The upcoming election in the USA

[goingdown]

In 2000 Florida was the state that made the president, in 2004 it was Ohio and in 2008 it would be.... I am not sure Virginia or Colorado?

Posted on: October 23, 2008, 12:53:51 pm

I would vote Obama, but it's pretty irrelevant since the state I live in is strongly democratic anyways.

Not sure. The governor race of your state is probably  #2 second race in the nation. And it will energize GOP supporters.

[tekla]

I think its going to be Penn and the old Northwest - Minn, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indinana and Ohio.  If Obama carries that swath of states then Colorado and Nevada are not going to matter.  Its interesting that McCain is being forced to run in North Carolina, Virginia, and even his home state, all long standing Red voters.

But the real deal is that Obama has a pile more money than McCain does, and its going to pour into those states in the last week.

For us in SF, unless I see them on some national news show, I've never seen a McCain or Obama ad, they just don't buy any local time here.

[cindybc]

Well, let's see, I belive it must be close to thirty years since I voted, ehhh, well, I truly don't recollect. The last time I voted was when my mate who lived in Washington DC at the time was up for a visit drove me to the polls to vote. Before that I believe it was back in 18 and 62 when my old grey mare got shot in butt the civil war..... er that's another chapter in another story.

Cindy

[RebeccaFog]

Well, you can vote Nader.


And, since we have the electoral College, and I live in a state that is gauranteed blue - I may just lodge a protest vote for good ole Ralph.

If McCain manages to win NY by one vote, then I guess I'll just have to shoot myself, but I really doubt it.

Electoral college needs to go before the elections mean anything, what we have right now is 50 separate elections, and that requires the candidates spread themselves too thin and pay a disproportionate amount of attention to the rural areas because the big states are locked up.

So, we get platforms that are designed to cater to special local interests, rather then focused on the big issues, like the environment or healthcare.

If McCain wins NY by 1 vote, I'm sure that we will be happy to shoot you.   

and don't think we're going to forget to do it, either.

Posted on: October 23, 2008, 02:07:32 pm

I recognize the origin of the electoral college, but I feel it's an outdated concept. It leaves people feeling disenfranchised because their votes truly don't matter. If you're in a solid red state and you're a democrat, you have no incentive to go to the polls. You have no incentive to become informed, because no matter what you think/feel/know - your vote is eventually going to aggregate into the tally of the other party.

I think the Parliamentary election process actually leads to a government that is more closely representative of the peoples wishes.

I also love watching BBC to see the PM answer a volley of questions from parliament. If our leaders had that kind of direct accountability, we'd see a different caliber of leader. I know Bush could never handle it the way Tony Blair did.

I don't know. If your state is red (like the commies) then you would think it would inspire people to get out and work against that within the state. If you give up and let the reds win there will never be a change.  Somebody needs to get out there and try to educate people.  Because if you can change one state, you can make a difference of some kind.

Posted on: October 23, 2008, 02:16:40 pm

I just read an article about how Palin is actually McCain's largest liability.  She has a less than 50% approval rating, now that things have calmed down after the "OMG SHE'S SO HAWT" nonsense during the first few weeks, and the vast majority think she's not ready to become president in the event McCain dies.

How can a woman have all the qualities of a babe, but I still am not attracted to her? I'm capable of being attracted to a tree stump if you toss a skirt on it. Maybe I see the inner person before I see the chocolately outer coating.

[cindybc]

Oh! Neglected to say, to busy straying off topic I guess, I put my little dot in the circle in front of Obama name. McCain has already shot all his toes off with his six shooter. Geeee I guess he had ugly toes. 

Cindy 

[RebeccaFog]

I was just telling a friend the other day, how I honestly never thought that anyone could be more incompetent a president than George Bush- but that Palin could probably manage it.

The difference between bush and palin is that bush had a fortune and a family that provided him with connections to powerful people. Palin doesn't have that. If she became president, I sense that congress would address that issue with impeachment. They would have no choice.

My thought at this time is that if McPalin wins, Palin will do something that gets her investigated and booted anyway. Then McCant can choose his best bud, joe Leiberman.

[flutter]

Rebis -

I'm in a solid blue state, I could drive a couple hours and go stumping in Pennsylvania, but I don't think I'm gonna help all that much.

My state is going to Obama, McCain hasn't even tried to campaign here. Voting for a third party candidate not only registers a dislike for this monopoly of only two choices we have today, it forces the campaigns to consider alternative view points, and why those people didn't vote for them.

I've protest voted in 2 out of 3 elections. Perot, Gore, Nader. I was pissed at "Don't ask, Don't tell" so I refused to vote for Clinton (I was only 20), Gore/Bush I actually liked Gore. Bush/Kerry...... I thought Kerry was a marginal improvement, but I knew the state was going to him, and I was pissed that the media railroaded Dean out of the campaign (I *did* door to door signature gathering for Dean).

I don't regret my decisions, because in each case,  Clinton, Gore and Kerry carried the state, just like Obama will.

However, I actually like Obama - so I'm still deciding if I'm going to protest vote or just straight up vote.

Since the electoral college negates the meaning of my vote in actually choosing a president, I chose to use it in a way that gives it meaning to me.

[TamTam]

Maybe I see the inner person before I see the chocolately outer coating.

Hear, hear!

[goingdown]

In 2000 Florida was the state that made the president, in 2004 it was Ohio and in 2008 it would be.... I am not sure Virginia or Colorado?

Posted on: October 23, 2008, 12:53:51 pm[hr

I think that that is the outcome. In case Obama wins Virginia he is a clear frontrunner. In case Obama wins all states that Gore and Kerry carried before but no more Colorado will probably give victory to McCain.

[Hypatia]

Currently, here in Virginia, Obama is ahead in the polls, but I don't feel we can afford to relax, so I'm going and volunteering at the local Obama campaign office. Both Virginia and Pennsylvania are getting an influx of volunteers from our (safely Democratic) neighbor Maryland. The level of enthusiasm and outpouring of activism in the Obama campaign is the most phenomenal thing I've seen in my whole life. There has never been a campaign like this before. The nation is onto something, it feels like a spiritual reawakening.

[Shana A]

Not only am I voting for Obama, I'm also volunteering for his campaign locally. I'd rather get dental work done than make phone calls to complete strangers, but I'm making the calls. Am going out to canvass door to door this weekend. It feels really important. It's typically very close in NH.

Z

[annajasmine]

I already voted The 'O' got mine along with 2 other Democrats and a Independent. Place was pack with bunch of older religious people.

Anna

[joannatsf]

The presidential race was done before it started n California.  The real race was between Barack and Hillary, which Hillary won.  Congress?  Nancy Pelosi is my Rep.  I don't even know who the Republican Sacrificial lamb is.  But we gots ballot propositions!  Over 30 of them.  I'd like to have an initiative to do away with initiatives.  Make our state leges grow some balls and resolve problems for us like we pay them to do.  Prop 8 on gay marriage is the biggy.  Personaly I think gay people should have the right to be just as miserable as straight people. 

[cindianna_jones]

Had the system been allowed to work in 2000, the Florida vote would not have passed the certification process in time, been discounted, and the election would have gone to the House.  Though I'm sure that even in that process Bush would have won, it would have been a very different deal had he been put into power via Congress instead of the Supreme Court.

If you get a chance, see the movie "Recount".  I DID NOT KNOW.  Did you know that they never did recount the votes (actual ballots) even though the first tally was only a couple thousand different votes?  They did retally the machine memory cards which brought it to within 300. 

And then, there were 175,000 cards from mostly Democratic counties which were NEVER counted because they were rejected the first time through the machines.  They didn't even feed these through again.... much less look at them.

Cindi

[RebeccaFog]

I've protest voted in 2 out of 3 elections. Perot, Gore, Nader. I was pissed at "Don't ask, Don't tell" so I refused to vote for Clinton (I was only 20), Gore/Bush I actually liked Gore. Bush/Kerry...... I thought Kerry was a marginal improvement, but I knew the state was going to him, and I was pissed that the media railroaded Dean out of the campaign (I *did* door to door signature gathering for Dean).

Uh oh. I did the Nader thing in 2000 because I knew my state would carry Gore anyway. I really agreed with Nader, but if Gore had actually had a message that was interesting, I would have considered him more seriously. It's funny. If Gore had been the man he is now back in 2000, I think he would have gotten many more votes.

Sometimes people get all mad when you tell them you voted for Nader. I keep telling them you're supposed to do what you feel is best.

I live between cape cod and boston.

[flutter]

I've protest voted in 2 out of 3 elections. Perot, Gore, Nader. I was pissed at "Don't ask, Don't tell" so I refused to vote for Clinton (I was only 20), Gore/Bush I actually liked Gore. Bush/Kerry...... I thought Kerry was a marginal improvement, but I knew the state was going to him, and I was pissed that the media railroaded Dean out of the campaign (I *did* door to door signature gathering for Dean).

Uh oh. I did the Nader thing in 2000 because I knew my state would carry Gore anyway. I really agreed with Nader, but if Gore had actually had a message that was interesting, I would have considered him more seriously. It's funny. If Gore had been the man he is now back in 2000, I think he would have gotten many more votes.

Sometimes people get all mad when you tell them you voted for Nader. I keep telling them you're supposed to do what you feel is best.

I live between cape cod and boston.

A Nader vote only mattered in Florida

if you protest vote in a battleground state, you are actually throwing your vote away... it's only in the solid states where protest votes are kosher.

I saw the man Gore is today in that man that was campaigning in 2000. He's probably the greenest main party candidate we've seen since Carter.

[RebeccaFog]

Carter made an attempt to get us moving toward energy independence, then that winged baboon, Reagan, dismantled the project.

I can't believe how shortsighted and greedy some people are.

[Shana A]

I've protest voted in 2 out of 3 elections. Perot, Gore, Nader. I was pissed at "Don't ask, Don't tell" so I refused to vote for Clinton (I was only 20), Gore/Bush I actually liked Gore. Bush/Kerry...... I thought Kerry was a marginal improvement, but I knew the state was going to him, and I was pissed that the media railroaded Dean out of the campaign (I *did* door to door signature gathering for Dean).

Uh oh. I did the Nader thing in 2000 because I knew my state would carry Gore anyway. I really agreed with Nader, but if Gore had actually had a message that was interesting, I would have considered him more seriously. It's funny. If Gore had been the man he is now back in 2000, I think he would have gotten many more votes.

Sometimes people get all mad when you tell them you voted for Nader. I keep telling them you're supposed to do what you feel is best.

I live between cape cod and boston.

I also voted for Nader in 2000. If Al Gore had been saying then what he did later I would've voted for him, but in '00 the DNC and democratic party seemed barely discernible from the repubs. I would still very much like to see a break from the two party stronghold, but this time I'm voting Obama.

Z

[RebeccaFog]

I think there is a different motivation for people in this election.

Plus, many people are used to the idea of Gay marriage thanks to Ellen and the other high profile people who showed it isn't world ending.

This time people understand that the future is in the balance. Over on Huffpo, you see more conservatives endorsing Obama every day. Obama carried out my plan of a politician actually breaking from the traditional lame campaign mode and going right to the people instead of playing to pundits and the base.

[J.T.]

My transgendered issues have nothing to do with how I vote.

Me either... i am voting for what is best for the country.  It would be selfish of me to vote otherwise.