US Election

[????]

An idealogue Huge? My only ideology is pragmatism I have long attacked idealism for the enormous poo its followers and doctrines lead us into - see often expressed my views on education AND Europe as examples of this (both the poo idealism creates and my lack of ideology).

[MrBen]

Check it out people - it's a Mitt Romney voting machine....

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/watch-glitch-voting-machine-pennsylvania-171806481--election.html

[Sue]

Stayed up last time but not sure I can stand the pace/stress this time .....

Just about hanging in there so far .....

[Gidget]

Whew, Pres. Obama has been re-elected. Congratulations to him!

[Huguenot]

Pregamatism, or at least the way you present it in a political context Quids, is an ideology :D

It's like shooting the injured guy on the floor because his moaning was distracting the others. It may well have been 'practical', but it demonstrated a particular ideological approach to social issues.

Your determination to stick with your 'practical' approach to politics through thick or thin in the face of whatever the world throws at you makes you an ideologue.

I should add that since things don't always turn out the way you'd prefer, it's entirely possible that your cause and effect calculation is missing a few key variables ;)

[Alex K]

So BHO is again US President. I was afraid that Romney might be elected; I am disappointed that Obama -- and not, for example, Hillary Clinton -- was the Democrat alternative.

You've been elected to the Presidency, Mr Obama? Ah. This time, live up to it.

[El Pibe]

Yaaaay

[Huguenot]

BHO Alex K?

Is that an unsubtle approach to reminding us that his middle name is Hussein? It's a very particular acronym that is predominantly used in certain circles with minority apartheid agendas.

If anything is abundantly clear, an executive branch run by Clinton would be indiscernible from one run by Clinton. So why would you prefer Hilary?

[StraferJack]

You don't have to go for the jugular quite so often H

I expect Alex is one of many non-republicans dissapointed with Obama's overall performance - the apparent lethargy in the second half especially and views Clinton as a more energised candidate. Wether that would turn out to be true in the real world remains to be seen but you don't have to be a paid up tea party member to express a preference

[StraferJack]

I see wher you are coming from with BHO, but again, I don't think it necessarily means anything. is it any different to JFK - do some democrats also use it?

hang on - quick google...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002894898

[nashoi]

Nice to see Donald Trump taking it so well.

[????]

Bookies called it right - PaddyPower paid out last Sunday/Betfair had it 1/4 on on Monday, which backs the view that Betfair is as valid source of likely election results as opinion polls. wisdom of crowds etc.

I am glad Obama won as I was last time but I'd hoped we'd all got over the starry eyed, almost evangelical slightly disturbing worship thing, looking at the twiiteratti/facebook I see 'we' haven't.

He's just a politician, the fact that he's black was immensley important for all sorts of reasons back in 2008 but can we just get on with it now...he's not the messiah, and, for various reasons, hasn't been that great as a president. I work with a fair few americans (mainly openly democrat) and even they are slightly bemused by western europe's hero worship.

[Otta]

Second term, doesn't need to worry about getting reelected, so now he can forget about upsetting people and get on with it.

People talk as if he done nothing in his first term, but without his decisions at home, America would be screwed.

[LondonMix]

BHO tends to be provocative (particularly when combined with criticism). Bringing up Hilary Clinton is just odd. I support her and would vote for her but she is one of the most polarising figures in American politics. Republicans hate her even more than Obama and the partisan divisions that brought congress to an infuriating standstill would likely have been worse not better under her leadership.

Obama has disappointed a lot of democrats (particulalry young ones) as he way over sold what he could realistically accomplish. He basically suggested he could reshape American politics in 4 years. He also disappointed as a leader as he didn't always have a clear vision or conviction. And who can be happy with the levels of unemployemnt and weak recovery (though clearly not all down to him!)

With that said he did more than I thought he would. Having lived through the Clintons' attempts in the 90s to reform Health Care, I thought that campaign promise was impossible. The political goodwill you need to burn through in America to get that done is impossible for Europeans to imagine. Obamacare is deeply unpopular (among the electorate and Republicans) and put his re-election at risk. That along with officially allowing gays to openly serve in the military will be his legacy in decades to come.

I saw both the concession and victory speach and I am thrilled both men asked for Americans to come together and the stop the political stalemate in congress for the good of the country.

[red devil]

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I work with a fair few americans (mainly openly

> democrat) and even they are slightly bemused by

> western europe's hero worship.

Tis true. I recently emailed some online US friends of different political persuasion (Democrat, Republican and Independent) asking them for their thoughts on the US election and who they'd be voting for. Unexpectedly the Republican was the least vociferous of the three...

The Democrat

You know, I am very left wing and have felt betrayed by Obama on a number of important issues. Many broken promises and a failure to act strongly. So for the second time in my life I did not vote for the Democrat. I voted Green for the first time. I could not do the lesser of two evils because sometimes I think the dreamer who violates his promises may actually be the more evil.

The Republican

I've been looking forward to this election for 4 long years now and can't wait to get it over with and hopefully get this country turned around again.

The Independent

I will be glad when our election is over. I am what they call an unaffiliated or independent voter and not particularly fond of Obama. I vote for the person I think will be best for America. I think Obama has been a terrible President overall. He has lied to us, not fulfilled his basic responsibilities nor his promises and is nothing more than a Chicago style political animal. His party has ignored our laws (and Obama has as well plus flouted existing laws) and shirked their/his responsibilities. I know Europeans think he is swell because he has bought into carbon as a source of "global warming" and cozied up to the riffraff in the Middle East and Europeans are entitled to their opinions. As an American I think he has been a terrible President. If he is elected I will honor him as my President but I will never support his policies.

[maxxi]

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

I

> work with a fair few americans (mainly openly

> democrat) and even they are slightly bemused by

> western europe's hero worship.

I think last time a lot of it was a mix of myopic idealism and absolute sweaty-palmed relief that the old guy and the mad, bad witch didn't get in.

Like falling to the ground in teary-eyed gratitude when the good guys arrive at the end of the film and drive the flesh-eating zombies away.

[Sue]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Second term, doesn't need to worry about getting

> reelected, so now he can forget about upsetting

> people and get on with it.

>

xxxxxx

Yep. Thank God (or whatever) Romney didn't get in.

How do people like that get so far? I know we've had some crap prime ministers, but really ..... sometimes Americans just seem to back anyone who vaguely appears to be breathing .....

[LondonMix]

The violation of law will be Health Care reform for those of you who missed the reference!

[steveo]

It seems what won it was the billboard that said:

'GM alive

Bin Laden dead'

[El Pibe]

To be fair RD,I think this

"I know Europeans think he is swell because he has bought into carbon as a source of "global warming" and cozied up to the riffraff in the Middle East and Europeans are entitled to their opinions."

says more about your mate than it does Europeans.

I do find the hero worship a bit odd, but 90% of it can probably be explained by his STILL not being George Bush and his nefarious cronies.

A political animal is exactly what he is, and given the polarisation of the country and the massive inertia of the Washington machine I think he's probably steered a pragmatic course in domestic politics, bringing down spending in real terms and changing the direction of federal emphasis about as quickly as you could a superduperwoopertanker.

I'm ambivalent about his foreign policies. "Buying into carbon..." hilarious. Actually what he's attempting to do is

Limit the USs exposure to energy risk by reducing dependence on carbon sources from the riffraff in the Middle East, and as quids has often been at pains to point out, much of that strategy is increasing the output of more carbon sources in the US.

He has returned to a multilateral approach and has genuinely reclaimed moral leadership for the US in the world, sensibly leading from behind in Libya and cajoling and encouraging the Arab spring (not that such riff riff know what to do with democracy obviously, look at the wonderful gift of democracy they were given in Iraq and how they didn't do what they were told with it), and walked softly whilst being seen to carry a big stick regards China, plays well with the voters and with the powers that be in China, though is stoking the fires of nationalism there, and more dangerous fires there are not in this world.

He's pulled/ing out of deeply unpopular not to mention pointless and expensive wars, more kudos, but on his targeted assassinations I think he's in danger of killing the soul of America the way it has done of Israel.

As Otta said, he now has a mandate to take more risks, but ultimately I don't think he has an idea of how he want s to reshape America except to aim to try heal some of the deep wounds of partisanship in politics.

How you go about that I don't know, religion as a political force is very much that proverbial genie bottle situation, and it'll take more than the good will of a president of any persuasion t solve that.

[DJKillaQueen]

I think also that his inexperience of Washington was a factor. I think his ambition was genuine, but the reality of getting anything radical done is much harder. I think he'll be better, and more sucessful this time round.

[Otta]

Regarding the use of BHO. Surely the only other option is BO, and that's just rude.

[El Pibe]

We were led by TB, which I always thought oddly appropriate.

[red devil]

Don't worry EP, I rebuffed my 'mate' about the carbon and riff raff comments, and gave him a good dose of British cynicism about politics in general to boot ;-)

As for Obama now having a mandate, he still has to work with a Congress that has a strong Republican majority...cue compromised deals in (carbon free) smoke filled rooms.

The election coverage reminded me that Gore Vidal's acerbic wit is no longer with us, in his place Newsnight reeled out Martin Amis..enough already!

[El Pibe]

Well, compromise deals are a start, and truly the meat and potatoes of politics, I hope the representatives have the decency to cooperate rather than do financial brinksmanship again.