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Thursday, 3 Jan 2008
I know, I should stay out of this, but I can't help it. The race this time is just too stupid on both sides. There are no fun candidates. I was hoping for Rumsfeld to run (imagine the White house press interviews?), but the dude is staying at home. Same with Condi. A Condi/Hillary election would've given feminists ulcers and Black people headaches. But no, I can't get my dream candidates, and I have to settle for this reality. And boy does reality blow.
On the Left, we have Hillary, who is so mechanical and downright evil that I can't fathom how she has real supporters anywhere. There is Edwards, who looks good, and talks well, and like, that's about it. And then there is Obama, and there is nothing funny about Obama. No one can make fun of Obama. You can call him Braka Hussein Osama all you want, but, like, nothing beyond that. He is kind of like Edwards, only still in the senate and Black. But he admitted to doing drugs when he was young, which gives him high marks in my book, and he is giving Hillary a real run for her money, which just makes me love him. The remaining dems, well, there is the UFO dude, and that Biden guy who wants everyone to know he is running, but no one knows why. It's all very stupid.
But on the right, things are even worse. You have a Pro-abortion, womanizing Catholic from New York in an anti-abortion, family values Protestant party that just loves and lives in the South; You have a Mormon ex-governor of Massachusetts, who lives the family values shtick with his 74937902 children and grandchildren, but panders so much he is making Kerry look like a straight talker; You have a so-called isolationist Libertarian, who wants to abolish the IRS (yay) but abolish the CIA (boo), gets supported by Neo-Nazis and has the craziest online trolls the internet has seen, ever; You have an Actor who everyone wanted to run because he was on fuckin Law and Order (hate that show and all of its bastard children spin-offs), and yet who managed to convey half of the Charisma Al Gore had through out the Clinton Presidency; You have an Arizona Senator who America loves but his own party kinda despises because he is too much of a centrist for them, not to mention he is like 150 years old, so there probably won't be a second term, and who wants that?; And finally you have a Southern Preacher who thinks God wants him to win, which is weird, since God told me that he is staying out of this one, especially that the people didn't like his endorsement of Bush very much. It's all Fantastically crappy.
Now, since I am not american, let alone belong to either party, I am gonna endorse one from each side, and hope they end up running against each other, cause then either way my candidate wins. Because when you realize that the most important election in the world is taking place and you don't have a say and there is nothing you can do about this, you might as well take a step back and enjoy the show. Maybe even have your own Fun, just like I plan to. So, without further ado, I endorse:
Why McCain? Because he is an old nice guy who is Pro Military but knows how to play nice with the other party, which is what everyone keeps saying is "what America needs now". He won't fuck around on national security or Fiscal responsibility, and he is anti-Torture, which makes him very Ok in my book. Plus, if things go bad with him or he goes senile, he will be out in 4 years. No Harm done really!
Why Obama? Well, because I find him fascinating. He shouldn't be running now, and people shouldn't be supporting him due to experience/ achievement/ethnic background/drug-use reasons, but yet, here he is kicking Hillary and Bill's collective asses. He is changing the rules of the game, and it's making me not want this to end for him. I want to see what's gonna happen next. Nothing bad is sticking to that guy. Nothing. I want to find something that i dislike about him in person and I can't. It's been driving me nuts. So I am betting if he stays in the race long enough, someone will find something and I will let out a sigh of relief due to having my cynicism restored. Also, he has Obama Girl. What is there more to say?
So there it is people, my picks for 08. Like 'em or hate 'em, they make no difference really.
In other news, here is the most important issue this election.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Sandmonkey! love your blog. The secret police haven’t caught up with you yet?
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Nice analysis. Very interesting to see what someone says that is familiar with the US but also has an outside view. I really enjoyed the “mechanical” thing about Hillary. I never thought of her that way but it is a perfect description.
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Dude, you may not technically be “American”…but in reality you are WAY more American than half of America!!!
Oh, and…screw Obama…and I’m from Chicago
Happy New Year MonkeyNuts!
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
You should get Dave Barry’s book “Boogers are my Beat”. you would really appreciate the first part.
Funnily enough, these two are the ones I would vote for no matter what party they are in.
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Here is another way to pick:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/page?id=3623346
Sandmonkey, you are spot on about Obama, but McCain is not a nice old man. McCain is a dick. He is my first choice from the Republicans, but he is a stubborn guy and his foreign policy will be a little pushy. “Speak softly and carry a big stick” without the speak softly part.
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
If I were an American woman, Obama would not get my vote based on that video. Maybe he’s a nice guy but things like this don’t appeal to me…ciao
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Rudy “Fucking” Giuliani will be the next president of the U.S. and leader of the free world and you will say that Samseven said it. Why so, because he is the worst candidate by far and that is just the way these things work and turn out. i would love Obama to kick his ass but we all know that, will not happen.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:34 pm
“Why so, because he is the worst candidate by far and that is just the way these things work and turn out”
Paul, Kucinich, Richardson and Huckabee are all way worse than Giuliani imo. If he loses in NH he is pretty much done.
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Standby for the self-financed, centrist independent campaign of Mike Bloomberg. The most likely effect of such a candidacy would be to split the middle/left vote, allowing the victory of a right wing republican who might ordinarily be too right for the general election. On the other hand, he’d turn New York into an electoral free for all, especially if either Hillary or Rudy were their respective party’s nominee.
Personally, I love Rudy and I like Bloomberg, but my current prognostication is Huckabee in a tight three-way race against Bloomberg and Hillary…unless there are some Electoral College shenanigans, which is entirely possible in such a scenario, in which Hillary would be president, and Bloomberg maybe the Treasury Secretary.
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
My choice was Newt Gingrich but he’s not running so I’m doomed to relative unhappiness with the outcome.
Hillary is, of course, an awful choice. She’s a socialist, having tried the last time she got her grubby mitts on power to nationalize one seventh of the US economy (health care) because she implausibly claims that the gubbamin can do better than private business. Show me where that’s true anywhere. She is a savage bully who launched a federal investigation against White House travel office, wiping out their life savings and smearing their reputation, just so that she could give their jobs to her crooked little pals. She’s a thief who has yet to return the hundred thousand she stole in the cattle futures scam to its rightful owners. Should she be elected, we can expect more of the same, only bigger.
Obama is hardly impressive. He’s the same old liberal crap in a silk suit. His voting record is 100% liberal, which means he’s never had an original idea in his life but rather votes with the liberal herd every time. He makes grandiose claims that he’s gonna save the world, but doesn’t seem to have any specifics. His only contribution to the race is that he doesn’t dwell in negativity, which means he’s swimming against the Democratic tide. He is an honest Democrat, though wrong on the issues. He hasn’t made a fortune shaking businesses down with bogus accusations of racism, as Sharpton and Jackson have done. He’s a charming and well-educated guy. That’s good. However, on foreign policy, Obama is a dolt. He thinks America is carpet-bombing Afghan civilians, which is akin to saying we’re trampling them with our war elephants. It’s just nuts.
It’s worth pointing out that neither Hillary nor Obama have run any organization. Hillary claims experience but most of that is experience in failure, like the Hillarycare fiasco where she tried to ram her political program down the throats of America using an opaque process.
McCain is a great man but he hasn’t run anything either, has rather squishy liberal positions on many things, and has a rather unhinged temperament.
Giuliani is a pretty good choice, despite his turbulent personal life. He has run New York City, which is the equivalent of being the governor of a mid-size state. He’s battled the mafia, which is good training for defeating radical Islam. He is economically literate, unlike his Democratic opponents, and conservative on most of the important issues. He also can be one mean bastard. We may need one of those in charge if the Muslims hit us again. He also is hard core with the Saudis. We need somebody to come down hard on our Saudi enemies.
Romney is my favorite, though he seems to be handicapped by his Mormon religion with the electorate. He has run several organizations and been successful in all of them. He’s turned a couple around from failure to success, a difficult managerial task. He has the right conservative ideas on almost all the issues and can articulate them. He presents everything in a positive way, which is an art. He can work with both sides of the political divide. He’s my pick, though I don’t think he’ll get the nomination.
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
RUDY is my choice but i trust and respect John McCain, I am from Chicago sorry obama FEH. NO WAY.
BUT THE ONE WHO IS RUNNING WHO I HATE IS RON PAUL
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:27 pm
OFF TOPIC
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article3300987.ece
Kenya looks like the beginning of the Rwanda genocide and as usual the world sits by and does nothing
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
10. Brooklynjon, if Huckabee gets the nomination it will destroy the republican party. Bloomberg would pick up the voters and maybe challenge Hillary.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Other Mike,
Huckabee may very well splinter the Repubs. But a three way race (particularly with a sane, well-financed independent candidate) is highly unpredictable. I suspect that Bloomie would siphon more votes from Hillary than from Huckabee, and he just might win. Of course, if there is no outright majority in the Electoral College, all hell could break loose.
Look for McCain to be his running mate, although a Bloomie/Rudy ticket has a certain panache, IMHO. The all-mayor ticket. Ya gotta love it!
January 4th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Sandmonkey, If you go to New Hampshire you can vote if you say you might move there. Thought you should know.
Asher
January 4th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Good to see you back SM. I’m late to the party because my web time has been cut by the addition of another sweet little girl.
But I just wanted to say that actors have a way with people, especially if they are not liberals or socialists or nutcases.
Nobody much thinks Fred has a chance (including me) but something is going on behind all the bullshit and the misleading, lying ass media.
Let’s just see how it works out.
It is a long time until people actually vote, lots can happen.
But don’t lose hope for America, the Radicals, the Socialists, the Illegals nor the media will force their will on the millions of those American’s that you never hear from until the shit hits the fan.
Papa Ray
January 4th, 2008 at 3:14 am
As a self-proclaimed “Fox News Democrat,” this is my ideal match-up. I could go either way and could quite possibly vote Republican for the first time in my life. McCain knows what the hell he’s doing, even if you dont agree with it.
Against any of the other candidates (including Rudy, who I like), I go Obama as the voice of change. Not high on experience, he’d have to surround himself with some really good advisors, which makes me nervous.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:35 am
I am quite surprised about all those who support Guilliani…albeit he is 4% in Iowa..he will lose NH…he is behind in Florida…his strategy is weak…Although he did wonders for the city of NY…where I live…my hometown…he alientated Blacks from Whites and controlled it truly like a police state. He is more smarmy than a used-car salesman especially with his wife Judy…That Vanity Fair expose on her was thrilling….great man to use state funds to chauffeur her around town bc she was being “threatened” prior to anyones knowledge of their torrid affair.
I support Bloomberg a lot and will vote for him if…yes…Edwards is not the nominee.
Why Edwards? Well he isn’t Clinton and he isn’t Obama…Although I love Obama, I think he lacks experience…Although Edwards is a one FULL term senator, that is still more experience than Obama.
I am pleased with the Caucus results but shudder to think a republican won who doesn’t believe in evolution…sigh…
January 4th, 2008 at 4:31 am
egyptchick7,
I agree that Rudy has more smarm than charm, but I’m mystified by your comments about black-white relations. I vividly remember the pathetic state of race relations he inherited, coming fresh off the Crown Heights riots, which his predecessor permitted to continue until someone got killed. His aggressive tactics were necessary in a city spiraling out of control, and the effect on crime and on the welfare roles speaks for itself.
Huckabee? Evolution? oy.
January 4th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Go McCain!
As for Obama and Hillary, not sure who to pick.
One thing is for sure though. HELL NO to dickhead Rudy! If he wins, it will be a disaster!
January 4th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Drima, you don’t want McCain. I like McCain, but if I lived in the Sudan I would hope for anybody but McCain. I don’t know the man, but I know many men like him and they are not going to fuck around. He is old-breed mean.
B-jon, if Huck wins the Republican party is done. He is the answer to “what’s the matter with kansas” mix of old time populism and christianity. Check his execution record as governor, it’s really fucked up. Pardons for some and death for the non-believers. He is the worst candidate I have noticed in the US.
Also, are you a doctor? If so, what do you think of Edwards? I heard the man made his fortune suing doctors over questionable decisions. Then he has the nerve to claim that problems in health care are due to high insurance prices. Wtf?
January 4th, 2008 at 8:06 am
What’s wrong with McCain, other mike? Besides what SM already said, the guy was a Vietnam vet, he has great experience and more importantly he’s the one with the most integrity amongst the Republican candidates.
January 4th, 2008 at 8:08 am
So yeah, go McCain!
(and Obama)!
January 4th, 2008 at 8:29 am
[...] When it comes to the Elephants I’ve been saying for a year now that I support John McCain. As for the Donkeys, it’s either Hillary or Obama. I’m sort of undecided but I gotta say I’m leaning more towards Mr. Hope. And yeah I pretty much agree with Sandmonkey. [...]
January 4th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Being a SandMonkey and all, I can understand how you wouldn’t have a feel for US politics. But you really ought to reconsider Ron Paul. Sure he may have some wacky supporters, but that’s only because there are lots of different kinds of people who prefer not to have a government looking over their shoulder.
And you should be pleased as punch to know that he’d be cut off funding for the military dictatorship that currently oppresses Egyptian bloggers. Next time those darned Egyptian police want to sodomize some political dissident with a nightstick, they’d damn well have to buy their own nightstick! No more US equipment for them. You might still have to deal with an unreasonable government, but at least you could know that the US wasn’t paying for it.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see what your part of the world would be like if if Uncle Sam weren’t giving guns to both sides and telling them to play nice? Wouldn’t y’all rather be left to sort out your problems on your own?
Never-mind. That’s too scary even to contemplate.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Duncan Hunter, Fred Thomson, who’s that ? I have read they are the favorite choice for many republicans
January 4th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Ron Paul’s opinions on the UN are spot on. it is nothing but a useless assembly full of thugs and tyrants who have equal status to the democracies and who spend half the time sniping at the US anyway. He’s right, the US should leave.
Other MIke;
I hope you’re not suggesting the US needs to get militarily involved in the Sudan. I think Americans are tired of having to save people from themselves.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Jack,
Ron Paul is a very intelligent nut case. Last week he was castigating America for fighting the Civil War. Isolationism is not an option when America is 5% of the world population but generates nearly a quarter of world GNP. Our commerce leads us into relationships with the world which we can not ignore nor neglect. America can not become a giant turtle and withdraw its head into its shell.
We are not paying two billion bucks per year to Egypt to cure its internal ills but to influence its foreign policy, ie to make Egypt more stable, to bribe its politicians to support US policies, to maintain access to the Suez Canal, and to bribe it to keep peace with Israel. The US is not responsible for the internal politics and transgressions of the Egyptian government. The Egyptians are.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
[...] And The Sandmonkey endorses… …if he stays in the race long enough, someone will find something and I will let out a sigh of relief due to having my cynicism restored. [...]
January 4th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Pick your candidate link provided @ message 6
I just got Giuliany as my #1 candidate, which is pretty much what I want.
Got Thompson as #2 and Hackabee as #3. I do not think I would like either.
January 4th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
yochanan;
Maybe you ought blame the Kenyans, instead of everyone else.
January 4th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
[[A Condi/Hillary election would've given feminists ulcers and Black people headaches. ]]
Condi/Obama will be even more fun….
OK., back to realities, if that is all the two parties of the greatest nation on earth can give, i suggest to american buddies to:
A: change the constitution and give Bush 8 more years, [still will not make him worse than Chavez]
B: offer Putin US passport and let him run for presidency, [personally i favor this option], and i bed he will sittle all the political coas in USA for the next half century.
some one left me from the ground, i can’t breath, laughting to death :))))
January 4th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I still contend that Giuliani is by far the worst candidate. As honest and direct as this is gonna sound and perhaps offend a few of the overly zealous-pro-Israeli readers on this blog, sorry I mean not to stir up any poo-poo. But the powerful Zionist lobby has already assured Giuliani that he has this election in the bag, just as he has made clear that he will not turn his back on them, gaining sweeping support after the 911 whatchamacallit saga. His credentials dont mean shit so long as he represents the majority of voters, correct me if I am wrong. I for one support consumer satisfaction and harmony, altho I appreciate a good show down and am watching the Obama Hillary fight, but That’s as far as it goes, am not an idiot.
I like to fight battles I can win and as far as the next President of The United states of America is concerned, it wouldn’t matter if he was a harsh Muslim, he still wouldn’t get away with any derogatory shit towards Israel, as Israel gets what they want in the end, they would just have to work a little harder at it. I can understand that is not something they would want to have to do in the midst of war like last summers in Lebanon and thats precisely why they want their man Giulliani in office. If I were Jewish (sometimes i think I am), I would definitely vote Bloomberg or Giuliani as they represent the greatest ratio of customer satisfaction just as the majority of Jewish house hold name brands and consumer goods do. We will always give half our GNP away in the form of AID there will always be crooks and crime, we will always need foreign oil, so why not just have a harmonious election, leave the fights for Vegas.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
The caucus means nothing, Obama has voted for Ethanol & guess what Iowa grows Corn, The Pharmaceutical Co’s own him, and I would like to believe he’s the one, Hillary if she wins hope she has a page under her desk to keep her calm.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I can’t believe anyone could possibly think Barack Hussein Obama could run the US of A - forget him. Hill-bill-y is such trash, it is mind-boggling that she may even have a chance. Pretty much anyone else could do a better job than these two.
January 5th, 2008 at 1:30 am
#34, hahaha. The “powerful jewish lobby” is going to be “rigging the election” no matter who wins. You don’t live in the states do you?
January 5th, 2008 at 3:20 am
[...] SamSeven created an interesting post today on Comment on And The Sandmonkey endorses⦠by SamSevenHere’s a short outline [...]
January 5th, 2008 at 5:14 am
@ 37 relax, plz keep your thinking cap on. never said nothing about vote rigging, not in America God forbid, but the lobby will win without vote rigging - hands down! never mind senate votes and congressional support etc, such tactics are fair and square in the game of politics.
I keep my word pretty well and I like to put my money where my mouth is. Does anybody wanna make a mans bet $50 to $50 Rudy will indeed be the next President? I got so many waivers like that already, I guess I even started unknowingly finding myself voting for the guy.
Everytime america talks about change there is a return to conservatist values, Rudt represents just that with a twist of lemon.
A REALLY GOOD QUESTION FOR FELLOW COMMENTORS HERE: Does anyone know if there has ever been a Catholic or Jewsih President of the United states of America before, EVER?
January 5th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Another reason why every one likes your blog. Good post!
January 5th, 2008 at 6:32 am
” but the lobby will win without vote rigging - hands down!”
The “lobby” always wins because you always fail. In eight years you will be accusing anyone and everyone of every random, stupid and pointless conspiracy to try and salvage the dignity you do not deserve. You are the failure and if you refuse to deal with it nothing will change. The US does not support Israel because we have been bought or tricked.
“A REALLY GOOD QUESTION FOR FELLOW COMMENTORS HERE: Does anyone know if there has ever been a Catholic or Jewsih President of the United states of America before, EVER?”
JFK. You are failing in a bad way and nobody is going to care a few years from now.
January 5th, 2008 at 7:26 am
@ 39
Yes for Catholic. JFK.
January 5th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Glad you picked someone SandMonkey, because I haven’t picked a candidate yet.
There is no one worth voting for…and I’m tired of voting for the lesser of the two evils.
January 5th, 2008 at 8:54 am
@41- ‘other mike’, you said: The “lobby” always wins because ‘you’ always fail. Who are you referring to as the ‘you’ in your sentence there buddy? I knew I might ruff a few feathers but t come on really…I sure hope you are not referring to me, going on to say “In eight years you will be accusing anyone and everyone of every random, stupid and pointless conspiracy to try and salvage the dignity you do not deserve. You are the failure and if you refuse to deal with it nothing will change. The US does not support Israel because we have been bought or tricked. ”
That is so condescending and hypocritical, don’t be coming down on me like I’m some antisemitic jihadi character man. I have so many Israeli friends it isn’t fair that you try talking to me in that manner, even though this is a free world. If I misunderstood you than please accept my apologies.
@42 Then I guess their has never a jewish president eh?
Anyone on that Guiliani wager btw ?
January 5th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
SamSeven,
As I understand it, many Southern slaveowners counted blacks among their friends, so I’m not sure what your claim about Israeli friends means. For what its worth, I probably have lots more Muslim and Arab friends than you have Israeli friends.
Anyway, I just got back from the annual convention of the Worldwide Zionist Conspiracy - I’m on the political committee. I can assure you that we have all the candidates in the bag, so you can stop worrying now about which one is best for you. And my buddies on the media committee assure me that they can assert enough control to keep this information from leaking. If Ron Paul forgets about our “aggreement”, he will be referred to the military wing.
January 5th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
This is some of the best analysis, if only because I agree, that I have ever read! No way you’re Egyptian, and if you indeed you are, know that I am on my knees now. Too funny as well!
January 5th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
You can have the guest room if we get you out in time. You crack me up. I just love a good conspiracy..count me in!
January 6th, 2008 at 12:47 am
@ brooklynjon and others LOLOL hahaha Have you guys ever heard of Zionophobia LOL. YOU GUYS HAVE IT GOOD, DON’T HATE YOURSELVES FOR THAT, I AM JUST GIVING YOU GUYS KUDOS, AS I AM SURE YOU CAN SEE the SANDMONKEY DOES AS WELL, ALTHO HIM AND I MIGHT NOT ALWAYS SEE EYE TO EYE ON EVERYTHING!
And nobody wants to take that bet about Rudy becoming President cuz they know that in fact he will become president or that there is at least a very good chance of it. Affirming my so called conspiracy theory LOLOL that he will be successful because more than any other candidate, he will have the vote of a certain pluralistically influenced ancient people. How naive of anyone, who denies such a great blessing from God?
Read my lips - K.U.D.O.S!
January 6th, 2008 at 2:45 am
Oabama won in Iowa but freakin Iowa is a very very small state. I don’t think he has a chance in becoming a president. He is black, and a lot of Americans will not vote for him just because he’s black. Another Karl Rove will show up warning Americans from the dangers of having a black president and Americans will listen to him.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:06 am
America ‘08
The Sandmonkey:Now, since I am not american, let alone belong to either party, I am gonna endorse one from each
January 6th, 2008 at 4:32 am
BJ,
Since you are in the medical field like myself tell me which one will improve the medical health coverage for the average American ?
January 6th, 2008 at 4:32 am
“He is black, and a lot of Americans will not vote for him just because he’s black. ”
Heheheee welcome to America
January 6th, 2008 at 4:33 am
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7104030.stm
The book analyses the lobby’s sources of influence - notably its financial muscle and the reluctance of critics to speak out.
Pro-Israeli contributions to US campaigns dwarf those of Arab-Americans or Muslim groups.
Many attacks have been highly personal. [Many critics] tried to smear us by either saying or hinting that we are anti-Semitic.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:37 am
“Two US academics, John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard”
Sure when it comes to the daring slut Israel no intellectual dare to criticize the influence of the Zionist lobby.
Again Welcome to America the land of the free
January 6th, 2008 at 5:20 am
McCain and Huckabee have long records of unqualified support for illegal immigrants and their employers. I could never vote for either of them. Giuliani, Romney, and Thompson I could vote for. None of these candidates who stand a chance at winning the nomination in either party look very good to me, however.
January 6th, 2008 at 5:26 am
Are you on crack? Iowa is one of the whitest states in the country — if he could win there, he could win anywhere. He even beat Hillary among white women voters in Iowa. (White women in their mid-20s and 30s seem to have a thing for Barack.) It isn’t 1965 anymore. There are many, many times more Americans who will vote for Obama precisely because he is black than will vote against him because of his race. I’m tired of hysterical people acting like there is a Ku Kluxer hiding behind every mailbox in the United States.
January 6th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Two,
That entirely depends on what you think is needed to improve health care. My views are informed not so much by my being a physician, but more by my own political philosophy, which leans heavily towards the libertarian.
Personally, I feel the problem with 30% or whatever of Americans lacking health insurance is that it means that 70% of Americans still have it. Having health insurance means that someone else is paying for your health care, and so 1) the consumer has no interest in limiting expenses, 2) physicians are reimbursed totally out of proportion to the quality of the health care that they deliver, and 3) a bunch of MBAs get to make health care decisions, while the physicians absorb all the legal liability for those decisions. Universal health care replaces the MBAs with government employees, and injects a little politics into the whole thing, and we can see how good that is.
My feeling is that the more people pay their own way, the more rational their own health care decisions will be, and ultimately the healthier they will be, even if they actually consume less health care in the process (particularly in the last few weeks of life, when the Average American expends over half of his life’s medical expenses).
But full disclosure: this opinion is representative only of me, and is derivative from my political, rather than my medical, philosophy. Then again, I take care of uninsured people all the time. They don’t pay me, and that’s life.
P.S. At the Worldwide Zionist Conspiracy meeting (in a secret overseas location that I cannot disclose) it was decided to allow a small amount of criticism of Israel, so that we can plausibly deny that we control everything, even though we do, so feel free to criticize Israel a teeny bit.
January 6th, 2008 at 7:14 am
#11
>Romney is my favorite, though he seems to be handicapped by his Mormon religion with the electorate. He has run several organizations and been successful in all of them. He’s turned a couple around from failure to success, a difficult managerial task.
January 6th, 2008 at 8:33 am
[...] Here’s another interesting post I read today by brooklynjon [...]
January 6th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Why are the candidates so incredibly bad this time around?! It is not a choice between ok and less ok, or bad and worse but rather of badly weird versus badly stupid vs badly…Yikes!
January 6th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
why Giuliani should be president :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IrE6FMpai8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb2y1IM17sM
because he can play all the parts
I like the man, he assumes the 2nd degree, and has enough distance to manage politicies.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
59.
Actually, Clinton, Obama, McCain, Guiliani, Romney and Thompson are decent candidates by world standards. You just have to realize that we haze our politicians before we elect them. We put the flaws of our candidates, both real and imagined, up on giant screen TVs and broadcast them around the world. Nobody looks good after that kind of treatment.
The big charge against Hillary is that she is divisive. That’s a bad rap, because the only people she upsets are rabid right-wingers who are mostly afraid that she will actually get elected. That’s no reason to vote against her. I don’t like her ideas on health care, not because I disagree with the goal, but because I think the mechanism for payment will be counterproductive. This woman is smart, however, and she has the nerve to stand up to the challenges she will face in office.
Barak Obama gives intelligent, wonderful speeches, and he has a decent and conciliatory attitude toward the other side. I think the conciliatory attitude is precisely the “change” the American people want.
For me, the real reason to vote against either Democratic candidate is that they do not have a party, any more. Some of the Democratic leadership have been taking foreign money, and have been trying to throw out the Liberals and moderates, leaving only the old communists. They hate Hillary, and they will eat Obama for lunch. Hillary could probably handle them, but Obama might get turned into the next Jimmy Carter.
I like McCain, I don’t think he’s too old. I wonder just how many revolting consequences his policies would have. Has he learned enough from the McCain-Feingold debacle? I fear he has not.
Guilani is a gold-plated SOB, and tough enough for what we will face. He might be the guy whose character fits the times.
Romney - dunno.
Thompson - this guy started out in politics and then became an actor. This background is not as bad as it looks from afar.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
brooklynjon,
You do realize that you are going to have your jokes about the “Worldwide Zionist Conspiracy” quoted as if they were factual admissions by an actual committee member, don’t you? You are going to see them coming back at you, and you’ll deserve it.
January 6th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
As predicted huh twosret, all are voting Guiliani even after I had bothered to post the fact that Guiliani has the Israeli lobby behind him, isn’t it wonderful how correct I am but how dismally uncontested I am too, I mean where’s the challenge? I will up the bet from$50 to $200 that Guilliani will be the next leader of the free world while all eyes are on the Hillary Obama Huckabee side show! That is unless Bloomberg jumps in which I doubt anyways.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Because our media elites have basically picked our possible candidates for us.
January 6th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
You can check out for yourself which candidate would suit you best:
http://www.dag.nl/Nieuws/kieskompas.htm
(its bilingual (English and Dutch))
January 6th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
of course RUDY is a SOB i want a SOB as POTUS not some feel good wussie.
who would bin laudin fear RUDY or OBAMA
January 6th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Great analysis—and I agree with you.
January 6th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
@44,@37,
Why beat around the bush?
You could’ve asked this “@42 Then I guess their has never a jewish president eh?” from very beginning. I would’ve told you “No”.
January 6th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GO DIG UP REGAN. WE NEED HIM!
January 6th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
REAGAN. SORRY.
January 6th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
http://www.answers.com/Reagan?cat=entertainment&gwp=11&method=3&ver=2.1.1.521
January 6th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Delurking after a year or so of checking out your excellent blog .
Obama and McCain– These two are the same candidates I am backing(thus far) Either one would make a decent president(although I am really hoping a Democrat gets electd finally next year) I have always admired McCain, but am a more liberal American and it would be too depressing if the Republicans win again. If it has to be a Republican, let it be McCain, though(NOT Huckabee or Romney, please!!) I don’t know if Obama has the experience, but I can’t stomach Clinton’s flip-flopping and Professional Politician style(and I am a woman, and would love a woman candidate to win, but can’t stand Clinton) AND she gave the go ahead to the Iraq Invasion–at least Obama is untainted by that.
January 7th, 2008 at 12:42 am
Tommy,
I hope you’re right, but many intellectual people from the South told me that a lot of American will not vote for Obama just because he’s black and that is very believable. they’re not the KKK but they don’t want their president to be black. I think there are a lot reasns to make this believable.
January 7th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Valerie,
I’m available for interviews. I’ll even show them the secret handshake!
bj
January 7th, 2008 at 3:51 am
hareega,
There are certainly people who won’t vote for a black candidate. Mostly these people wouldn’t pull the lever for a Democrat anyway, so I’m not so sure it matters much. It would be a bigger factor for a black Democrat,than for a black Republican, but I suspect it wouldn’t matter much for either.
OTOH, in my Congressional district, a candidate in the last election was told repeatedly that he had no right to run because he WASN’T black. Although highly qualified, he lost by a landslide. So this racism thing, abominable as it may be, cuts both ways.
January 7th, 2008 at 7:11 am
heh. Twoset has a crazy sockpuppet. Samseven, your special kind of crazy sucks. Please move far, far away.
“There are certainly people who won’t vote for a black candidate. Mostly these people wouldn’t pull the lever for a Democrat anyway, so I’m not so sure it matters much.”
It’s probably true, but if you really want to dig into it the old-time “hate non-whites” party was the democrats. I wouldn’t be suprised if the old white guy who would never vote for a black man voted democrat out of habit thinking he was voting against obama.
What do you think of Edwards and his career as a lawyer?
January 7th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
@
http://sandomine.blogspot.com/2008/01/israeli-sues-egypt-for-kassams.html
January 7th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
other mike (whatever) don’t let your hate for Twosret impair yout already sad judgement, seems that anyone not subscribing to your own point of view or that is different than you ticks you off, quite funny yet sad at the same time really.
January 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
brooklynjon, love your sense of humor.
I’ve had issues with democrats since the mid-70s. I saw the Forum on FNC last night, 6 Sep and I’ll have a difficult time deciding who of them I think should be the next President.
January 7th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Oabama won in Iowa but freakin Iowa is a very very small state. I don’t think he has a chance in becoming a president. He is black
He is HALF black. He has one white parent, although lots of people like to conveniently forget that.
BrooklynJon;
So this racism thing, abominable as it may be, cuts both ways.
Indeed it does, but black racism against white people doesn’t follow the standard script, so the media ignores it. Maybe white folks need a victimhood lobby group.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Herlie,
“but black racism against white people doesn’t follow the standard script, so the media ignores it.”
True.
Remember Al Sharpton’s obviously racist protest against Korean storeowners? The media was mightily confused about how to cover that.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:59 am
bj,
Thanks for your response but my views are driven from everyday life and from the average American. What kind of health insurance does the 70% have? what kind of deductible they have to pay in order to see a doctor. What kind of private plans they have through insurance companies that not only pay the physician less than a nail job but also shift the responsibility on the patient to pay the balance.
America owes it to it’s citizens that works hard and pay taxes to have health insurance coverage. I don’t think I see any of those candidates that will care for the health care for the citizens.
Maybe you can be an advocate for the average American in the next Zionist meeting
January 8th, 2008 at 4:01 am
SamSeven,
Thanks for being nice to whatever mike.
I will simply respond to him and say go and fuck yourself if you don’t like what I say son of a bitch
January 8th, 2008 at 4:27 am
Two,
I suspect that (universal health care/socialized medicine) is where the country is headed. I suspect that we won’t like it once we get it, but it will be too late at that point, as no government bureaucracy has ever dismantled itself. A pity.
January 8th, 2008 at 4:47 am
Bj,
Would you invite me for that secret meeting in the undisclosed place?
Then the insurance company needs a slap to lower it’s profits, stop delaying payments for Physicians, and stop giving bonuses for employees who rejects claims the most. I have a feeling you are in a hospital setting but you can ask any physician with a clinic that would tell you how frustrating it is to practice medicine and how demotivating to the best physicians in the country to practice.
When an OBGYN do cosmetic surgeries in one of the largest medical communities in the country then something is wrong with the system.
I guess you can tell that I’m advocating for the crushed Americans by the pharmaceuticals and Insurance companies.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Quit talking to yourself two.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Only thing left to do is ask your readers to take out their photoshop and work on those pictures.
SK
January 8th, 2008 at 6:22 am
[...] Here’s another interesting post I read today by Twosret [...]
January 8th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Two,
The essential question is this:
Is “insurance” (really a third-party payer system) medicine’s salvation or its downfall?
I believe having “someone else” pay the bills encourages increased consumption of health care, and in an irrational way. Insurance companies (or the government) try to ration care to limit expenses, and enterprising (though questionably ethical) physicians work their way around the roadblocks, convincing their gullible patients that it’s in their interest.
Insurance companies used to pay handsomely for vaginal deliveries. No longer. So is it worth an obstetrician’s while to sit around for hours on end to collect a meager reimbursement that doesn’t cover his expenses? And we wonder why the cesarean section rate is so high? OTOH, they still reimburse for ultrasounds, so some Obstetricians I know now scan every patient on every visit. Rational? No way. But what do the patients care if someone else is paying.
My take?
Insurance IS the problem. When people pay their own way, they tend to make decisions that are at least somewhat rational, or at least rational FOR THEM. What about the poor? I’d advocate a voucher system of sorts. Annual payments into a medical savings account. And I’d trash the 7.5% of AGI deductible before health care payments are tax deductible. I’d make them deductible from the first dollar. Except I’d change it a bit. Rather than a deduction, I’d make it a 50% refundable tax credit, so that there would be no issue with rich people (higher bracket) paying less.
For a select few things (especially infectious disease) as a public health matter it’s best if everyone has treatment available. For public health items, for which there is a common benefit, I’d let the government pay. But I don’t want to pay for anyone else’s gall bladder or fertility treatments or cancer therapy. That’s up to them. Not me.
The funny thing is, in such a system, there would be less health care, and doctors would probably make less money. Of course, terrific ones would make more, as the world beat a path to their door. Quacks would probably end up flipping burgers.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Two,
I almost forgot! I’d LOVE to have your company at the annual worldwide conspiracy meeting! We’d have to get together first so I could teach you the secret handshake. And don’t worry - it’s really just red food coloring in the cookies!
bj
January 8th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
And we wonder why the cesarean section rate is so high?
Mainly because of liability, the Other Big Problem in the american health care system.
January 8th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Xylo,
Well, that’s a part of it. But that’s certainly not all of it. If physicians were practicing in an environment in which they could set their own prices, it would just get passed along to the consumer. But physicians cannot set their own prices for the most part. They’re stuck taking whatever the insurance company decides is appropriate compensation, so the only alternative to the obstetrician is to deliver as many babies as he/she can. This does not lend itself to a practice that includes hanging out with a laboring patient for 12 hours. Instead, he/she can schedule cesarean sections to work around office hours, and deliver twice a many babies in half the time.
Malpractice certainly accounts for a lot of cesarean sections performed on women in labor, but it doesn’t -on its own - adequately explain the deluge of elective, planned cesarean sections we’re seeing. For this, you have to look at how obstetricians have been incentivized.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Hmmm, you don’t want to pay for anyone else’s