I'm in PA (swing state), and I just *want the friggin ads to stop*. I don't even turn my radio on any longer.

Having said that, Palin scares the ever living hell out of me. The thought of her *anywhere* in the chain of succession, let alone being the first on the list, would cost a candidate my vote.

I refuse to vote for "the lesser of two evils"
I dont want either of them to be our president, so I will not be voting for either, I think both of them will be terrible for our country.
and you can all say that I could vote for McKinney or Barr or Baldwin, but we all know independents never get elected, especially this year with all the obama-ites (they're like a fucking cult)

as my friend put it, "I'll be voting from the roof-tops" as he mimed looking through a sniper scope.

omg

Yeah, I still prefer Obama over McCain any day, but at least I liked McCain as a person; he sort of seems like a nice old grandfather- nice guy to have around and talk to, but a bit out of touch and not someone I'd want to lead. (Not stereotyping elder folks, here, no offense intended.)

That being said, Palin cost ANY chance of me supporting McCain, too; she seems to me like a Sarah Connor type of person, only a lot more shady; it's a new scandal every other day with her.

And Sicarius- I've always herd you were a bit, "rough" on matters- a black candidate, and maverick (he is, to an extent), and you're making sniper jokes?

"friggin ads to stop" lol right there with you. :p

I will be voting for Obama/Biden. I am not an Obamabot, I see the flaws, pandering, and general politics of both Candidates. Obama and Biden fit my political ideas better than McCain, though McCain in 2000 (I believe there is a large difference) would be a much stronger contender for my vote.

I agree entirely with Sicarius (for once)

We have a warmonger versus the guy who claims to be an environmentalist who supports the coal industry ("clean coal" and coal to liquid fuel technologies on at least equal footing with alternatives to fossil fuels). We have a guy with a 1/3 chance of dying in office who comes to the job with a booty pageant runner-up as his VP, and he's running against the man who pretends to be working for the middle class yet gained the most Wall Street contributions of *any* candidate in the 2008 elections.

And NEITHER of them have offered balanced budgets! Going by their proposed budgets in the campaigns, our deficit will only grow.

as someone who does not own a TV, im a less bombarded with advertisements

it has nothing to do with race.

if some neo-nazi shoots obama, I'll be glad. and I'll be glad when that nazi gets executed too.
and if mKKKain gets shot, who the fuck cares? this is a man that thought it was funny to sing about bombing women and children.

they're both terrible people. it'll be a sad november 4th, because one of them will get elected.
they both supported the socialist bailout, they both support the patriot act, they both support very deleterious environmental practices such as off shore drilling, they both said they would be willing to plunge us into yet another senseless war, they both support increased military presence in afganistan, they both will continue to completely fuck over everyone who lives under their leadership, with the exception of the very few rich powerful men who live in ivory towers

Oh, and I'm voting for John Burbank to represent the 36th District of Washington to the state house of representatives :)

also I'm right on board with you guys about Palin. she scares me.
I swear man she's the fucking anti-christ

out of the republicans who could have gotten the nomination im glad mccain did, but i still support obama over him, yes he is the lesser of 2 evils but isn't it always like that. plus palin is the worst possible gop vp choice and i could swear mccain is trying to lose the election. with his health i think that mccain would probably die within the first 2 years of office due to some natural cause and that would leave palin in the oval office. she can't be trusted to be there im sorry for anyone i offend but shes retarded. mainly cuz of that im obama 08.

omg

didn't know Sicarius is so crazy

Sicarius: The bailout is hardly socialist. Have you read what socialists have to say about that? They're appalled that $700,000,000,000 could be so easily and quickly put together to save CAPITALIST financial institutions when there are so many other issues that could have used the money:

- K-12 teacher pay
- universal health care
- AIDS aid
- subsidizing tuition for higher education (over 2/3 of students now graduating college have debt)
- food for families living below the poverty line

etc. etc. etc. You could probably list off more causes for hours.

“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”

- Benito Mussolini

Granted, neither have ALL the answers, but to say you'll be GLAD nif Obama or McCain are gunned down. That's cold, Sicarius, if not just a bit scary.

Alright then, for a change of pace- if you could pick ANY former President, living or dead, to lead us the next 4 years, who would it be?

I think TR is in the top five best ever, and he's my choice, Theodore Roosevelt; he had the kind of energy and grandiose vision I like in Obama and the tenacity I greatly respect in McCain. Washington and Lincoln, too, would be good choices (they're good choices for pretty much any such discussion.) Failing a Rushmore President (FDR really should get a spot on the Mt., four terms, two crises, lead us in mankind's biggest war), I think James K. Polk would be good too; the man worked 20 hour days, gave us the "Sea to Shining Sea" dream, and was a huge micromanager, ESPECIALLY on economical matters- a workaholic, and I think the most underrated President we've had, he'd find a way to fix the economy, or die from lack of sleep trying. ;)

OMG, Sicarius - for someone so sensitive about their own rights and beliefs you show a staggering disrespect for other people's views. Have you made up your own fanatical religion (Sicarianism? :) - and are ready go around shooting people 'in the name of freedom'?
People like you are worse than politicians - you make them look the reasonable!
You should seriously consider the idea that there's at least a slight chance that not everything you believe in is 100% true. Failing to do so places you below the Catholic Church in terms of evolutionary capacity :)

Not an American - but really hope Obama wins.

We cannot selfishly abandon the Iraqis to fate that we created for them. Every time Obama talks about Iraq I am reminded of all the selfish American citizens who would sooner save a few dollars and a few paltry lives and see a country full of innocent bystanders burn in agony.

So I would vote for McCain because of that.

(Sorry triple post)
Other than that I'm all with Obama on the economy (though I wish he'd raise taxes and not pander by cutting) and other issues.

Except for abortion I guess. But that's out of Obama's hands.

Except the Iraqis are really asking for us to at least start leaving, they're biting the hand that feeds, so to speak.

And, in any case, while Iran stands as it does now, Iraq and the whole Middle East will not be safe, so let's fix the big threat first.

Now, I'm a Zionist all the way, but I do agree withObama to talk first- for two reasons. First, I don't want any more Israelis to die than necessary, and if Israel can be spared yet another war, than that's the course that should be taken. Second, if it DOES come to war, then there will be no question who the agressor is, and we can actally have a coalition again.

Oh, and Ivo_ivanov: where're you from? Go with the name and say Slavic area, or is that just a psuedonym?

How can you call Sarah Palin the Antichrist if you don't believe in religion, Sicarius? If you want a person who fits the description of the Antichrist, it would be O'bama because the Antichrist is supposedly supposed to be charming and a peacemaker before the whole Apocalypse deal.

He isn't, of course, but that goes to show you how facts and information can be twisted to suit individual agendas. But you wouldn't know anything about that now, would you Biff?

yes israel and american will be the agressors!

I'm not an American so don't get to vote (mores the pity) I think the rest of the world should form a 53rd state election college so that we could have some input into which guy is going to be the most important person on earth (after Chuck Norris)

I'm voting Bob Barr. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have the ideals that can really change this country....so if you want a real maverick, go Barr. Having said that, McCain or Obama are the only 2 with a chance of winning. Personally, I think Obama would improve the US's image throughout the world, and since we are in conflict and in a financial slowdown worldwide, I think he is better situated to do this.

@Maniac

The USA would need a 52nd set of electors (With Washington D.C being 51st) to get a 53rd made up of the rest of the world. If anyone won that state no other state would matter.

AND... so much for mature and level-headed. I'm not going to wade into this shit-storm

If i was American id be voting for Obama. he is no denis kucinich but he will do other McCain any day. Tickle down economics,deregulation or the even more absurd self regulation in the finance industry, tax cuts for the wealthy and staying in iraq are all the wrong direction.

Im stating to see signs of Political Party Electoral Wipeout Induced Trauma (PPEWIT!) in the Republicans.
symptoms include an overriding desire to blame media bias, `elite` opinion, voter fraud and terrorist conspiracies for one owns party`s electoral destruction at the hands of the people.
to my republican friends on this site i say don't worry , we on the left have been there many times before! you wil recover....eventually.
also it will give the republican party a chance to weed out either the corrupting influence of the corporate lobbyists OR the influence of white southern fundamentalist Christian groups (depending on your view, the party cant get rid of both because that wouldn't leave anyone!)

in these last few days im a little bit worried that AQ or any radical Islamic group might try a bit of flashy dont forget we exist terrorism to try to swing the voters back to thinking about national security. they would prefer McCain than Obama won i think. Bush has been a great recruiting tool for them and american going to war with iran would suit the sunni radical groups just fine.All this talk about iraq is odd, the iraqi govenrment wants Us soldiers out by 2011. so no matter who wins there will be a slow staggered withdrawal of troops. obama's retreat will be somewhat faster and mcCain's somewhat slower thats all. (unless the pentagon decide to go all south american style in iraq and start supporting coups to find a "strongman" who will ask america to stay on)

How can you vote for Bob Barr and want O'bama to win, Spell of Wheels? All of Barack's domestic programs are anathema to libertarianism. how closely did you look at either of them?

Well, I could never vote Bob Barr. Not after watching him during the Clinton impeachment hearings (and the Larry Flynt witch hunt). Talk about grandstanding...

During the primaries, I was rooting for McCain. I didn't like the inexperience of Obama, and I just don't like Hillary. Never have, never will.

But McCain has changed, doing and saying anything he can to get votes. And his VP pick stunned me. Like others have mentioned, the thought of her as president absolutely terrifies me.

So Obama gets my vote by default.

(And for any of those thinking of voting for Barr or other 3rd party candidates. During the 2004 race, Ralph Nader said something about he sees no difference between Gore and Bush. After another 4 years of Bush, do you really think he still sees no difference? If he doesn't, he's not qualified to be president anyway.)

Didn't say I WANTED Obama to win. Barr is idealism...Obama is pragmatism. I think a Republican White House would better check a Democratic Congress, especially on the domestic issues. But, my belief is that the US has lost some of its moral authority on the world stage...and I don't buy the John McCain is a maverick "thing". I have read the Libertarian platform online...not been to any rallies, because quite frankly, I haven't seen any in my area. I have been to several Democratic rallies. I voted twice for George Bush and for first term Clinton.

OH...and Ron Paul is my US representative!

Well, we have about half the folks here being mature like I'd hoped, and half resorting to name-calling and cursing, like I, sadly expected.

For the mature half:

I know America is aggressive because we're a superpower (though with China going up and us falling like a stone how much longer it stays that way may depend on this election), but tell me, JUST YOU FOLKS OUTSIDE THE US-

How do you see us, besides agressive and still strong? Not a challenge, genuinely interested in other folk's opinion. Just keep one thing in mind- Bush does NOT represent all Americans; in fact, at this point, with both candidates trying to wash their hands and denounce him and with his approval rating so low, he really represents a minority in America now, not a msjority; the majority's sort of split between Obama, McCain, or mutual disgust of the two candidates.

I'd like to think my country is not yet seen as a villian like the USSR was; if we are, then I'd like that to change, for us to change.

Also- I really don't see Israel as the agressor OR Palestinians as wrong. I have an admitted Zionist slant, but I think that after being under constant threat for all of it's existance and having constant enemies, I don't blame Israel for having a very quick trigger finger- if they didn't have that instinct, I don't think they'd be here still. Keep in mind- we Jews have wanted our home back for 2,000 years, so we'll really be very protective of it. That being said, I do feel sympathy for the PEACEFUL Palestinians, NOT THE TERRORIST ONES. I think that Palestinians should stop resistance and Israel should go to greater lengths to peacefully incorporate them as citizens, or give the Palestinians something like the Strip for their own; still, with plenty of Arab/Muslim states and only one Jewish one, I don't think Israel should share it's heartland or give it up.

I want to move to your neighborhood, Spell of Wheels!

I don't care too much what other countries think of America so long as the President is doing what's right for the US. I was seriously considering a throwaway, just-so-I-could-tell-my-kids-I-voted-for-the-first-black-President-someday vote for O'bama till he went and spoke in Berlin. He's running for President of the United States, not Bundeskanzler and not UN Secretary General. Oh well.

I live in Illinois, that's why it's a throwaway.

I casted a write-in vote for Ron Paul yesterday. For those of us in California, Ron Paul is a certified write-in candidate, which means votes for him are supposed to be recorded (unlike most write-in votes, which are simply ignored).

As for Bob Barr, I was at the Libertarian National Convention in Denver when he was nominated. Lots of people thought he was part of a secret plot to destroy the Libertarian Party. I spoke to BB and several of his staffers throughout the convention and thought he might be okay (although I was dismayed by the tactics shown by his now-Deputy campaign manager leading up to the convention). Now after watching the Barr campaign screw up absolutely everything possible, from ballot access, to insulting Ron Paul and RP supporters, to refusing to participate in debates with other third party candidates, to failing to get any campaign materials of any kind into peoples' hands, the campaign has been run so badly it's nearly impossible to attribute it all to incompetence.

I'm starting to think the conspiracy theorists were right. Wouldn't be the first time (COINTELPRO, anyone?)

When Barr got the nomination on the 6th ballot at the convention, about a third of the delegates walked off the convention floor; it took some hustling to get them back. Now everyone knows there's no question they should've kept walking.

[/end rant]

obiwanobiwan:
1) living in the uk, my perception of most Americans is they are fundamentally ignorant of most world issues, due to extremely poor media coverage of international news and the size of the country being such that most americans never fell the need to leave. Which is why an articulate, internationalist, moderate candidate like Obama is such a popular prospect, and Sarah palin has caused mass consternation and ridicule around Europe. I am aware that Coastal America is generally more liberal and outward looking, before you all get upset about my summary. What I would like is an America that engages with the world as first among equals, and stops to reconsider it's policies when they are opposed by almost all other western democracies. Invasion of Iraq was opposed by France, Germany, Italy and basically everyone apart from US and UK, which should have been a clue that it was a bad idea. Bush didn't care, but I believe Obama would if faced with a similar situation.

sicarius: do you say stuff like 'I hope Obama gets shot' in face to face conversation as well? Just curious.

is there anybody here who thinks McCain can still win?
it looks VERY unlikely.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/todays-polls-111.html
i am one happy bunny rabbit