If Obama somehow loses this election, do you think it will be detrimental to the cause of racial equality in some way, that it will bring a bunch of tensions to the surface?posted by Doktor Zed at 7:09 AM on October 29, 2008 [3 favorites]
I think it has had a great effect already. He could not have gotten the nomination without a large percentage of white Americans voting for him. And I have to say, about Barack himself, I really hope that no matter what happens, he sets a great example for these young black kids and shows them that they can be intelligent and articulate. Always look at the big picture. We are struggling in the black community with kids not getting an education and the epidemic of black-on-black crime. And I think this does great things for those young black kids.
Do you share the concern of some civil rights leaders that if Obama becomes president, people will say, "Aha, look, race relations are good. Everything is solved"?
I don't worry about what other people think first of all. And no one thing is going to solve all these racial and economic problems.
Okay, but do you think there is a chance that efforts to solve racial problems could be set back--
No. Having a black president is not going to set anything back.
"Victoria St. Gelais is panicky. Tami Brewster-Barnes feels the nerves in the pit of her stomach. Steven Valentine is losing sleep as his mood rises and falls with John McCain's poll numbers.posted by ericb at 9:12 AM on October 29, 2008 [1 favorite]
Voters around the country, whether they support McCain or Barack Obama, say they are experiencing nail-biting, ulcer-inducing anxiety ahead of next week's election and all that's riding on it.
'I have kind of a general feeling of near panic on occasion,' says St. Gelais, a 48-year-old McCain supporter in Ormond Beach, Fla. 'The thought of Obama winning right now is scaring me to death. ... I'm just anxious and even a little depressed.'
St. Gelais, like many, says she's not sleeping well, is watching Fox News nearly all day, and 'lives on her computer,' following all of the polls and the latest news. If Obama wins, she'll be devastated.
'I would equate it to a death,' she says.
Although polls favor Obama a week before the election, it's not just Republicans getting the jitters. Democrats are on high alert after losing two close elections to President Bush in the last eight years." [more]
Garcia had a message for his stocky, tweed-clad threatener. "You tell that guy he can find Tony Garcia down at the West Dade library every day from 7 to 7 helping people early vote. I'll be there from 1 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. You tell him if he wants to kick my ass that's where he can find me. Come beat me up."Go Tony Garcia!
Why I'm Not Voting For PresidentWhat's also intriguing is this next part, which hearkens back to the various predictions we had in the Palin '12 thread a few days ago:
As both a conservative and a Republican, I confess that we deserve to lose this year. We have governed badly and have earned the wrath of voters, who will learn in due course how inadequate the nostrums of liberal Democrats are to the crisis of our times. If I cannot in good faith cast a vote against the Bush years by voting for Obama, I can at least do so by withholding my vote from McCain.
While it is foolish to look forward to a decisive electoral defeat for one's side, I can't say that the coming rout will be a bad thing. The Right desperately needs to repent, rethink, and rebuild--and only the pain of a shattering loss will force conservatives to confront reality. Not only must there be a renewal of our political vision and message--and this time, dissenters from within the Right must be heard--but there must also be a realization at the grassroots that we have long given too much importance to politics and not enough to building cultural institutions at the local level.If Obama is able to win, and win definitively, I fully expect this POV to spread pretty rapidly among a wide number of evangelicals.
Oh Man, Girls4Obama, wonderful shots.
“I am reminded everyday, I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect President.When this election is over, I am deeply looking forward to reading about what happened inside the Obama campaign.
But I can promise you this.
I will always tell you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree. And most importantly I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your democracy again.”
Is the election driving you crazy? Are you losing sleep over the fact that the awesomest guy ever might lose the presidency to a grumpy old jerk? Well, the waiting is the hardest part, and you only have to wait four more days. Here’s how to make it through the homestretch without losing your mind.From The New Republic's blog The Plank.
1. Learn how to read polls correctly: Too many people live and die by the fluctuations of polls, which are inherently imperfect. Here’s how to read polls. If the results are good, that means Obama’s winning. If the numbers look bad, that means the poll is a piece of shit and the pollster is a Republican. To make this point to others, make sure to say the phrase “highly suspect internals” a lot. If someone asks you what that means, call them a racist.
2. Convince yourself that more of the same is okay: After all, a lot of good came out of the last eight years: Will Ferrell came into his own as a leading man. Kevin Garnett won a title. Hot dogs stayed delicious. Internet porn got awesome.
3. Get really into a hobby for the next four days: Something so fun, so wonderful, and so engrossing that you’ll completely forget about the election. Yes, I’m talking about cross-stitching.
4. Avoid political discussions: Sure, it’s not totally up to you. Someone could walk up and start talking about politics. That’s why you distract them by wearing one of those Rastafarian wigs. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much of the would-be political conversation gives way to loud ridicule and name-calling.
5. Take a whole bunch of sleeping pills and don’t wake up until Tuesday. Sleeping pills are dangerous, so you have to make sure to take the exact right amount. Here’s how--swallow as many pills as you can until you feel yourself dying. Then just vomit lightly and you should be all set.
6. Forget politics and remember what really matters: A child’s smile. The crisp air after a rain shower. The smell of freshly-baked cookies. Music spilling onto the street from a rooftop party. Only some of those things would be outlawed by President Palin.
And finally...
7. Remember that Obama’s already got this thing wrapped up: Thanks to a little thing called voter fraud from our friends at ACORN! Ha ha ha, you Republican fools! This race will be decided by the likes of “Mickey Mouse” and “Tony Romo”! You neglected the ACORN, and it grew into a mighty oak of corruption! Try again nex--wait, what? Voter registration fraud isn’t the same as voter fraud? Mickey Mouse can’t vote? Oh God, we’re screwed. Everyone panic.
Underlying much of this is the strategizing of former Senator and one-time presidential frontrunner, Gary Hart. [... ]Hart's view for many years was that Democrats should switch their political focus from regaining the South to winning the West. The South is more focused on race and culture, in this view, the West more on resource management, energy and the environment, and opportunity; the South on "values," which plays into Republican hands on religiosity, the West on "principles," which does not; the South on older industries, the West on new industries. The South, Hart always believed, will only go Democratic again with a major economic downturn whereas Democrats could rise with the growing success of the West. The growing number of Latino voters in the West, and rising environmental consciousness, would be key.posted by scody at 12:44 PM on November 3, 2008
I was talking with a coworker earlier today about how sad it was for Barack Obama’s grandmother to have died on the day before the election. My coworker took the sadness one step further, wondering if Madelyn Dunham’s vote (she voted by early absentee ballot) would now not be counted.By Eli Sanders of Seattle's The Stranger.
Not knowing the answer, I called the Office of Elections in Hawaii. Kevin Cronin, chief election officer for the state, just got back to me. Here’s what he said:Ms. Dunham’s absentee mail ballot was received and reviewed under the Hawaii standards for processing absentee mail ballots… She was alive at that time. Her ballot will be opened tomorrow, and it will be counted in the same way that all absentee voters would be treated under our law.The key point appears to be that Ms. Dunham was alive at the time her absentee ballot was received and reviewed, and that it met the standards for review at that time.
Madelyn Dunham’s vote will count, even if she is not here to learn the final tally.
« Older Codeweavers... | Generation WE:... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by chiababe at 7:22 PM on October 28, 2008