The Next President of the USA will be?

[I have got a horsey]

I hate to keep agreeing with you, but, I think you have it right again. I don't see any real change on either side. Same ol same ol from a black man on the dem side, same ol same ol from a woman on the repub side.

This whole agreeing with each other thing feels so strange, but nice

[Uncle Bill]

This whole agreeing with each other thing feels so strange, but nice

I think it's easier for those of us without a dog in this fight to see the big picture more clearly. cheers,

Edited August 30, 2008 by Uncle Bill

[I have got a horsey]

I think it's easier for those of us without a dog in this fight to see the big picture more clearly. cheers,

I tell you what, and this is my own personal view of the thing, and I confess I haven't been following the race as much this year, but Obama's big Berlin speech was a yawn-fest, there was nothing special or indepth going on there, it was mostly rhetoric, but my personal belief is that Obama has a little bit more change to offer than McCain, however I think Obama is obsessed about playing his campaign absolutely safe, and secure and no funny business going on, which is why I think we are getting the rhetoric off him.

It's a bit like our last election in Australia, and our Prime Minister, I felt, campaigned horribly because there was so much pressure on him to win the election and not to stuff it up, and he changed a lot once he got into office and he could relax, what i would've liked to have seen on the campaign trial came out in him then.

[Uncle Bill]

I tell you what, and this is my own personal view of the thing, and I confess I haven't been following the race as much this year, but Obama's big Berlin speech was a yawn-fest, there was nothing special or indepth going on there, it was mostly rhetoric, but my personal belief is that Obama has a little bit more change to offer than McCain, however I think Obama is obsessed about playing his campaign absolutely safe, and secure and no funny business going on, which is why I think we are getting the rhetoric off him.

If by change you mean change back to the democratic party principles of the past and not real change then I agree once again.

[wanna be drummer]

I hate to keep agreeing with you, but, I think you have it right again. I don't see any real change on either side. Same ol same ol from a black man on the dem side, same ol same ol from a woman on the repub side.

I agree about Obama and McCain, but I do like Sarah Palin. She's been a hell of a governor

[I have got a horsey]

A few years back you had to turn in all your guns to your trusting government.

Yes and it worked extremely well over here, the changes in the gun ownership laws, which were introduced by George W Bush's very good buddy/pal/like-minded conservative friend, John Howard, resulted in Australia now having a very low violent crime rate and an even lower gun-related death or injury rate...

[Hotplant]

McCain/insane.

He's blown.

Hahahahahahaha.....................

Can I say..OLD.douchebag...

Hurray for Obama/Biden!!!!!!!

Few will be focused on the RC because of Gustav...and OMG....What A Talking Point!!!!!

cue: Instant Karma.....

Edited August 30, 2008 by Hotplant

[wanna be drummer]

Yes and it worked extremely well over here, the changes in the gun ownership laws, which were introduced by George W Bush's very good buddy/pal/like-minded conservative friend, John Howard, resulted in Australia now having a very low violent crime rate and an even lower gun-related death or injury rate...

Most people who would choose to commit crimes in America could easily find unregistered weapons on the streets if they already didn't have any. Thats why innocent civilians here need them. To protect themselves from those that already have the means with which to hurt them

[I have got a horsey]

Most people who would choose to commit crimes in America could easily find unregistered weapons on the streets if they already didn't have any. Thats why innocent civilians here need them. To protect themselves from those that already have the means with which to hurt them

I'd like to know how many times a gun owner has had to use their gun on a criminal or violent person

[~tangerine~]

*yawn*

real change to what? The same old conservative agenda?

There's no change going on there: let's keep drilling for oil, let's keep the guns, let's keep the dealth penalty, let's keep the church influence in the state, let's rehash the cold war... where does the 'change' come into it?

Sarah Palin is just Dick Cheyne in a skirt.

Amen!!!!!

What's really funny is that McCain met her one time and then had a secret meeting with her before making his selection. What an idiot. He must really think he is immortal, because i can't figure out any other reason why such a patriotic man would jeopardize his country this way (not the healthiest or the youngest).

[wanna be drummer]

I'd like to know how many times a gun owner has had to use their gun on a criminal or violent person

Ask and ye shall receive

http://www.gunowners.org/sk0802.htm

[I have got a horsey]

Ask and ye shall receive

http://www.gunowners.org/sk0802.htm

So am I to deduce from these 'statistics' that it is necessary to own a gun in America to protect yourself?

[Pb Derigable]

So who is Victor Conte in this one. Rezko or Wright. or maybe "Frank"

[wanna be drummer]

So am I to deduce from these 'statistics' that it is necessary to own a gun in America to protect yourself?

Is it necessary? No

Is it helpful? Yessir

[wanna be drummer]

So sayeth the presidential/vice-presidential scholars.

You're just jealous that all you get is Biden

Palin is more experienced than Obama. She has executive experience wheras all Obama has is...well shit what has he done?

Oh yeah, he was against the war in the beginning. Clearly he's able for the Presidency

Palin has an 80-90% approval rating, even though only 48% of Alaska voted for her, so clearly independents and even liberals like her. She's intelligent and she's young, which means she'll siphon votes from Obama. She's Obama but she's got a skirt and she has experience with leading a state.

Don't be so jealous guys

[Medhb]

Thanks wanna be, for the facts on how many times firearms are used to ward off criminals. Many times just bradishing a weapon and not even using it stops a criminal. You can't expect for those that have had this right taken away from them to understand. Add to this that our liberal media (like on Obama) never shows both sides. They, like Obama are anti gun. They would rather you cower in a closet for who knows how long for the police to get there instead of someone having the right to defend themselves.

Sarah Palin, what a "out of the box" great pick. The libs around here are so predictable. (and worried) They wanted McCain to pick someone "expected" to be picked so bad. You know.......like the way they got stuck with Obama picking "Old Washington" Biden. McCain came through with a dynamic young lady that has already tuned Alaska around, and will not back down to anyone. Even the "little Bull Dog" Biden. This is the perfect pick, it will make all the difference. Just wait and see.

Do you libs really want to talk about Sarahs ethics?? With Ayres, Rezko, and our old friend, er' I mean to say Obamas best friend Wright stuck to him like glue? If there was an opening prayer at the Obama Circus the other nite, did Wright give it??

McCain / Palin 08..............................Great way to shut the libs up at their own game

Yes, the Rebuplicans are even now beating the dems. at the change game. Sarah Palin, what a great lady and great pick to be Vice President.

Accept It

Since you beleive that Obama has acted unethicaly that gives Palin a pass?! Wow, rather strange way to look at it in my book.

Please, do tell, what has she DONE that has prepared her for the office of VP?

The only votes gained by McCains choice are the dumb shits I refered to in an earlier post that only supported Hillary because she had 2 ovaries. I don't care to have dumb shits support of my candidate anyway.

[Rorer714]

Thanks wanna be, for the facts on how many times firearms are used to ward off criminals. Many times just bradishing a weapon and not even using it stops a criminal. You can't expect for those that have had this right taken away from them to understand. Add to this that our liberal media (like on Obama) never shows both sides. They, like Obama are anti gun. They would rather you cower in a closet for who knows how long for the police to get there instead of someone having the right to defend themselves.

Sarah Palin, what a "out of the box" great pick. The libs around here are so predictable. (and worried) They wanted McCain to pick someone "expected" to be picked so bad. You know.......like the way they got stuck with Obama picking "Old Washington" Biden. McCain came through with a dynamic young lady that has already tuned Alaska around, and will not back down to anyone. Even the "little Bull Dog" Biden. This is the perfect pick, it will make all the difference. Just wait and see.

Do you libs really want to talk about Sarahs ethics?? With Ayres, Rezko, and our old friend, er' I mean to say Obamas best friend Wright stuck to him like glue? If there was an opening prayer at the Obama Circus the other nite, did Wright give it??

McCain / Palin 08..............................Great way to shut the libs up at their own game

Yes, the Rebuplicans are even now beating the dems. at the change game. Sarah Palin, what a great lady and great pick to be Vice President.

Accept It

Like I said earlier,"Good answer,good answer"

The Family Fued follies continue. XXX

[Suz]

Biden will tear her to ribbons in debates

You'll see me on tv Monday, somewhere in a crowd of tens of thousands outside the RNC.

There's a group walking here from Chicago! I hope I meet them.

[pickenpieces]

Theres a group walking here from Chicago! I hope I meet them.

A group walking? A group of what? Whatever,

By the time they get there, they will be so pissed and sore they wont make very good company.

Hope you can supply them with plenty of Lazyboys.

Edited August 31, 2008 by pickenpieces

[cryingbluerain]

Brash McCain pick of AK Gov. Palin neutralizes historic Obama speech, stunts the Dems' convention bounce

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UTICA, New York - Republican John McCain's surprise announcement Friday of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate - some 16 hours after Democrat Barack Obama's historic speech accepting his party’s presidential nomination - has possibly stunted any Obama convention bump, the latest Zogby Interactive flash poll of the race shows.

The latest nationwide survey, begun Friday afternoon after the McCain announcement of Palin as running mate and completed mid-afternoon today, shows McCain/Palin at 47%, compared to 45% support for Obama/Biden.

In other words, the race is a dead heat.

The interactive online Zogby survey shows that both Obama and McCain have solidified the support among their own parties - Obama won 86% support of Democrats and McCain 89% of Republicans in a two-way head-to-head poll question not including the running mates. When Biden and Palin are added to the mix, Obama's Democratic support remains at 86%, while McCain's increases to 92%.

After the McCain "Veep" announcement on Friday, Palin was almost immediately hailed as a strong conservative, and those voters have rallied to the GOP ticket, the survey shows. Republicans gather in St. Paul, Minnesota this week to officially nominate McCain and Palin as their presidential ticket.

Overall, 52% said the selection of Palin as the GOP vice presidential nominee helps the Republican ticket, compared to 29% who said it hurt. Another 10% said it made no difference, while 10% were unsure. Among independent voters, 52% said it helps, while 26% said it would hurt. Among women, 48% said it would help, while 29% said it would hurt the GOP ticket. Among Republicans, the choice was a big hit - as 87% said it would help, and just 3% said it would hurt.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews1547.html

[Medhb]

Maybe you can tell me what Obama has done to be qualified for President. The list presented a few posts back tell nothing about the most important thing to me. That is who is qualified to be Comander in Chief. Anyone whos name is even mentioned with William Ayres has no bussiness anywhere near our military. Anyone that has to try and prove his love of Country and has a wife that has to do the same should be no where near our military. I believe that Obama would gut our military far worse then Carter did. I do not think that Sarah has ever had a problem wearing a American flag pin or saying the Pledge of Allegiance to our great Country. And yes, I proudly said GREAT COUNTRY, that has now won the war in Iraq.

Hey Suz, I do not think that you will stand out. You will blend in well with all the other stupid, lazy people.

McCain / Palin 08 ............................... Obama / Biden more of the same old politics.

Nice, evasive answer to my question. I don't know why I would have expected any more from you. DUH is me!

[Medhb]

Brash McCain pick of AK Gov. Palin neutralizes historic Obama speech, stunts the Dems' convention bounce

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UTICA, New York - Republican John McCain's surprise announcement Friday of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate - some 16 hours after Democrat Barack Obama's historic speech accepting his party’s presidential nomination - has possibly stunted any Obama convention bump, the latest Zogby Interactive flash poll of the race shows.

The latest nationwide survey, begun Friday afternoon after the McCain announcement of Palin as running mate and completed mid-afternoon today, shows McCain/Palin at 47%, compared to 45% support for Obama/Biden.

In other words, the race is a dead heat.

The interactive online Zogby survey shows that both Obama and McCain have solidified the support among their own parties - Obama won 86% support of Democrats and McCain 89% of Republicans in a two-way head-to-head poll question not including the running mates. When Biden and Palin are added to the mix, Obama's Democratic support remains at 86%, while McCain's increases to 92%.

After the McCain "Veep" announcement on Friday, Palin was almost immediately hailed as a strong conservative, and those voters have rallied to the GOP ticket, the survey shows. Republicans gather in St. Paul, Minnesota this week to officially nominate McCain and Palin as their presidential ticket.

Overall, 52% said the selection of Palin as the GOP vice presidential nominee helps the Republican ticket, compared to 29% who said it hurt. Another 10% said it made no difference, while 10% were unsure. Among independent voters, 52% said it helps, while 26% said it would hurt. Among women, 48% said it would help, while 29% said it would hurt the GOP ticket. Among Republicans, the choice was a big hit - as 87% said it would help, and just 3% said it would hurt.

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews1547.html

Thanks for pointing out another reason to find the current state of the Republican party unaffective and dillusional.

[~tangerine~]

It's so disheartening to know there are just as many people this time around dying to keep this country down with the same mistake/s we had for the last eight years.

Anyway, some great reasons for McCains genius pick.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12997.html

6 things Palin pick says about McCain

By JIM VANDEHEI & JOHN F. HARRIS | 8/30/08 8:57 AM EST Text Size:

John McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says a lot about his decison-making – and some of it is downright breathtaking.

Photo: AP

The selection of a running mate is among the most consequential and the most defining decisions a presidential nominee can make. John McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says a lot about his decision-making — and some of it is downright breathtaking.

We knew McCain is a politician who relishes improvisation and likes to go with his gut. But it is remarkable that someone who has repeatedly emphasized experience in this campaign named an inexperienced governor he barely knew to be his No. 2. Whatever you think of the pick, here are six things it tells us about McCain:

1. He’s desperate. Let’s stop pretending this race is as close as national polling suggests. The truth is McCain is essentially tied or trailing in every swing state that matters — and too close for comfort in several states, such as Indiana and Montana, that the GOP usually wins pretty easily in presidential races. On top of that, voters seem very inclined to elect Democrats in general this election — and very sick of the Bush years.

McCain could easily lose in an electoral landslide. That is the private view of Democrats and Republicans alike.

McCain’s pick shows he is not pretending. Politicians, even “mavericks” like McCain, play it safe when they think they are winning — or see an easy path to winning. They roll the dice only when they know that the risks of conventionality are greater than the risks of boldness.

See Also

The story behind the Palin surprise

Obama loses spotlight to new rival

Obama ad portrays McCain as clueless

Politico's guide to the conventions

The Republican brand is a mess. McCain is reasonably concluding that it won’t work to replicate George W. Bush and Karl Rove’s electoral formula, based around national security and a big advantage among Y chromosomes, from 2004.

“She’s a fresh new face in a party that’s dying for one — the antidote to boring white men,” a campaign official said.

Palin, the logic goes, will prompt voters to give McCain a second look — especially women who have watched Democrats reject Hillary Rodham Clinton for Barack Obama.

The risks of a backlash from choosing someone so unknown and so untested are obvious. In one swift stroke, McCain demolished what had been one of his main arguments against Obama.

“I think we’re going to have to examine our tag line, ‘dangerously inexperienced,’” a top McCain official said wryly.

2. He’s willing to gamble — bigtime. Let’s face it: This is not the pick of a self-confident candidate. It is the political equivalent of a trick play or, as some Democrats called it, a Hail Mary pass in football. McCain talks incessantly about experience, and then goes and selects a woman he hardly knows, who hardly knows foreign policy and who can hardly be seen as instantly ready for the presidency.

He is smart enough to know it could work, at least politically. Many Republicans see this pick as a brilliant stroke, because it will be difficult for Democrats to run hard against a woman in the wake of the Hillary Clinton drama. Will this push those disgruntled Hillary voters McCain’s way? Perhaps. But this is hardly aimed at them: It is directed at the huge bloc of independent women who could decide this election — especially those who do not see abortion as a make-or-break issue.

McCain has a history of taking dares. Palin represents his biggest one yet.

3. He’s worried about the political implications of his age. Like a driver overcorrecting out of a swerve, he chooses someone who is two years younger than the youthful Obama and 28 years younger than he is. (He turned 72 on Friday.) The father-daughter comparison was inevitable when they appeared next to each other.

4. He’s not worried about the actuarial implications of his age. He thinks he’s in fine fettle and Palin wouldn’t be performing the main constitutional duty of a vice president, which is standing by in case a president dies or becomes incapacitated. If he were really concerned about an inexperienced person sitting in the Oval Office, we would be writing about vice presidential nominee Mitt Romney or Tom Ridge or Condoleezza Rice.

There is no plausible way McCain could say that he picked Palin, who was only elected governor in 2006 and whose most extended public service was as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population 8,471), because she was ready to be president on Day One.

Nor can McCain argue that he was looking for someone he could trust as a close adviser. Most people know the staff at the local Starbucks better than McCain knows Palin. They met for the first time last February at a National Governors Association meeting in Washington. Then, they spoke again — by phone — on Sunday while she was at the Alaska state fair and he was at home in Arizona.

McCain has made a mockery out of his campaign's longtime contention that Barack Obama is too dangerously inexperienced to be commander in chief. Now, the Democratic ticket boasts 40 years of national experience (four years for Obama and 36 years for Joe Biden of Delaware), while the Republican ticket has 26 (McCain’s four years in the House and 22 in the Senate).

The McCain campaign has made a calculation that most voters don’t really care about the national experience or credentials of a vice president, and that Palin’s ebullient personality and reputation as a reformer who took on cesspool politics in Alaska matters more.

5. He’s worried about his conservative base. If he had room to maneuver, there were lots of people McCain could have selected who would have represented a break from Washington politics as usual. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman comes to mind (and it certainly came to McCain’s throughout the process). He had no such room. GOP stalwarts were furious over trial balloons about the possibility of choosing a supporter of abortion rights, including the possibility that he would reach out to his friend.

Palin is an ardent opponent of abortion who was previously scheduled to keynote the Republican National Coalition for Life's "Life of the Party" event in the Twin Cities this week.

“She’s really a perfect selection,” said Darla St. Martin, the co-director of the National Right to Life Committee. It is no secret McCain wanted to shake things up in this race — and he realized he was limited to a shake-up conservatives could stomach.

6. At the end of the day, McCain is still McCain. People may find him a refreshing maverick or an erratic egotist. In either event, he marches to his own beat.

On the upside, his team did manage to play to the media’s love of drama, fanning speculation about his possible choices and maximizing coverage of the decision.

On the potential downside, the drama was evidently entirely genuine. The fact that McCain only spoke with Palin about the vice presidency for the first time on Sunday, and that he was seriously considering Lieberman until days ago, suggests just how hectic and improvisational his process was.

In the end, this selection gives him a chance to reclaim the mantle of a different kind of politician intent on changing Washington. He once had a legitimate claim to this: After all, he took on his own party over campaign finance reform and immigration. He jeopardized this claim in recent months by embracing ideas he once opposed (Bush tax cuts) and ideas that appeared politically motivated (gas tax holiday).

Spontaneity, with a touch of impulsiveness, is one of the traits that attract some of McCain’s admirers. Whether it’s a good calling card for a potential president will depend on the reaction in coming days to what, for the moment, looks like the most daring vice presidential selection in generations.

Mike Allen contributed to this story.

[Uncle Bill]

I agree with this Democrat and former Clinton administration official's assessment:

( yeah, I know she works for Fox News. Save your fatuous bashing of them/ her and address the points she makes if you want, thanks)

A BRILLIANT TRAP MAKES DEMS THE MALE CHAUVINISTS

SHE'S just a beauty queen.

She's another Dan Quayle.

And ironically, the biggest criticism of Sarah Palin, John McCain's veep choice, is she has no experience. Funny, coming from the Barack Obama camp.

Following McCain's announcement of Palin - the first female to be put on a GOP ticket for the White House, and only the second in US history - the Obama campaign skipped the niceties and blasted her as the "former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience." She's also a governor of Alaska (my home state), the first woman in that office and the youngest elected in state history. She has an 80-plus percent approval rating. She has turned the state upside down with her reformist zeal and has made enemies of the Republican establishment.

And she can talk energy policy, one of the biggest issues facing this country.

Is she a gamble? Definitely. But so is Barack Obama, who has himself dismissed experience as a prerequisite for leadership, despite his spot atop the Democratic ticket.

At this point, Palin is so unknown, there's no way to make a clear judgment about her. But listening to Obama supporters take to the airwaves to shriek with indignation about her lack of experience is just a little too rich. Where were they when Obama, two years into the Senate, announced his candidacy for president?

One Obama supporter and political operative blogged, "In picking an unknown, untested half-a-term governor from Alaska . . . John McCain is following in a long line of reckless men who have rolled the dice for a beauty queen."

Do we really have to do this again?

No sooner was Hillary Rodham Clinton out of the race, and a new woman is in the cross hairs.

On CNN, during a discussion about whether it was appropriate for Palin to accept this job when she has a baby, Dana Bash pointed out it's unlikely anyone would ask this of a male candidate.

I can't help wondering if this is a trap. The McCain camp watched and learned as Obama supporters offended Hillary supporters by their treatment of her. The McCainiacs had to know that this group is incapable of behaving, that Palin would bring out their worst instincts.

One top Republican said to me: "Just wait until she is debating Joe Biden and he starts attacking or condescending to her. Hillary voters are going to say, 'Oh yeah, I remember this.' "

The McCain camp has already made clear it stands at the ready to scoop up these voters. Yesterday, Palin proudly acknowledged her historic selection, the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton and the woman who paved the way for her, Geraldine Ferraro.

Ferraro told me she's excited for another woman to be on a presidential ticket. She sees Palin as a risky choice - but also dismissed the idea that she's unqualified.

And she rejected the idea that all the so-called "Hillary voters" would be repelled by Palin's staunch anti-abortion views. These voters know the Senate will have a veto-proof Democratic majority, so that lessens the potency of that issue.

Howard Wolfson, Hillary's top strategist, said "it won't help with most Hillary voters, but it could help with some."

"Some" of 18 million people is what the McCain camp is after.

The other potential trap is luring the Obama campaign onto the "experience" field. The early conventional wisdom says McCain's pick was boneheaded because it takes the experience issue off the table. But it seems that it has done the opposite: The importance of experience is the topic of the day.

The more Democrats complain about this, the more Republicans can turn it on them and say, "If you are so concerned about the amount of experience of the vice president, what about the top of your ticket?"

Obama's argument thus far has been that experience isn't what counts; it's judgment. By attacking the Republican woman relentlessly on this issue, Democrats are undermining their own man.

Kirsten Powers is a Fox News analyst and frequent Post contributor.

[I have got a horsey]

Is it necessary? No

Is it helpful? Yessir

So how did things get so bad in America that it is 'helpful' to own a gun? It's certainly not the case here...