Are We ready for a Black President?

[BJean 16]

A "present" vote is different from no vote. You proabably don't know the reasoning behind some Senators voting "present."

Ha, ha, ha. Since when have you cared one whit about what France thinks?

Anybody want to discuss the fact that John McCain actually has "ties" to Bill Ayers and the "PLO" operative Palin, Karl Rove and Rudy Guliani have insinuated that Senator Obama consorted with? Interesting disclosure today. And no, McCain wasn't disclosing a thing. It was discovered by others and revealed on MSNBC. Also reported by CNN although not as in depth.

Even Fox News has found recent assusations against Senator Obama to be utterly ridiculous. Wow. Never thought I'd see that day. Did you?

[BJean 16]

Diane that's the darned truth!

I think everyone is frustrated by the length and ugliness of this campaign. It has made a lot of people want to vent.

I cannot wait until it is over. Once Tuesday comes, we should have a lot of answers to many of our questions. Different questions could arise after the election day, but I think we all hope that there is no question about who the real winner is.

[TheGh0st 9]

...I cannot wait until it is over. Once Tuesday comes, we should have a lot of answers to many of our questions. Different questions could arise after the election day, but I think we all hope that there is no question about who the real winner is.

I second that sentiment.

It does bring up another thought I've been having recently. When you watch the national media you hear over and over again that Obama & McCain are in a near dead heat and yet they talk as if it will be some sort of surprising upset if McCain actually wins. Some of the not so mainstream go so far as to suggest McCain can only win by cheating. And some from the other side claim some left wing media conspiracy against McCain...

...OK I've written and re-written this post 4 times now when I need to be finishing up month end here at work. (Shame on me) And my post keeps getting way out of hand. So let me try one more time cutting as quickly to the point as I know how....

I prefer not to buy into either extreme view.

The problem is that not only are the two political sides pulling further and further apart in thier views they are also moving further and further apart in geography. With the majority of the rural areas trending towards Republican and the Urban towards Democrat. This physical pulling apart makes it all too easy to feel a sense of disbelief that others could believe differently since thier is so little interaction between the two groups.

The result is that all the media outlets are based in Urban settings making them more likely to be unintentionally influenced by this phenomena of disbelief that their is still a large (nearly 50%) of the population that is supporting McCain and therefore if he wins they will naturally find it easier to accept any reports of election irregularities as somehow the cause of his winning.

Most likely it will be a very close result but even now I see it possible that either could win even with a landslide.

Obama could win bigger than the polls suggest by bringing out huge numbers of Urban voters not seen before and possibly not included in current polling numbers.

And McCain could win bigger than the polls due to an under-representation within the polls of people living in non-urban areas.

IF McCain does win, I ask the Obama supporters to please try to remember that the polls have been showing a very close race and that his winning is possible without fraud or cheating.

Oh, and the same can be said towards the McCain supporters, if Obama wins.

No matter who wins I hope more time is spent in the media and by the Water coolers around America trying to find a way to move forward WITH our new President, rather than looking back for ways to change the outcome by crying foul.

[TheGh0st 9]

Here's an odd statistic. According to AOL's VERY INFORMAL straw poll of its members who have taken the time to choose to vote in the straw poll. McCain is leading 64% to 35%.

This is by NO MEANS a poll I would consider an accurate representation of the nations view. lt just struck me as odd that it was so different than the others.

It would make sense if it were a straw poll of voluntary voters on a republican biased site but I would have never pegged AOL members as leaning predominantly one way or the other. Obviously I was wrong.

[monalisah 0]

Yes, I am ready for a Biracial president. One who knows the importance of both races. In a country that has multiple races. One who has not forgotton his upbringing. November 4th the day history will be made.

[TheGh0st 9]

re: "No matter who wins I hope more time is spent in the media and by the Water coolers around America trying to find a way to move forward WITH our new President, rather than looking back for ways to change the outcome by crying foul."

Good thought, GhOst....

Sadly, the chances of such a kumbaya moment around the proverbial water cooler no matter who wins is about as good as a snowball's chance in hell. Especially considering the reputation to provoke controversy that some in the media on both sides of the fence have.

[BJean 16]

I still think it is a good thought!

I guess you know what you're talking about when it comes to rural v. urban voters. I have heard twice today that at least 2 nationwide polls only have McCain at about 35%.

But I know that polls are not reliable. And you make a good point that these polls don't take into account who all these new voters are going to support. That should be a very important factor and probably will make this race far closer than anyone predicts.

I do think it is going to take some time for this country to heal from all the negative emotions this election has stirred up. I sure hope that whoever is elected will be able to take the kind of action and say the kinds of things that will help everyone get united to create a better, stronger America. That is what really counts in this thing.

[Donna113 2]

Clinton haters still hate Clinton after all these years and Bush haters will still hate Bush 8 years from now. Thankfully, most people don't think, breathe and feel political in their every day lives so once the election is over, I think the heightened sense of anger and frustration will also abate somewhat.

[BJean 16]

You're right about hate and politics.

But the if a good man points us in the right direction, and things begin to improve, it can go a long way in diffusing political hate.

And I gotta tell you that I for one, do not hate McCain. I abhor this campaign he's run but I understand it and hope it doesn't work in his favor. But I don't hate McCain.

Regarding Palin, I can't say that I hate her either. But I do not respect her political philosophy and her extremist views. And I gotta tell you that if she does run for national office again, I will actively oppose her. More actively than I have supported Senator Obama.

And if McCain and Palin lose, I will totally shut up about her -- unless and until she runs for national office.

[BethFromVA 5]

A "present" vote is different from no vote. You proabably don't know the reasoning behind some Senators voting "present."

Do tell. What is the reason for a senator voted in to do the will of the people simply voting "present" over 90 percent of the time?

[TheWatcher 1]

Do tell. What is the reason for a senator voted in to do the will of the people simply voting "present" over 90 percent of the time?

a present vote more or less says that i do not agree nessesarily with this bill as it is currently written but i am no opposed to it so i will allow it to go the way of the vote.

[BethFromVA 5]

a present vote more or less says that i do not agree nessesarily with this bill as it is currently written but i am no opposed to it so i will allow it to go the way of the vote.

Imo, that's not good leadership when over 90 percent of your "vote" is really a non-vote.

[monalisah 0]

true to that

[BJean 16]

What it tells us is that he has actually read the proposed legislation and that he has mixed feelings about it. He doesn't want to endorse the entire bill by absolutely voting for it because he disagrees with certain aspects of it and he won't stand in the way of it because of the good parts that he agrees with. Furthermore, he knows that it is necessary to participate in this way instead of voting no, if they are to ever get anything accomplished in such a bipartisan Congress.

I prefer his approach as opposed to those of so many of those fools that are just plain absent because they don't want to go on the record and have to answer questions or defend their vote, either yes or no, for a piece of legislation that they often haven't even read.

True dat, yo.

[BJean 16]

Ahhh I had a feeling someone would bring that up. Shoulda known it would be you, oh logical one.

Of course he doesn't read them all line by line. That's why the taxpayers agree to paying salaries for aides for Congressmen. The aides do a list of the points of each bill and bring them to the attention of Senator Obama. If there is a piece of legislation wherein part of it goes against his philosophy in some way, he reads it and decides what he needs to do. And we know that he is aware of what's in those bills because he discusses his reasons for voting the way he voted both when he is interviewed and on his website.

I don't know why all the Congressional staffers aren't able to inform their bosses on all of the bills. And of course quite a few do.

Another factor is that it is politics, pure and simple, influenced by lobbyists from all angles. But there are a whole lot of lazy people who "serve" in Congress and there's really no excuse for it. I do not consider Senator Obama to be a lazy or uninformed person.

I do not consider Senator McCain an uninformed person either. His philosophy as it relates to legislation is often defined by his hawk-like stance on war and his big tax break theory on greedy corporations. Makes it easy for a person like me to get where he's coming from. I don't just listen to what he has said during this campaign. I know what he's done for real.

With Senator Obama, I needed to dig deeper to get the whole picture. Something that obviously many people are not interested in bothering with. If they had, they wouldn't take the McCain/Palin speeches for the gospel truth.