Let's Talk About the Issues, People

[Disney Doll]

I would like each of the candidates to tell me what they are going to do right.

In detail. Not in nebulous rhetoric of change (which pertains to both sides at this point, as McCain/Palin have jumped on the "change" bandwagon too). But in detail. I'd like to know exactly what taxes will be increased or decreased, because then I will be able to determine how that will affect me. I'd like a timetable of their thoughts on the Iraq war, not just "I'll stay in for 100 years" or "I'll get us out". Why will we stay in and how will you get us out?

I am sick of the ridiculousness from both sides about he said/she said and "he called me names" and "she lied". Stop giving a crap about the crap the other side says and TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO.


And, quite frankly, they are both the same.

Senator Obama was doing pretty good there for a while about keeping his message upbeat (if light on the details) and not bad-mouthing the other side too much. I was pretty impressed. But frankly, these last couple of days, he's lost some of his class in how he was handling the race. That's too bad. I don't know if he's nervous, running out of steam, starting to show his inexperience or what, but the flavor of his campaign has changed.

Senator McCain needs to stop whining and stop trying to stick up for Sarah Palin. It's national politics, it ain't pretty and if she expected it to be pretty, shame on her. She strikes me as someone who can take care of herself.

Everybody grow a thicker skin, shut the heck up about lipstick, pigs, bridges, Muslims, Rev.Wright, Karl Rove, Cindy McCains millions, the # of homes the Mccains own, the damn bridge to nowhere (which I am starting to wish they would all get on and go to nowehere as long as it is far away from me!), Michelle Obama's college thesis, Bristol Palin's pregnancy and just tell me what you are going to do for my country.

Tell me why I should vote for you, not why I should not vote for the other people.

Because I gotta tell you, right now I am not impressed with any of them.

Am I the only one who is thnking that Hillary Clinton is sitting home laughing her butt off?????

 

[C.Ann]

I would like each of the candidates to tell me what they are going to do right.

In detail. Not in nebulous rhetoric of change (which pertains to both sides at this point, as McCain/Palin have jumped on the "change" bandwagon too). But in detail. I'd like to know exactly what taxes will be increased or decreased, because then I will be able to determine how that will affect me. I'd like a timetable of their thoughts on the Iraq war, not just "I'll stay in for 100 years" or "I'll get us out". Why will we stay in and how will you get us out?

I am sick of the ridiculousness from both sides about he said/she said and "he called me names" and "she lied". Stop giving a crap about the crap the other side says and TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO.


And, quite frankly, they are both the same.

Senator Obama was doing pretty good there for a while about keeping his message upbeat (if light on the details) and not bad-mouthing the other side too much. I was pretty impressed. But frankly, these last couple of days, he's lost some of his class in how he was handling the race. That's too bad. I don't know if he's nervous, running out of steam, starting to show his inexperience or what, but the flavor of his campaign has changed.

Senator McCain needs to stop whining and stop trying to stick up for Sarah Palin. It's national politics, it ain't pretty and if she expected it to be pretty, shame on her. She strikes me as someone who can take care of herself.

Everybody grow a thicker skin, shut the heck up about lipstick, pigs, bridges, Muslims, Rev.Wright, Karl Rove, Cindy McCains millions, the # of homes the Mccains own, the damn bridge to nowhere (which I am starting to wish they would all get on and go to nowehere as long as it is far away from me!), Michelle Obama's college thesis, Bristol Palin's pregnancy and just tell me what you are going to do for my country.

Tell me why I should vote for you, not why I should not vote for the other people.

Because I gotta tell you, right now I am not impressed with any of them.

Am I the only one who is thnking that Hillary Clinton is sitting home laughing her butt off?????

-----------------------------------------

Wow! Thanks for expressing MY feelings so well!!!!!!

 

[LuvDuke]

History would prove you correct. The practical issue is the politically prudent exit from Iraq. Senator McCain has claimed that he will remain in Iraq for 100 years, but I cannot imagine that he can keep significant troop numbers there for long. The public will not permit this and troubles in other parts of the world would not permit this. If he is president, would a Democratic Congress block continued funding of the war? The cynical view is that Congress has continued funding to keep the Iraq issue for the election. Would they turn around and halt funding? McCain could simply declare the objectives met - but then he runs the risk of looking bad if/when Iraq lapses into chaos. I think that McCain would come out best if the Dems were to block funding and then get blamed for the chaos.

Obama has claimed a more immediate reduction in troop strength. Seems like his best course is to work with Congress on a rapid but "responsible" (as perceived by the public) reduction. He still runs the risk being blamed for "losing" the war and any resulting chaos.

Cynical - I am. But the method of ending the war will be fought like many other political battles - can we save face by blaming the other side?

Thank you. I lived in the Middle East and I have a whole different perspective on events there.

One of the reasons why the escalation is perceived to be a success is because of the drop in violence in Iraq. However one of the biggest reasons for that drop is because we now have Sunni sheiks on our payroll who were formally fighting for Al-Qaeda. That would be the Iraqi homegrown Al-Qaeda as there was no Al-Qaeda in Iraq previous to the invasion.

We've given these people money and arms. Ironically, the same mistake was made in Afghanistan when we armed the Mujahadeen who then went on to become the Taliban.

Regardless of whether we are in Iraq for another year or McCain's "100 years", the end result will be the same when we leave. There will be a civil war and there will be revenge. That's is the way of the Middle East. In addition, whoever ends up the winner will nationalize the oil fields the same way the Iraqis did before. They are not going to let foreigners own their national treasure regardless of what fancy pieces of paper Big Oil has.

The reality of Iraq is that the fall of Saddam Hussein has resulted in strengthening Iran's hand. The Iraqi government is a Shiite pro-Iranian government who consider the Iranians their brothers. That's not going to change.

I wish someone would detail exactly what they mean by victory in Iraq. Unfortunately, there are people who think this will end like WWII. It is not going to happen. If we're on the brink of "victory", I wish someone would explain why. A lull in violence in not victory. They're just biding their time.

 

[bsnyder]

Bet - I will admit my lack of faith and admire your optimism regarding wanting to win. I just have a hard time understanding how we can win any more than we already have. When should we leave?

Again, I appreciate your candor. And I have always maintained that there are valid policy arguments on both sides of the issue (and most of the other issues we face too). You think we should leave immediately, and I assume you think we should have left long ago. I disagree. That's what happens in a democracy. Where I take exception is injecting political calculation into the difficult decisions we face in wartime. I believe that when it comes to national security, we should demand that our politicians and policy makers stand up for what they believe, without regard to the personal political implications of taking a stand.

I have argued this many, many times. IMO, we have every reason to be very hopeful about a better future for Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, and so many places where some people advocate our military intervention (Darfur, for instance), Iraq is awash in the most valuable resource on the planet - oil. The richness of the country gives them a very good chance at transforming their infrastructure and their society for the better. If security can be maintained, if the Iraqis can increase their oil production, if foreign investment (like the article I cited earlier) pours into Iraq, it will create jobs and prosperity for the Iraqi citizens. I don't ascribe to the theory that they are hopeless, as a society. If the average Iraqi citizen has a job, security and stability and hope for a better future, I think they can and will continue on a path towards more freedom and more democracy. It won't be a clone of the United States, but it will be a far, far better place than it was under Saddam Hussein.

 

[DizneyPhile]

Still waiting for Hussein to actually give any real solutions to the issues other than his standard drivel about "change".......

 

[DizneyPhile]

Thank you. I lived in the Middle East and I have a whole different perspective on events there.

One of the reasons why the escalation is perceived to be a success is because of the drop in violence in Iraq. However one of the biggest reasons for that drop is because we now have Sunni sheiks on our payroll who were formally fighting for Al-Qaeda. That would be the Iraqi homegrown Al-Qaeda as there was no Al-Qaeda in Iraq previous to the invasion.

We've given these people money and arms. Ironically, the same mistake was made in Afghanistan when we armed the Mujahadeen who then went on to become the Taliban.

Regardless of whether we are in Iraq for another year or McCain's "100 years", the end result will be the same when we leave. There will be a civil war and there will be revenge. That's is the way of the Middle East. In addition, whoever ends up the winner will nationalize the oil fields the same way the Iraqis did before. They are not going to let foreigners own their national treasure regardless of what fancy pieces of paper Big Oil has.

The reality of Iraq is that the fall of Saddam Hussein has resulted in strengthening Iran's hand. The Iraqi government is a Shiite pro-Iranian government who consider the Iranians their brothers. That's not going to change.

I wish someone would detail exactly what they mean by victory in Iraq. Unfortunately, there are people who think this will end like WWII. It is not going to happen. If we're on the brink of "victory", I wish someone would explain why. A lull in violence in not victory. They're just biding their time.

Wow -- how long did it take you to cut and paste that from your left wing propaganda web sites ???

 

[LuvDuke]

Wow -- how long did it take you to cut and paste that from your left wing propaganda web sites ???

Clean up on page 5.

 

[becca-becca]

I am sick of all the politicians and the political parties. I think we need to have term limits of no more than two terms for Congress. We need real people running this country, not career politicians. I know we will never get this becuase Congress will never allow something like that.

Frankly, I am very concerned for this country no matter who wins. I think we are in a mess and I think both political parties are to be blamed for it. I think we are so off-base from what our country was founded on it is scary.

JMHO. Flame away!

 

[LisaR]

I am sick of all the politicians and the political parties. I think we need to have term limits of no more than two terms for Congress. We need real people running this country, not career politicians. I know we will never get this becuase Congress will never allow something like that.

Frankly, I am very concerned for this country no matter who wins. I think we are in a mess and I think both political parties are to be blamed for it. I think we are so off-base from what our country was founded on it is scary.

JMHO. Flame away!

I agree with you 100%!

 

[mickeysgal]

I would like each of the candidates to tell me what they are going to do right.
...

Am I the only one who is thnking that Hillary Clinton is sitting home laughing her butt off?????

Absolutely. I'd like the candidates to tell me what they feel are the most issues that face the nation, what they're going to do to correct those issues, and what experience they have to apply it to those issues. Not fancy talk, no pointing fingers, solid concrete, roll up your sleeves experience and know-how.

As far as Hillary, yep, she's getting the last laugh. I hope she's enjoying it.

 

[#1hockeymom]

Okay. Is there anybody here besides me that is getting tired of this Palin stuff? I'm getting tired of hearing about Sarah Palin left and right.

I wish that Barack, Palin, and McCain would get back to what's really important- the issues. How are they going to change America? They're all describing themselves as "change agents". So, how're they going to change America. What's their stance on the issues?

Is it really true? Biden IS lost?! (Laughing while remembering what G. Beck ended with in today's broadcast.)

 

[RoseGrows]

You are sooooooo right. I'm mad as hell and I won't take it anymore. I am going to bombard McCain's mailbox with complaints.

 

[Fawkes]

Is it really true? Biden IS lost?! (Laughing while remembering what G. Beck ended with in today's broadcast.)

What does that mean? I'm not yelling i'm just asking what that means.

 

[Laura]

The media stuff is getting really annoying.

Getting? It's been annoying for quite a while. I've completely stopped watching TV news. It's utterly pointless.


I hope the debates will be interesting and full of good questions, not "what's with the flag pin".

 

[TruBlu]

Getting? It's been annoying for quite a while. I've completely stopped watching TV news. It's utterly pointless.


I hope the debates will be interesting and full of good questions, not "what's with the flag pin".

I agree! I can't wait to hear the differences in how they answer questions.

Sometimes I think I am the only undecided person left out there. All my friends have chosen already and BOTH sides seem to think they can convince me by saying bad things about the other side. I don't want to hear bad things about the other guy. I want to hear GOOD things about your guy. Why don't people get that?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[Laura]

I agree! I can't wait to hear the differences in how they answer questions.

Sometimes I think I am the only undecided person left out there. All my friends have chosen already and BOTH sides seem to think they can convince me by saying bad things about the other side. I don't want to hear bad things about the other guy. I want to hear GOOD things about your guy. Why don't people get that?!?!?!?!?!?

Well, each side's afraid the other's going to win. So they knock the other guy down.

I hope the debates help you decide--it's always good to hear it from the horse's mouth. It was pretty easy for me. The Democratic Party has always been in line with my political ideas.

But if you go to www.ontheissues.org, that might help you too. Maybe you're more in line with a party other than Republican or Democrat.

 

[TruBlu]

Well, each side's afraid the other's going to win. So they knock the other guy down.

I hope the debates help you decide--it's always good to hear it from the horse's mouth. It was pretty easy for me. The Democratic Party has always been in line with my political ideas.

But if you go to www.ontheissues.org, that might help you too. Maybe you're more in line with a party other than Republican or Democrat.

Thanks, I'll check out that site. I hate being undecided. Honestly, I'm just somewhere in the middle - or left of the middle, but I don't agree completely with either side. I'm completely

 

[DaParkers]

Thanks, I'll check out that site. I hate being undecided. Honestly, I'm just somewhere in the middle - or left of the middle, but I don't agree completely with either side. I'm completely

It's good to hear that someone has a mind of their own and actually want to vote based on the issues and not this High School foolishness that we hear about on the news everyday. I'm glad that you won't be voting based on your like or dislike of a candidates race or sex.

 

[Planogirl]

Did anyone notice that except for a few trollish remarks here and there that this thread has remained civil and that there has actually been some sensible discussion here? That's nice to see.

 

[Laura]

Did anyone notice that except for a few trollish remarks here and there that this thread has remained civil and that there has actually been some sensible discussion here? That's nice to see.

It is.