Does Anyone Actually Believe That the EX-Mayor of a 10,000 Pop. City can be President

[Black Lance]

Originally Posted by Bonniedundee

It is silly attudes like that that kept the Wermacht going for so long when many senior staff extremely disliked the regime.

You conclude this... how?

[Bonniedundee]

It is the whole espirit de corp of Prussian miliatarism; the army and its leaders are beyond question. Well fuck they are.

[clownboy]

BD - that's exactly why I didn't vote for him and I served in Vietnam, as did Tom Joad. Although Joad and don't agree on this. But I remember Kerry from that time and the memories of him are not pleasant ones. I put Kerry in the same bucket as Ramsey Clark and Jane Fonda.

[sarmajor]

I was the one who said he was qualified because he was an American. You seem to think that was devoid of content. I didn't elaborate because I didn't feel the need to say more. I said the rest in my quadrennial rant thread. The winner in this contest is going to be the "leader of the free world". I've never been comfortable with that, and, since Bush, I would withdraw my consent if I had the franchise.

If I have to be one of the led but unenfranchised, I'll accept a leader who has limited experience but who shows every sign of being exceptional, both intellectually and in his ability to generate enthusiasm among the led. The fact that he isn't an extremist is also a plus.

However, like most of my unenfranchised brethren, I will be led most unwillingly by a man who puts an extremist in a position to succeed him if he dies in office. Sarah Palin's experience is neither more nor less relevant than Obama's, but it isn't clear to me that she is any brighter than me and her ideology frightens me. Freed from McCain, her ideal America would be one where little girls raped by their fathers would be forced to bear the child; where funding for single mothers would be cut back; where creationism would be taught as science; where the interests of the big oil companies would have primacy over the protection of an environment in which humans can live.

Zan ........You are testament to my contention that a person grows more intelligent with age.

You are almost at the stage where you are finding out which way is up.

What galls me is that this woman (for whom I would not vote under any circumstances ) could be in a position where she could severely adversely influence the wellbeing of me and mine.

It is bad enough to be outvoted - but to have no vote whatsoever - is galling in the extreme

[Zan de Man]

The whole world must be ageing Sar:

Obama win preferred in world poll
BBC


Most thought US relations would get better under a president Obama

People outside the US would prefer Barack Obama to become US president ahead of John McCain, a BBC World Service poll suggests.

Democrat Mr Obama was favoured by a four-to-one margin across the 22,500 people polled in 22 countries.

In 17 countries, the most common view was that US relations with the rest of the world would improve under Mr Obama.

If Republican Mr McCain were elected, the most common view was that relations would remain about the same.

The poll was conducted before the Democratic and Republican parties held their conventions and before the headline-grabbing nomination of Sarah Palin as Mr McCain's running mate.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the results could therefore be a reflection of the greater media focus on Mr Obama as he competed for the presidential candidacy against Hillary Clinton.


The margin of those in favour of Mr Obama winning November's US election ranged from 9% in India to 82% in Kenya, which is the birthplace of the Illinois senator's father.

On average 49% preferred Mr Obama to 12% in favour of Mr McCain. Nearly four in 10 of those polled did not take a view.

On average 46% thought US relations with the world would improve with Mr Obama in the White House, 22% that ties would stay the same, while seven per cent expected relations to worsen.

Only 20% thought ties would get better if Mr McCain were in the Oval Office.

The expectation that a McCain presidency would improve US relations with the world was the most common view, by a modest margin, only in China, India and Nigeria.

But across the board, the largest number - 37% - thought relations under a president McCain would stay the same, while 16% expected them to deteriorate.

In no country did most people think that a McCain presidency would worsen relations.


Some 30% of Americans expected relations to improve under Mr McCain

Oddly, in Turkey more people thought US relations would worsen with an Obama presidency than under Mr McCain, even though most Turks polled preferred Mr Obama to win.

In Egypt, Lebanon, Russia and Singapore, the predominant expectation was that relations would remain the same if Mr Obama won the election.

The countries most optimistic that an Obama presidency would improve ties were US Nato allies - Canada (69%), Italy (64%), France (62%), Germany (61%), and the UK (54%) - as well as Australia (62%), along with Kenya (87%) and Nigeria (71%).

When asked whether the election as president of the African-American Mr Obama would "fundamentally change" their perception of the US, 46% said it would while 27% said it would not.

SEE FULL POLL RESULTS


BBC World Service US election poll [1.7MB]

The US public was polled separately and Americans also believed an Obama presidency would improve US ties with the world more than a McCain presidency.

Forty-six per cent of Americans expected relations to get better if Mr Obama were elected and 30% if Mr McCain won the White House.

A similar poll conducted for BBC World Service ahead of the 2004 US presidential election found most countries would have preferred to see Democratic nominee John Kerry beat the incumbent George W Bush.

At the time, the Philippines, Nigeria and Poland were among the few countries to favour Mr Bush's re-election. All three now favour Mr Obama over Mr McCain.

In total 22,531 citizens were polled in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, the UAE and the UK. A parallel survey was conducted with 1,000 US adults.

Polling firm GlobeScan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes carried out the survey between July and August.

[Zan de Man]

Originally Posted by Black Lance

Thanks Justin.

I've asked this before, and I'll ask it again: Why is Obama qualified to be President of the United States? If Palin is not qualified to be at the bottom of the GOP ticket, what qualification does Obama have in contrast that qualifies him to be at the top of the DNC ticket?

I’ll try to find some and I’ll bring ‘em to ya.