dagblog - Comments for "Pre-Election Omnibus"

Sorry it took me awhile to

Bluesplashy — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:25:52 +0000

Sorry it took me awhile to comment but I liked this post when I read it two days ago. I see McCain running the same track Clinton did in the primary against Obama only he was a little more to the right. They tried the same old tricks and they didn't work. Yes, I have said this before, but it still amazes me how inept the Clinton and McCain campaigns looked compared to Obama. Is he really that good? And I don't see how the MSM was in for Obama. They let McCain get away with shit until the last month - or until the View ladies took him down. I think McCain is a piss poor administrator, had crappy republican advisors and the republicans were fighting not only the democrats but the whole 8 years of Bush. The repuliban field was weak anyway. What would have Clinton/McCain looked like? I did see Articale mans blog. I think it would have been a really close race and McCain may have won.

I agree with you on the atheist bit. I have had to refain myself too many times this year from actually strangling any person that brings up the christian thing in any form in the middle of a political conversation we are having. What sends me over the edge is when the little creeps start claiming they have the market on values, morals and patriotism. When I become Queen of the Universe that gang is first to go!

AARP has become an insurance selling front. Period. Full stop. Nothing but. END OF STORY.

The United States is the only civilized country in the WORLD without national health care. Repeat that to yourself several times, let it sink in, let yourself be stunned by that fact. I don't know what is a sadder commentary on the state of our country - that statement or the fact that Bush was allowed to finish his term in office.

There's no doubt that

DF — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 04:14:12 +0000

In reply to Interesting thoughts, DF. i

There's no doubt that politics is far less scientific than, say, physics. Even so, there's a difference between a disagreement over approach, or even philosophy, and a refusal to acknowledge obvious realities. I'm not sure who said it first, but the saying goes something like, "You're entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts." You can adhere to a philosophy that favors privatization, but you can't deny that the US pays more for less health-care than similar industrialized nations, has higher infant mortality, lower life expentancy, etc. My problem with the AARP's portrayal is that they act as if both the left and the right recognize the problem, but simply can't agree on how best to solve it. I don't think that's the case. The right doesn't seem to see it as the same problem as the left. That's the disconnect. Perhaps that's partisan, but where's the evidence to the contrary?

I've publically outed myself

Michael Wolraich — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:28:22 +0000

In reply to Pre-Election Omnibus

I've publically outed myself an atheist, so I guess that I'm disqualified from serving in the Legislature. Dole's attacks disgust me. If you're tolerant of people of various faiths but exclude atheists, you're still a bigot.

Thanks for the Powell moment.

I agree with Deadman on

Michael Wolraich — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:20:05 +0000

In reply to Pre-Election Omnibus

I agree with Deadman on equivalence. I enjoy reading opinionated reporting, but I also value reporting by journalists that are trying as hard as they can not to take sides. Some journalists just take it too far. It's important to distinguish between controversial claims where neutral reporting can be valuable, and absurd claims which should be dismissed. It was interesting watching McCain push at least some journalists over that threshold during this campaign.

Interesting thoughts, DF. i

Deadman — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:01:49 +0000

In reply to Pre-Election Omnibus

Interesting thoughts, DF. i agree with you on the atheist point entirely. I've actually found myself squirming a bit when Obama talks about his own faith, not because I'm agnostic, but because I feel like that is one area where he is being overtly political. I'll have no way of ever really knowing how genuine his Christian beliefs are, I admit, but it's just a hunch I have.

Your feelings on false equivalence has a major flaw with it in my opinion. Public policy decisions rarely enjoy the certainty of mathematical equations. I would say in the vast majority of cases, the optimal solution to difficult problems lie somewhere in between the extremes. That's why I find partisan politics annoying but necessary. It tends to keep the country from tilting too far one way or the other.

As far as AARP is concerned, I don't have many fond feelings for that organization. For too long, this country has avoided dealing with some big, pressing issues because that lobby and the senior voting bloc it represents exert an undue influence on American politics. It's a disgrace, and the fact they are running a 'Divided We Fall' ad campaign strikes me as obnoxiously hypocritical.