[Discussion] The American Politics Discussion Thread

[Rodriguezjames55]

i hope Gary Johnson wins i like his work(ONE BILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS in New Mexico) socially liberal and financially conservative best of both worlds

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by Went

Anyway, Romney right now is losing the national vote and, depending on the poll you look at, all the swing states or all but one. And he's trailing in the key state of Ohio by close to 10 points. The last train for Romney departs tomorrow night, and he needs a masterpiece of a debate or Obama to dance in his underpants on TV for it to be truly relevant.

I think that if Obama did that, he'd be getting more votes, if only for making a large part of the country laugh.

Anyway, Republican priorities. This picture is the best description about them.



And this describes my feelings about people trying to blame Obama for a lot of todays problems. (I'll agree that he is responsible for some of them, but the majority of them were not his doing.)

[Scarf]

The first presidential debate is in, like 6 or so hours. I'm gonna miss it because of work, but will catch the highlights later.

Romney will probably try to portray Obama as ineffective, without good leadership, etc. and Obama will point to his accomplishments. Romney is going to say the economy sucks and it's Obama's fault. Obama will counter that the economy is improving and Romney's proposals would stifle the middle class.

The whole election circles around Obama now, or rather on how much we talk about Obama, with Republicans hoping to frame the discussion in terms of a referendum on the president rather than any particular strengths Romney has. If the discussion turns to any of the things that Romney has said or done (the 47% comment, Bane, his tax returns, etc.) it'll be bad for him. Jim Lehrer seems like a moderator who won't be pushed down when he puts a question to someone so I'm hoping he'll try to get Romney to address some of the things he's been avoiding talking about.

[TRIFORCE89]

The key question for both candidates tonight, in my mind, is: what is your plan to improve the economy?

On Romney's side, a talking point like deregulation won't stick because Obama can easily shoot it down as that led to the environment that created this mess. He needs to offer something. Right now he's mostly saying "Obama's way doesn't work, so vote for me". That isn't a plan.

On Obama's side, his platform is the opposite. Essentially, just "not the Republican method". When they're not really offering anything to begin with, that just makes Obama all the more murky. Can he campaign on the status quo as it is? I don't think so. The economy is stagnant. So, also not a plan. Its tough to judge Obama because of the political gridlock. Had the jobs bill passed, or budgets, who knows what the environment would be right now. But since you can't tell what may have been... again, I want to see a plan

[Keiran777]

After watching the debate, it is clear that America is screwed economically with either candidate.

Also, they both conducted themselves like fools and I hope that behavior doesn't continue in the next few debates.

[Rodriguezjames55]

thank god their is jill stein and Gary Johnson cuz #obamaandromneyfail

[Netto Azure]

The President needs to be more passionate. But otherwise substance wise, seeing "Moderate Mitt" is interesting.

[Went]

Expect two weeks of "What if Romney turns the tide over" everywhere. Will this continue in the following debates? And the key question is, how will have this affected the independent vote in the swing states? That's the only thing that actually matters, you know.

[Scarf]

I'm very surprised at how the debate went. I mean, I know politicians make lots of promises and skew the truth, but Romney totally disavowed like 90% of everything he's said up to this point and has taken the stance of "whatever is popular is what I stand for." I think that threw Obama off his game a little.

[TRIFORCE89]

That was a really interesting and confusing debate

Romney totally threw off Obama. Looks like Obama was practicing (using John Kerry as a stand-in for some stupid reason) and preparing for the Romney that's been campaigning for the past year. The hard-lined, out of touch, Republican promoting the policies that caused the economic mess.

But who showed up was the Moderate Massachusetts Mitt.

So, Obama had some facts to stick to Romney that he would have had to try to explain or back up. But those don't apply to this incarnation. He just got to write them off outright and say "that's not my position" and then state a brand new position that came out of nowhere. That and Obama nodding or laughing almost in what looked like agreement (although, I'm sure it wasn't. But it came out weird), really did not do well for the President.

Romney's not for cutting taxes? Romney is for regulation? Just, wtf? Threw Obama off guard. And us viewers too.

It was just really really confusing.

He was counter to the party's position. But a lot of what he said also lacked background and context. And things were blamed on Obama that were not his doing.

It may be a debate, but it is still politics. So take everything with a grain of salt, on both sides of the spectrum

[Netto Azure]

The Obama Tumblr page has this posted today:

We had our first debate last night. And when I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney. But it couldn’t have been Mitt Romney—because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn’t know anything about that.

The real Mitt Romney said we don’t need any more teachers in our classrooms. But the fellow on stage last night, he loves teachers—can’t get enough of them. The Mitt Romney we all know invested in companies that were called “pioneers” of outsourcing jobs to other countries. But the guy on stage last night, he said that he doesn’t even know that there are such laws that encourage outsourcing—he’s never heard of them. Never heard of them. Never heard of tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. He said that if it’s true, he must need a new accountant.

Now, we know for sure it was not the real Mitt Romney, because he seems to be doing just fine with his current accountant. So you see, the man on stage last night, he does not want to be held accountable for the real Mitt Romney’s decisions and what he’s been saying for the last year. And that’s because he knows full well that we don’t want what he’s been selling for the last year. So Governor Romney may dance around his positions, but if you want to be President, you owe the American people the truth.

- President Obama in Denver, CO today

Pretty much sums up what I saw last night.

[TRIFORCE89]

Originally Posted by Netto Azure

The Obama Tumblr page has this posted today:



Pretty much sums up what I saw last night.

That is all very true. But, the opportunity to raise all that was yesterday instead of letting Romney walk all over him.

It was just bad yesterday. There were so many opportunities for Obama to respond and put him in his place and he just didn't do it. He phoned it in, he looked beaten. It was bad.

[Mario The World Champion]

What are your thoughts about Mitt Romney commenting on stopping funding of Public Television? He is constantly talking about liking Big Bird and Sesame Street and how he wants to end funding for PBS. He mentioned that in the debate last night.

I consider this an non-issue, but I do understand what he is getting at. But PBS is a service to the American public by providing the funding to help out some PBS stations stay on the air.

[Stand Alone]

I didn't feel as though Romney smashed Obama as everyone seems to be saying... To me, he was as unprofessional and twitchy as he was bold and feisty. The man was disrespectful to the moderator of the debate on almost every question, and every time that seemed to happen, it felt as though he was scrambling to try and bounce back. Sure, Obama was mild and mellow and not very defensive in the slightest, but... Romney wasn't exactly king cool himself.

Also, my thoughts on the PBS defunding? I think he's an idiot for trying to cut it. It is a very informative station and from what I can tell, a fairly large audience base that extends past kids to adults as well. And to bring up Big Bird like he did, I have to say that the way he worded that would potentially upset quite a few people as a loooot of voters out there now grew up with Sesame Street and the like.

[TRIFORCE89]

Originally Posted by Mario The World Champion

What are your thoughts about Mitt Romney commenting on stopping funding of Public Television? He is constantly talking about liking Big Bird and Sesame Street and how he wants to end funding for PBS. He mentioned that in the debate last night.

I consider this an non-issue, but I do understand what he is getting at. But PBS is a service to the American public by providing the funding to help out some PBS stations stay on the air.

The Republicans need to stop the public television card. It doesn't apply to America. In the United Kingdom with the BBC? In Canada with the CBC? Sure. They take a long of public funds even though they operate like a private channel.

I like the idea of public television. At the provincial level here in Ontario where I live, we have TVO. I love TVO. I watch it often. It is the opposite of CBC. It is very much like PBS.

PBS takes up less 0.03% of the budget and yet the benefit it brings is immense. The Republicans use it and NPR so that they can have that traditional go-to "public media is bad" stance that conservatives tend to do. But it just doesn't apply in America. The funding is essentially just facility coverage. Programming is done through donations. And the amount it costs is absolutely miniscule.

...

By the way, something I've been having fun with the last couple of days is "Budget Hero". http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/budget-hero Has anyone tried this out? I got the US budget balanced by 2015, with a $3 trillion surplus by 2022. Made America energy independent, gave it universal healthcare, increased funding in education, reformed social insurance and medicare/caid, reformed the tax code, cut military spending. This gig is easy. XD

[Netto Azure]

Originally Posted by TRIFORCE89

By the way, something I've been having fun with the last couple of days is "Budget Hero". http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/budget-hero Has anyone tried this out? I got the US budget balanced by 2015, with a $3 trillion surplus by 2022. Made America energy independent, gave it universal healthcare, increased funding in education, reformed social insurance and medicare/caid, reformed the tax code, cut military spending. This gig is easy. XD

I remember playing this game.

Turns out it's the Bush Tax Cuts that's really dragging things. But seriously there should be an option to just do the whole Medicare for all LOL.

[TRIFORCE89]

Originally Posted by Netto Azure

I remember playing this game.

Turns out it's the Bush Tax Cuts that's really dragging things. But seriously there should be an option to just do the whole Medicare for all LOL.

I played that one too before! I got to exactly 50% spending cuts and 50% tax "increases"

It is really. I really wanted to have the "Extend Bush Tax Cuts for all but the wealthy" card, but it just brought down everything. Could not invest in anything while that was in play XD I let it expire and still cut taxes elsewhere.

[Mario The World Champion]

Oh, I forgot to tell you all something.

I (finally) registered to vote in this year's election.

[Netto Azure]

Originally Posted by Mario The World Champion

Oh, I forgot to tell you all something.

I (finally) registered to vote in this year's election.

Oh was it due to moving? I had to re-register again this year because I changed Apartment rooms LOL. xD

[Rodriguezjames55]

found out theirs a place in NY that is terrible for checking Ids and the list in Harlem i get to vote early

[Mario The World Champion]

Originally Posted by Netto Azure

Oh was it due to moving? I had to re-register again this year because I changed Apartment rooms LOL. xD

No, I never bothered to when I turned 18. After some thought in this year's election, I decided to sign up for this election. I'm honestly just sick of the partisan B.S. and the constant mud-slinging on both sides.

[Netto Azure]

Loving Biden so far. Coming out swinging and saying that Iran isn't a threat yet. Tell it what it is.

Plus Martha Radditz is a great moderator. (b")b

[TRIFORCE89]

Missed most of it as I was in class, I caught the last 25 minutes.

I think both candidates did well. Either a tie or a slight edge to whoever you prefer by default. I loved that Biden kept calling Ryan out and did what Obama should have done last time.

Great moderator too

[Drew]

As far as the presidential debate went some days ago, I caught a chunk of it, and I just thought Romney was so fake. He was basically taking the things Obama said, and saying the exact same thing in his own words, and trying to one-up him the entire time. Obama just stood there like "83 I wanna punch dat sukah". Neither one of them are going to fix our country in this next term, that's gonna take the next four or five presidents in my opinion. However, I feel like Obama could be more helpful in achieving such, rather than Romney. I could also be bitter, because I disagree with a lot of Romney's ideals, and not every one does, but I think he'll lose by a good enough margin.

With the vice presidential debate, I actually haven't seen that yet since I was at work during the entire thing, and I heard no one talk about it.

[Went]

From what I read, Biden won just by doing what was expected of him: being aggessive, rebutting Ryan's claims instead of just trying to explain his and having lots of jokes and key punches when he needed to. Pretty much what Obama needed to do.

This debate won't really change anything but will stop the Democratic losses and give some enthusiasm back to their supporters, so they'll be pretty much even coming into the third debate. I'm just going to say that, despite all this "Romney Comeback", Obama is still leading in the electoral college, 294 to 244 (RCP says).