US presidential election 2008

    Quote from Thrik

    Merged your thread with the existing election thread, btw.

    Thats sweet of you . PM'ed Frie I just thought this thread was a prelodium for the election and now when it was over the thread was obsolete. Obviously not. My bad.

    Quote from KoKo5oVaR

    I don't think either that things will change much...However the positive point i find in Obama's election is that it will probably modify, in the good way, the point of view the "rest" of the world has on the US , and it's certainly the best thing it can happen.

    modify = change? :wink:

    Quote from Jetsetlemming

    Philadelphia Inquirer's calling it a "HISTORIC WIN".

    i was at a bar with a live feed last night with a few friends, one of them american. we had to drink every time someone said 'historic' or anything related to history, as well as every time a white guy said he voted for mccain. it's amazing how much people love that word... i'm glad i am off today.

    as for the change: the democrats are filibuster proof due to their mandates, so i reckon there's a greater chance for bigger changes to happen (since republicans will have very little influence).

    either way, congrats americans. here's to 4, and perhaps 8 years, of change for the better!

    Quote from kleinluka

    well half the population was still smoking that stuff.... i was reading some comments on AOL last night after he was declared winner and people were saying they were gonna kill him and that he is a muslim terrorist and america will die because of him.fucking rednecks... who gave these people access to the internet? [Blocked Image: https://migrationtest.mapcore.org/public/style_emoticons/default/mapcore_smilies/emot_shakehead.gif]

    Rednecks... rednecks never change.

    I've always considered myself an independent voter. There are plenty of Republicans and Democrats I feel should not be in office and would gladly vote out if I could. Bush was one of them. So is Nancy Pelosi. I could go on, but I'm sick of "Red" and "Blue" and the divisiveness in this country.

    To me, Obama's election is not about change. It's about transformation. There is a difference, though English dictionaries don't clearly capture the distinction. What's happening in the US and the world is an awakening. We are becoming aware that who we are is not solely defined by our past and our fears. We are discovering how powerful our words are in that we become what who we say we are.

    We already know this, especially those of us who started off in the mod community and eventually got industry jobs because of it. It's actually very obvious...we think about what we want, feel good about it and then take action and go for it, not knowing exactly how it will unfold. We stick with it through ups and downs and eventually it's ours. We didn't give up. We just kept going and adjust our plans if necessary but we kept the dream alive. Isn't that what we're generally taught about life? We transform from "wannabe" to "be."

    The connection to Obama's election is that American's now are awake to the idea that we can actually have a great society again that is a leader in the world and not a threat to the rest of it. It starts with us really focusing on what we want. Do we really want to consume 25% of the world's energy and produce less than 5% of it? (Someone check my numbers please.) Do we want to be so divided along racial and religious lines? How's that working out? Really? Like, really? Or do we really think it's okay that health care costs are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US? Really? Do we really want to shoot first, ask questions never? Do we really want to keep dividing America into "the real America" and "anti-American America?" What does that mean, anyway? Are we saying that I'll only give respect to people who think in ways I approve? WTF? Isn't America supposed to be the land where we respectfully listen to all points of view, even if we disagree with them? Is America ready actually start walking the walk and not just talking the talk?

    Ironically, one of my closest friends is already upset that because he makes a lot of money, will have to pay more taxes under Obama. My gut reaction in my mind was "are you seriously that self-entitled and self-centered? REALLY?" But then I realized how hypocritical of me to dismiss him just because he has a different opinion on taxes than I do. Am I really going to just be dismissive of his perspective rather than listen to it? Isn't that what Obama is calling us to do? To listen? To engage in civil debate? For me, that's a moment of personal transformation when I start considering other people's points of view and realize that I don't need to control their opinion or political beliefs for my life to turn out just fine.

    Anyway, I'm happy Obama won and I don't think of this as a victory for Democrats and defeat for Republicans. I'm wanting to be done with that perspective and pray Washington (and this country) begin to transform the Blue vs. Red mentality. I don't know what is going to happen exactly, but I'm excited.

    A question I'd like to have answered though is: Why are there only 2 significant major parties in the US? I personally think that there is something wrong with having only two parties that matter inside a democracy. And since people should know their country well, I'd like to know their own explanation of why it is like that and why it makes sense to you If that doesn't bother anyone.

    It's so awesome that Obama won the election

    I'm not stupid enough to think that any one perspon or majority party can change things in the short duration, however, since somebody has to step up and be the face of screwed up issues Obama will do a better job than Macain. Mainly because people view him as very intelligent and it's first opinions that make a huge difference. It's nothing to do with what you say, but all to do with how you say it. (yes ok that's charm )

    Also, might I point out that politics runs in spells, for example a major party will often stay in power for a few decades but will usually be voted out shortly after. This is quite simply a case of "It's time for a change" Chances are in the UK power will change to Conservatives once again.

    Quote from Izuno

    Do we really want to consume 25% of the world's energy and produce less than 5% of it? (Someone check my numbers please.)

    Hell yes!

    We're the third largest country on earth, both in population and physical size.

    Also it's not 25%, it's less about 1/5th. 3.8 million Mwh/yr out of 16.8 Mwh/yr. Still more than any other country, but not not quite 25%. China by comparison uses 2.85 million, and the entire EU 2.80.

    Quote from Sindwiller

    A question I'd like to have answered though is: Why are there only 2 significant major parties in the US? I personally think that there is something wrong with having only two parties that matter inside a democracy. And since people should know their country well, I'd like to know their own explanation of why it is like that and why it makes sense to you If that doesn't bother anyone.

    I think it has alot to do with the media. There are plenty of parties out there, just not enough people know about them. It also has to due with the way campaigns have been run in the past 100 years. Back then candidates didn't spend their time selling themselves like cheap whores, rather the voters sought them out.

    I don't really have a problem with Obama personally, he seems very level-headed. However we cross paths ideologically, but it's not as if he is single handedly going to turn this country into a socialist paradise. The only thing I don't like is the fact that the democrats have the legislative branch by the balls, just like the republicans have had during Bush's presidency. We've also had about the lousiest set of congressmen and senators in the past few years in US history, and with Pelosi it only looks to get worse. I really wish they would instate term limits in the congress and senate, then they would be more focused on serving their country rather than trying to keep their 'job'.

    /rant

    I think it's mostly down to people wanting to put their weight behind a party they think will actually win. It's like in the UK we have many parties as you'd expect, but it's pretty much Labour vs Conservatives at election day and has been for decades.

    Other parties are realistically going to take an awfully long time to gain anywhere near enough momentum to challenge either of the above, and probably not even in my lifetime, so I'm assuming most people choose to vote for their favourite of the two that stand a chance.

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