FROM 2012 INTO 2013 POLITICS THREAD

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

The President is a self-made man. I will give him that.

Yet his success has gone, almost entirely, to himself. He rode out ambition and a really cool name to a speech eight years ago that sold millions of copies of an autobiography.

But I ask: what has Barack Obama made better... aside from Barack Obama? Is his district in Chicago any safer? Economic opportunities any better? Has he spent his efforts really trying to improve the lives of others... or to win the next election?

He is a self-made man. Very much so. But, in his overall effectiveness, he is the political version of the post-retirement Isiah Thomas. Everything he touches turns to crap.

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

Nowhere in the Democratic Party platform does it say we should tolerate stupidity.

(Cue lame "Then why are you voting for Obama?" joke)

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

Right. John Kerry -- lifelong politician, and a guy who was anti-Vietnam War activist, and who threw his medals away -- ran on his military record.

And, the left ate it up.

But, the same left, mocked George H.W. Bush -- the youngest aviator in the Navy -- as a "wimp". They labeled John McCain, a former POW, as a "crazy", old man.

And, let's not even get into how the whole country treated Admiral Stockdale.

Bill Clinton did everything he could to avoid military service, and "loathed the military." That didn't bother anyone on the left. But, George W. Bush's National Guard service was called into question, and the left tried to label him a deserter.

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

When you can form all that into something making a point, re-post and I'll try to respond.

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

TINMHITTMAL

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

OK. Try this. Kerry may not have run as a "self made man."

But, he still ran on a narrative that was not reflective of his life. And, it didn't bother anyone on the left.

He was a career politician, who ran on his brief military career, which ended over 30 years earlier.

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

Re: the Presidential election polls. Y'all may recall me referring to the possibility of a Bayesian approach to poll analysis a few (hundred) pages ago in this thread. Not my area, but turns out other quantitatively-oriented (i.e., geeky) types are fishing that stream: This article is from the Chronicle of Higher Education (authoritative enough source material there for you, Uncle.Ruckus?):

http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/the-rise-of-the-poll-quants-or-the-demise-of-the-tv-pundits/31636

Some meaty quotes:

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

Now that makes some sense. I think the military stuff was overdone just because of the time we were in -- Democrats were trying to overcome the GOP's flag-waving "War President" bullshit, and having a guy who had actually gone to war up against a couple of chicken hawks was a viable strategy. I don't think that was the only thing Kerry was running on, but it was a big part of it.

Regarding Kerry and Mitt, though -- or even going back to Kennedy -- the question on the Democrats' side has not been whether someone grew up rich or poor. The question has been whether they favor policies that help the rich or help the poor.

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

I thought this election was about what we could do to help the middle class ...

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

Nah. No percentage in it.

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

Priority No. 1 is getting rid of the dipshit in office, tomorrow.
Then the conservatives and Tea Party types need to start pressuring Romney to act like a real Republican.

 

Re: THE 2012 POLITICS THREAD

I'll use the same reasoning that the pro-biz people on here have used before. If they don't like it, they're free to leave the union and find a different job.

I may not like it how a business uses my labor to make money to support another candidate, or I may not like who the paper endorses. But, as I've been told several times on here before, I'm free to leave at any time.

Heck, I've even been told on here that, since I'm a journalist, that if a company doesn't want me to sign a petition or put a bumper sticker on my car, that they have the right to do so, and I'm free to leave at any time. Even though their endorsements may bring the same complaints of reporting bias from their readers.