Thread: US Presidential Election - Peanut Gallery

Feel free to drop in if you want to discuss the presidential election in the US. The election will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

The race between Obama and Romney appears to be extremely close, with some polls placing Obama in the lead and other polls placing Romney ahead.

The BBC ran a poll of all the polls and shows that the majority show Obama leading by a narrow margin.

BBC News - Obama v Romney: US election poll tracker

Collating all the results and factoring in the electoral college, Nate Silver's famous blog FiveThirtyEight gives a bit of a different prediction.

Originally Posted by zxc

Collating all the results and factoring in the electoral college, Nate Silver's famous blog FiveThirtyEight gives a bit of a different prediction.

I would love to join the discussion, Deb.
Sadly, I only know that Obama lives in the White House, that he has a cute wife and two children, and as he speaks, he looks first left, then right, left, and right, and never straight forward.

They are pretty much the same as far as I can tell. It all seems a bit meaningless, a charade.
For that reason this election is not interesting, even though the most powerful president on earth is being elected.
Obama was supposed to be a fresh breeze, a democrat, black etc.
But his foreign policy continued in the same way and the drone attacks started.

Originally Posted by Hanna

They are pretty much the same as far as I can tell. It all seems a bit meaningless, a charade.
For that reason this election is not interesting, even though the most powerful president on earth is being elected.
Obama was supposed to be a fresh breeze, a democrat, black etc.
But his foreign policy continued in the same way and the drone attacks started.

Well, you're correct about that. With either candidate, the drone attacks will continue. I have mixed feelings about it, myself. I think they're a necessary tool against terrorism, but then again sometimes innocents suffer. It's hard to fair to either argument, I think.

А я сравниваю, исходя из одного: кто из них меньше нам опасен. И особой разницы не чувствую. Инерция общественного мнения США и реальная власть капитала США заставят обоих проводить примерно одинаковую политику по отношению к нам.
Полюбить Россию могут заставить только катастрофы типа Второй Мировой Войны. Или падение астероида, когда вдруг окажется, что Сибирь - это единственное убежище для человечества.
Я ещё 4 года назад здесь говорил, что Обама ничего нового нам не принесёт.

Кстати, в связи с выборами недавно показали наших бывших граждан, сейчас проживающих в Чикаго. Владельцев магазина с русским товаром. Я подумал: "наверное, это Лампада".

Originally Posted by Юрка

А я сравниваю, исходя из одного: кто из них меньше нам опасен. И особой разницы не чувствую. Инерция общественного мнения США и реальная власть капитала США заставят обоих проводить примерно одинаковую политику по отношению к нам.

I have to admit, I'm confused sometimes why the relations between the US and Russia are so bad. So often we want the same things, why isn't there more common ground?

Originally Posted by kgcole

So often we want the same things, why isn't there more common ground?

Too much of the ocean in between
I believe for the last 60 years distance between Russia and the US has been measured with the range of intercontinental missiles far too often. People in both countries were under illusion that they supposed to hate each other and governments of both countries surely want to keep people busy thinking about something distant rather than local

Originally Posted by Hanna

They are pretty much the same as far as I can tell. It all seems a bit meaningless, a charade.
For that reason this election is not interesting, even though the most powerful president on earth is being elected.
Obama was supposed to be a fresh breeze, a democrat, black etc.
But his foreign policy continued in the same way and the drone attacks started.

It's obvious to anyone who isn't brainwashed and conditioned. But, most people are stupid and have their heads in the sand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZLqsRqKFyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uh_sXZ6URc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaOg69wD28M

I've suggested to people here (in chat) to watch any one of these videos but AFAIK, no one did. Big surprise. Oh well, what can you expect of humans, right?

Originally Posted by kgcole

Well, you're correct about that. With either candidate, the drone attacks will continue. I have mixed feelings about it, myself. I think they're a necessary tool against terrorism, but then again sometimes innocents suffer. It's hard to fair to either argument, I think.

I think the argument is simple. The drone attacks are political and a violation of law and ethics. There are accusations that some are done without support of Congress and/or are Constitution violations.

Also, the U.S. has a 16 (some say more) trillion dollar debt but still spend (and it's climbing) on a military-industrial complex that they cannot afford. This is an elaborate topic but it is not that complicated to at least, single out examples here and there.

Well, my personal political views are much closer to the right than to the left. Therefore, I would prefer to see a dominant Republican majority in Congress and a Democrat President. So, my choice for the US President is Obama.

Originally Posted by Doomer

Too much of the ocean in between
I believe for the last 60 years distance between Russia and the US has been measured with the range of intercontinental missiles far too often. People in both countries were under illusion that they supposed used to hate each other and governments of both countries surely want to keep people busy thinking about something distant rather than local

I think there's a difference between how the politicians act, and how the average US or Russian citizen feels. We can do our part not to let the cynicism creep in and control us. We should be mindful of who we elect, and their positions on foreign relations. Trouble is, the choices are slim.

Originally Posted by 14Russian

Also, the U.S. has a 16 (some say more) trillion dollar debt but still spend (and it's climbing) on a military-industrial complex that they cannot afford. This is an elaborate topic but it is not that complicated to at least, single out examples here and there.

I agree with you that military spending is out of control. I'd rather see a tighter budget with focus on capability.

Originally Posted by 14Russian

Oh well, what can you expect of humans, right?

You could expect pretty much the same thing of the reptiles as well.

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
Emma Goldman

Originally Posted by kgcole

I think there's a difference between how the politicians act, and how the average US or Russian citizen feels. We can do our part not to let the cynicism creep in and control us. We should be mindful of who we elect, and their positions on foreign relations. Trouble is, the choices are slim.

Are you suggesting to vote for independent candidate? Because both parties see Russia as an enemy and I didn't hear much opposing arguments(actually none) on the US news about that either. And hating the US is not only Russian thing it becomes international fashion novadays.

Originally Posted by Hanna

They are pretty much the same as far as I can tell.

For a woman, they are very much two different candidates. One supports the reversal of Roe v. Wade and one does not.
For a GLBTG, they are very much two different candidates. One supports Marriage Equality and one does not.

The other issues like taxes and spending and cutting out FEMA and all that... we have heard promises/threats all before like "read my lips" and they were never kept. However, over the past few years our country has made great strides to be much more inclusive. Much more understanding of others and it would be a very sad day if we started to go backwards. To single out a class of people and say you are not worthy of being married because you are not "normal." Or to tell a young woman what she can or can't do with her own body (for whatever reason) because it is YOUR religious belief and not hers.

Originally Posted by sperk

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
Emma Goldman

I respectfully disagree with that. The National Socialist German Workers Party was legitimately elected in free elections. In Germany that had changed, I think, just enough to qualify for 'anything'.

Originally Posted by Doomer

Are you suggesting to vote for independent candidate? Because both parties see Russia as an enemy and I didn't hear much opposing arguments(actually none) on the US news about that either. And hating the US is not only Russian thing it becomes international fashion novadays.

I don't think it necessarily means vote for an independent, but just someone who has a moderate approach to foreign relations. It certainly is sad that hating the US may be thought of as trendy now. I really do feel that average citizens like us reflect more of the overall sentiment of a nation than what the politicians do. At least we can enjoy each other's company and talk freely about how we view things.

Originally Posted by rockzmom

For a woman, they are very much two different candidates. One supports the reversal of Roe v. Wade and one does not.
For a GLBTG, they are very much two different candidates. One supports Marriage Equality and one does not.

The other issues like taxes and spending and cutting out FEMA and all that... we have heard promises/threats all before like "read my lips" and they were never kept. However, over the past few years our country has made great strides to be much more inclusive. Much more understanding of others and it would be a very sad day if we started to go backwards. To single out a class of people and say you are not worthy of being married because you are not "normal." Or to tell a young woman what she can or can't do with her own body (for whatever reason) because it is YOUR religious belief and not hers.

I very much agree...there are stark differences between the candidates. Myself, I lean to the liberal side, but in the spirit of cooperation I think there are some things we should compromise on. But that's such an ugly word these days...compromise.