phynix,
ok well obviously I can't speak for everyone but I'll certainly give you my POV of the whole situation. You see were all a little embarrased by how much of a pussy our for prime minister - Tony Blair - was when be and GW got together and all these great ideas they had has done nothing but get great military personnel killed in two separate invasions of two contries that were doing a lot better before we moved in than they are now!
Yeah, I was a bit surprised by Blair also. I initially liked him but when he started cooperating, to the point he did, with GW about Iraq, I lost my respect for him. He should have stood up to Bush and had him keep his eye on the real enemy, Al Queda.
I somewhat disagree with you in that I think we had to go into Afghanistan. My problem is that we've now bungled that operation and could, eventually, wind up just like the Soviets. Running out of there with our tail between our legs. As I've said before here somewhere, imagine if we had just concentrated on Afghanistan and never gone into Iraq. Lets say we used a quarter, or an eighth of the money we've spent on Iraq and used it to rebuild Afghanistan. Instead of basically forgetting it and now allowing Al Queda and the Taliban to regroup, grow and become a constant thorn in our side. If it had been done correctly, we'd probably be about ready to pull out by now. Instead, theres no end in sight.
a new president will be a breath of fresh air for the US. GW has embarrased himself and his country again and again and I'm not surprised to hear about people changing sides. Obama is an inteligent man who has already done great things and now he could make world history by being the first black president. 2008 could be the year that the world finds change!
I've heard that from others around the world. And I think I have to agree. Obama wasn't my first choice, but I'll have no problem voting for him. He's said that he'll talk to our "enemies" which I think is good and wise. Much better than the current administration's childish approach.
wolfcat,
I hate to sound like a smart ass, but the above statement is incredibly ignorant. The last two elections were far more important and the American people failed... TWICE!!!
Actually, I'm not sure the American people failed so much as both elections were probably stolen. There is some pretty good evidence for that. And I'll always remember the look on GW's face in 2004 after voting. He was clearly worried.
But those elections are history. The reason I feel this election is so important is because there are some very serious problems about to confront us. And if we don't get this right there could be some very serious consequences. For example, the economy. It appears to me that we are very close to another 1929 crash. All the indicators are there. Credit stretched to the max. Foreclosures rising at an alarming rate. Workers with few, if any, options. Banks doing some very questionable practices. I could go on.
In 2000, the economy was in pretty good shape and we were not at war (remember that gasoline cost about $1.25 per gallon and milk was about the same price). In 2004 we were now involved in two wars and the economy was still OK, but there were clouds on the horizon. Today, we are in a recession. Gasoline is generally > $3.00 per gallon, milk is almost $4.00 per gallon and have you been to a grocery store lately? My guess is that most groceries are up at least 40% to 50% just in the last couple of years.
In 2000, the US standing around the world was generally pretty good. Now (as noted briefly above), even our closest friends (Canada, Australia, Japan and the Europeans) are wondering what the heck is wrong with us and trying to keep the US at arms length.
So I think there are major reasons for believing this election is extremely important. In the past, as an independent, I've thrown my vote away many times basically as a protest. More than likely, I won't do that this year. And I hope that others will not do it either.
I don't like either party particularly. Once the vote is over, the politicians basically are ruled by special interests so they forget about us until the next election.
Any of the three remaining possibilities will be a vast improvement over what, not just the USA, but the whole world has suffered through for the last 7 years. Unfortunately, GWB has done so much damage to our Constitution I don't expect the mess to be cleaned up in my lifetime.
Of the three remaining candidates here are my present thoughts. As noted above, I could not now vote for McCain (and I used to like him). For some reason that I don't yet understand, he's sidled up to GW and will not deviate our path enough. He'd be better than Bush but I don't think he'll make the changes that need to be made if we're going to avoid some of the traps I foresee in our path.
Hillary? Well, she's a very smart woman and would probably do some good things. I like her ideas on health care especially. But I also think she's probably too indebted to special interests.
Obama? I guess the main thing I like about him is that I think he could do very well in diplomacy. We need to get our friends back in our corner and I think he could do that. The economy? I'm not sure but he couldn't do any worse than whats happening now. I don't know if he can clean up these messes in our lifetime but he can probably do it sooner than anyone else.
Screwing with the Constitution? Thats a tough one. Of the three, I think Obama "might" be the only one that would roll back some of the things Bush has done. But I wouldn't count on it. Of all the terrible things Bush has done, his obvious disdain for the Constitution is possibly the worst. And since the Democrats have seen how useful that power is, I doubt they'll give it up either. Which is why, I fear, the US is headed for some very serious problems in the near future.
Don't misunderstand though... the fault does not lie only with GWB! The Congress, on both sides of the aisle, is complicit in all aspects of the damage done. The Republicans are only interested in following their leader and the Democrats are such weenies that they are afraid if they don't succumb they will look like weenies... I've got news for the Dems. They ARE weenies!
Agreed!
Still, anything is better than the Republicans surely?
