fisheye48

dont electoral votes elect the president not popular vote?

Xanadu

You obviously don't have the slightest clue what I believe or stand for. I think that we agree on more than we disagree about, but there is much to blame W and friends for. Times and circumstances contribute, but the facts are the facts. The Bush administration has devalued our currency, fostered debt and encouraged companies to act in ways that are not in the best interest of our country or citizens. The rights of all of us have been compromised and the power of government has grown as fast as the incompetence has been showed for the majority of Bush's appointments.



I voted for George HW Bush and I respect him for his war time service, civil service and true conservatism. He was a man who believed in the constitution, but your party deserted him for taking the reasoned approach to keep debt low as opposed to tax cuts and stimulus spending. George HW Bush was a fine president. His "voodoo economics" speech is one of my favorite quotes of all time (second to Ann Richards "golden spoon in his mouth" statement) but I digress. His son, W, is a travesty of coincidence. He was marketed and sold to us as a second coming of Reagan and, unfortunately, too many of us see Reagan as some sort of demigod when really, he was a dottering old fool who was better playing second man to a monkey.



But Reagan served an important purpose. He looked good and he sounded good. He said what we wanted to hear and he made me feel proud to be an American. Despite all the bs and subtefuge (Iran Contra, Ollie NOrth, cocaine...) we needed an uplifting and positive image and we got it.



McCain, in his current incarnation, does not uplift or inspire. He is campaigning standing on points he argued about against GWB and it makes him look stupid to me. Where he used to be a maverick or independent moderate, he's become a yes man to the Ralph Reeds and Jerry Falwells. Too bad, really. Had he won in 00, we'd be a much stronger and better country today.

WW2

Yes, in a way, but voting 3rd party gets them the ability to get access to all kinds of funds and things. Ross Perot almost got enough votes one year to get his party in the mix.

bottomfisher01

Hey Xandau. Letting our currency fall is a good thing. It makes stuff cheaper for other countries so they will buy more of our product and it makes our balance of trade better.

OLDCRAB

Would it not make more sense to get elected to the House or Senate as a third party then to go straight for the president? Telling everyone what you will do and showing them by your voting record would speak volumes.

WW2

Absolutely, if I were to try to but into politics that's the route I would go. This is a good place to start reading, not for the individual candidates but for a nice list of alternative parties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...ndidates,_2008

My suggestion for those that are look for "change" is to read up on some of these other parties. You might just find out you are not republican or democrat at all, you might be libertarian, green or reform. Once you have found a party that more closely resembles your ideas then look at the candidate they have put up and see if that person is someone you can get behind(note that I don't suggest you immediately vote for them either). Voting a party line is dangerous. It removes thought from the processs. A bad vote that you thought about is better than a bad vote that you didn't think about. If enough people were to abandon the dems and reps they will get the major wake up call and perhaps repair themselves. It's not likely to destroy them but it can break thier comfort level. It's the comfort of knowing that they have millions of people that will vote republican or democrat(no matter what) that allows them to just sit back and ride the money train.

hebegb

on the bright side...once their oil is gone ours will remain.

They have done next to nothing to prepare for their post-oil years



after the oil runs out in the middle east, it will be a great time....nobody will ever care about those countries again

Xanadu

Hey bottomfisher, letting our currency fall is a bad thing. It makes everything we import more expensive, decreases the demand for our dollars and fosters insecurity in the markets. Devaluation is inflation and inflation steals from the owners of assets and transfers wealth to those who owe from those who own.