US 2008 Presidential Campaign/Debate Discussion Thread #6
- Thread starter MrsSpringsteen
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
- Status
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
i agree.
i think it will help teachers help students to cheat.
at least in the way that we currently understand "merit pay" which, as i understand, is linked to test scores.
2861U2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Rasmussen Reports: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election.
Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever
The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.
Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008.
The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month.
Voters not affiliated with either party are the most critical of Congressional performance. Just 3% of those voters give Congress positive ratings, down from 6% last month. Sixty-three percent (63%) believe Congress is doing a poor job, up from 57% last month.
Just 12% of voters think Congress has passed any legislation to improve life in this country over the past six months. That number has ranged from 11% to 13% throughout 2008. The majority of voters (62%) say Congress has not passed any legislation to improve life in America.
Voters hold little positive sentiment about the future. Just 41% find it at least somewhat likely that Congress will address important problems facing our nation in the near future, while 55% find this unlikely.
Despite these negative attitudes towards Congress, Democrats continue to enjoy a double digit lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot.
Most voters (72%) think most members of Congress are more interested in furthering their own political careers. Just 14% believe members are genuinely interested in helping people.
A separate Rasmussen survey found that half of all voters believe America’s best days are in the past. However, another survey found that 64% of voters also believe that the world would be a better place if more countries were similar to the United States.
Congressional Approval Falls to Single Digits for First Time Ever
The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.
Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008.
The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13% this month. The number of Democrats who give Congress a poor rating remained unchanged. Among Republicans, 8% give Congress good or excellent ratings, up just a point from last month. Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters say Congress is doing a poor job, down a single point from last month.
Voters not affiliated with either party are the most critical of Congressional performance. Just 3% of those voters give Congress positive ratings, down from 6% last month. Sixty-three percent (63%) believe Congress is doing a poor job, up from 57% last month.
Just 12% of voters think Congress has passed any legislation to improve life in this country over the past six months. That number has ranged from 11% to 13% throughout 2008. The majority of voters (62%) say Congress has not passed any legislation to improve life in America.
Voters hold little positive sentiment about the future. Just 41% find it at least somewhat likely that Congress will address important problems facing our nation in the near future, while 55% find this unlikely.
Despite these negative attitudes towards Congress, Democrats continue to enjoy a double digit lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot.
Most voters (72%) think most members of Congress are more interested in furthering their own political careers. Just 14% believe members are genuinely interested in helping people.
A separate Rasmussen survey found that half of all voters believe America’s best days are in the past. However, another survey found that 64% of voters also believe that the world would be a better place if more countries were similar to the United States.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
^ this is an excellent measure of how the public feels about the general direction of the country, and less a measure of how they feel about their specific Congressional or Senatorial representative.
deep
Blue Crack Addict
that is one way to spin it 
the American people are not stoopid
I expect the Democrats, who are in control of the Congress
will be repudiated on election day
there will be significant GOP gains, in the November election
the American people are not stoopid
I expect the Democrats, who are in control of the Congress
will be repudiated on election day
there will be significant GOP gains, in the November election
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
that is one way to spin it
the American people are not stoopid
and yet, every analyst and pundit alive will tell you precisely what i just told you.
I expect the Democrats, who are in control of the Congress
will be repudiated on election day
there will be significant GOP gains, in the November election
I think you were talkin to me.
So yeah, with 56+ maybe even 59 0r 60 Democrats
I am taking a leap of faith
that they will grow a pair
will they be able to scrap up one more testes ?
(we know Hillary has one, I read it on Drudge Report).
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
it seems Maliki wants one ...
[q]Iraq raises idea of timetable for US withdrawal
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SEBASTIAN ABBOT – 16 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister said Monday his country wants some type of timetable for a withdrawal of American troops included in the deal the two countries are negotiating.
It was the first time that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has explicitly and publicly called for a withdrawal timetable — an idea opposed by President Bush.
He offered no details. But his national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, told The Associated Press that the government is proposing a timetable conditioned on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security.
The White House said it did not believe al-Maliki was proposing a rigid timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals.
"Any agreement would not have any hard timetables for withdrawal, but could include the desire by the U.S. and Iraq to withdraw troops based on conditions on the ground," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
"I know that Prime Minister al-Maliki has said that he doesn't want a precipitous withdrawal because of the security consequences," Johndroe said in Toyako, Japan, where President Bush is attending the G-8 summit.
Al-Maliki said in a meeting with Arab diplomats in Abu Dhabi that his country also has proposed a short-term interim memorandum of agreement rather than the more formal status of forces agreement the two sides have been negotiating.
The memorandum "now on the table" includes a formula for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, he said.
"The goal is to end the presence (of foreign troops)," al-Maliki said.[/q]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
This is what they want, not some rapid unconditional withdrawal in 12 months that does not first insure the security and the stability of the country.
deep
Blue Crack Addict
It might not be 12 months.
But, I expect it to include a hard date of no more than 36 - 48 months.
I deal with timetables, all the time.
Timetables do have "ranges". They also have end dates.
The "timetable" just allows some flex for a "short date" that many prefer.
And an "extended date" that others are more comfortable with.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
Barack Obama and many of his fellow Democrats pressed for the start of an immediate withdrawal throughout 2007 attempting to attach amendments to spending bills that would have required the United States military to start immediately withdrawing without any prerequisites to be met first for the security and stability of the country. Barack Obama repeatedly stated that he wanted ALL US combat brigades to be withdrawn from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Its in the Foreign Affairs article that was linked a few pages back and its brought up in the spending bills as well. This all on record as is the majority of posters in the forum opposing both the surge and supporting withdrawal without first having as a prerequisite the security and stability of Iraq. Democrats like Murtha had even faster withdrawal timetables of 6 months with NO prerequisites to be met first before the withdrawal would begin.
It might not be 12 months.
But, I expect it to include a hard date of no more than 36 - 48 months.
I deal with timetables, all the time.
Timetables do have "ranges". They also have end dates.
The "timetable" just allows some flex for a "short date" that many prefer.
And an "extended date" that others are more comfortable with.
1st, the Iraqi's have stated that ONLY after the Iraqi military has successfully taken over security for all 18 provinces in Iraq do they want to see any change in US force posture in the country. When that finally happens, which may not be until 2010, then US forces would pull back from any cities they were still in, but would remain in the country for at least the next 3 to 5 years with the situation to be reviewed every 6 months. So your looking at a date beyond 2015 which could be altered at any time.
The same Iraqi national security advisor has also stated this year that he projects Iraq will need foreign troops until 2012 for internal security, and foreign troops to help defend the country's borders until 2018.
What the Iraqi government, Bush administration, McCain, and the US military do not want, is a the withdrawal of any coalition forces from any part of Iraq BEFORE insuring that any area they withdraw from is first secure and stable and that the services provided by the US combat brigade can be provided by Iraqi security forces or the Iraqi government.
Thats in stark contrast to Democrats who spent most of 2007 attempting to force the President to start immediately withdrawing troops without having any prerequisites first for the country's security and the capability of Iraqi forces. Where would Iraq be today if as Democrats wanted, the surge had not happened and all US combat brigades were pulled out by March 31, 2008?
that is one way to spin it
the American people are not stoopid
I expect the Democrats, who are in control of the Congress
will be repudiated on election day
there will be significant GOP gains, in the November election
This blog post links to a Fox News poll showing that more Republicans approve of the Democratic-controlled Congress then Democrats do. Democrats in Congress have not fulfilled their 2006 promises to start ending the Iraq War or punish those responsible for the warrantless spying, or seriously pursing the unlawful excesses of the Bush Administration. This Congress is unpopular because they haven't done their mandate, not that they did it and people didn't like it. Otherwise we'd see solid Dem support against everyone else hating...much like Bush still is with Republicans.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
do we really need to rehash the past few pages of this thread?
have you read a single post other than your own?
I wonder how many ways he can say the same thing.
Strongbow! I object to your positions, yet am intrigued. Tell me more.
You should be asking yourself that. I'm not the one who is confused about the positions that most Democrats have taken on the war in the past 18 months.
The position I have always advocated, and the position that the Bush administration, McCain and the United States military have supported, is that the nation building and counterinsurgency process under way in Iraq must continue until Iraq is developed and stable enough to handle the situation on their own. Troops should only be withdrawn when conditions on the ground warrent their withdrawal.
That has NOT been the position of most Democrats, posters on this message board, or Barack Obama over the past 18 months.
If one claims that Iraq is a "Civil War" that the United States military cannot help resolve or stop and should not be involved in stopping and should leave, but now is saying they are for a withdrawal that has as a prerequisite,
successfully resolving the conflict or "Civil War" and stabilzing the country, then they have in fact reversed their position on Iraq.
maycocksean
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Either you are deliberately ignoring the nuance found in the posts on this topic (particulary those by Irvine) or you are completely unaware of the nuance in his (and, I'd suggest, Obama's as well) views.
As you seem like a pretty smart fellow, I'm putting my money on the former.
You've got a story and you're sticking to it.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
yolland
Forum Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
- Messages
- 7,471
[q]Associated Press, July 8
PITTSBURGH — Cindy McCain's jab to her husband's back came a second too late Tuesday to keep him from making a wisecrack about the health impact of Iran's main import from the United States: cigarettes.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain was asked about an Associated Press report that $158 million in cigarettes have been shipped to Iran during George W. Bush's presidency despite restrictions on U.S. exports to that country.
"Maybe that's a way of killing them," McCain told reporters, smiling as he waited for a cheesesteak sandwich at the Primanti Brothers restaurant. His wife, sitting next to him at the counter, poked his back without looking up.
"I meant that as a joke," McCain quickly explained. "As a person who hasn't had a cigarette in 28 years," he began to say, when his wife corrected him: 29 years.
Taking a more serious tone, McCain said, "I'd like to look into" details of exports to Iran. "This is the first that I've heard about it," he said.[/q]
PITTSBURGH — Cindy McCain's jab to her husband's back came a second too late Tuesday to keep him from making a wisecrack about the health impact of Iran's main import from the United States: cigarettes.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain was asked about an Associated Press report that $158 million in cigarettes have been shipped to Iran during George W. Bush's presidency despite restrictions on U.S. exports to that country.
"Maybe that's a way of killing them," McCain told reporters, smiling as he waited for a cheesesteak sandwich at the Primanti Brothers restaurant. His wife, sitting next to him at the counter, poked his back without looking up.
"I meant that as a joke," McCain quickly explained. "As a person who hasn't had a cigarette in 28 years," he began to say, when his wife corrected him: 29 years.
Taking a more serious tone, McCain said, "I'd like to look into" details of exports to Iran. "This is the first that I've heard about it," he said.[/q]
deep
Blue Crack Addict
well, that is just one more flip - flop
killing them with tobacco now
previously he was for "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"
killing them with tobacco now
previously he was for "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"
Where is the nuance in claiming that Barack Obama did not vote for a spending bill to immediately start withdrawing US combat brigades from Iraq without any prerequisites for development and security there and set a date of March 31, 2008 to have all of the US combat brigades out of Iraq?
Barack Obama and the Democrats have consistently stated that they wanted to start immediately removing US combat brigades from Iraq with a date to have them all out by March 31, 2008. There were no prerequisites for this withdrawal to begin at all or for all US combat brigades to be out by March 31, 2008. The only thing they said might change that is if the Iraqi government and military were to meet all 18 bench marks in that small time frame, they might suspend the withdrawal which is just absurd. If your serious about helping a country develop strong security, economic and political structures and enviroments then you don't pack up and leave when your help is needed most and tell them that if they succeed in achieving these difficult task essentially on their own, that you'll stop leaving and help them with the easier task that would remain.
Did anyone here claim that?
No?
Didn't think so.
You keep including Barack Obama "and the Democrats" as if "the Democrats" are all of one mind and one opinion. That's rather short-sighted.
OP
OP
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
I don't get John McCain's alleged "humor". He's like that daffy uncle at your barbecue who makes inappropriate jokes and ends up in a corner by himself, only he's running for President.
2861U2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Barack Obama wants us all to learn Spanish.
YouTube - Barack Obama: Your Children Should Learn To Speak Spanish
This guy is such an idiot.
Note how very few people behind him applauded.
YouTube - Barack Obama: Your Children Should Learn To Speak Spanish
This guy is such an idiot.
Note how very few people behind him applauded.
Vincent Vega
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
What an idiot, making a second language spoken by millions part of the normal curriculum. So stupid.
Can't believe any person would seriously consider such an embarrasingly stupid measure.
Can't believe any person would seriously consider such an embarrasingly stupid measure.
2861U2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Cute.
Does Obama wants us to learn Spanish to accomodate the illegals who will never learn English? Kinda sounds that way. I'm not sure why he would say "Don't worry about the immigrants, they'll learn English" when that notion is certainly debatable.
Vincent Vega
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
First, the US doesn't have an official language, second, not every Spanish-speaking person is illegally in the US, I would guess not even the majority, third, Spanish is the second most important language in the world (though some might say that e.g. Japanese or Chinese are becoming more important), and fourth, one thing I would say would be even better than making Spanish mandatory would be to make some second language mandatory.
OP
OP
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
I saw this on TV last night, I think it was MSNBC
Think Progress Librarian with ‘McCain=Bush’ sign charged with trespassing at public campaign event.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was in Denver, CO, today for a town hall meeting. The event, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, was billed as “open to the public.” Yet Carol Kreck, a 61-year-old librarian carrying a “McCain=Bush” sign, was taken away by police for trespassing. A police officer told Kreck:
"You have two choices. You can keep your sign here and receive a ticket for trespassing, or you can remove the sign and stay in line and attend this town hall meeting."
Kreck received a ticket for trespassing and her court date is July 23. McCain has apparently taken a page from the Bush playbook. In 2005, the White House had three activists expelled from a Denver public forum with President Bush because it was the administration’s policy “to exclude potentially disruptive guests from Bush’s appearances nationwide.”
Video
YouTube - John McCain Kicks Librarian Out of Town Hall Event
Think Progress Librarian with ‘McCain=Bush’ sign charged with trespassing at public campaign event.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was in Denver, CO, today for a town hall meeting. The event, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, was billed as “open to the public.” Yet Carol Kreck, a 61-year-old librarian carrying a “McCain=Bush” sign, was taken away by police for trespassing. A police officer told Kreck:
"You have two choices. You can keep your sign here and receive a ticket for trespassing, or you can remove the sign and stay in line and attend this town hall meeting."
Kreck received a ticket for trespassing and her court date is July 23. McCain has apparently taken a page from the Bush playbook. In 2005, the White House had three activists expelled from a Denver public forum with President Bush because it was the administration’s policy “to exclude potentially disruptive guests from Bush’s appearances nationwide.”
Video
YouTube - John McCain Kicks Librarian Out of Town Hall Event
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Barack Obama wants us all to learn Spanish.
YouTube - Barack Obama: Your Children Should Learn To Speak Spanish
This guy is such an idiot.
Yes, let's embrace ignorance!!!
- Status
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
-
I listened to No Line on the Horizon right through tonight for the first time in about 10 years…- Latest: Headache in a Suitcase
-
-
-
-
-
-
U2 Live From Sphere - Final Show SiriusXM stream
- Latest: Headache in a Suitcase
