The final days of the 2008 election

[Sean]

Just thought that a good, all purpose election thread might be in order now that we're getting down to it, and now that the randomness of the kitchen sink strategy is in full play.

The first story I wanted to mention was one I'm pretty excited about. I finally get to personally be on the receiving end of Republican insinuations of being "un-American" or "dangerous". Elizabeth Dole, in her big final push to keep her spot in the Senate, has accused her Democratic rival, Kay Hagan, of palling around with atheists! Yay! That's me! I and some of you here are to be feared for our God killing ways!

Now I'll go ahead and take my seat with the Muslims, Arabs, socialists, communists, blacks, gays, members of the Trinity United Church of Christ, black liberation theologists, ex-terrorists, current terrorists, Europeans, pro-choic - I mean baby killers, Northern Virginians, the entire populations of big cities, the liberal elite media, Georgetown cocktail party conservatives, intellectuals, and everyone else that the McCain/Palin ticket has deemed worthy of their America's fear, hate, and ire. I'm sure I missed some...

[gambit]

Hey remember the whole Joe the Plumber bit? Now, the McCain campaign is getting alliterative!

“Whether you are Susie the Student or Nancy the Nurse, Tina the Teacher, or Carl the Construction Worker -- if my opponent is elected, you will be worse off four years from now than you are today,” [McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds] said.

EDIT: I read this wrong. It wasn't McCain's spokesman who said it, but Obama himself said it to mock the whole Name + Occupation gimmick.

What about Bob the Builder, Wilt the Window Washer, Phil the Phlembologist, Sally the Stripper, Harry the Homeless Person, Steve the Spelunker, Tom the Taxidermist, Pete the Pedicurist, Mary the Manicurist, Rick the Referee, Billy the Bartender, Pedro the Pet Groomer, Gary the Garbage Collector, Daryl the Delivery Man, Tim the Toy Collector, and Gloria the Grave Digger? What about them?????

[stimpee]

Originally Posted by gambit

What about Bob the Builder, Wilt the Window Washer, Phil the Phlembologist, Sally the Stripper, Harry the Homeless Person, Steve the Spelunker, Tom the Taxidermist, Pete the Pedicurist, Mary the Manicurist, Rick the Referee, Billy the Bartender, Pedro the Pet Groomer, Gary the Garbage Collector, Daryl the Delivery Man, Tim the Toy Collector, and Gloria the Grave Digger? What about them?????

You forgot Postman Pat.

[matt]

Originally Posted by gambit

What about Bob the Builder?

Well Bob's about to go to Number 1 in the UK charts with his comeback single Big Fish, Little Fish, Cardboard Box.

[King of Snake]

ok so Obama is up in all the polls. It looks like a done deal doesn't it?
Thing is that in a lot of states the race is close. Close enough maybe to be swayed to the republicans by, let's say, "influencing" the vote?

oh yeah and also:

[Deckard]

Just watched some of the joint campaign appearance with Bill Clinton and Obama. Paraphrasing Obama: "For the remaining 5 days, we need to WORK like our liiiiiiives de-PEND-ed on it" - delivered in that soaring tone that he does so well, while 'CHANGE' banners filled every corner of the screen.

At that very moment, what struck me again was probably what's struck all of us here at various times over the last few months, though we've not really touched on it that much - and that is, how cynically we'll all be viewing moments like this in a few years time when Obama has had some years in the White House - obviously assuming the election swings that way, and that no loonies decide to cut it short.

This whole Obama movement (and to many it does resemble a movement rather than a campaign) is carrying with it a truly ridiculous weight of expectation.

That's not to say he's not one of the most remarkable and talented presidential candidates to come along in recent times (certainly I think in my life time) or that the Obama/Biden v McCain/Palin choice isn't a no-brainer. He's an exciting candidate, and the excitement he generates is entirely understandable, particularly at this point in time.

But, DAMN, we're all going to cringe when we look at how we felt, spoke and acted back in 2008.... before he got elected, and went and..................

????
????
????

Maybe it's just the memories of my country circa 1997, the New Labour 'movement' (nowadays that word would be applied to them in a very different way) led by the more photogenic, relatively youthful and easy-mannered Tony Blair and the campaign song "Things can only get better" signifying the end of Major and Thatcher's Tory rule, the nasty party, which remained in the political wilderness for a decade until it learned that it had to appeal to the centre ground once again.

Anyway, sod it. For now, I'm not going to resist - I'm going to enjoy the last 5 days, and let myself get caught up in it all.

After all, it's still possible that McCain/Palin could win this thing.....

[Sean]

Personally, I'm not expecting miracles. I simply feel like we're at a point in history where we basically need to make a conscious decision which way we want the U.S. to evolve. On the one hand, we can choose to continue down a similar path to what we're already on, maintaining our tough, aggressive military approach to internatinal relations, putting heavy focus on drilling for more oil in and around our own country, continuing to support an economic system that puts opportunity and control primarily into the hands of the wealthy in the hope that it will trickle down, and frankly, making decisions based on instincts such as fear and distrust. Or, we can try to reshape our approach to international relations by focusing more squarely on tough, aggressive diplomacy, on developing renewable energy sources as a foundation for our economic and environmental future, supporting an economic system that puts opportunity and control primarily into the hands of the middle class in the hope that it will trickle up, and making decisions based on reason and cooperation.

I really tried to present this choice as I see it when you peel away the rhetoric. Who knows how successful either party will be if they win the election, but the ideological choice is all we can make our decision on at this particular moment. Once the election is over, it'll just be up to us to hold the winner accountable.

[Dirty0900]

Has Obama won yet?

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Originally Posted by Sean

Just thought that a good, all purpose election thread might be in order now that we're getting down to it, and now that the randomness of the kitchen sink strategy is in full play.

The first story I wanted to mention was one I'm pretty excited about. I finally get to personally be on the receiving end of Republican insinuations of being "un-American" or "dangerous". Elizabeth Dole, in her big final push to keep her spot in the Senate, has accused her Democratic rival, Kay Hagan, of palling around with atheists! Yay! That's me! I and some of you here are to be feared for our God killing ways!

Now I'll go ahead and take my seat with the Muslims, Arabs, socialists, communists, blacks, gays, members of the Trinity United Church of Christ, black liberation theologists, ex-terrorists, current terrorists, Europeans, pro-choic - I mean baby killers, Northern Virginians, the entire populations of big cities, the liberal elite media, Georgetown cocktail party conservatives, intellectuals, and everyone else that the McCain/Palin ticket has deemed worthy of their America's fear, hate, and ire. I'm sure I missed some...

You forgot the nude volleyball league your on.

[cacophony]

Originally Posted by Sean

The final days of the 2008 election

IS IT OVER YET?!?!?!!??!?!?!