My take on Barack Obama's Election

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

You mean like the Democrats did in 2000 and 2004?

 

Ok maybe some people did want Bush to fail. I wasn't one of them. But to all those who so much as questioned Bush, many Republicans retorted with "You have to respect the decisions of the President and show your support for them, or else you are Unamerican."

 

Will those Republicans prove themselves hypocrites and not support Obama?

[erynthered]

Are Reid and Murtha on this board? And no, most liberals did not want us to fail in Iraq. We wanted a quick withdrawal because we felt it was an unjust war to begin with.

 

Dude, shiit keeps flying over your head, you need to catch some of it fer Christ sakes. Oh wait, you're an atheist.

[drnykterstein]

Are Reid and Murtha on this board? And no, most liberals did not want us to fail in Iraq. We wanted a quick withdrawal because we felt it was an unjust war to begin with.

 

Understated, but accurate

 

Dude, shiit keeps flying over your head, you need to catch some of it fer Christ sakes. Oh wait, you're an atheist.

 

Do explain.. why is that bad? At least he does not believe in a fictional God and a storybook as inerrant truth.

[blzrul]

Excellent post. It reinforces my belief that while we may all disagree on a few issues, we are really not so far apart.

[YellowLinesandArmadillos]

Barack Obama will be my President come January 20.

 

I know that it may be difficult to read those words, especially coming from a confirmed Republican, but they are true. I will support our new President when he is sworn into office. I may disagree with his politics, I may disagree with the new Commander in Chief from time to time. But let it be known that I will give him the respect that the office deserves. Remember that Obama defeated McCain by more than 7 million votes. If that is not a mandate for change, I don't know what is.

 

Sixteen years ago, I made a mistake with Bill Clinton. I endlessly mocked the man after he was elected, figuring he was neither dignified enough nor professional enough to be President, due to his many indiscretions. In time, we found that Clinton let those indiscretions prevent him from becoming a great President. I should have respected the office more. A friend of mine said to me, in my depressed days after the 1992 election, that "the office controls the man". He could not have been more right. I am sorry that I acted the way I did so long ago.

 

I often long for the days of the late 90s; even though we had an impeachment of an American President over sex (which never should have happened), those days seem almost quaint to me now after 9/11, a war in Iraq (that we never should have gotten into in the first place) that has lasted longer than World War II, a bipolar stock market, subprime lending crisis, Katrina, oil prices...the list goes on and on. We have far too many people in this country concerned with American Idol and bad words on TV and not enough concerned with the corporate arrogance, hubris, and outright theft that killed Enron, Adelphia and Worldcom, among other companies.

 

I don't think George W. Bush is a bad man; after all, I voted for him twice. In retrospect, he was a man in over his head, and he let the neocons (who are not truly conservative) talk him into a war that should never have been fought. President Bush is going to wind up in history similar to LBJ, a President who became unpopular largely because of an unpopular war. Yet, I think where President Bush really lost the American people was his handling of Hurricane Katrina. Let us never forget that we nearly lost a major American city over how this crisis was handled, and that must never happen again.

 

I also want to salute John McCain, a man who has given of himself to this great nation over and over again. Thank you for running, and thank you for the grace and dignity that you showed in your concession speech last night. I wish, as you probably do, that people in the crowd didn't boo when you mentioned Obama by name.

 

To those who are wishing for a Messiah in Barack Obama: be prepared to be immensely disappointed. President-Elect Obama is a man. That is all he is. Do not expect miracles from him starting on January 21. Do not expect for him to wave a magic wand and make everything better right away, because it is simply not going to happen. We are in a world of hurt right now, economically, spiritually, and socially. Barack Obama's not going to make anyone's mortgage or car payments, contrary to the famous YouTube video.

 

President-Elect Obama will have a chance to select probably three judges for the Supreme Court. Justices Stevens (age 88), Ginsburg (age 75 and in poor health) and Souter (age 69 and wanting to go back to New Hampshire) will probably retire soon. I anticipate Justices Stevens and Ginsburg will finish out this term and retire next summer. These three justices are probably the three most liberal justices on the Court, and they will probably be replaced by liberal justices. I do not anticipate that Roe v. Wade will be overturned, partially for this reason, but this gives pro-lifers an opportunity to educate people on the effects of abortion, to promote adoption and (yes) birth control, and see to it that as few as possible are performed. Even President-Elect Obama wants abortion to be rare, albeit safe and legal. That's probably what we're going to have to shoot for right now. I know James Dobson, Pat Robertson and his crew don't want to hear that, but I believe it is true.

 

Yet, despite the fact that many of the President-Elect's policies differ from my own; I am hopeful, very hopeful, for the future of this nation.

 

Why?

 

Consider this: my parents were married in 1962 in Virginia. They just celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary. In 1962 in Virginia, couples of different races could not marry. Segregation, although beginning to take its dying breaths, was still functioning in Virginia and all of the other Southern states.

 

Contrast that with the fact that President-Elect Obama won Virginia on Election Night.

 

In the short span of 46 years, the length of my parents' marriage, we have gone from a nation where segregation was practiced and the Civil Rights Movement had not reached its peak, to electing an African-American as President. I believe that is nothing short of remarkable, and it gives me so much hope that this country is still viable, still hopeful, still the best land in the world.

 

I did not vote for Barack Obama, but it is not because I hate the man. In fact, I like him. I disagree with several of his policies, which is why he did not get my vote.

 

It is my strongest wish and desire that he do well for this country as its leader. You have my prayers, Mr. President-Elect. You are going to need them. As Eleanor Roosevelt said to Harry Truman upon his swearing-in as President, you are the one in trouble now.

 

Mike Murphy

North Olmsted, Ohio

Nice Post and while I am a died in the wool Dem, I am not monolithic. I can see Obama's potential flaws and his inexperience and policy proposals that I disagree with almost caused me to vote against him. That being said, I am hopeful that his election will encourage new political voices to gain strength from the many different cultures in this great country and continue our grand experiment greater inclusion in our democracy where otherwise we would be taking up arms against each other.

 

Politics is not for the faint of heart, it takes commitment, working with people you often don't like even if you agree with them, the ability to listen and to compromise to allow others to have some of their voice acknowledged and it never ends, the debate continues, sometimes issues are re-debated, beaten into the ground, sometimes it gets down right nasty, but it somehow always continues and that is what makes this country so dynamic.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Dude, shiit keeps flying over your head, you need to catch some of it fer Christ sakes. Oh wait, you're an atheist.

 

What, pray tell, flew over my head? And I love how you use the word atheist as if it's supposed to be some sort of biting insult. I'm proud of it, you saying that is not a slap in the face.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

By the way, if the thing that "flew over my head" is my asking if Reid and Murtha were on this board, I wasn't being serious. I made a comment on the conservatives on this board, and Joe6 rebutted it by referring to the comments Reid and Murtha. I'm not that dumb.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Ok maybe some people did want Bush to fail. I wasn't one of them. But to all those who so much as questioned Bush, many Republicans retorted with "You have to respect the decisions of the President and show your support for them, or else you are Unamerican."

 

Will those Republicans prove themselves hypocrites and not support Obama?

 

Some? SOME?!?!

 

Holy mother of God, you must not have been around here in 2000. I just find it humorous that those same people are now preaching unity.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Some? SOME?!?!

 

Holy mother of God, you must not have been around here in 2000. I just find it humorous that those same people are now preaching unity.

 

Most didn't want him to fail. That would mean that they weren't wanting what was best for the country. They simply thought he was doing a piss poor job. There's a difference.

[StupidNation]

I wasn't really talking about you, as you usually post intelligently. I was talking about the types that are already tearing Obama apart for offering Chief of Staff to Emmanuel and the "Obama is a lying communist fraud" types. They seem to be chomping at the bid to criticize our President-elect and I get the feeling that (even if its on a subconscious level) they want to see him fail.

 

That's fine, and I understand your point on partisan GOP types. I think Obama will fall, but mostly because of a flawed misconception of the economy, the same flaw the current GOP has, except I think Obama's is worse. I have yet to see a consumption based economy thrive at any time with higher inflation.

 

If Obama can moderate spending and stop the destruction of the dollar, which doesn't look likely, he will also likely get the boon of people having confidence in the country just because it isn't Bush, who rightfully earned his attacks.

[DC Tom]

Most didn't want him to fail. That would mean that they weren't wanting what was best for the country. They simply thought he was doing a piss poor job. There's a difference.

 

You were, what, eleven years old when he was elected? How the hell would you know?

 

 

Many people actively wished for Bush to fail, specifically because of the perception that he wasn't the "real" president.

[Kelly the Dog]

Some? SOME?!?!

 

Holy mother of God, you must not have been around here in 2000. I just find it humorous that those same people are now preaching unity.

I didnt know that much about Bush when he first started running in 1999. I liked his dad. I couldn't believe, however, how the press, that liberal press, gave him a free pass. I first started to not like him during one of the debates. He actually smiled when he said that Texas had executed the most people in the country. I was unbelievably offended by that.

 

I didnt at all like him when he immediately started blowing off other countries with the cowboy crap, well before 9/11. But when 9/11 hit, like virtually everyone else, I was on his side. I was completely for the war in Afghanistan and felt more patriotic at that time than I ever did in my life.

 

I started to hate him during the run up to the war. And it wasn't because I was anti-American, but just the opposite, because I thought Americans were going to die unnecessarily. And we were going to create more terrorists than kill. We had all kinds of great discussions here about that before the war. And I have hated him ever since. But it was because I felt he tried to divide us. I didnt want us to fail, I wanted less of us to get killed. I wanted us to be the good guys instead of the bad guys.

 

I see no dichotomy or conflict whatsoever in now wanting people to unite, even though I hate George W. Bush.

[SDS]

You were, what, eleven years old when he was elected? How the hell would you know?

 

Many people actively wished for Bush to fail, specifically because of the perception that he wasn't the "real" president.

 

Consider "success" and "fail" are terms of the beholder - I don't even see how any of us can be arguing the point.

 

I do want Obama to "fail" on most everything he proposed. Ummm... that's why I didn't vote for him. I don't agree with him.

 

I do not want to eliminate secret ballots for union elections. I do not want to bankrupt the coal industry. I do not want to spend another umpteen billion dollars in new federal spending. I do not want congress to overturn common sense laws voted upon in the states regarding abortion.. etc...

 

I saw your post on what a successful administration would be, but I think you will find most lists that have any sort of commonality will be made almost exclusively of various foreign policy objectives. On domestic issues. Fail baby fail.

[Boomer860]

Most didn't want him to fail. That would mean that they weren't wanting what was best for the country. They simply thought he was doing a piss poor job. There's a difference.

From the very day he was elected ,liberals , the press , the entertainers were mocking , Bush calling him dumb, a cowboy and all sorts of names mocking him all the time before he took office. Now I am no big of fan of Bush but that was a disgrace these same lamers that said they support the troops were accusing them of killing , isnt that there job.? Well guess what folks you have elected the ultimate lying communist midnight basketball playing fraud . He isnt going to change anything ,at least for the better. Bush treid to get along with the opposition and they stuck it to him. 65percent of single white female supported Obama , must be they want to find out if the myth about them is true He is a shill.

[erynthered]

What, pray tell, flew over my head? And I love how you use the word atheist as if it's supposed to be some sort of biting insult. I'm proud of it, you saying that is not a slap in the face.

 

 

After getting through the rest of the posts tonight, they may answer your question.

 

Damn, Dude. I wasnt this dense when I was 19. !@#$, and I mean that in the most nicest way. Dont get angry, man. I may have to start calling you, Ed. We saved him. You could be next.

[bills_fan_in_raleigh]

boy some of this sounds just like the Limbaugh monologue of today.

[pBills]

Barack Obama will be my President come January 20.

 

I know that it may be difficult to read those words, especially coming from a confirmed Republican, but they are true. I will support our new President when he is sworn into office. I may disagree with his politics, I may disagree with the new Commander in Chief from time to time. But let it be known that I will give him the respect that the office deserves. Remember that Obama defeated McCain by more than 7 million votes. If that is not a mandate for change, I don't know what is.

 

Sixteen years ago, I made a mistake with Bill Clinton. I endlessly mocked the man after he was elected, figuring he was neither dignified enough nor professional enough to be President, due to his many indiscretions. In time, we found that Clinton let those indiscretions prevent him from becoming a great President. I should have respected the office more. A friend of mine said to me, in my depressed days after the 1992 election, that "the office controls the man". He could not have been more right. I am sorry that I acted the way I did so long ago.

 

I often long for the days of the late 90s; even though we had an impeachment of an American President over sex (which never should have happened), those days seem almost quaint to me now after 9/11, a war in Iraq (that we never should have gotten into in the first place) that has lasted longer than World War II, a bipolar stock market, subprime lending crisis, Katrina, oil prices...the list goes on and on. We have far too many people in this country concerned with American Idol and bad words on TV and not enough concerned with the corporate arrogance, hubris, and outright theft that killed Enron, Adelphia and Worldcom, among other companies.

 

I don't think George W. Bush is a bad man; after all, I voted for him twice. In retrospect, he was a man in over his head, and he let the neocons (who are not truly conservative) talk him into a war that should never have been fought. President Bush is going to wind up in history similar to LBJ, a President who became unpopular largely because of an unpopular war. Yet, I think where President Bush really lost the American people was his handling of Hurricane Katrina. Let us never forget that we nearly lost a major American city over how this crisis was handled, and that must never happen again.

 

I also want to salute John McCain, a man who has given of himself to this great nation over and over again. Thank you for running, and thank you for the grace and dignity that you showed in your concession speech last night. I wish, as you probably do, that people in the crowd didn't boo when you mentioned Obama by name.

 

To those who are wishing for a Messiah in Barack Obama: be prepared to be immensely disappointed. President-Elect Obama is a man. That is all he is. Do not expect miracles from him starting on January 21. Do not expect for him to wave a magic wand and make everything better right away, because it is simply not going to happen. We are in a world of hurt right now, economically, spiritually, and socially. Barack Obama's not going to make anyone's mortgage or car payments, contrary to the famous YouTube video.

 

President-Elect Obama will have a chance to select probably three judges for the Supreme Court. Justices Stevens (age 88), Ginsburg (age 75 and in poor health) and Souter (age 69 and wanting to go back to New Hampshire) will probably retire soon. I anticipate Justices Stevens and Ginsburg will finish out this term and retire next summer. These three justices are probably the three most liberal justices on the Court, and they will probably be replaced by liberal justices. I do not anticipate that Roe v. Wade will be overturned, partially for this reason, but this gives pro-lifers an opportunity to educate people on the effects of abortion, to promote adoption and (yes) birth control, and see to it that as few as possible are performed. Even President-Elect Obama wants abortion to be rare, albeit safe and legal. That's probably what we're going to have to shoot for right now. I know James Dobson, Pat Robertson and his crew don't want to hear that, but I believe it is true.

 

Yet, despite the fact that many of the President-Elect's policies differ from my own; I am hopeful, very hopeful, for the future of this nation.

 

Why?

 

Consider this: my parents were married in 1962 in Virginia. They just celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary. In 1962 in Virginia, couples of different races could not marry. Segregation, although beginning to take its dying breaths, was still functioning in Virginia and all of the other Southern states.

 

Contrast that with the fact that President-Elect Obama won Virginia on Election Night.

 

In the short span of 46 years, the length of my parents' marriage, we have gone from a nation where segregation was practiced and the Civil Rights Movement had not reached its peak, to electing an African-American as President. I believe that is nothing short of remarkable, and it gives me so much hope that this country is still viable, still hopeful, still the best land in the world.

 

I did not vote for Barack Obama, but it is not because I hate the man. In fact, I like him. I disagree with several of his policies, which is why he did not get my vote.

 

It is my strongest wish and desire that he do well for this country as its leader. You have my prayers, Mr. President-Elect. You are going to need them. As Eleanor Roosevelt said to Harry Truman upon his swearing-in as President, you are the one in trouble now.

 

Mike Murphy

North Olmsted, Ohio

 

 

 

Thank you Ohio. Very nice to me while I was working with the Obama/Labor Campaigns in Ohio. Ohio is blue!!!

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

After getting through the rest of the posts tonight, they may answer your question.

 

Damn, Dude. I wasnt this dense when I was 19. !@#$, and I mean that in the most nicest way. Dont get angry, man. I may have to start calling you, Ed. We saved him. You could be next.

 

Just please tell me what "flew over my head". I'm genuinely curious.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

After getting through the rest of the posts tonight, they may answer your question.

 

Damn, Dude. I wasnt this dense when I was 19. !@#$, and I mean that in the most nicest way. Dont get angry, man. I may have to start calling you, Ed. We saved him. You could be next.

 

And in the words of Kevin Kline from A Fish Called Wanda...Don't call me stupid. Or dumb, or dense, or moron, or retard (you use that one a lot and it offends me because I have a disabled brother).

 

In fact, you tend to call a lot of people stupid on these boards. That, to me, doesn't say too much about your own intelligence.

[/dev/null]

And in the words of Kevin Kline from A Fish Called Wanda...

 

 

Did you see the new South Park too