I just wanted to hear what some of you think about the tone of the presidential race in America. I've only paid attention to three, counting this one, and this one has gotten really ugly. Its seems to be worse on the Republican side, with racist and disurbing things being said. The most recent example is how Rush Limbaugh says Colin Powel indorsed Obama just because hes also black. Im starting to get worried that if Obama wins, then he very well might get shot. McCain has lost what respect he once had for being a maverick, and Im worried about what the reaction from some on the left would be if McCain wins. Am I overreacting, or are my fears justified?

Presidential elections are always dramas, just like professional sports, it's how you keep media ratings high. The racial stuff is just an added bonus to keep people buying into the lie that they actually have a say over how America is run.

The only way Barack Obama is going to be assassinated is if he either tries to audit the Federal Reserve Bank or does anything else that actually holds the Banking/Military Industrial Complex accountable for what they've done to this country in the past 60 years. And when you look at how much money the banking industry has dumped into his campaign coffers, I doubt that that will happen.

Personally, I'm more interested in seeing just how quick Obama starts troop withdraws from Iraq, with luck we'll be down to under 70,000 by the time his first term is over. Unfortunately, most of the withdraws will likely end up in either Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Iran.

I have a 50 dollar bet with one of my friends that if Obama wins, he'll be assassinated within two months.

While I wouldn't want to bet against it, he will (potentially) have the tightest security the country has ever seen.

It was a comment made in jest but I got him to put money on it.

This isn't really any different from other elections. The cry of RACISM RACISM being flung against McCain and Palin is really overstated, you pretty much have to be deliberately looking for racism to see the supposed racism in the campaign adds. Things people in the audience say during campaign rallies don't count. And to Obama's credit, I'm surprised he hasn't brought up the Keating Five more forcefully, it's not like he has to worry about the media paying attention to the Ayers or Rezko issues or anything else relating to his time in Illinois, since nobody in the rest of the country cares about Illinois (and anyway, Daley is preventing the press from getting all the information on Ayers).


All in all, a typical campaign. As far as assassination goes, if there's going to be a hit on Obama, it will be before election day, not after it.

Bill Ayers was a particularly passionate hippie when Obama was eight. That's the whole of it.

Why would these sorts of things hold any political weight if Obama wasn't black?

Haha, I was waiting for someone to come out and say that.

The troop pull-outs won't happen nearly as quickly as he claims. Last timetable I heard from him was something like 16-18 months. Yeah right. Iraq will be the new Germany, Japan, Korea--just another Active Duty duty station. A constant American presence in the Middle East to keep Iran on their toes.

We are unlikely to invade Pakistan since they're working with us and Iran is pretty much out of the question. There's no more money for another war. If the Iraq war didn't help things out with our economy, a war with an actual organized military would be disasterously expensive. Iran has a massive military force for the size of it's country. The only place Barak Obama will be sending troops is Iraq and Afghanistan. For all his claims that he's going to pull us out of Iraq and end all this war, it just isn't going to happen.

No matter who's elected this year, they've pretty much been set up for failure. Shaky economy, massive debt, two wars, terrorism, anti-American sentiment globally. Just because Obama is a decent orator (and hey, so was Hitler), doesn't mean he can be a leader. The fact that he did nothing in the Senate but campaign to be President is really bothersome to me. He hasn't shown any kind of actual leadership, and raising taxes is not leadership.

McCain's wishy-washy John Kerry-like flip-flopping is bothersome in general since he has no idea where he stands aside from "being in Iraq for a hundred years if necessary," which we will be when a permanent duty station is estabilished in Baghdad.


The racism coming from the McCain camp isn't coming from the politicians, it's coming from idiots on the side speaking foolishly. Not that race doesn't play a major role this time. No doubt much of Obama's support comes very simply from the fact that he's black and people are eager to have a black President for whatever reason. Colin Powell's support? Eh, Powell is a good man (and would make a fantastic President if you ask me), but I have some doubts that he's supporting Obama just because of race. It looks kinda bad (like it could be that way), but he'd been growing away from the way things have been run for a while. I think part of why he stepped down from the Bush administration had to do with the stress of the job and part of it seemed to be that he was less and less in agreement with the way things were.

One of the reasons that Colin Powell cited for his support of Obama over McCain was the choice of Palin, who he respects, but does not believe is up to the job of President (which is of course pretty much the job of the VP).
Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

The Iraqi and American governments have recently come to an agreement about a troop pullout, by 2012 IIRC. I'm not sure if it includes Blackwater and all those private security firms though, and there's still that massive embassy\frotress they've built in Baghdad.

Have you ever followed an American election before? Stuff that has little to do with the actual issues gets brought up and overplayed all the time (Kerry and the Swiftboats, Bush's DUI, Dukakis and Willie Horton, etc). It's really quite absurd that you would instantly suspect that any slightly irrelevant criticism of Obama is racially charged.

Now that Musharef is out as the Pakistani leader, they are turning to China for assistance - and have already signed an agreement with them. our influence in Paskistan is dwindling quickly. We may not invade them, but they are surely closer to getting sanctions than aide.

RE: troop deployment - Iraq is setting to vote for demands that we move out and the tentative date is 2012. How convenient...

People hold back saying things about Obama because of his race. Really, I think it's helping him. McCain was pretty soft on his attacks for so long and I think a large part of that is because he feared being seen as a racist.

But attacked Sarah Palin all-out because she's a woman. I guess the message is, hate due to race is wrong, but hate based on sex is okay.


Remember when it was just middle-aged or older white guys running for President? Yeah, I remember, too. That was when issues mattered.

Sarah Palin is getting attached because she comes across as an idiot. She has no message beyond unsubstantiated claims - and her promises to "get back to you" are always fulfilled by press releases that rehash the same nonsense.

Yup. Notice how the attacks against her are different than the attacks on Hillary Clinton. Nobody (at least no one who matters) is attacking Palin because of her sex, they're attacking her because she's a bumbling, dishonest fundie bitch. You betcha!

This could describe just about every candidate that has ever run for political office. The thing that makes Sarah Palin come off as stupid is that she is a bad liar and has almost no tough interviewing experience. She doesn't come off as being any more stupid than Bush did 8 years ago, and many see that as a positive given what all of the supposed geniuses have done while president.

Or could it be that she's being attacked because she's astoundingly unqualified?



As I've said before, campaigns in America are never ran entirely on valid issues. It's just they way our society is.

The republicans are seriously disturbing me this election. It's like were still living in late 19th century and the blacks just got their freedom. "Oh man I could never see a nigger running for president!"

Or it's this stupid idea that because his name is "obama" he must be a terrorist.... then again, that's what the whirl parts of the United States offers.

Really, where are you guys hearing this stuff? I am just that sheltered from racism here in Seattle?

Well, I'm pretty sure the whole west coast is free of this shit. You're in a serious minority if you support John McCain and live in washington or california (with the exception of Orange County). I'm living south of Denver, which is a more conservative part of Colorado (only a couple hour drive and then you'd be at the Jesusplex Ted Haggard preached at). I cant remember exact quotes, but it seems like the whole attitude of the religious right is just this.

the mccain camp are just trying to make middle america see obama as a complete outsider, whether it be about his father's nationality, his supposed islamic and terrorist ties, or his radical minister. I dont see how they can keep bringing up the islam thing, but at the same time attack his christian minister for being radical. which one is it? cant have both, its just hypocritical.

Sarah Palin is the kind of mindless corrupt fundamentalist christian that the republican party has been using to rile up the less than informed majority of middle america for years. she has absolutely no business running for vice president, and is essentially being used as a negative campaign attack dog to keep more heat off of mccain, which is useful for their campaign. her lack of knowledge about national and international issues which has been demonstrated in numerous interviews and debates is astounding and disgusting, but many people are so stupid that they are suckered into the pointless drivel that is being said by the republicans instead of actual issues, and thats how Bush managed two terms.

I fear for our country's blind ignorance to importance, and love for the media bullshit and gimmicks that are being fed to us daily. The republican party is no longer truly republican, just social conservatives with big business ties and no love for the common man aside from their professed "values", "morals", and christianity.

My entire family and a good portion of my friends are “religious right” kind of people and I haven’t observed those sentiments. Most of them are just one or two issue social conservatives who half-heartedly follow conservative economics. I haven’t noticed racism at all.

I guess either way, it’s just anecdotal evidence, so w/e.

They see what they want to see, Coming from someone who lives in the South even I am not seeing this great cry of racism. I have yet to meet someone in my state who voiced support for McCain and used "I dont want that there colored man to win!" as his reasoning.

It is funny that Republicans get all the harsh talk on this racism issue when historically the party of Jim Crow and the KKK was Democrat. Funny how things change eh?

parties completely switched between democrat and republican during this time. the democratic party of then has nothing to do with today. it was just a different name back then

Aside from political pundits attempting to rile up the conservative party (Rush Limbaugh), race seems to be a non issue in the election, which I'm actually really surprised about. Now it's all about values and morals. I'm on one of the most liberal college campuses in America, but there are still a good number of students who support McCain. I find that the majority aren't against Obama because of his race, but rather because of his 'inexperience' and because they've been taught to vote conservative by their religious, right wing parents.

The political race so far has been truly laughable. The Republican party has attempted to garner votes by the most malicious means imaginable. I find it hard to believe that people actually swallow this filth. Seriously, Obama pals around with 'terrorists?' He's socialist? It's ridiculous that people actually listen to the idiocy that McCain and Palin (oh my god, worst politician of the last 20 years? I think so) have been spewing.

Even if the Democrats don't have an amazingly strong candidate this year, they are worthy of applause for not taking the cheap shots that the conservatives have been taking. Palin could've been ripped to shreds if they had focused on her kid getting knocked up. McCain isn't exactly a moral giant himself, either. At least the Democrats are trying to focus on the issues.

Speaking for myself as someone who doesn't live too far from the coal region of Pennsylvania, people of a conservative persuasion are a little pissed at Obama for condescendingly telling them that their clinging to guns, religion and are bitter due to illegal immigrants taking their jobs, but they couldn't really give a shit about his race. A few people here, myself included, are a little perplexed at the guy going around saying he's a Christian when he's using Hindu charms for good luck, but that's about as far as it gets outside of Obama's actual political opinions. He's still going to carry the state because Philadelphia and Pittsburg basically tell the rest of the state how they need to do things, but he has pretty well alienated almost every non-urban voter in Pennsylvania with the idiotic stuff that he said during the primary election.

Yes. Here in the Emerald City we would never dream of saying this shit - we just don't think in those terms. But I just got back from a weekend trip to my parent's place in Dallas and them "good ol' Southern Boys" are totally against that black feller.

The best I heard was, "I don't care how old he is or how dumb she is, I can't have a nigger giving me orders." Talk about culture-shock. It took some serious self-control to not flip out.

Look for the video on youtube of the bumbling old lady at a McCain rally telling McCain over the mic that she heard Barack was a muslim and didn't want him as president.

There's a whole movement of those types of idiots, though it's not likely a large percentage.

Is that the one where McCain took the mic back and corrected her speaking up for Obama saying he was a good family man and so on and so fourth?

An argument could also be made for black people ignoring the issues and just throwing themselves at Obama because they are dying to get some color in the white house.

To quote a great song

"There is no monopoly in common sense On either side of the political fence".

Yep. Where the crowd then booed him when he went so far as to say Obama was a 'decent' person.

I'm not saying all sides don't have their fools, just that it's not hard to see any of them.

I agree that if you look they can be found on both sides, it is just amazingly frustrating in this election because on every forum I visit people appear to be overlooking the Obama sheep and joining in a great big ol Republican bash circle jerk.

I honestly am getting to the point where I do not care anymore about the entire election.

That's the bane of Johny-boy.

McCain's press direction was to make Obama seem like a bad person no matter what (especially the involvement with Ayers), and now, it has backfired. His supporters often call for his death (coming from serious Palin-fanboys, mind you) amongst other things, and now, Johny-boy has to strip his mic away from his supporters because they took the message out of context, to almost violent levels.

Now, whenever a Republican does something like call Obama a member of Islam or whatever, John has to correct them and say, "He's actually a decent person! We just don't agree on everything!" Gotta love them politics!

It's basically a case of Orwellian style double-speak. First McCain's out along with Bush telling everyone that terrorists make up a minority of the Muslim faith and that Islam is a religion of peace, and now when someone calls Obama a Muslim McCain responds by saying "He's actually a decent person"?? Anybody not seeing an obvious contradiction here needs their head examined.

The ironic thing is, if Obama was actually a muslim, his conversion to Christianity would be seen as grounds for being executed according to the good old religion of peace. We are definitely entering the realm of 2+2=5 this time around.

I liked what Colin Powell said, if he was a muslim is there anything wrong with running for president? Do we have to tell young american muslim children they can't be president because of something someone thousands of miles away did?

The reason people think Obama is a Muslim is because:

He has a Muslim name.
His father, stepfather, and brother are Muslims.
He went to two seperate schools in Indonesia, enrolled as a Muslim.
He has a Muslim cousin (Raila Amolo Odinga) who advocates violence in Kenya (including locking families in a church and burning it to the ground).
It has been shown that Obama recieved large sums of money from Prince Al Waleed of Saudi Arabia through Khalid Al Monsour, a member of the Nation of Islam. (no wonder he opposes offshore drilling)

Given all these things, it's easy for people to make that connection, wheter it is correct or not.

I'd say it goes both ways though, with the ridiculous claims of sexism against Palin.

Aside from that minor slip-up there ( I 'd) That was a great video. What IS wrong with a 7 year old muslim boy or girl wanting to be the President? He actually gained a lot of respect from me for coming out and saying that his support is behind Obama in the way in which he did. That was very well done.

How is calling Palin a stupid bitch in a web forum equal to McCain and Palin insinuating Obamas a radical fundamentalist muslim terrorist. Then there are the attacks about pro-americans and anti-americans. Palin and other McCain campaign members have repeatedly said these things recently. To say that both sides are equaly guilty of flinging feces ignores the size of the pile on the GOPs side.

To state that one of these two alleged sides is any better than the other is a little naive, granted, Obama is a better speaker and more articulate so I guess there's somewhat of an argument for it.