obama's planned withdrawal (which is what the majority of Americans now want) to a world wide victory for Al Queda and basically accusing Obama of being an indirect supporter of terrorism for his Iraq policy.
Obama who is miles smarter than Howard will ever be, came back with the perfect retort to Howard's attack. If John Howard is so concerned about a terrorist victory in Iraq why doesn't he send 20,000 Australian troops into the front line so some American troops can go home and don't have to die and be maimed every day.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
I think it was a stupid comment by Howard but looking at what the comment was about, the US went into Iraq (and lets not start the debate) they can not leave the higly volatile situation that has been created by doing so, if done someone is going to fill the void left by the old dictatorship.
Obama's comment was also one of stupidity, those 20,000 troops are about 1/2 of Australia's military. The difference in military sizes may have something to do with population, he's just proven he has as much knowledge of the rest of the world as the average American.
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
You miss Obama's point which is a legitimate one. The number he pulled out of thin air was on only having a vague knowledge of the size of our Defence Force. The number was not important in the context of his speech.
As Obama stated everyone of the US's 140,000 troops can and do fight on the frontline, with 20-30 a week dying and being maimed. Very few of Australia's 1400 troops in Iraq are on the frontline and certainly not under daily attack, with several dying and being injured each day. The Australian troops are mostly in support roles (and important ones at that), in mostly safe areas or in areas where most of the Iraqis have respect for the British and Australians.
If Howard is so concerned and convinced that in Obama pulling out American troops by 2008 it will cause the rise of terrorism around the world, and make Australia and the world a far less safer place (a charge he levelled again today in parliament), then why doesn't he commit all the resources and troops he can to fighting the war in Iraq on the frontline?
That is what has happened in all previous wars in which Australia has assisted the US. We fought alongside and often ahead of US troops, more than pulling our weight and often taking more causalities per capita than most, but also inflicting proportionally more damage on the enemy than most other allies. If Iraq is so important to world peace as Howard keeps shrilly saying, then why isn't he more committed to fighting the war on the frontline instead of the tokenism he is now engaged in. Of course the reason is that if Australian troops start dying and being maimed on a regular basis he will lose all public support for his stance and his knows it.
So as Obama said, until Howard commits to fighting the good fight then all his words on Iraq are nothing but empty rhetoric.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
I don't think it was a massive gaffe. It was, however, an unprofessional comment; even though it was his opinion to which he is entitled.
The fact is as the leader of a nation (or any other high ranking position) you cannot make such opinions public. Otherwise you incur the shitstorm that lil Johnny is still wiping off his face after 2 days!
This was another 'true colours' moment for lil john. He couldn't give a rats about the future of the AnUS (Australia n United States) alliance, all he cares about is sharing the big stage with Dubbya, helps him feel important, like a big man.
If Howard is so concerned and convinced that in Obama pulling out American troops by 2008 it will cause the rise of terrorism around the world, and make Australia and the world a far less safer place (a charge he levelled again today in parliament), then why doesn't he commit all the resources and troops he can to fighting the war in Iraq on the frontline?
What, in an election year?? That would be a PR disaster and would jeopardise the only thing lil john cares about in this world, staying Prime Minister.
I agree with Howard's right to say what "he believes" will happen if the US pulls out of Iraq, but that is not what most others believe, including US General Peter Pace who is in Australia at the moment.
Very few are couching the pull out of America in the terms of the collapse of the free world as Howard is. Some are even speculating that with the American's out of the picture, who are directly and indirectly through their rorting of billions from the Iraqi people, the cause of the current violence, that Iraq after a bloody civil war will find an equilibrium and again become at worst a stable anti al-Qaida autocracy and at best a quasi democracy (having sampled it and liking it).
Btw even if Osama wins the election he can't be president until 2009 so cannot pull his troops out by March 2008.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
Does anyone else feel how frenetic all this arguing is getting? . . these are the leaders of the Free World . .and they look like naughty little kids who need a clip around the ears . . election years . . WOMD's never found . . Iran now rattling sabres . . 1/3 of USA budget devoted to the war effort . . with NO end in sight . . Saddam dead . . and civil war all over Iraq (although no official will say those words out loud) . . it looks to me like 'The Wheels Have Fallen Off' . . . . * I have kindly left out the local issues we all face with IR laws and drought etc. . . *
Anyone got any answers ??? This poor planet needs them NOW!
I will be out of the country for the first 12 days of BB . how clever am I ! Smart enough to leave the 'dead-heads' behind
Well that's a sweeping generalisation if I ever heard one.
Huh?
Not sure if you understand, it doesn't mean ALL short people have the complex, only some.
Quoted Text
Little man complex (aka Napoleon complex, Short Man Complex):
In the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, Napoleon complex (or Napoleon syndrome) is a colloquial term used to describe a type of inferiority complex suffered by people who are short. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of their lives.[1] This can sometimes go as far as to lead to acts of violence or will to dominate those that are larger than the short person.
Alfred Adler pioneered the psychological work on inferiority complexes[2], and used Napoléon Bonaparte as an example of someone whom he thought was driven to extremes by a psychological need to compensate for what he saw as a handicap: his small stature.
It was unprofessional of him (is there an echo in here?) but not a massive gaffe and his opinion, just as this is mine.
John Howard doesn't make unintentional gaffes. His views were very clear. He was quite clearly trying to denigrate Obama and the Democrats, very unprofessional. But what do you expect from a foolish old man?
it looks to me like 'The Wheels Have Fallen Off' . . . . Anyone got any answers ??? This poor planet needs them NOW!
Oh ye of lil faith blahNii, the second coming is nigh my friend, have some faith. The big J (not Howard!) will chime in very shortly and rid the world of evil-doers, restoring it back to the once peaceful place it was, umm, can't remember when. Just ask Gizmo.
Hello to all! What does everybody think of Rudolph Guiliani. I lean to the republican side of things and think he would make a great president. Obama would be good but democrats tend to eat their own and Im sure Hillary would have him in her sights. Hillary seems to divisive for republicans to ever give her a fair go.
Is that the ex mayor of New York? I loved him when he was Mayor and if he was running for anything he would get my vote. Hilary... well there are similarities between her and Margaret Thatcher . Obama, don't know enough about him to comment.
The Hillary and Obama camps are into the full swing of things with the Hillary cam blasting of its most direct attack yet. Its getting messy already. If one thing destroys the democrats at the next election it will be themselves.
Guiliani is the former mayor of New York at the time of the 9/11 attacks. I think he would make a great American President and seems like the best candidate for the Republican Party.
Clinton, Obama vie for black voters US Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama took to separate church pulpits in Alabama today using a civil rights commemoration to battle for support among the country's crucial black electorate.
I wonder who's ahead on this front, the black man or the white woman
Guiliani is the former mayor of New York at the time of the 9/11 attacks. I think he would make a great American President and seems like the best candidate for the Republican Party.
I like the way handles himself. We already know he has a cool head in a crisis. I have seen a few interviews with him since he announced his intention to run for President and I like his ideas of where he wants to go with it all. Its not just me either, the polls suggest he, as of November last year is the most popular politician in America. He appeals to democrats more than McCain so that will give him an edge.
Don't you think Cain’s experience with torture would make him more suited to be American President? *scarcasm*
But what did Guiliani do except media interviews? It was his staff and the various heads of services that that did all the work and organisation.
He basically turned New York around. He lowered crime in New York. The homicide rate dropped by an amazing 65-70% . He lowered taxes when he came into power by reducing the size of government and streamlining the way they used the money. All up he made probably 23-24 tax cuts in his tenure. He took a 2.4 billion dollar deficit and turned it around to a 3.2 billion dollar profit. I like his thinking on social issues which I can name if you would like, but that is another post in itself. And he conducts himself well to people and the press. He left as Mayor to battle testicular cancer and beat it. There aren't many angles to attack him from because he hasn't really failed.
These good economic times has happened across the board in most Countries. It is a character of the times brought about by the resurgence of the Chinese economy. Australia has benefited greatly by this also and skiing behind the wave taking the credit is our 'ittle Johnny.
Guiliani is a very likeable politician and has the experience to be a big player in a Republican administration but I wouldn't hold my breath on the GOP electing a pro choice candidate...the far right will see to that. A victory for Guiliani should be a seat at the Cabinet, he would make a handy adviser even to a democratic administration.
I think cross pollination is a good idea – it should happen here.
Once you have been elected Government and there is a member in opposition that in the Zone when it comes to a particular issue then why not use him/her. There is no law that I know of, that says members of the opposition can not be given a Ministerial portfolio.
These good economic times has happened across the board in most Countries.
Is that why California is broke? Gray Davis messed it up, which in my mind proves you still need to know what you are doing. You make it sound like he just sat back like Scrooge McDuck and just counted money rolling in. Maybe you don't like the fact that he is a Republican, which I understand as I absolutely loathe Hillary. I like Obama though. He seems intelligent and humble enough for the job.
His social issues such as not agreeing on abortion but respecting others rights make me think he has an open mind to everybodys rights. He supports gay rights not marriage though. Like me I'm not a fan but people have the right to be themselves. He is tough on crime and his results speak for themselves. He understands there is still a job to do in Iraq which I applaud him on. He wont tow the party line if he doesnt agree. He is his own man with his own set of ideas
He basically turned New York around. He lowered crime in New York. The homicide rate dropped by an amazing 65-70% . He lowered taxes when he came into power by reducing the size of government and streamlining the way they used the money. All up he made probably 23-24 tax cuts in his tenure. He took a 2.4 billion dollar deficit and turned it around to a 3.2 billion dollar profit. I like his thinking on social issues which I can name if you would like, but that is another post in itself. And he conducts himself well to people and the press. He left as Mayor to battle testicular cancer and beat it. There aren't many angles to attack him from because he hasn't really failed.
Can he run for premier of NSW? We have the same problems as NY when he was elected
Quoted Text
These good economic times has happened across the board in most Countries. It is a character of the times brought about by the resurgence of the Chinese economy. Australia has benefited greatly by this also and skiing behind the wave taking the credit is our 'ittle Johnny.
Isn't Australia strong economy a result of Paul Keating? It is according to Paul Keating!!
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
It'll be interesting, Obama is considered "not black enough" and Clinton although white, is married to Bill who might as well be black.
Lookout for the next installment, Obama fronts up wearing some serious bling with a couple of ho's instead of his advisers and Hillary appearing in the next 50 Cent video shaking her booty with Bill in the background (face painted black) smoking some chronic surrounding by ho's
has an open mind to everybodys rights. He supports gay rights not marriage though.
I can under understand his reluctance to go all the way because the most vocal anti-gay lobby is primarily extreme fundamentalist Christian and you don’t want to go around upsetting them. But, with that quote above, you may as well say you agree with voluntary euthanasia but not suicide – it’s a half-pregnant statement.
I can under understand his reluctance to go all the way because the most vocal anti-gay lobby is primarily extreme fundamentalist Christian and you don’t want to go around upsetting them. But, with that quote above, you may as well say you agree with voluntary euthanasia but not suicide – it’s a half-pregnant statement.
You have to pick until you find something you dont like about him. Maybe he sounds a bit like Kevin each way bet Rudd, on this issue.
Yes, and we must. Someone seeking the most powerful office on earth must be open to severe scrutiny before elected. It’s all a bit late once he has his finger on the trigger. None is perfect, unfortunately, but in modern politics there is no best candidate but rather the least objectionable.
Yes, and we must. Someone seeking the most powerful office on earth must be open to severe scrutiny before elected. It’s all a bit late once he has his finger on the trigger. None is perfect, unfortunately, but in modern politics there is no best candidate but rather the least objectionable.
It is funny how ones mind plays tricks . . I read that sentence and when I looked at the word elected . . my mind filled in the word to make it 'electrocuted' . . . . funny that!!!
I will be out of the country for the first 12 days of BB . how clever am I ! Smart enough to leave the 'dead-heads' behind
It is funny how ones mind plays tricks . . I read that sentence and when I looked at the word elected . . my mind filled in the word to make it 'electrocuted' . . . . funny that!!!
The following story is about D ick Cheney. I didn't want to dedicate an entire thread to this horrible man so chose here to post it.
Cheney to get new pacemaker as battery fails Article from: Agence France-Presse July 28, 2007 09:25am
US Vice President D ick Cheney will undergo an operation to replace his heart pacemaker due to an expiring battery, his office has announced.
Mr Cheney, who has a history of severe heart problems, will see doctors at George Washington University Hospital on Saturday morning to replace the cardioverter-defibrillator implanted to help monitor and maintain his heartbeat, according to a statement from his spokesperson Megan McGinn.
During his annual physical examination in June, Mr Cheney's doctors found that the commonly-named pacemaker's battery was worn down and needed replacing.
His office said the operation will require only "a small incision and no anesthesia,'' but Mr Cheney will be sedated during the procedure.
During the June check-up doctors said that otherwise the pacemaker was functioning properly and that Mr Cheney showed no evidence of new coronary blockage.
Mr Cheney, 66, had his fourth heart attack in 2000, the year he and US President George W. Bush won the White House.
He underwent an angioplasty weeks after being sworn in as vice president in 2001.
In September 2005 he had an operation for blood clots behind each of his knees, and in January 2006 he was hospitalized for shortness of breath.
He has been taking blood thinners after doctors discovered a blood clot behind his left knee following a nine-day trip to Asia in March.
Actor may have mistimed his entrance September 7, 2007
Fred Thompson has finally confirmed he is running for the US presidency, adding a new dimension to the race for the Republican nomination. Anne Davies reports.
IS IT too late for the Die Hard 2 and Law & Order actor Fred Thompson to enter the presidential race and snare the Republican nomination?
Outside of America, it seems implausible that an actor would become the leader of the free world. But here there is a long history of actors becoming politicians and, besides, there is much more to Fred Thompson than acting.
From humble beginnings, Mr Thompson became a successful lawyer, a Washington lobbyist, and served as a senator for eight years. At 65 he has a young wife, Jeri, and two small children, and seems to have recovered after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma two years ago.
He also has the backing of powerful, conservative Republican figures who believe he has true conservative credentials on issues like abortion and gun ownership, coupled with broad appeal.
Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, where his father was a used-car salesman, Mr Thompson trades on his southern charm and slightly folksy personality. In part, the homespun Thompson is the real Thompson. He was married and supporting a child while still at high school.
He showed determination from an early age. After putting himself through college and law school at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, he spent several years in private practice and as a prosecutor. He went on to Washington in 1973 to work on the Watergate investigation. As the Republican-chosen counsel, he was initially seen as the Nixon White House plant on the commission, and viewed with suspicion. But Mr Thompson proved that he was taking his role as an independent investigator seriously and was not prepared to compromise to serve president Richard Nixon's interests.
It was Mr Thompson who advised Senator Howard Baker to ask the question that sealed Nixon's fate: "What did the President know, and when did he know it?"
The foray into acting began accidentally after the film director Roger Donaldson interviewed Mr Thompson while doing research for a movie about a corruption case, and offered him the chance to play himself. He later starred in more than a dozen movies. Their common theme was Mr Thompson cast in leadership roles - as CIA director, chief prosecutor, district attorney.
But has Mr Thompson waited too long to catch up in the 2008 presidential race? A Fox News poll late last month found that the former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani still leads the Republicans with 29 per cent, followed by Mr Thompson at 14 per cent. The former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, is on 11 per cent, with Senator John McCain trailing on 7.3 per cent.
A poll of 500 Republican primary voters in New Hampshire - the first state to hold a primary - in July had Mr Romney leading with 33 per cent, with Mr Giuliani on 17 per cent, Senator McCain on 16 per cent and Mr Thompson on 13 per cent. Giuliani, who is pro-choice and pro-gay rights, might ultimately appeal to the middle ground in a general election, but first he has to win the primary. The real battle will be between Mr Romney and Mr Thompson, who are chasing the same votes, and it is likely to get dirty.
Mr Thompson's activities as a lobbyist and a lawyer will almost certainly get close attention. In 1982, he lobbied the US Congress to deregulate savings and loans institutions.
The legislation was relaxed to allow the sector to invest in potentially more profitable, but riskier, ventures as well as bailing out companies already in trouble.
These measures probably contributed to the sector's collapse in the late 1980s. Given the current turmoil in the markets, due in part to lax regulation, Mr Thompson could be vulnerable. His lobbying for a second client, Equitas, which occurred after he left the Senate in 2004, is also fertile ground. Equitas held billions of dollars to pay off claims from people with asbestos-related illnesses caused by building products.
Mr Thompson helped remove a provision in a 2005 bill that cut the amount Equitas had to pay into the trust fund for victims.
Mr Thompson's personal life will also come under the microscope. MSNBC's late-night host, Joe Scarborough, sent the shock jocks and the blogosphere into a lather earlier this year when he said of Mr Thompson's wife, Jeri: "Does she work the pole?"
The debate continued for days. Was she too sexy to be the first lady? Was she just a trophy wife? In fact, she was a media consultant for Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, a law firm in Washington. She worked for the Republican National Committee before she met Mr Thompson in 1996.
This week articles appeared asking whether Mr Thompson was soft on illegal immigrants - as a senator he had opposed cracking down on their access to services other than emergency services and public education.
But the first issue will be money. Mr Romney has raised $US44 million ($53 million) so far, and spent $US32 million. In his pre-campaign phase he fell short of his goal of $US5 million, raising just $3.4 million. "It's the mother's milk of politics," the Republican strategist Chris Watson said.
I hope he has mistimed it because he is a 33rd degree freemason and is the exact same as D ick Cheney IMHO. Can't stand him in Law and Order and for goodness sake do not make him the Prez of the US. Arnie and Clint are an entirely different kettle of fish.
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I hope he has mistimed it because he is a 33rd degree freemason and is the exact same as D ick Cheney IMHO.
Don't disagree there. For the U.S. to have any hope of restoring it's reputation (or gaining a good one) Obama needs to be the next president. First he must win the endorsement of the Democrats, he's level-headed and anti-war and anti nuclear weapons, unlike them trigger-happy Republicans and Hillary! America is still practising a very old and outdated form of international politics, rule by power and fear - which no-one respects and the world's tolerance of it is wearing thin.
If the republicans or Hillary win I fear the world will head down this unstable path it is on with increased terrorism and nuclear stand-offs between America, Russia, Iran and whoever else wants to play.
On local matters, did you see K-Rudd schmoozing with the Chinese at APEC, speaking Mandarin to them? He's obviously their preferred PM and heading into a decade where China will become an economic and military superpower the best thing for this country would be to have a leader who has a good relationship with China (who have a good relationship with Russia).
But.... is the USA ready to vote in a black President??? I watched Barack Obama and his wife on Oprah yesterday and think he is a man worthy of being the President. He is young, beautifully spoken with excellent ideals. Hmmmm.... does that equate with past Presidents
But.... is the USA ready to vote in a black President???
No. And that is sad. It will take a few decades for the ignorant grey haired men with all the power to die off, the younger generations will then have influence and will be of a completely different mindset.
Quoted from SuziH
I watched Barack Obama and his wife on Oprah yesterday and think he is a man worthy of being the President. He is young, beautifully spoken with excellent ideals. Hmmmm.... does that equate with past Presidents
Spot on. It appears we the public are quite self-destructive when it comes to voting for the right Government. It's like we're in an abusive relationship and we keep going back to the person that treats us the worst because it's 'familiar'.
It's all kicking off in the US ... with the Iowa caucus about to be held. Let's hope this is the start of the end of Bush!
Regardless of which party wins, Bush is finished anyway, a US President can only serve two terms and he has had his two. There will be a new President. However its just a matter of whether he will be Republican or Democrat.
Regards Bluezphere
Never meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup
I understand how the US election works, the US government on the other hand is a different story - I don't understand how the president needs to have things approved by congress, but at the same time the president can over rule on other issues?? As for your comment about the end of Bush, he's served two terms so theres not really any question.
We need a president to lead not to read
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
Hillary Clinton will get in. I don't want it to be so but I am pretty sure that is the way it will go. Obama deserves it but the future does not see it that way. 2012 is looming and the way these recent elections have shaped up and the not so distant US one will, we are on the path to fulfilling prophesy that says the World will not be the same after 2012. (I mean that in a majorly major way, not just changing Governments).
There have been many prophesies on 2012 being a year that begins a new World (not necessarily a better World). Some even say the end of it. Or maybe just the 'End of the World as we know it' as the song goes. I think the most famous/infamous of all prophets, Nostradamus, even mentions it. I googled it and got heaps.... http://www.google.com/search?q.....1B3GGGL_U248enAU248A
My 23 year old son has been telling me for 8-10 years now, about 'it'.
Hillary Clinton will get in. I don't want it to be so but I am pretty sure that is the way it will go. Obama deserves it but the future does not see it that way. 2012 is looming and the way these recent elections have shaped up and the not so distant US one will, we are on the path to fulfilling prophesy that says the World will not be the same after 2012. (I mean that in a majorly major way, not just changing Governments).
If I was an 18 year old voting for the first time i would vote for Obama. I can see how he would appeal to the youth and people seeking a change of direction. Hillary is to divisive. She may win democratic nomination, but i cant see her gaining enough ground in conservative seats to give her a majority come election time.
My tip is still Giuliani. He is not campaigning hard in Iowa at the moment but he will emerge as the front runner for the republicans come Florida. I pick that he will share a joint ticket with McCain. He is a proven leader and has had much success as Mayor of New York before and after 9/11.
There have been many prophesies on 2012 being a year that begins a new World (not necessarily a better World). Some even say the end of it. Or maybe just the 'End of the World as we know it' as the song goes. I think the most famous/infamous of all prophets, Nostradamus, even mentionsit. I googled it and got heaps.... http://www.google.com/search?q.....1B3GGGL_U248enAU248A
My 23 year old son has been telling me for 8-10 years now, about 'it'.
Being the thorough person that i am I looked into this and decided to conduct some research of my own.
I took some peyote and meditated with the ghost of Jim Morrison in the mountains, but came up with nothing. So I smoked some hash and concentrated on my energy crystals, and much to my dismay still nothing. In a final attempt I gave voodoo a shot and spread some chicken blood around my lounge room and studied chicken bone patterns when thrown. I finished it of by reading the leaves in my tea and then i finally had a vision. It didn't have anything to do with world events in 2012 or the rise of Hillary Clinton, but you can PM me if you want the hot tip for the 2008 Melbourne cup.
Disclaimer P.S. Please, please dont take this seriously. This broadcast was not intended to make fun of, belittle or mock anybody. To prove this I have written the words Peace in about one hundred different languages.
I laughed until tears welled in my eyes TPO. Took it in the vein it was intended and had a good laugh. I am not saying I believe all or anything that is said regarding 2012 mind you but I've been told So what IS peyote like? I want to make a little animated skit of you doing all those things in the way we might see on 'The Simpsons'. Thanks for the lift TPO.
Can't say I'm a great believer in prophecies. But I do agree with you Suzi that Hillary will probably clinch it, although I would prefer to see Obama win. I have a feeling Hillary Clinton would be more Bill Clinton.
Funnily enough I cannot see Hilary Clinton getting it, I don't think the Americans are ready for a female president. The bible belt would definately reject the notion, especially as Hilary is a supporter of both abortion and marriage rights for same sex couples.
However I do recall that it was her ihusband who came up with Don't ask, Don't tell" for the US military, which of course did nothing to stop discrimination against gay soldiers. So I am wondering if Hilary's support will be some kind of back handed legislation as well.
Regards Bluezphere
Never meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup
Hmmm, only 100 when there are 194 countries in the world, + 60 odd territories and possibly thousands of languages. And you only said Peace in 100 languages? I think you are discriminating against the rest. Best you go smoke more weed with Jimmy and come up with all the others.
Regards Bluezphere
Never meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup
Funnily enough I cannot see Hilary Clinton getting it, I don't think the Americans are ready for a female president. The bible belt would definately reject the notion, especially as Hilary is a supporter of both abortion and marriage rights for same sex couples.
I agree - I lived in the Bible Belt for a while a few years ago and the attitude was shocking - well, to me anyway. Many men there still think (or did back then) that a woman's place is in the kitchen and in the bedroom ... and I didn't hear too many women disagree!
Guiliani is the former mayor of New York at the time of the 9/11 attacks. I think he would make a great American President and seems like the best candidate for the Republican Party.
Personally I think he will probably be the next president. America is not ready for a woman or a black man as president.
Regards Bluezphere
Never meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup
just curious... Has Bush endorsed a candidate? If not publicly then has there been any hint as to who he favours so far? I haven't seen much on the news regarding his input.
just curious... Has Bush endorsed a candidate? If not publicly then has there been any hint as to who he favours so far? I haven't seen much on the news regarding his input.
No not as of yet. the field is still to large on the republican side. If he had to back someone, I would say it would be McCain or Thompson. Huckabee and Guilliani are too liberal for bush and I just cant see him endorsing Romney.
Talking to my son the other day by phone from Sunny Coast to Perth and I asked the question.... "who do you think will win the US election?" I knew it would lead to a convoluted answer and it did for a full 15 minutes. Bottom line...... Obama, as the US is not wanting another Clinton in the White House (my god it was bad enough we had to endure 2 Bush's) and Hillary is guilty by association I hope he wins. I do not want Clinton to win. At least Obama speaks well and is easy to listen to.
Thompson abandons White House bid (CNN) -- Former Sen. Fred Thompson on Tuesday ended his run for the presidency, coming off the heels of a disappointing third-place finish in South Carolina's GOP primary and heading into the showdown state of Florida next week.
Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee has dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination.
"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States," Thompson said in a statement.
"I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."
Thompson entered the race in September, long after his Republican rivals had announced their candidacies and began raising money. His campaigning style was criticized as lackluster, and he was never able to capitalize on the anticipation supporters had built before he announced that he was getting into the race.
Thompson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and represented Tennessee for eight years.
Short of cash and sinking in national polls, Thompson had staked his hopes on South Carolina, where a strong showing could have reinvigorated his flagging campaign. Thompson played to the voters as a staunch conservative and a son of the South. While he did draw some evangelical voters from one-time Baptist preacher and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, it wasn't enough to pull him into contention for the nomination.
He finished with 16 percent of the vote. Sen. John McCain won Saturday's contest with 33 percent, followed by Huckabee with 30 percent.
"He's really been good lately, but it's too late," CNN analyst Bill Bennett said of Thompson after South Carolina returns started to come in. "If you're a Southern conservative and you can't make it in South Carolina, it's over."
Earlier, Thompson finished third in Iowa, fifth in Michigan and Nevada, sixth in New Hampshire and a distant second to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Wyoming.
Thompson teased Republicans all last summer after forming a fundraising committee for a possible presidential campaign on June 1.
When he announced in September that he was formally entering the race, it was well after the other Republicans had launched their campaigns, and analysts said the late entry may have hurt him.
Thompson is an actor best known for his role as District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's "Law & Order."
Five candidates remain in the Republican race -- McCain, Huckabee, Romney, Rep. Ron Ron Paul of Texas and former New York Mayor Rudy Rudy Giuliani.
From what little I understand of all this, is that it is likely neither will get enough to win outright. Hillary won two big states a couple of days ago, Obama won a swall state today (Wyoming I think). Theres also the two states that are ineligible to vote!! Wot tha
I thought Le Tour de France was the toughest race in the world, but even they would be in the beer tents by now.
It's such a long process. Can you imagine them doing it here with Brendan Nelson and I dunno Malcolm Turnbull battling it out for a year just to determine who is the opposition leader?
I saw one commentator on CNN remark that the longer Clinton and Obama slug it out, the more presidential John McCain looks. Not far from wrong, I think.
I saw one commentator on CNN remark that the longer Clinton and Obama slug it out, the more presidential John McCain looks. Not far from wrong, I think.
I can't see McCain loosing even though the Republicans have looked like a long shot most of the time due to the current administration. Whether it ends up being Obama or Clinton running for the democrats if you cut right through it Joe average is going to be squirmish about either.
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
I just participated in an online poll asking if I thought Obama would make a good President. I voted and the results were two thirds of voters said 'Yes' and one third said 'No'. Recently I was told Barak Obama is a Muslim. Now, I am not against Muslims as a whole but there are Radical Elements which don’t think twice about killing themselves in a suicide bomb blast killing 50 plus innocents all for Allah. I have done a bit of study of the origins of this religion and of Muhammad and as per usual humans have read these teachings and construed them to their own interpretation/s. The Bible suffers the same treatment by 'radicals' of Christian Faith. Type the word radical into your Microsoft document and then go to the Thesaurus to see exactly what words can replace Radical…. EG: fundamental, extremist, militant, fanatic, revolutionary…. You get the picture. Now if Barak Obama is a Muslim and by some miracle get’s into the White House… is he going to cave into the fundamentalist Muslim point of view or be coerced into taking a more Islamic stance? I am just thinking out loud here and am worried to a degree if this could come to pass. I actually admire the ‘normal’, ‘regular’ Muslims and their faithfulness to Islam. Look at our friend Silly's family and Sillygostly himself. There are many more Muslims in our midst than we realise because not all of them wear the traditional dress of Islam and in a crowd could not be singled out as such. Which is as it should be. Back on track, can anyone illuminate me on Barak Obama's faith? Or have I been lead up the Garden Path.
I'm not quite sure, but I think he was raised a Muslim in Kenya up to a point, and then in the United States, but came to a point as many people do of questioning his religious dogma as well as his faith itself, and is no longer a Muslim. I wouldn't be surprised if he's converted to Christianity because to call yourself one is beneficial to a large chunk of the American vote when you get into federal politics.
I had decided that I wasn't going to vote in this next election as a result of not really knowing what's going on in the country anymore, but I'm sort of afraid not to now even if he gets well rated to win as, although I think today it makes less and less differance anyway, I'm sort of hoping for a situation where Democrats can get some balance back into the works after 8 very right wing years of Bush.
I was thinking this morning though, that in any 2 party system, and this seems to apply much more in the US, that things are messed up because you don't have an all around balance. The idea is to have an all around balance of politicians as people but you don't.. Democrats sort of have to stick by their party's policies and so do Republicans, so it becomes a black and white world on every decision and we become, over time, a people of black and white thinking when it comes to our political views on more things than we would perhaps otherwise be that way about. Democrats are for abortion, against the war in Iraq, for gun control, for a more socialized medical and education system as well as elderly care yet the elderly are the first people to get shafted no matter who takes office, against the death penalty, for small business (sort of joke these days), would like to tax the more wealthy more in order to give cuts to the poor and middle class, etc etc, and if you just insert the exact opposite then you get Republican, which sounds sort of nasty but they have their reasons that aren't without logic. It's a fairly stupid system, yet in general things just always come down to 2 parties weather it's 2 major parties or 2 almost exclusivley. In the United states the only other ones I'm aware of are the real radical ones like The Libertarian party, the Nazi party (freedom of expression at its finest), and things like that. It seems that in a world of capitalism run by corporations and bought politicians, nothing good will happen quickly. I was at the corner store the other day and thought to myself that including the land, it was a Mobile station, that including the land it was on, and every single product inside the store from potato chips to milk was a corporate affair of one type or another, and by law their job is to make investors money and that by nature it makes the rule of supply and demand dictating price something that isn't followed when it doesn't need to be, for example when it's easier for everyone to just keep prices high. I'd better stop rambling before I get into buying politicians and bullying governments. I'm hugely off topic already.
I think it's not anything to be worried about, that the guy was Muslim, and if it is an influence then hopefully it would be one to end the terrorist paranoia in the US that's making it possible to sell to the people the idea of random invasion... that's overstating the US mentality but there's some truth to it. I doubt it would be any kind of influence at all, and the idea of him taking office is a plausible one. I know that the really long slap fight between him and Hilary hurt both of their chances, and the best bet being a democratic win right now, his biggest obsticles are things like being black, and as stated with the religious issue. Also bullets... a lot of people would rather shoot a black guy than see him take office, and many people feel once a Muslim always a Muslim and that it's a disreputable thing to be. It's a sick cruel world.
Obama has been a devout Christian for over 25 years. His father was a Muslim and throughout his childhood Obama attended a number of Muslim and then Catholic schools. Obama and his family have been attending a christian parish in Chicago for over 20 years which alot of this was made public recently with the contrversy of Rev. Jeremy Wright, his pastor and former mentor at the Parish.
Now if Barak Obama is a Muslim and by some miracle get’s into the White House… is he going to cave into the fundamentalist Muslim point of view or be coerced into taking a more Islamic stance?
I'm surprised that nobody's commented about McCain. He's a Christian but I don't see anyone commenting about christian fundamentalists.
Yeah I was surprised no one did either. It's not really politically harmful to be a Christian though, and it is helpful with some vote. It's a shame to see that it's such an issue at all, or that because someone affiliates with anything at all ends up causing worry that they're going to run a fanatic's course. 80% of the world is religious and there's quite a few different ones out there, but the online paranoia about religion being such a detriment overall is endorsed by the minority of even what's left over from that number, so I think it's over reacting to listen to it and worry about it. The time to think about it might be when someone is actually campaigning on that point rather than it being brought up and having to answer the questions to it, like we saw with Bush in the western world and what we're led to presume is the case in some parts of the Muslim world.
Maybe the best outcome Australians can hope for from the US election, over a 4 year period, is one that doesn't involve a militaristic tyrant, I think. It looks like the economy there will stay crashed for an expensive time to come, and hopefully sorting that out won't mean meddling in everyone's business. Good to see the Rudd government taking some initiative with soldiers in Iraq. It's almost as if, but not quite, someone representing Australians in office actually took responsibility for them being there rather than entirely blaming it on some other country, an ally, overseas.
If the republicans are hoping on Christian votes to get elected then I suppose they will regret turning back all those Catholics coming across the border from Mexico.
Coz joe average can't relate to either of them. Obama is african american and Hilary is a woman. joe average in america is usually an anglo-saxon christian/jewish (if you wanna go by stereotypes).
Coz joe average can't relate to either of them. Obama is african american and Hilary is a woman. joe average in america is usually an anglo-saxon christian/jewish (if you wanna go by stereotypes).
It will be interesting to see what the turnout is this time. I would think that it would be an easy Democratic win if it's a normal voter turnout, but it probably will not be typical this time.
With Hilary there would have been a large number of women voters won over as it's been a real question as to when we would have the first woman president. Her downfall I think was a real stink of an overconfidence. I saw her interviewed before all the primary campaining and she seemed sure of win all the way back then. I was personally annoyed when I saw it and felt dissapointed that it's what the Democratic party was offering.
With Obama, there should be record numbers of Black voters appearing to vote, remember it isn't mandantory in the US. At the same time, there will be a large number of southern White people who will vote racially... but it doesn't matter because those are Republican votes anyway. Mexican and other Latin community voters don't turn out in as great of numbers either, but they usually vote Democrat by way of economics and the US right wing is not liked in the part of the world those migrants come from.
I was expecting, a while back, that this would be the sort of incredible landslide that put Clinton in office, when at the time people just wanted someone new and the Republican party was held in low regard. I think Bush today has led the country into such a bad position, that people aren't holding the party responsible so much and want any change they can get and are thus looking at McCain as a viable contender. When Clinton won, he wasn't running agianst fresh meat, but against George Bush Senior's second term. I wish it was the situation here, that George Jr. was facing a second term.
The US seems to be coming down to the swing voters in the past two elections, meaning that they've been close enough that it's fair to say that amoung those turning out, most are voting their party, and the deciding vote is whoever wins over those who don't have one or think they're party has an incompetant candidate (hard to believe Bush took the second term last time). This time we'll be seeing an increase in black voters. I would expect a Democratic win, but a real wildcard is that the economy is not well and it plays into people's fears, and this could make it go either way. I'm optimistic of a Democratic win. I don't however, know what the best thing is... so me, as someone who votes Democrat out of the ideology of Domestic economics, and doesn't look at global economics, is himself unsure of what is best. I think many people will feel the same. I'll still vote Democrat. Many people will just vote for who they find is more Charismatic.
The minority vote is a huge thing btw. The stereotype may be white, but that's inflated by the fact that it's where the money is in the society.
I registered to vote again today, speaking of racial issues, and one of the questions was what race I am. It's funny because in the US people are obsessed with gathering those statistics, and on some forms it's actually required. On this one it was optional, but job applications ask it for example, and it isn't so employers can look at it and say "Pfft! Hispanic" and throw it in the garbage, but because they have to meet guidlines of hiring minorities or they get fined. Everything there asks your race. It's weird now. Also sometimes a form will ask your sexuality and have tick boxes for gay straight and bisexual. You're afraid not to answer because you don't want to be discriminated against as if you didn't answer becuase you're gay and going to be problematic and snap your fingers, like women on Oprah, in other people's faces.
Coz joe average can't relate to either of them. Obama is african american and Hilary is a woman. joe average in america is usually an anglo-saxon christian/jewish (if you wanna go by stereotypes).
50% of Americans are women; why can't they relate to Hillary!
The minority vote is a huge thing btw. The stereotype may be white, but that's inflated by the fact that it's where the money is in the society.
Most Democrats and Republicans will vote for their Political Party regardless of who the candidate is. The swingers or “minority” voters are really the ones who decide the election. Democracy, as we have it, is really a government of the minority. What Obama and McCain have to do is determine which minority group to pitch their campaign to. A good example here is the racist vote courted by Howard with the “children overboard” deception. I doubt very much Howard would have been re-elected without the racist vote.
I meant the minority vote being non-white voters. They are usually Democrat votes in the US. There's really a lot of variables in this election which makes it hard to predict.
If this were the case then these minority groups wouldn't be so minor. The age of ethnic purity is long gone; it disappeared when our ancestors left Africa in search of the brave new world. Perhaps the white Anglo Christian is itself now the minority in North America.
While the Anglo Christian still dominates rural and central States the other ethnic groups tend to congregate in slum like communities in major metropolitan areas - There is a logical reason for this: to protect themselves from perceived threats from other ethnic groups including Anglo Christians.
If McCain feels that they are going to lose the election early in the campaign, I’m sure Barack’s ethnicity will be used by the Republicans to whip up some ethnic hysteria. If the racist card doesn’t work, then we can confidently assume that the American people are a lot more discerning then the rest of us give them credit for.
Racism is a thing that happens in a bizarre way in the US. After growing into an adult there and then living here for 6 years, I can't fit into the racist norm of either country and find each one weird for the reason of the other one, if that makes sense, so I sort of have to concede that I've lost insight to the extent that you're talking about. I would have once felt I had it but now I'm confused about it.
I will comment though, that Africans didn't generally come in search of a new life, they were brought there the same way sheep are shipped to the Middle East, to serve as slaves. Also, I almost went looking for statistics earlier but I'm not sure if I'd find unbiased stuff, as far as white people being a minority goes. It was a real fear when I was in high school that by this date it would be the case. "The Mexicans are going to take over." I had a friend who was sort of a poser white supremecist, and that was the thing he'd be on about. I don't know if it was true or not. It may well have been true to say at the time given the trends at the time, and i don't know what the proportion there is now.
The inner cities are economic consequences. It's because people who aren't white are less likely to have money. Government housing has almost no white people in it. It's why it's a Democratic demographic. They just don't historically turn out in great numbers when it's time to vote.
My fault MD, what I meant was when Homo erectus left Africa 1.7 million years ago. It is from this point that different human/ethnic species started to interbreed resulting in the different human variations we have today. The irony is that those redneck bigoted people across the world are actually related to the “negro” - the laugh is on them!
Recently ‘our’ Liz Hayes on ’60 Minutes’ followed her origins in a DNA search. We learned that we all come from those cute little bushman in Africa. All our DNA leads back to there. I personally don’t care if my ancestors were Aliens. I am here in the best country in the world enjoying my life.
We’re not actually descendant from monkeys, but monkeys and we do share the same ancestry. At some point in time the monkeys, gorillas and humans etc. went their separate ways. While we may be related to monkeys, we are not descendant from them. We are different! We are talking monkeys.
We’re not actually descendant from monkeys, but monkeys and we do share the same ancestry. At some point in time the monkeys, gorillas and humans etc. went their separate ways. While we may be related to monkeys, we are not descendant from them. We are different! We are talking monkeys.
And you are an Alien ...to every species born on another planet, moon or celestial body other than earth. Or if you were a Mexican and just crossed the border into the USA - I do believe they call their immigrants "aliens".
John McCain has chosen his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin who fiercely opposes abortion and same-sex marriage. She supports the death penalty and the teaching of creationism in schools. Also she is an enthusiast for the outdoors and a gun owner and opposes environmental restrictions on drilling in Alaska. Her combative nature has also caused controversy. In Alaska, she has a long list of political enemies.
She is also under investigation into whether she intervened to sack a state trooper who was involved in a divorce and custody battle with her sister.
Palin is alleged to have transferred public safety commissioner Walter Monegan to a job at the state alcohol board last month after he refused to sack the police official.
Last night’s news was saying she is a Member of the National Rifle Association and supports gun ownership. Hmmmm. Is the race for President of the USA the choice between the lesser of two evils. Is John McCain a good and decent man or is he one of the Bush administration’s cronies? Is Barak Obama a good and decent man who stands for ALL Americans?
Palin sounds like the Republican poster child, reading your write up I couldn't help of thinking when Stan took his son to the republican meeting on American Dad! and Steve told him "Dad! You're the most abortion-hating, Stem-Cell-research-opposing, deficit-loving, affirmative-action-despising, Bible-thumping xenophone I know!"
But quite frankly I'd probably rather the Rebublicans than the touchy-feely BS of the Democrats. Jeezus could you imagine Obama holding a strategy session /press confrence with Rudd?!?!? They'd probably proclaim to have designs for a warp drive within 20 minutes
October 17, 2008 11:41am Article from: Agence France-Presse
JOHN McCain has confronted his chief tormentor on comedy television, demonstrating he can still take a joke, despite the mounting pressure of the US presidential election race.
Senator McCain's appearance on the Late Show in New York ended a feud with host David Letterman dating back to the Republican candidate's failure to appear in the CBS television studio last month.
See how Dave dealt with the no-show then:
Asked by Letterman why he hadn't come, McCain dead-panned: "Can I give you an answer? I screwed up".
The sight of Senator McCain grovelling before the comedian tickled the audience at the taping of the show, due to be shown in the next few hours.
"I have a son in the Marine Corps and I asked him to Fedex his helmet," Senator McCain quipped as he came on stage.
There was also laughter when Senator McCain, a former Vietnam War POW, complained about Letterman's grilling. "I haven't had so much fun since my last interrogation," he said.
The light-hearted session was in contrast to a tense final debate against Democrat rival Barack Obama yesterday, where many analysts said Senator McCain appeared angry and irritated.
On a more serious note, Senator McCain told Letterman that he did not approve of increasingly negative, sometimes violent anti-Obama remarks shouted out by "fringe" elements at his rallies. "I admire and respect Senator Obama. He's inspired America," Senator McCain said.
However, he defended and repeated a claim by his running mate Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, that Senator Obama had "palled around with terrorists". "He did," Senator McCain said.
The allegation refers to a modest professional association in recent times between Senator Obama and Bill Ayers, a professor who was a bomb-throwing extreme leftist in the 1960s, when Senator Obama was still a child.
Senator McCain brushed off Letterman's question as to why Mrs Palin refers to terrorists in the plural, simply laughing: "There's millions of words said in a campaign".
The Republican also stood firm on his support for Mrs Palin. Her image as a moose-hunting Alaskan right winger and her apparently limited knowledge of foreign affairs has been mercilessly lampooned by comedians.
But Senator McCain said "she's a reformer, she's the most popular governor in the United States".
He indicated she would make a long awaited appearance on the television show most famous for making fun of her - Saturday Night Live. "I think she is" going to appear, he said.
Can't wait till this is all over tomorrow and Obama has won
Please God Hear Our Prayers.... Thank you.
Ya know.... after the way Bush Jr. became the Prez I do not have much faith in the 'voting process'. Sad to say. Have they shot D ick Cheney yet (in the bum or anywhere else). At least Obama is NOT a 33rd degree Freemason!!! (I hope)
Voters greeted with long lines, malfunctioning machines November 5, 2008 - 5:07AM
NEW YORK - Voting problems surfaced in several areas early today when people turned out in droves as presidential balloting commenced in the eastern United States, as long lines and malfunctioning machines greeted voters.
Americans have kept a close eye on election problems recently. In 2000, the results of the election were held up until the US Supreme Court ultimately decided to halt a recount over contested votes in Florida, leaving George W Bush the winner. In Ohio, there was turmoil in 2004 over malfunctioning machines and long lines.
Today, voters had to use paper ballots because of problems with electronic voting machines in some New Jersey precincts. And in New York, Board of Elections spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez-Rivera said many people began lining up as early as 4am (2000 AEDT) at some polling places to avoid long lines, leading to erroneous reports that some sites were not opening on time.
Poll worker John Ritch in Chappaqua, New York, said: "By 7.30 this morning, we had as many as we had at noon in 2004."
Gov. Ed Rendell urged voters in Pennsylvania to "hang in there" as state and country officials braced for a huge turnout. More than 160 people were lined up to vote by the time polls opened at First Presbyterian Church in Allentown. "I could stay an hour and a half at the front end or three hours at the back end," joked Ronald Marshall, a black Democrat.
Hundreds converged on polling precincts in Missouri, a crucial battleground state. Norma Storms, a 78-year-old resident of Raytown, said her driveway was filled with cars left by voters who couldn't get into nearby parking lots.
"I have never seen anything like this in all my born days," she said. "I am just astounded."
In Virginia, where a Democrat has not won the presidential race since 1964, several counties experienced paper jams and balky touch-screen devices. In Richmond, a precinct opening was delayed because the person who had the keys overslept. Hundreds of people swarming the branch library cheered when its doors finally opened.
Ohio, which experienced extreme voting problems in the last presidential race, had some jammed paper problems in Franklin County. "We're taking care of things like that," said elections spokesman Ben Piscitelli. "But there's nothing major or systemic."
Perhaps the most bizarre barrier to voting was a car which hit a utility pole in St Paul, Minnesota, site of September's Republican convention. The accident knocked power out for over an hour to two polling locations. Ramsey County officials said voting continued at those sites, and the ballots were kept secure until the power was restored and the ballots could be run through an electronic machine.
Lawsuits alleging voter suppression already had surfaced in Virginia, a hotly contested state. A judge refused late Monday to extend poll hours or add voting machines to black precincts in some areas. The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, in a federal lawsuit, demanded those changes, saying minority neighbourhoods would experience overwhelming turnout and there weren't enough electronic machines.
US District Judge Richard Williams denied the motion for a preliminary injunction, but ordered election officials to publicise that people in line by 7pm, the polls' closing time, would be allowed to cast ballots.
Republican John McCain's campaign sued the Virginia electoral board hours before polls opened, trying to force the state to count late-arriving military ballots from overseas.
McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, asked a federal judge to order state election officials to count absentee ballots mailed from abroad that arrive as late as November 14.
What is uncommon about today's contest is the sheer number of voters expected to descend on more than 7,000 election jurisdictions across the country. Voter registration numbers are up 7.3 per cent from the last presidential election.
"We have a system that is traditionally set up for low turnout," said Tova Wang of the government watchdog group Common Cause. "We're going to have all these new voters, but not a lot of new resources. The election directors just have very little to work with."
I just saw the very very end of 10 news. It showed a very subdued Obama, it showed the Reverend Jessie crying. I assumed that Obama had lost. I believed that strings had been pulled and the Old Coot McCain had won and that horrid woman would be Vice Prez When I looked on the CNN website http://edition.cnn.com and saw the results, that Obama has won the Presidential Election, I literally cried. WOW! Watch out world, we are now in the 21st Century!
Two years ago, Barack Obama was barely a blip on America's political radar.
But, with a brilliant, disciplined campaign, a vast amount of money and a favourable political climate, the junior senator from Illinois has risen to the most powerful job in the world.
His campaign will be a template for those seeking to replace him.
It was, even Republican strategists admit, a technically perfect ground campaign.
The money was key. Mr Obama realised during the primary contest that he had developed an extremely broad donor base, which he could keep going back to for money.
So, he rejected federal funding for his campaign and the financial limits that came with it.
With the help of Facebook founder Chris Hughes - who devised an innovative internet fundraising system - the campaign eventually attracted more than three million donors. They donated about $650m (£403m) - more than both presidential contenders in 2004 combined.
Mr Obama had the money for four times as many campaign offices as Mr McCain and a vast army of campaign staff and volunteers. They developed and exploited a vast database of information about potential donors and voters in every key state.
Everyone who visited the Obama website was asked to sign up to get more information. Everyone who did so was asked to contribute, or volunteer. If they did, they received several follow-up calls and messages asking for more money, or more assistance.
That fundraising ground campaign left him well equipped for the air war.
TV advertising is the life-blood of a campaign which has to span some 3.5m square miles (9m sq km) and 300 million people, and Mr Obama had no problem buying airtime.
Masterful operation
In some swing states in the final weeks of the campaign, he was outspending Mr McCain by a ratio of four to one. His team again tapped into the internet, targeting ads at those online.
They even bought ad-space embedded in video games. Mr Obama could afford to campaign in Republican strongholds and force Mr McCain to spread his limited resources ever thinner, sucking his resources away from swing states.
At the same time the campaign was masterful at getting out the vote. It ran a huge registration drive for likely Democrats - adding more than 300,000 people to the voter rolls in Florida alone.
Realising that so many new voters could overwhelm polling places on voting day, the campaign made early voting a priority in states where it is allowed. More people cast their votes before election day this year than ever before - more than 29 million in 30 states, according to preliminary data.
All of this worked of course because of Barack Obama's appeal as a candidate. He is a superb orator who can work a crowd in the Bill Clinton tradition.
His image was wholesome; a self-made family man with one house, one car - and one family. It was a contrast to John McCain who divorced the wife who waited for him through the Vietnam war, married an heiress and couldn't remember how many houses he had.
Anti-Bush candidate
Mr Obama was able to connect more deeply with more diverse voting blocks. He struck a chord with younger voters, won over Hispanic and Jewish voters who had been Republicans in the past, and of course got out the black vote like no president before him.
Mr Obama's single, consistent message of change was appealing when almost nine out of 10 American's believed their country was "on the wrong track".
He could easily position himself as the anti-Bush candidate in a way Mr McCain struggled to do. President Bush had lower approval ratings than the disgraced Richard Nixon, and Mr Obama's relentless campaign message was that John McCain had voted with him 90% of the time.
The polls suggested more people trusted Mr Obama to fix the economy and when the financial crisis struck he was best placed to take political advantage of it.
His persistent focus on how to help those most impoverished by eight years of George Bush's leadership seemed a better fit for the times; a sharp contrast to the kind of tax cuts which were now a central plank of the McCain campaign and would disproportionately benefit the wealthy.
Ultimately, even Mr McCain's great political strength as a war hero with decades of foreign experience was eclipsed.
Mr Obama's selection of the veteran foreign policy expert, Senator Joe Biden, as his running mate helped close the experience gap.
He insisted too that judgement was more important than experience and over the course of the campaign the political consensus seemed to shift to his ideas.
Mr Obama called for a withdrawal timeline in Iraq, defending Afghanistan's borders by launching raids inside Pakistan when required and talking to America's enemies.
Slowly and quietly even the Bush Administration came to accept those ideas, while John McCain seemed ever more isolated as he continued to reject them.
Barack Obama said he didn't "look like other Presidents on the dollar bill".
Although that was a reference to his colour, he was different in so many ways to the established political aristocracy, that in a year when Americans were craving something new, his differences turned out to be his part of his strength.
I just saw the very very end of 10 news. It showed a very subdued Obama, it showed the Reverend Jessie crying. I assumed that Obama had lost. I believed that strings had been pulled and the Old Coot McCain had won and that horrid woman would be Vice Prez When I looked on the CNN website[url] http://edition.cnn.com/[/url] and saw the results, that Obama has won the Presidential Election, I literally cried. WOW! Watch out world, we are now in the 21st Century!
I hope you don't say that just because he's black
I couldn't decide who I'd vote for.. probably Obama, so yay!
Bush won unfairly, wasn't it that al gore actually won?
USA really needed a change, so this is good even if he is bad.
North Carolina is SOOO close, their results are coming in soon. 0.2% in it atm. I must say I'm surprised a lot of the Northern states voted Mccain, I'd have pegged the Southern states to be the more conventional, stereotypical American types.
Ooh Mccain has Missouri, by 0.1%
The biggest margin in Washington DC.. wow! Obama - 210,403 .. Mccain - 14800 ... 92%!!!
KOGELO, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyans in Barack Obama's ancestral homeland sang and danced with joy on Wednesday as the Illinois senator they see as one of their own became the first black U.S. president.
A tropical downpour overnight failed to dampen spirits as hundreds gathered in a field at Obama's late father's village to watch the results relayed to a big screen.
As a pink dawn lit the sky, they clapped and cheered as key swing states fell to the youthful Democratic candidate they see as east Africa's favourite adopted son.
Then came the news they were waiting for: Obama had won.
"We are going to the White House! We are going to the White House!" relatives sang at the top of their voices as they danced around the family's modest homestead, pausing only to hug each other and hoist small children into the air.
Well-wishers, family members and armies of local and foreign journalists have descended on Kogelo, the tiny village in western Kenya where Obama's 87-year-old grandmother lives.
"We haven't slept all night," Biosa Obama, Obama's 39-year-old sister-in-law told Reuters, dancing on the spot. "I don't know what to say. This is just too amazing."
Nearby, a villager walked past wearing a huge top hat made of newspaper clippings of Obama's picture.
Since 2004, when Obama was running for the Senate in Illinois, the Harvard-trained lawyer and civil rights activist has enjoyed rock star status in the east African nation.
Born in Hawaii to a white mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father, Obama is idolised by many the way the Irish saw U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s: as one of their own who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
Babies have been named after him, drinkers knock back "Senator" beers in his honour, pop stars sing his praises and "Obama: The Musical" opened in the capital Nairobi on Sunday.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared Thursday a national holiday to let Kenyans celebrate Obama's success.
"We the Kenyan people are immensely proud of your Kenyan roots. Your victory is not only an inspiration to millions of people all over the world, but it has special resonance with us here in Kenya," Kibaki said in a statement.
Many Africans fervently hope his victory will mean more U.S. support for local development and an improvement in living conditions for the majority on the world's poorest continent.
But analysts have cautioned that Obama will be able to do little to bring tangible benefits to Africa, and that he does not have a strong track record of interest in the continent.
For now, relatives in Kenya are still trying to take it all in -- and planning for his first visit on Air Force One.
"It's breaking news, he's won," said his half-brother Sadiq Obama. "As you can see, everyone is happy - I'm ecstatic."
There's an excellent summary of votes here. Which does not bode well for white males over 65 if Mccain is so bad, I'll say that. His overwhelming win with the Christians puts me off him certainly, but then Obama thrashed him in the young people and I'm not sure if that's a good thing either.
As if Rudd is doing better than Howard. Obama may do though.
Has anyone heard of Prop 8 in CA?
83% of church goers voted for it Californians who never attend church were 14 percent in favor and 86 percent against.
It was favoured by non-college people But rejected by College educated people 55 percent of white voters and 52 percent of Hispanics voted against African-Americans voted for Proposition 8 by a 69 percent to 31 percent margin. Those 69% can never complain of racism again.
And the link between church and education.. interesting. (eg, churchgoers hate gays, non-educated people hate gays.. also blacks hate gays)
Wait so the result on prop 8 is a yes? Hmm we may now have a black man in the white house but I guess the white house won't be painted pink anytime soon... makes me sick.
I still stick by my proposition though that they shouldn't get "married" so all the churchies shut their mouths, and LGB people can have something exactly the same as marriage but just call it another name so the stupid churchies can't complain.
Lets see Obama bring home all those big promises, Just like Rudd has for Australia...........
Aquamonkey.... I am sorry you are such a pessimist, have such a 'glass half empty' view on so many things. Before Obama has even drawn breath you are believing that he is going to be a rotton Prez. You hated Rudd before he became PM of Australia and now it's Obama.
I think Rudd is doing a pretty good damned job considering 'these times'. I for one am grateful that McCain and his gun totin', bible bashing, side kick did not get in. I cried from relief when I learned Obama got in.
SuziH can you run over to Rudd's topic and fill in the good he's bringing to the country, apart from now realising their is a financial crisis. How are those lower fuel and petrol prices that were rambled off constantly pre-election??
Seriously Obama's done a lot of talk about "change" their isn't a whole heap of policy behind it. thgis comment was sent in by a reader at news.com.au
Obama is Rudd cross the energiser bunny - twice the hype, still no change, but the nonsense and rhetoric keeps on going and going and going.....
If I actually see him do something I'll be taking note but like with our own fearless leader smoke and mirrors doesn't do much for me
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
Well Aqua... who do you think would do a better job? If all you are going to do is complain about them without resolve what's the point? Both Rudd and Obama, I believe, have inspired both countries younger generations to care about politics and care about how their country is run after being oppressed and ignored by other leaders (eg. early electoral registrations and a focus on the 30+ ages). This is one of the greatest positives that has come out of them running and ultimately winning the elections. If as youve said is the wrong decision then so be it, at least next time the younger generations will know more about our political system and listen closer.
It was time for a change in the US and Obama was the best avaible, not that he had much of an option against him. I hope he does well. As for Rudd, I dont like him, never have done and dont think I ever will, BUT, that dont mean I aint gonna accept that pensioner bonus next month
Well Aqua... who do you think would do a better job? If all you are going to do is complain about them without resolve what's the point? Both Rudd and Obama, I believe, have inspired both countries younger generations to care about politics and care about how their country is run after being oppressed and ignored by other leaders (eg. early electoral registrations and a focus on the 30+ ages). This is one of the greatest positives that has come out of them running and ultimately winning the elections. If as youve said is the wrong decision then so be it, at least next time the younger generations will know more about our political system and listen closer.
Out of McCain, Obama, Hillary and whoever else was in the race to be the republican candidate - I hope the one I can't remember had something on offer! Australia wise anyone not a Labor MP would do better. I was going to make that 'federal' labor MP, but they might then call in one of the criminals running NSW.
But you're right about the younger generations given the reality bomb that's going off at the moment (is the jobless rate increasing again under a labor government) I think they are going to care about the next election, they'll be wanting someone to scrape them out of a sh1thole.
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
Logged
. Obama, don't know enough about him to comment. 
thats true and funny.
. . funny that!!! 
Or if you were a Mexican and just crossed the border into the USA - I do believe they call their immigrants "aliens".
