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Post by Freddy on Nov 6, 2012 13:07:02 GMT 11
Yep today the big race is on. No that race, the other one, several thousand K's away, on the other side of the Pacific. The US Presidential Election. Barak Obama V Mitt (what type of name is Mitt BTW, who would name their son after something you wear over your hands when it's below freezing ?) Romney.
Will Barak be given one more turn by the good voters of the US of A to fix all the mess that was left by Dubya ?
Or will Mitt sail in on the wind of hysteria pumped up by Tea-Party types who have never gotten over the reality of having a Democrat in the White house, as well as never able to accept that it was their policies (Reaganomics) that caused the whole GFC depression in the first place ?
For mine, if I were an American, I would vote for Obama. As would any one with a brain.
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Post by geopol on Nov 6, 2012 15:45:02 GMT 11
I also believe that a Republican win would be a catastrophe. It would be a case of the rich take all, just as it will be here if Abbott wins next year...
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Post by Freddy on Nov 6, 2012 17:26:34 GMT 11
I also believe that a Republican win would be a catastrophe. It would be a case of the rich take all, just as it will be here if Abbott wins next year... It would be a drive at full tilt of the fiscal cliff, trouble is, the conservatives have yet to work out that it's their policies that have caused the GFC, and will cause that fiscal cliff. Just look over at NTB1 to see the idiocy of People like Garfy, who still thinks that you shouldn't tax the rich, despite that very type of thinking having caused the GFC. |
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pim
Full Member
It's still Bertrand Russell's atheist teapot!!
Posts: 180
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Post by pim on Nov 7, 2012 12:42:48 GMT 11
I'm part of the consensus on this board that hopes for an Obama victory in the US and for an Abbott defeat in Australia.
But where I part company with you is that I don't necessarily believe that a vistory for the "wong" side will result in Armageddon.
You see, what I absolutely love about living in a Western democracy is that we tend to believe that the country is a lot bigger than the people we elect every few years to govern it. So in the darkest days of George Dubya in the US, or during the Howard years in Australia, I drew comfort from the fact that these people governed countries that were a lot bigger than they were, which meant there was a limit to the damage they could do.
America will still be America if Romney wins. And as for the cheap shots about his first name, I've always found American first names to be a tad bizarre: "Chuck", "Huckleberrry", "Grover", "Dwight" ... I can only reflect that AmE is a much older form of English and the names reflect that. Think of all those people with the surname "Watson" - "son of Wat". Wasn't there a "Wat Tyler" who led a peasant's revolt in England in the 1300's? "Wat" must have been a common name. Not now of course but I wou;dn't mind betting that there would be more "Wat's" in the US.
But of course I won't like it if Romney wins. The difference for me is one of perspective. I happen to think the leadership transition in China is of far greater importance to us in Australia and yet the reporting on it in Australia has been abysmal. The odd commentary on Radio National and apart from that ... zip! Right now I'm in my lounge room at home with the TV tuned to ABC News 24 where they've devoted the whole bloody day to saturation coverage of the US election results! I mean, strewth guys get a grip! (Not my friends here on NTB I hasten to add!) We happen to live on an island continent which economically and, increasingly, strategically and diplomatically is a player in the Asia Pacific. We're not located in the North Atlantic!
A Romney Presdiency is still going to have to deal with a stroppy Tea Party-dominated Congress who will regard him as "their" guy and, when you see his record as Governor of Massachusetts, he's clearly not "their" guy. I don't know how the dance between a Romney White House and a Tea Party Congress will pan out but I do expect a lot of missteps and treading on each others toes.
The thing is that I've learned not to take myself too seriously as far as politics is concerned. While I'm pretty clear about where my vote and my support happens to be rusted on, I don't necessarily regard the "other" side to be the embodiment of evil and the spawn of the devil any more than I would regard "our" side to be always on the side of the angels. I do know that over the past few years supportin the Gillard Government has meant that I've had to do so holding my nose.
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Post by geopol on Nov 7, 2012 14:31:56 GMT 11
Pim your coments are interesting, but what concerns me more than anything else perhaps is the history of right wing republican presidents getting us involved in uselsess and costly wars during their leadership since the times of the senior Bush... I also think the growing gaps beteen the rich and poor which republicans seem to foster could lead to an incraesingly unstable country and the likelihod of stupid politics being played out in a more damaging way than what we have seen over the last four years. Countires in decline need careful, nuanced leadership, not ideological bullshit to guide them, something like the Briish managed, at times with great diffuculty and some terrible crises, after WW2.
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Post by Freddy on Nov 7, 2012 15:21:13 GMT 11
Put down your Specs.
The Huffington Post (Ohio)
ABC (America) (Ohio)
Fox News (Ohio)
Geb Bush (Florida)
have all given Obama enough electoral votes to Retain the Presidency
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Post by Freddy on Nov 7, 2012 15:22:43 GMT 11
and finally the Guru, Antony Green, has just declared OBAMA to retain the Presidncy.
Woo Hoo, a real repudiation to the Tea-baggers, thank christ for that.
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Post by Freddy on Nov 7, 2012 15:54:05 GMT 11
One thing is for sure, America has just confirmed that it is part of a Modern Multi-Cultural reality,Bill O'Reily(SP?) of Fox News (Where else) has apparently been whinging that America is no longer a (sic) "White Mans Land" (Of Course he would say that, wonder if Rupert shares his sentiments)
It's that sort of thinking, that the US is some sort of preserve to be run exclusively by White Men, is exactly the reason why Mitt is now a has been, and that Obama was comprehensively re-elected (as it turns out).
Far be for any of us to indulge in Schadenfreude, but I hope, the Bill O'Rielys, the Tea Parties, The Rupert Murdochs of this world enjoy their shit-sandwich.
Take Heed LNP.
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Post by Freddy on Nov 7, 2012 16:00:08 GMT 11
Alexander Downer is sounding very sour grapes on ABC's coverage.
Suck it up Dolly !!!!!!
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Earl Grey
Full Member
My cup of tea
Posts: 234
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Post by Earl Grey on Nov 7, 2012 20:15:32 GMT 11
A very pleasing result.  |
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Post by Freddy on Nov 8, 2012 10:45:30 GMT 11
Well. apparently, Bolt had a hissy fit in the remedial paper today, as did Piers in the Sydney remedial. Just like the hissy fits chucked all over Faux News (O'Rielly, Palin, Morris et al) in the US. So we now know how Rupert feels about the result.
Actually reading the excerpts from Dolts Column, as relayed from a poster at another blog, we can see how our own Skip Skip will take Obamas re-election.
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pim
Full Member
It's still Bertrand Russell's atheist teapot!!
Posts: 180
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Post by pim on Nov 8, 2012 13:55:00 GMT 11
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Earl Grey
Full Member
My cup of tea
Posts: 234
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Post by Earl Grey on Nov 9, 2012 10:25:23 GMT 11
You can defeat the paywall by copying that link and pasting it into Google... Then hit the link that Google comes up with. Presto! You can now view the whole article. |
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