Straight Talk, Hope & Change...A positive political thread

[Rogue]

I like both these guys and I'm unabashedly optimistic that our country is headed in a better direction with inspiring leadership with either of them as our next POTUS.

Can you post in here and say something genuinely positive about both?
edit: If not, plenty of other threads for you.

McCain is a genuine American hero, a decorated war veteran with a long and distinguished career of not following along ideological party lines. He's his own man and has proven that he will act in the best interest of the common good. At his own expense too...a rare thing today among politicians. The man has credibility with me and, as far as I can tell, it's credibility that transcends hawks, the right, the center, the left, and most other factions that usually make up a constituency.

Obama's nomination alone tells me that we've come a long way. Yes, because he's black. It's a big deal, folks. His speech-making is the stuff of legend and I find his message timely for my country. His PAY-GO philosophy is long overdue and I'm a fan of the idea of basic universal healthcare for all Americans. Obama connects with people. Poor people, rich people, Americans, apparently now Europeans too.

I'm really looking forward to the election-tally watch party because I'm going to celebrate either way.

Consider yourself now fully pumped with sunshine, baby!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D






.

[Echoes]

+ points for you Rogue. Nice to see someone with something nice to say about both Politicians. A welcome change.

McCain is trying. He wants what is best for America. If it's right or not, I am not for sure.. But there is absolutely no doubt that he is trying to protect and strengthen our country, and that is of utmost importance. He has been around a long time, and has a lot of knowledge.

Obama is quite captivating. I watched his speech in France just today, and its obvious how smart and on top of things he really is. Some people think its an act and hes just a good speaker. I disagree. The level of competence he shows when speaking and communicating his ideas does not come from someone faking it.

Either way, America is going to be much better off then the current state of affairs. It is a historic time in America, in that we will soon see what direction our country chooses to take.

Whichever path we choose, I know this: It will be the right one.

[47straight]

Your optimism has no place here.


:)

[Frozen Sooner]

John McCain is someone who has served our nation well in times of peace and times of war. He has shown that he is more interested in being right than being popular, an admirable quality.

Barack Obama is an extremely intelligent man who understands the proper functioning of our government and how our nation relates to the rest of our world.

[Echoes]

[QUOTE=Mike Rich;2346594]John McCain is someone who has served our nation well in times of peace and times of war. He has shown that he is more interested in being right than being popular, an admirable quality.

QUOTE]

Very good quote about McCain.

[yermom]

my biggest complaint against McCain is the people that are supporting him, and their seemingly blind hatred for all things Dem, Obama or otherwise

some of which were very "sky is falling" in their opinions of McCain before he won the nomination

i'm just happy it wasn't Hillary or Cheney. i can't think of a real reason yet that i would be upset at either of these guys winning in November

[olevetonahill]

I wont Cry either, I just dont see the appeal that brack is supposed to have .

[batonrougesooner]

I'm sorry but I just see Obama as a mouthpiece. Anybody can make speeches and look presidential (whatever that is). I just don't trust the guy.

[yermom]

I'm sorry but I just see Obama as a mouthpiece. Anybody can make speeches and look presidential (whatever that is). I just don't trust the guy.

see Harding, Warren G.

it's said JFK won over Nixon in 1960 because of the beginning of the TV debates

[Mjcpr]

my biggest complaint against McCain is the people that are supporting him, and their seemingly blind hatred for all things Dem, Obama or otherwise

Welcome to Every Year, USA.

That's one of the many things that make the political threads so great.

[Ike]

I like when McCain gets all angrified. He could get a surrender out of France just by snarling.


Then again, I suppose a lot of people could...




Barack started out with such high falutinisms that really the only direction he can go now is down...

Unless of course, the official song of his campaign becomes "Barack Me Obamadaeus"

[yermom]

Welcome to Every Year, USA.

That's one of the many things that make the political threads so great.

i didn't say it was different :D

the Obama people just **** me off less than the McCain people

[Frozen Sooner]

I'm relatively certain that John McCain is not a many-tentacled being from Kodos.

It is very likely that Barack Obama has a better outside shot than I do.

[Rogue]

Some of you are so negative the best you can come up with is "this succs a little less than if it majorly succ'd."

Where's the positive?

[Ike]

Some of you are so negative the best you can come up with is "this succs a little less than if it majorly succ'd."

Where's the positive?

I'm just a generally negative person. That was the best I got. Just about everything succs a little less than if it majorly succ'd

[Echoes]

Lol Ike,

I actually watched Obama and Sarzoky's joint press conference today. I was actually impressed by him. I know they are panzies, but he is fairly new over there and I think will be good for that country. He seemed really energized and full of excitement.

By the way, the answer is yes. I had to look up how to spell his name :)

[MR2-Sooner86]

Negatives

McCain kisses *** way too much. He's a people pleasers and doesn't want to get people upset. In other words his balls need to drop and that's saying something for a senior.

Obama is iffy and is making people wonder, "just what are you about?" He also eats babies.

Positives

McCain's story is a good one. I've seen several History Channel specials with him on there about his POW stories and they're very good. It's good to have in a debate.
"I was in the senate and passed a bill to help AIDS infect public pools!"
"Oh yeah! I killed 15 Vietcong in a POW camp after they shoved bamboo through my left lung! TAKE THAT BITCH!"

Obama has inspired the younger generation and can deliever a speech. He doesn't eat that many babies.

[Frozen Sooner]

John McCain can raise and lower his cholesterol level at will.

Once, when Barack Obama was younger, he nurtured a small injured bird back to health. That bird became the eagle of freedom.

[yermom]

i am pretty negative, but i don't really buy into the two party system and the way it all works to make things polarized

i wish McCain would have won in 2000...

but, i'm probably more of a Democrat than Republican. i don't really condone the welfare state or anything, but i am all for personal liberties, and keeping corporations in check

i like McCain's stance on abortion and gun control though.

[MR2-Sooner86]

John McCain can raise and lower his cholesterol level at will.

Once, when Barack Obama was younger, he nurtured a small injured bird back to health. That bird became the eagle of freedom.

They can both count to infinity...twice.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Why YES! Yes we can!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ord6UXaep_w

[Sooner_Havok]

I really wanted to like McCain. I loved him in 2000, and I wanted to like him now. But, as sad as it is, we all know what happens to our mental capacities as we age, and I fear this process has begun with McCain. He is to smart a guy to be getting some of the things he is wrong. I hope to god I am wrong, cause I respect McCain very, very much, but the signs are there.

I'm not sold on Obama being some JFK type, and I certainly don't agree with all of his ideas, but in a two party system most of the public is forced to compromise some of their ideals.

I think both want what is best for the US, I don't think either is going into this with the intention of helping out their interests above helping the US's interests.

And I hope I am wrong about McCain, he is a hero in the truest sense.

[Rogue]

I'm bumping this thread I made here.

[olevetonahill]

Havok you said you think they are going into this For the betterment of the Country ? And Not themselves , I disagree
Theres just sompun WRONG about Folks spending 100 Million Bucks to try to get a Job that pays 400,000
Just sayin

[r5TPsooner]

Some of you are so negative the best you can come up with is "this succs a little less than if it majorly succ'd."

Where's the positive?

If Obama wasn't going to tax upper middle class Americans to death then I'd have something positive to say about him.

Other than that he's not qualified to wash my car.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Obama brings the POSitive message to his campaign. In case you forget, it's CHANGE and HOPE, and it's about THE FUTURE.

[NYC Poke]

Havok you said you think they are going into this For the betterment of the Country ? And Not themselves , I disagree
Theres just sompun WRONG about Folks spending 100 Million Bucks to try to get a Job that pays 400,000
Just sayin


Gotta spend money to make money . . .

[r5TPsooner]

Obama brings the POSitive message to his campaign. In case you forget, it's CHANGE and HOPE, and it's about THE FUTURE.


Yes but that change lightens my pocket as well as my bank accounts considerably.

[Okla-homey]

Straight Talk: I like JSM because he is a guy just a few click right of center. Just like most Americans. He's also a leader who has paid his dues and showed he will not cave when the chips are down. Thus, I can identify with the guy and I believe he would be best able to bring the country together to achieve some great things.

I think I also know where his heart is and it's not to be elected president of the world in order to solve all the planet's problems. I think the guy is a realist and he realizes a president only has the political capital and power to accomplish one or two "great things" tops. I think he's be best equipped to lead from the center. I'm tired of presidents resoundingly hated by half the country.

Hope and Change: I think BHO is a marvelous public speaker. I think a lot of people like him, especially youth. I also think his election would quell a lot of outrage at perceived pervasive racism in this country. If he is elected, no one will ever be able to say again that things have not improved much since the great civil rights struggles of the 1950's and 1960's. People will point to BHO and those two little black girls being raised in the White House and say, "Just stop it! Things aren't perfect, but if you are still on the floor, you need to look inside yourself. It's not necessarily 'The Man' keeping you down."

I just wish the guy had more experience running something. Anything.

[Frozen Sooner]

Instructions are hard.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Yes but that change lightens my pocket as well as my bank accounts considerably. To those on the left, that change that you have left after Obama's future shouldn't upset you at all. Those in charge will make things fair. It's a POSitive thingy.

[r5TPsooner]

Instructions are hard.


They weren't written in Braille.:D

[85Sooner]

Niether one is Putin.

[Veritas]

Seven years ago (2001, if you're bad at math) I was working two (sometimes three) bartending jobs to make ends meet, and to do so I could really good at anticipating how long it would take a check to clear. There was zero wiggle room.

I decided that I wanted to write software so I bought a book on C++ and started learning.

Four years I was up on stilts installing an acoustical ceiling for $12/hr when I took the phone call I'd spent the prior three years earning: I'd been hired to a programming job.

This February I left that job, where I had doubled my salary, to start my own software business. To be able to do this, however, my wife and I did some things that most Americans don't do: we went without things we wanted.

We didn't travel. We didn't finance expensive new cars. We didn't have cable. We didn't get fancy TVs (we still use the one I bought at a pawn shop in 1998 for $175). We didn't buy a home. We didn't buy nice new furniture. We didn't eat out. We didn't play video games or watch reality TV.

What we did do was save and plan. And we worked. Constantly. I put in at least 60-70 hours a week at my job and then spent my spare time building the side business that has become my full-time business.

I am nothing special. I am, however, a concrete example of the American Dream and my success represents what it possible in this absolutely amazing country...and I did it all while Bush was in office :eek:!

I say all of these things to qualify myself to make the following statements:

If you need straight talk, don't look to a politician. Look to those around you who are successful.
If you need hope, remember where you live: the USA. This country rules. As a simple reminder, open your eyes the next time you're at a grocery store. The luxury in which we live is amazing and there is so much opportunity.
If you need change, then you suck it up and make it happen yourself. With apologies to Randy Pausch, if you want to know what I did to change my life, call me at the office any given weeknight around 8:30 and I'll tell you.


To wrap this up and tie it to the subject at hand, ask yourself the following in context with what I've said:
Which candidate most respects those who take responsibility upon themselves to better their lives?
Assuming that you will (or already have) worked to make yourself successful, which candidate will leech the least from that success?
Which candidate will most likely work to continue to make the US a place where those who will to do so can build businesses?

[r5TPsooner]

Seven years ago (2001, if you're bad at math) I was working two (sometimes three) bartending jobs to make ends meet, and to do so I could really good at anticipating how long it would take a check to clear. There was zero wiggle room.

I decided that I wanted to write software so I bought a book on C++ and started learning.

Four years I was up on stilts installing an acoustical ceiling for $12/hr when I took the phone call I'd spent the prior three years earning: I'd been hired to a programming job.

This February I left that job, where I had doubled my salary, to start my own software business. To be able to do this, however, my wife and I did some things that most Americans don't do: we went without things we wanted.

We didn't travel. We didn't finance expensive new cars. We didn't have cable. We didn't get fancy TVs (we still use the one I bought at a pawn shop in 1998 for $175). We didn't buy a home. We didn't buy nice new furniture. We didn't eat out. We didn't play video games or watch reality TV.

What we did do was save and plan. And we worked. Constantly. I put in at least 60-70 hours a week at my job and then spent my spare time building the side business that has become my full-time business.

I am nothing special. I am, however, a concrete example of the American Dream and my success represents what it possible in this absolutely amazing country...and I did it all while Bush was in office :eek:!

I say all of these things to qualify myself to make the following statements:

If you need straight talk, don't look to a politician. Look to those around you who are successful.
If you need hope, remember where you live: the USA. This country rules. As a simple reminder, open your eyes the next time you're at a grocery store. The luxury in which we live is amazing and there is so much opportunity.
If you need change, then you suck it up and make it happen yourself. With apologies to Randy Pausch, if you want to know what I did to change my life, call me at the office any given weeknight around 8:30 and I'll tell you.


To wrap this up and tie it to the subject at hand, ask yourself the following in context with what I've said:
Which candidate most respects those who take responsibility upon themselves to better their lives?
Assuming that you will (or already have) worked to make yourself successful, which candidate will leech the least from that success?
Which candidate will most likely work to continue to make the US a place where those who will to do so can build businesses?



But do you play golf and are you a single digit capper? If not, the sacrifice was in vein.:D

[olevetonahill]

Veritas thats about as well as It can be stated
Spek

[Curly Bill]

Veritas thats about as well as It can be stated
Spek

yup

[yermom]

Otherd Software?

[Rogue]

RLIMC and Homey, thanks for your input here.

I posted a similar message on 3 boards I frequent.
By far the most conservative is the board for Tennessee Gun Owners.
Soonerfans is the most moderate right now, and I'm a bit surprised.
The most liberal board is a DMB fan site I love, but it's so big I don't really know anyone there like I kinda do here.

Veritas, your story is a great one and I congratulate you. Well done, man.

Homey I hope you're right. I know there's still a load too much racism in the country. I'm not talking about personal beliefs...we all have them to some extent probably. It's the institutionalized stuff that gets me. The statistics in the criminal justice system, healthcare, and academia that prove to me that I have several advantages being white. I got to spend the morning with an MD who enrolled in medical school before public schools were desegregated. He had a humble and pointed perspective and shared his 600 page NIH study with some colleagues. It's about 15 years old but he reminded us that we aren't very far removed from the time of outright government sanctioned bigotry. Similar to the "2 Americas" JE talks about. His studies show that everyone treats the poor poorly, regardless of race. Race and income status are the biggest predictors of the healthcare a person can expect if all other variables are included. Even among equally insured folk.

The Gun site folks railed at my comments about BHO's being black and it being a "big deal." I don't think it says anything about his qualifications, just a positive sign, IMO.

[batonrougesooner]

If Obama wasn't going to tax upper middle class Americans to death then I'd have something positive to say about him.

Other than that he's not qualified to wash my car.

We have a winner.

[Veritas]

His studies show that everyone treats the poor poorly, regardless of race.
I'd be curious to know more about detail on what it means to "treat the poor poorly."

The poor remain poor for three reasons:

They consistently make bad financial decisions.
They do not learn from these bad decisions.
Substance abuse issues.


Poor people are to money as a sieve is to water. We would be much better off as a society if we would radically slash entitlement programs and use the savings to fund classes, mandatory for anyone on the government dime, that teach people how to manage money. In other words, rather than pouring an increasing the volume of water poured into the sieve, work to seal the holes in the sieve.

[JohnnyMack]

I am nothing special.

You can say that again.

[Veritas]

You can say that again.
I know you're joking (maybe), but it's the truth and I think is more important than anything else I said: I am not special. What I've done, most people can do if they try. Maybe not with software, but with whatever their craft happens to be. And the end result might not be entrepreneurship; it may be a key position working in the employ of someone else. Regardless, the goal is to make yourself so important to your clients (even if your employer is your only client) that your value results in better compensation.

I wish everyone saw the opportunity presented by this country and recognized how privileged we all are to live here.

[King Crimson]

so, if this has been covered elsewhere, i apologize...so where ya been veritas?

and to what do we owe your return?

[Okla-homey]

I'd be curious to know more about detail on what it means to "treat the poor poorly."

The poor remain poor for three reasons:

They consistently make bad financial decisions.
They do not learn from these bad decisions.
Substance abuse issues.


Poor people are to money as a sieve is to water. We would be much better off as a society if we would radically slash entitlement programs and use the savings to fund classes, mandatory for anyone on the government dime, that teach people how to manage money. In other words, rather than pouring an increasing the volume of water poured into the sieve, work to seal the holes in the sieve.

I agree.

:les: AND STOP PUTTING NON-VIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS IN JAIL!


Say you have a drug problem. You get get busted. They lock you up. When you get out, you still have a drug problem. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[StoopTroup]

Why I never wanted to be a dentist.

VZSaJiJVEhc&feature=related

[Veritas]

so, if this has been covered elsewhere, i apologize...so where ya been veritas?

and to what do we owe your return?
As to where I've been...see the long post on the prior page...I started working more and posting less. :)

As to my return...dude, that's my schtick. I show up, yell at LAS, bane somebody, spout some bull****, then disappear for months at a time.

[JohnnyMack]

I know you're joking (maybe), but it's the truth and I think is more important than anything else I said: I am not special. What I've done, most people can do if they try. Maybe not with software, but with whatever their craft happens to be. And the end result might not be entrepreneurship; it may be a key position working in the employ of someone else. Regardless, the goal is to make yourself so important to your clients (even if your employer is your only client) that your value results in better compensation.

I wish everyone saw the opportunity presented by this country and recognized how privileged we all are to live here.

Sort of. Halfway at least. :P

While it is true that one can pull oneself up by ones bootstraps and make it in this here country, one musn't however eliminate the host of socioeconomic factors that burden many people. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but what is true is that certain segments of our population are more apt to succeed due to factors beyond their control than others. My dad was born to working class parents in Hartshorne, OK, but he made it all the way up to a Federal Judgeship. He was a white male. Would a black female born in Hartshorne around the same time have the same opportunities he did? We should be honest. I'm not saying it isn't possible, just that it is in fact more arduous for some sectors of our society than others. Call it evolution in action.

[StoopTroup]

Whay can't Barrack and John just play a game of scrabble for all the marbles.

rm-aOgFUN7E&NR=1

[soonerscuba]

McCain: The man is a hero and his book "Character is Destiny" is a great, albeit, fluffy read. The man is a shrewd politician and clearly capable of being a unifying factor to a greater extent than the current president. Also, I will forever respect the man for choosing to stay in some godforesaken rathole so another man could go free, despite the fact that his Dad was an Admirial. Once again, do you think W would have done the same? We'll never know as he used his Dad to avoid going at all.

Obama: The man represents a fundamental shift in policy from the current administration, this above all else is why he receives my vote. The man came from a poor, single parent home to the cusp of the presidency, that will get my attention from any candidate as there are financial and social controls that tend to ensure that the president comes from power, and in my opinion the best don't. Further, I think he genuinely cares about the plight of the average and less than average John Q. Public, typical JD's don't decide their fate lies amongst the poor.


Other than that he's not qualified to wash my car.
This is totally true, everybody knows that former Editors of a Yale Law Journal are way better at washing cars than those dime a dozen Harvard Editors-in-Chief.

[Rogue]

I'd be curious to know more about detail on what it means to "treat the poor poorly."


Socioeconomic factors and persistent racial disparities in childhood vaccination (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17511578)

Unequal Treatment (http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=030908265X)

In the second link use the "search this book" feature to read about amputations and orchiectomies.

It usually begins with "self made men" like yourself with the beliefs that you have about anyone being able to accomplish the American dream because you did. It just isn't so and it's not all attributable to lethargy and addiction. There are many reasons why keeping the poor disadvantaged benefit the rest of us. Saying that they are all poor because of choices they make doesn't make it true.

Problem is, for every person helped by a gubmint (or "faith-based") program there is another who makes choices most don't agree with and we point to those to deride the system that, fairly often, works.

Not to say there isn't merit to your ideas, during Clinton and Newt's time they began the Welfare-to-Work programs that have exceeded my modest expectations.

I really applaud you and your success. I'm just not about to generalize that what worked for you will work for everyone.