Official Political (Republican/Democrat) Debate Thread

[krawhitham]

So the Dems want to bail out every consumer who signed up for mortgages they could not afford, and every one else who lives sensible has to pay for it. What a joke.

either way the bail out costs the same amount, I would rather see people mortgages protected and paid that just handing the money over to wall street investors. At least this way the money is helping people instead of fat cats.

Who is more to blame the people that gave homes to the homeless, or the homeless for taking them?

[krawhitham]

I wonder if that will work when she's staring down Putin. "I'm not really experienced, can you cut me some slack? And you can see Russia from an island in Alaska, where I was governor."

Facing the press is mild compared to functional diplomacy. We can't have 12 straight years of underlings doing the president's job for him/her.

Shorter time works great now she will have to know more topics

[OTBjoel]

Just wondering, when repubs mention that Obama is too "liberal", what exactly do you mean? I want to know the generic definition of "liberal" from a Republicans view point. Since when did "liberal" turn into a bad word? It must just be me but I don't find anything wrong in looking out for other people's well-being and making sure that we have decent health-care in this country. My wife is giving birth this week and I'm paying 100% out of pocket because of our broken health care system that wants my company to charge me $500/mo. to add my wife to my health care plan. Funny thing is, DHS laughed at us when we asked for financial assistance because I supposedly make too much money. Never mind that my wife doesn't work.

[Kayxero]

So the Dems want to bail out every consumer who signed up for mortgages they could not afford, and every one else who lives sensible has to pay for it. What a joke.

Have you forgotten that Congress is controlled by your beloved Dems and that THEY are the ones voting to bail out everyone?!?

*sigh*, blame the republicans for the mess that the democractically controlled Congress has put us in.

My point was that the GOP has been in favor for deregulation for the longest and now their party candidate(after 20 years) is in favor of regulation.

Give me a break. As I said he just wants in to the White House. I still firmly believe Mccain is a sellout because he has not stuck to what has made him Mccain the past several years. He has just been building towards trying to get people on his side by flip flopping his beliefs.

O wells, thats just my opinion tho =/

btw watch this. Chris rock is hilarious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsep_xcWOQ8

and he does have a really good point about vick. You can kill a caribou and its ok. Kill a dog and oh no, everyones up in arms. But thats for another thread. He does have some good humor about the clintons.

[Sean O]

Just want to clarify all this: we elect deregulators and warmongers, who proceed to deregulate industry and start multiple wars. Now, we have to either 1). borrow from china, 2). hike taxes, or 3). destroy all social programs to protect the greedy decisions of wall street millionaires.

And now, the same party of deregulators and warmongers has a plan that gives $700 BILLION to the same millionaires who made the bad decisions, without any oversight of how it's used.

My question: since I never wanted this to happen, how about only those who voted for the warmongers and deregulators have to pay the $2500 per person that this bailout will cost? Because I don't really think I should take a financial hit because of everyone else's bad decisions.

[JoeBlo]

"I wonder if that will work when she's staring down Putin. "I'm not really experienced, can you cut me some slack? And you can see Russia from an island in Alaska, where I was governor."

Hehehe... Joe Biden thinks FDR was POTUS in 1929 and that he spoke to the American people on the boob-tube. Joe Biden voted against the war in Iraq that the whole wrold was for. ie the Gulf War I. Joe Biden is now practicing debate with Gov Jennifer Granholm. LMAO! Good luck with Joe Biden!

As far as Obama goes we don't know enough about him because the media refuses to report on him and his past properly re ignoring anything suspisicous. The world is far too dangerous a place to elect such a rookie. Not only that his ties to William Ayers are disturbing and far more than what the MSM reports, also, Ayers daughter is an adviser to Hugo Chavez.

John McCain is not George W. Bush and has only been considered a Republican recently. The country needs a guy like McCain right now. Im my opinion he'll be a Teddy Roosevelt type of President.

Ask yourself why we know more about some statetrooper who still has his job than Obama's ties to William Ayers an American terrorist that bombed the Pentagon NYC police station etc.... 69% of voters polled by Rasmussen believe the MSM is in the tank for Obama. I do to and I don't want an out of touch elitist media choosing our next POTUS. These people live in ideology not reality. The mess on Wall ST could have been avoided if we'd have listened to McCain two years ago but the dems blocked that Bill. You can't get New Deal II without crashing the economy first. Think about it!

Read what McCain said about current situation today, two years ago here:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd...09-s20060525-16

Very prophetic indeed!

No New Deal II without crashing the economy first! Think about it! They create the problem vote for them they'll solve it? No thanks!

Obama was a player in the most corrupt city and state in the nation, not a reformer. If you think changing DC politics to Chicago style is a good thing, well God Bless You. Obama owes lots of favors to the most corrupt city and state in the nation. This state is so corrupt both parties are full of criminals. Think about it!

Obama couldn;t even smell the corruption right next door to him when he bought some land at disounted price from convicted criminal and Syrian national Tony Rezco.

I wish people would stop drinking the Kool-aid and wake up and smell the coffee.

[JoeBlo]

NO bailouts for anyone! Buck Fush and his idiotic proposal!

The congress should let the FBI finish their investigations before they vote on any bailout for Wall St.

The problems with Fannie and Freddie were because of toomuch regulation (see Barney Frank, Chris Dodd) that allowed them to cook the books and covers loans to people that should have never recieved because they couldn't afford in the first place. But, you can't get New Deal II without crashing the economy first. Think about it! 12 trillion national debt and a projected 50 trillion with all the entitlements already promised to baby boomers and such. We're seriously screwed no matter who is POTUS come January 2009. I trust McCain to do the right thing far more than that Chicago player and reformist pretender Barack Obama.

Bill Ayers was around Columbia when Obama attended, Obama came through Bill Ayers during his rise in Chicago politics and Obama served with him for many years in the Woods foundation. Ayers is a marxist through and through and hates our military. What do you know about that other than what Obama says? Why do we know all about Palin's years in six different colledges but nothing of Obama's Columbia years? Think about it!

"Maybe someone can find out something about Barack America's lost years – his undergraduate years – at Columbia. Nobody seems to remember him or what he did or accomplished. Oh ... and there's that missing Senior Essay." -Neil Boortz

[JoeBlo]

"And now, the same party of deregulators and warmongers has a plan that gives $700 BILLION to the same millionaires who made the bad decisions, without any oversight of how it's used."

Make no mistake about it, George W. Bush is no conservative! He's more like a JFK democrat than anyone in the democrat party these days. Anyone who considers a POTUS that has spent more money on social programs re prescription drug coverage etc... than Lyndon Baines Johnson's Great society programs is certainly no conservative.

"My question: since I never wanted this to happen, how about only those who voted for the warmongers and deregulators have to pay the $2500 per person that this bailout will cost? Because I don't really think I should take a financial hit because of everyone else's bad decisions."

Stop listening to the hyperbole. Warmongers my ***. The President's fist duty is to protect the American people and the ONLY reason we now know with such certainty that Saddam had no WMD is because Saddam was no longer in power and inspections finally went unhampered. I love the way people have such short memories. The WHOLE world including the Clinton adminstration thought Saddam had WMD. We broke Iraq and have to fix it so it can't be used like Afghanistan was. Obama and dems were calling the Surge a failure before it was even fully implemented. Stop relying on the media that is tanking for Obama and seek the truth. The spending for the war in Iraq ends at some point(around 560 billion to date), entitlements Obama is promising never end and the spending grows and we are already in the hole 12 trillion with a projected 50 trillion for already promised and unfunded entitlements to boomers. Wake up America! We are fast approaching a point where the rich can be taxed 100% and it won't cover the spending promised already and Obama promises more spending.

No more secret handshaking Yale and Harvard elites in the WH!

And no more one party control in DC!

"It's pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves[about McCain], 'Who is this man?' and 'Can we trust this man with the presidency?'" -Fred Thompson

[JoeBlo]

"Just wondering, when repubs mention that Obama is too "liberal", what exactly do you mean? I want to know the generic definition of "liberal" from a Republicans view point. Since when did "liberal" turn into a bad word? It must just be me but I don't find anything wrong in looking out for other people's well-being and making sure that we have decent health-care in this country. My wife is giving birth this week and I'm paying 100% out of pocket because of our broken health care system that wants my company to charge me $500/mo. to add my wife to my health care plan. Funny thing is, DHS laughed at us when we asked for financial assistance because I supposedly make too much money. Never mind that my wife doesn't work."

The word liberal today has evolved to the defintion of leftist. Both parties have moved left over the years and the GOP today is about where the democrat party was under JFK. You know, freedom of man, pay any price supporting freedom and democracy etc... Bush has spent more money on social programs than that of LBJ and his Great Society programs. Think about it!

People like to compare the right to Hitler and the left to Stalin ie far right/far-left. The problem of course is that Hitler and Stalin were both socialist and would both be considered lefties in US politics. The difference was Stalin was an international socialist and Hitler was a national socialist. The red shirts and brown shirts hated each other in Germany because they were competing for the same mindset re socialist.

[Cavicchi]

"It's pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves[about McCain], 'Who is this man?' and 'Can we trust this man with the presidency?'" -Fred Thompson"

No, I don't trust a 72 year old man with someone like Sarah Palin to take charge if McCain dies or becomes incapacitated, nor do I want Joe Biden as President. Sticking to the choice of McCain and Obama, I think Obama is more intelligent and a safer choice to at least live out the four years without dying, becoming incapacitated, or getting Alzheimers.

[JoeBlo]

McCain's mother is 95 years and still sharp. I have no problem with his age. Palin has at the very least as much expeience as Obama if not more executive experience. Execs like Governors don't have the option of voting "present" they have to make decisions and live them unlike senators who just give speeches and vote present. Its exactly why we typically don't elect senators to the WH and do elect governors.

Intellectuals like Obama scare me because intellectuals allow ideology to trump reality. And personally I'm sick of the elites running the WH. In 2004 we had a choice between two skull and bonesmen. Think about it!

Obama's talk doesn't match his record and its truly bizarro-world when words speak LOUDER than actions. When has Obama ever bucked his party? McCain has a whole career of standing up against his party and on some MAJOR issues. So much so that Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter were going to support Hillary because they hate McCain so much. Hehehe thats why I supported McCain, because Rush and flamethrower Ann Coulter hate McCain in the first place. The only reason they support McCain now is because they don't trust the inexperienced Obama with foreign policy and Joe Biden does nothing to help since he voted against the very first Gulf War and voted for this one.

The fact Obama was against Iraq means zero since he had no chance of backlash from his constituents for not supporting it. Think about it! You have to remember the mood of the country at the time. Bush could have said "we're taking out Saddam just because we can" at that time and the dems still would have voted for it because thats what Pols do. Stick the finger to the wind that is.

No more Yale or harvard elitist and no more one party control!

[JoeBlo]

The left says that Palin is right-wing extremist but contrary to their hyperbole Palin vetoed a Bill sent up to her that would have denied homosexuals state employed health benefits. Think about it! Is that what an "right-wing extremist" would have done. Bizarre how reality doesn't match the hyperbole isn't it?

I find it refreshing that a pol can keep their personal views out of their governing, especially after eight years of Bush. Another thing to think about is the ALL powerful VP. With McCain/Palin that era ends, with Obam/Biden the all powerfull VP continues. I'd rather have the VP attending funerals of dignitraies and such than shaping policy like Cheney.

[Cavicchi]

Someone who is intelligent scares you? Well, perhaps that's why someone like Bush became President and got elected for a second term! Did you vote for Bush?

McCain's grandmother does not necessarily mean he will live to 95 or not get Alzheimer's disease.

[JoeBlo]

And here I'm supposed to fear Jesus-freaks on the right?

Check this out:

"The prayer that I tell myself every night is a fairly simple one: I ask in the name of Jesus Christ that my sins are forgiven, that my family is protected and that I am an instrument of God's will. I'm constantly trying to align myself to what I think he calls on me to do. And sometimes you hear it strongly and sometimes that voice is more muted." -Barrack Obama

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122149777671437025.html

"I submit to you, Mr. Speaker, that the parties have differences. But if you want change, you want the Democratic Party. Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus, who our minister prayed about. Pontius Pilate was a governor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker." -- Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee (D)

"a leader that God has blessed us with at this time.†-Nancy Pelosi

Scary! Obama hears the voice of God in his head, sometimes more muted though. SCARY!

[Cavicchi]

The left says that Palin is right-wing extremist but contrary to their hyperbole Palin vetoed a Bill sent up to her that would have denied homosexuals state employed health benefits. Think about it! Is that what an "right-wing extremist" would have done. Bizarre how reality doesn't match the hyperbole isn't it?

I find it refreshing that a pol can keep their personal views out of their governing, especially after eight years of Bush. Another thing to think about is the ALL powerful VP. With McCain/Palin that era ends, with Obam/Biden the all powerfull VP continues. I'd rather have the VP attending funerals of dignitraies and such than shaping policy like Cheney.

Johnson had more experience than JFK...

[JoeBlo]

" Someone who is intelligent scares you? Well, perhaps that's why someone like Bush became President and got elected for a second term! Did you vote for Bush?"

No, intellectuals like Obama do though, ideology trumps reality with them. And that man is a gaffe machine. Talking encyclopedias retain lots of info too but they are not capable of thinking outside of their programming.

"McCain's grandmother does not necessarily mean he will live to 95 or not get Alzheimer's disease."

True, but he's been given a clean bill of health. And his skin cancer is not life threatening. Bill Clinton was a governor from a smaller state than Palin too. Palin seems to be pragmatic like Clinton, I long for the days of pragmatism.

Yes I voted for Bush the second time because I didn't like how Kerry turned against his comrades in Viet Nam. The fact is though both were Skull and Bonesmen. I'm sick of elites running the WH.

No more harvard or yale elitist in the WH for a while and no more one party power is what I'd like to see.

[Cavicchi]

And here I'm supposed to fear Jesus-freaks on the right?

Check this out:

"The prayer that I tell myself every night is a fairly simple one: I ask in the name of Jesus Christ that my sins are forgiven, that my family is protected and that I am an instrument of God's will. I'm constantly trying to align myself to what I think he calls on me to do. And sometimes you hear it strongly and sometimes that voice is more muted." -Barrack Obama

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122149777671437025.html

"I submit to you, Mr. Speaker, that the parties have differences. But if you want change, you want the Democratic Party. Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus, who our minister prayed about. Pontius Pilate was a governor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker." -- Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee (D)

"a leader that God has blessed us with at this time.†-Nancy Pelosi

Scary! Obama hears the voice of God in his head, sometimes more muted though. SCARY!

What voice did McCain hear when he chose Palin for VP? You know it couldn't have been her experience, most likely the voice whispering "we need female votes." :)

[JoeBlo]

"Johnson had more experience than JFK... "

The Kennedys treated the man who was the most powerful man in the senate at the time before Kennedy tapped him for VP, they treated him like a dumb hick, Kennedy was killed in Johnson's state, draw what ever conclusions you want but those are facts.

[JoeBlo]

"What voice did McCain hear when he chose Palin for VP? You know it couldn't have been her experience, most likely the voice whispering "we need female votes."

As it turns out the more we find out about that like the fact only four people knew and such, the more we now know McCain was picking her all along and probably for the reasons McCain stated and not the hyperbole from the left. Palin just like McCain has bucked the party establishment and exposed corruption. There are Republicans up there in Alaska still very upset about that. Palin went up against the big oil machine and won. Think about it and stop drinking the kool-aid from Obama and his cheerleaders in the media. Reality doesn't match the hyperbole.

Only a room full of ideological intellectuals could possibly think McCain is stupid enough to think Hillary supporters would support Palin just because she has a vagina. Think about it!

[Cavicchi]

" Someone who is intelligent scares you? Well, perhaps that's why someone like Bush became President and got elected for a second term! Did you vote for Bush?"

No, intellectuals like Obama do though, ideology trumps reality with them. And that man is a gaffe machine. Talking encyclopedias retain lots of info too but they are not capable of thinking outside of their programming.

"McCain's grandmother does not necessarily mean he will live to 95 or not get Alzheimer's disease."

True, but he's been given a clean bill of health. And his skin cancer is not life threatening. Bill Clinton was a governor from a smaller state than Palin too. Palin seems to be pragmatic like Clinton, I long for the days of pragmatism.

Yes I voted for Bush the second time because I didn't like how Kerry turned against his comrades in Viet Nam. The fact is though both were Skull and Bonesmen. I'm sick of elites running the WH.

No more harvard or yale elitist in the WH for a while and no more one party power is what I'd like to see.

Well, I somehow knew you voted for Bush. Pick the most intelligent guy and let him run with the ball--and you would never have had Bush and we wouldn't have this mess.

I hope you seriously don't think Palin would be as capable as was Bill Clinton. Clinton was a pretty good President, just ask Monica Lewinsky. :)

[JoeBlo]

"Well, I somehow knew you voted for Bush. Pick the most intelligent guy and let him run with the ball--and you would never have had Bush and we wouldn't have this mess."

Bullshit! John Kerry voted for the war too. Selective memory? John Kerry and dems were against the war when it started going bad. Thats what pols do, they stick their fingers in the wind to see which way its blowing. Bush is not the sharpest knife in the drawer but you can't say he didn't risk his re-election chances and was blowing with the wind.

"I hope you seriously don't think Palin would be as capable as was Bill Clinton. Clinton was a pretty good President, just ask Monica Lewinsky."

Do you havew a crystal ball or something? I don't know what Palin will be like but judging from her time as Governor she seems to be pragmatic just like Clinton was. The Lewinsky bullshit was stupid and payback for Nixon, now the dems have payed back for Clinton trashing Bush, this **** has to stop. McCain is the guy who can bring about change and has a history of bucking his party on controversial issues just like Palin did in Alaska exposing the oil greed within her own party. Like I said some in the GOP up there are still pissed about that and when a democrat controlling the investigation about troopergate says **** like "october surprise" it shouldbe your first clue the investigation is a gotcha game.

[JoeBlo]

Jimmy Carter was a nuclear physicist besides being a peanut farmer. That didn't work out so well for the US so your theory about picking the most intelligent guy doesn't hold water.

Besides that I believe Bush had high GPA than both Gore and Kerry. Weird eh? You know, hyperbole vs reality.

Personally I'm samrt enough to let history play itself out before I judge the war in Iraq as a mistake. Oddly enough the left said the same kind of things about Truman and Reagan as they do W Bush and oddly enough history judges them as pretty good Presidents that made some very tough decisions that in the end worked out for the best. I suspect history may well clear Bush on Iraq as well but we won't know until 20 years from now or so.

Anyonme trying to write history on Iraq before it plays out is either a moron or a partisan.

If you listen to democrats hyperbole about how Iraq was a distraction from Afghanistan and that we needed those troops in Afghanistan probably knows nothing of the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan. Compare the ten years of Soviet war in Afghanistan with the combined years of our incursion in Iraq and Afghanistan combined and check out those deaths, equipment lost etc....

Also, Afghanistan is a NATO venture and the Euros aren't living up to their responsibility. Some NATO allies won't even allow their troops into combat let alone send the number of troops they promised to send. That is not America's or Bush's fault!

[brutushayesosu]

debate called off. that blows. I was looking forward to watching it.

[Cavicchi]

What Kerry would have done if he got elected is not truly known, but one thing is fairly certain, he would not have been worse than Bush. I don't think there has been a more incapable leader in our history, certainly no one worse who got elected twice! We just love those incapable duds that make us feel smarter.

Get Iraq and those WMD--forget the expense of money and lives--get Saddam. Whatever happened to Bin Laden? Was it old Binnie or Saddam the madman that caused 9/11? How does old man McCain feel about the war in Iraq? Does he want to continue spending all that money?

You voted for Bush and deserve all the wonderful goodies Mr. Bush has brought your way. I knew Bush was the wrong choice the first time he ran against Al Gore. Ahh, but Gore was too intelligent...

[JoeBlo]

"Get Iraq and those WMD--forget the expense of money and lives--get Saddam. Whatever happened to Bin Laden? Was it old Binnie or Saddam the madman that caused 9/11? How does old man McCain feel about the war in Iraq? Does he want to continue spending all that money?

You voted for Bush and deserve all the wonderful goodies Mr. Bush has brought your way. I knew Bush was the wrong choice the first time he ran against Al Gore. Ahh, but Gore was too intelligent..."

You seem to be falling for the hyperbole, use your intelligence and think about it. Also, go research the Soviet war in Afghanistan and see their numbers lost etc... There are many reasons for taking out Saddam and one that has not been spoken of is the fact its easier to kill Jihaidst in the sand than mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, just ask the Soviets!

When one adds up ALL the reasons it was prudent to take out Saddam including the one I pointed out above they add to a no-brainer and who better than Bush to execute a no-brainer. lol!

Get back to us when you've looked up the deaths and such from the Soviets incursion into and fighting jihad in those mountains in ten years they were there. Add up all the US casualties and such from the combined more than tens years betweeen Iraq and AFghanistan and it just may be eye opening for you, that is if you are not just a partisan kool-aid drinker.