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PoliGAF 2nd Pres. Debate 2008 Thread (DOW dropping, Biden is off to Home Depot)

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S

saelz8

Member
34xjfvc.jpg

Whoever didn't notice! :)
 
S

Slurpy

*drowns in jizz*
Just read the McCain response to Joe Lewis' opinion that the campaign is potentially inciting hatred. How pathetic.

John Lewis:

"As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign," Lewis said in a statement. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."


The veteran Democrat even invoked one of the most divisive figures in recent U.S. history. "During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate. George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama," said Lewis.

He warned, "As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The American people deserve better."
Click to expand...

McCain campaign:

Congressman John Lewis' comments represent a character attack against Governor Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale. The notion that legitimate criticism of Senator Obama's record and positions could be compared to Governor George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.


I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.
Click to expand...

:lol :lol :lol

You're pathetic, McCain. How DARE he call you and Palin out on the sickening hatred that you're enticing and encouraging. Your constant victimization of valid criticism of your campaign is vomit inducing.
 
I

Iksenpets

Banned
Saint Gregory said:
Even better is the guy visibly booing her right in the center of the pic :lol
Click to expand...


I was going to say the same thing. It's like he decided that just in case he might end up on camera, he was going to strike the most exaggerated booing pose he could. :lol
 
M

maximum360

Member
Obama has to blow through all that cash before the election. He got all kinds of flak for not going with public financing by the pundits but ultimately it may be the very thing that makes his attempt at the Whitehouse possible.
 
S

Saint Gregory

Member
Slurpy said:
:lol :lol :lol

You're pathetic, McCain. How DARE he call you and Palin out on the sickening hatred that you're enticing and encouraging. Your constant victimization of valid criticism of your campaign is vomit inducing.
Click to expand...

You didn't even bold the best part

...repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election.
Click to expand...

Really McCain? Really?

I don't actually believe he wrote that for one second. As others have noted his campaign has been hijacked total. I would think that the direction things have taken lately would be straining his relationship with his BFF Joe Lieberman. I'm sure Joe has some idea of where this line of campaigning could lead...
 
C

CharlieDigital

Banned
I decided to attend the 1:10 PM rally in West Philly with my wife since the trains weren't going to be running early enough for us to make the earlier rallies.

Since I was up till 1:30 AM due to the hilarity that is VictimOfGrief, I was going on very little sleep. We got up at 6:00 AM to get ready since the train we wanted to catch was leaving at 7:25 from Princeton Junction. Fuck I was tired (damn that VoG). The train fare cost a fucking fortune for the two of us. Must have come out to something like $40 total to get from here to 30th St. Station in Philly.

We missed our first connection at Trenton because I'm a dumbass and I didn't know that you can purchase tickets on the train so we went up to the ticketing booth and consequently missed our connection.

We ended up arriving in Philly 1 hour late. I totally regret this now because if we had arrived 1 hour earlier, we definitely would have gotten closer to the podium. Fuck me!

In any case, we ended up waiting around for like, "ever" (as my wife interjected :lol). The lines were insane. Abso-fucking-lutely insane. It funneled out of 52nd St. and then wrapped around in both directions and wrapped around again. I seriously think they underestimated the number of people who would show up because there is no way that half those people even got close enough to even hear him speak. It was a lousy "venue" in general because the streets weren't very wide.

The first thing I noticed was the diversity in the crowd. I mean, we've all seen the typical Republican rally and the sea of white with a token minority here and there. This was not the case here. While the rally took place in predominantly black West Philly, the crowd was very diverse. I teared up a bit when this one older (40's) white lady offered to let a black toddler ride on her shoulders to get a better view (her mother was very short :lol). It was touching and represents everything right about America. White, Black, Asian, Muslim, Christian, Gays, Hispanics, Indians, babies, toddlers, teenagers, college students, 20-something professionals, the middle aged, and the elderly -- I could see why cultural conservatives are so afraid :lol

The Obama speech itself wasn't too memorable, I admit, since I've already heard the same stump speech a few times already (including the pie story). But it was an amazing site to behold. At some point, once the prime space was filled up, the security folks (Secret Service and Police) basically turned off the metal detectors. I found it funny that people were climbing all over the equipment :lol which probably cost tens of thousands of dollars. People were also climbing the port-o-johns that they had set up on the side of the streets :lol I can see where people are getting this "Messiah" angle; there was definitely a sense in the crowd that this man was a "savior"...people -- regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation -- were all so determined to just see him and take his picture. It was amazing (in a good way).

We didn't make it home until 5:30 PM...long fucking day. But it was worth it. I was remarking to my wife that I've only been to 5 events with more than 10,000+ people in my life (Yankees game, Jets game, two Nets games (wait, maybe those were less than 10,000 :lol), and Rutgers when the Dalai Lama visited. It's one of those moments when you connect with humanity on a different level (like when the Dalai Lama visited Rutgers).

My only fear now is that Obama, if he wins, cannot possibly live up to the hype due to the state of the economy (or can he?). I'm sure some conservative GAFfers think that liberal GAF has put him up on a pedestal, but I assure you, the general public has put him on an even higher pedestal :lol;

Great experience. Tired as fuck, but I'm going to remember it.
 
S

Shiggie

Member
CharlieDigital said:
I decided to attend the 1:10 PM rally in West Philly with my wife since the trains weren't going to be running early enough for us to make the earlier rallies.

Since I was up till 1:30 AM due to the hilarity that is VictimOfGrief, I was going on very little sleep. We got up at 6:00 AM to get ready since the train we wanted to catch was leaving at 7:25 from Princeton Junction. Fuck I was tired (damn that VoG). The train fare cost a fucking fortune for the two of us. Must have come out to something like $40 total to get from here to 30th St. Station in Philly.

We missed our first connection at Trenton because I'm a dumbass and I didn't know that you can purchase tickets on the train so we went up to the ticketing booth and consequently missed our connection.

We ended up arriving in Philly 1 hour late. I totally regret this now because if we had arrived 1 hour earlier, we definitely would have gotten closer to the podium. Fuck me!

In any case, we ended up waiting around for like, "ever" (as my wife interjected :lol). The lines were insane. Abso-fucking-lutely insane. It funneled out of 52nd St. and then wrapped around in both directions and wrapped around again. I seriously think they underestimated the number of people who would show up because there is no way that half those people even got close enough to even hear him speak. It was a lousy "venue" in general because the streets weren't very wide.

The first thing I noticed was the diversity in the crowd. I mean, we've all seen the typical Republican rally and the sea of white with a token minority here and there. This was not the case here. While the rally took place in predominantly black West Philly, the crowd was very diverse. I teared up a bit when this one older (40's) white lady offered to let a black toddler ride on her shoulders to get a better view (her mother was very short :lol). It was touching and represents everything right about America. White, Black, Asian, Muslim, Christian, Gays, Hispanics, Indians, babies, toddlers, teenagers, college students, 20-something professionals, the middle aged, and the elderly -- I could see why cultural conservatives are so afraid :lol

The Obama speech itself wasn't too memorable, I admit, since I've already heard the same stump speech a few times already (including the pie story). But it was an amazing site to behold. At some point, once the prime space was filled up, the security folks (Secret Service and Police) basically turned off the metal detectors. I found it funny that people were climbing all over the equipment :lol which probably cost tens of thousands of dollars. People were also climbing the port-o-johns that they had set up on the side of the streets :lol I can see where people are getting this "Messiah" angle; there was definitely a sense in the crowd that this man was a "savior"...people -- regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation -- were all so determined to just see him and take his picture. It was amazing (in a good way).

We didn't make it home until 5:30 PM...long fucking day. But it was worth it. I was remarking to my wife that I've only been to 5 events with more than 10,000+ people in my life (Yankees game, Jets game, two Nets games (wait, maybe those were less than 10,000 :lol), and Rutgers when the Dalai Lama visited. It's one of those moments when you connect with humanity on a different level (like when the Dalai Lama visited Rutgers).

My only fear now is that Obama, if he wins, cannot possibly live up to the hype due to the state of the economy (or can he?). I'm sure some conservative GAFfers think that liberal GAF has put him up on a pedestal, but I assure you, the general public has put him on an even higher pedestal :lol;

Great experience. Tired as fuck, but I'm going to remember it.
Click to expand...
There is only ONE thing you have to do...
Its what this site is about. :)
 
Z

Zombie James

Banned
I love how the arena playing that annoying music really, really loudly during the puck drop. You typically never have music playing during the ceremonial puck drop. You could still hear the jeers anyways.
 
T

The Librarian

Banned
CharlieDigital said:
I decided to attend the 1:10 PM rally in West Philly with my wife since the trains weren't going to be running early enough for us to make the earlier rallies.

Since I was up till 1:30 AM due to the hilarity that is VictimOfGrief, I was going on very little sleep. We got up at 6:00 AM to get ready since the train we wanted to catch was leaving at 7:25 from Princeton Junction. Fuck I was tired (damn that VoG). The train fare cost a fucking fortune for the two of us. Must have come out to something like $40 total to get from here to 30th St. Station in Philly.

We missed our first connection at Trenton because I'm a dumbass and I didn't know that you can purchase tickets on the train so we went up to the ticketing booth and consequently missed our connection.

We ended up arriving in Philly 1 hour late. I totally regret this now because if we had arrived 1 hour earlier, we definitely would have gotten closer to the podium. Fuck me!

In any case, we ended up waiting around for like, "ever" (as my wife interjected :lol). The lines were insane. Abso-fucking-lutely insane. It funneled out of 52nd St. and then wrapped around in both directions and wrapped around again. I seriously think they underestimated the number of people who would show up because there is no way that half those people even got close enough to even hear him speak. It was a lousy "venue" in general because the streets weren't very wide.

The first thing I noticed was the diversity in the crowd. I mean, we've all seen the typical Republican rally and the sea of white with a token minority here and there. This was not the case here. While the rally took place in predominantly black West Philly, the crowd was very diverse. I teared up a bit when this one older (40's) white lady offered to let a black toddler ride on her shoulders to get a better view (her mother was very short :lol). It was touching and represents everything right about America. White, Black, Asian, Muslim, Christian, Gays, Hispanics, Indians, babies, toddlers, teenagers, college students, 20-something professionals, the middle aged, and the elderly -- I could see why cultural conservatives are so afraid :lol

The Obama speech itself wasn't too memorable, I admit, since I've already heard the same stump speech a few times already (including the pie story). But it was an amazing site to behold. At some point, once the prime space was filled up, the security folks (Secret Service and Police) basically turned off the metal detectors. I found it funny that people were climbing all over the equipment :lol which probably cost tens of thousands of dollars. People were also climbing the port-o-johns that they had set up on the side of the streets :lol I can see where people are getting this "Messiah" angle; there was definitely a sense in the crowd that this man was a "savior"...people -- regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation -- were all so determined to just see him and take his picture. It was amazing (in a good way).

We didn't make it home until 5:30 PM...long fucking day. But it was worth it. I was remarking to my wife that I've only been to 5 events with more than 10,000+ people in my life (Yankees game, Jets game, two Nets games (wait, maybe those were less than 10,000 :lol), and Rutgers when the Dalai Lama visited. It's one of those moments when you connect with humanity on a different level (like when the Dalai Lama visited Rutgers).

My only fear now is that Obama, if he wins, cannot possibly live up to the hype due to the state of the economy (or can he?). I'm sure some conservative GAFfers think that liberal GAF has put him up on a pedestal, but I assure you, the general public has put him on an even higher pedestal :lol;

Great experience. Tired as fuck, but I'm going to remember it.
Click to expand...
Nice to hear you had a good time.
 
C

CharlieDigital

Banned
Guy Legend said:
:lol +1 respect Philadelphia fans.
Click to expand...

If you look closely, there are only 1-2 fans in the picture who could even possibly be considered to be cheering her. Everyone else is either actively shitting on her or has their arms crossed in disdain.
 
S

Stoney Mason

Banned
Mkliner said:
OMG The entire election is just one huge left handed conspiracy:eek:
Click to expand...


Sinister is originally a Latin term for left or to the left (and by extension, left-handedness). Sinister today most often is referring to something evil or ominous.

Coincidence? I think not...

EDIT: damn it beaten by Tam
 
D

Deus Ex Machina

Member
CharlieDigital said:
The first thing I noticed was the diversity in the crowd. I mean, we've all seen the typical Republican rally and the sea of white with a token minority here and there. This was not the case here. While the rally took place in predominantly black West Philly, the crowd was very diverse. I teared up a bit when this one older (40's) white lady offered to let a black toddler ride on her shoulders to get a better view (her mother was very short ). It was touching and represents everything right about America. White, Black, Asian, Muslim, Christian, Gays, Hispanics, Indians, babies, toddlers, teenagers, college students, 20-something professionals, the middle aged, and the elderly -- I could see why cultural conservatives are so afraid
Click to expand...

:D

usa usa usa /chant
 
C

CharlieDigital

Banned
Haven't seen this story posted on PoliGAF yet (I scanned the last few pages from today):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-tucker/younger-military-families_b_133183.html

Why Virginia may be in play:

Younger Military Families Closing Ranks Around Obama

Jennings isn't the only Obama supporter in Quantico -- not by a long shot -- and this should raise a red flag for the McCain camp. In hotly contested states with large military populations, these voters can make an impact because they turn out to vote in higher percentages (79/64) than the general public, according to a Rand study.

"Everyone I talk to wants change but on base you can't say certain things. At a bar or a party, everyone tells me they're voting for Obama," said Thomas Singleton, 27, a former military telecommunications specialist who was speaking to OffTheBus outside the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

"My military friends are tired of being lied to," said Singleton. "They're told to deploy for six months, but it ends up being a year. And when they come home, they can't find a job. One of my friends is staying in the Army only because he can't find a civilian job."
​

Check out some of the comments by past and present service members.

yellowdogminnesotan said:
As a soldier myself I can tell you it's 1 to 1 or now 2 to 1. We feel lied to, we feel we haven't been given what we need. We need a mission, a time line, equipment, and leadership. We've received none of it. And when we come home from this, we find a government that won't live up to it's part of the contract. We see run down hospitals, many can't even get treatment, and after multiple deployments PTSD surfaces and we're given no treatment. I think everyone feels like CHANGE is needed.
Click to expand...
 
S

Suikoguy

I whinny my fervor lowly, for his length is not as great as those of the Hylian war stallions
I wonder how the Republicans can reboot their party?

Or will a 3rd party come along and take their place?
 
C

CharlieDigital

Banned
Stridone said:
What?
Click to expand...

It was basically a pointless exercise because the people were packed in so tightly. The metal detectors were only used to screen the folks which were within the first block of the platform. People were packed onto the street for a few blocks back (no way they could hear it).

They turned it off once no one could possibly even fit into the fenced off area (low steel fence) and people just started climbing onto the examination tables that were there and using the metal detectors as support.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
White Man said:
Jesus fuck don't do this to me!
Click to expand...
Relax guys. Look at the three-day avg tracking poll at the link, and you can see that this was an outlier. It's a random Gore bump that lasted only a few days.
 
C

Chris R

Member
But gore won the election, and popular vote doesn't matter anyways :lol

Obama wins unless something world changing happens between now and election day (and the current economical "crisis" does not count)
 
G

Gruco

Banned
So I'm not entirely sure what compelled me to write it, but I just put up a kos diary about rollercoster of horrors that was the Bush administration combined with the "Hope and Change" surrounding Obama. Best seen, I guess, as a companion piece with this rant I wrote last January here.

Anyways, it's kind of stupid and rambling, but figured you might enjoy, so I'll repost here. I'm too lazy to reformat, so you'll have to check the original if you want functioning links and stuff (lot of good ones, a number of which I am sure Politigaf originally introduced me to.)
==
Four years ago, I woke up early in the morning, and practically giddy, cast a vote for the first time ever. I still remember the how proud I felt. I remember the optimism. I remember how fondly I looked at my "I’m a voter" sticker. And I remember believing that there was no way this country could vote for a morally bankrupt, anti-intellectual used car salesman who was systematically dismantling everything good about this country.

Eight years ago, I did not vote. I didn’t like Lieberman running with Gore (even then!). I rationalized away how my one vote wouldn’t make a difference. I still cheered when Florida was "called" for Gore. I could have claimed residence in Florida. This is a weight of shame I’ve had to wear every day since. I didn’t get any sleep, not that night.

Today, I learn my mother is delaying her retirement. My grandparents grow concerned about their health care costs. Friends worry about their jobs, we all worry about Iraq and one in four land mammals face extinction as gas and food prices clobber everyone.

Four years, three months ago, I got my first taste of hopium. I remember reading about the keynote speaker of the Democratic Convention earlier. I remember him sounding like someone to watch. So I watched. And I was reminded of everything I loved about this party. Everything good that government should be as an institution. I loved it, I think, for the same reason I watched so much West Wing in that time frame. The vision of good government was too soothing an opiate to resist when we were forced to live with the visceral torture of a world that thought George W Bush should be president.

Nine months ago, on the eve of the Iowa caucus, I wrote a scathingly bitter piece about how painful the electoral process is in this country, and about the US’s seeming systemic resistance to good governance. That first dose of hopium, it seems, didn’t quite stick.

Four years ago, after I cast that first ballot, I watched. I watched as Florida rapidly moved out of reach. I watched as incapable senile man won election to the United States Senate in Kentucky. I saw Daschle fall, the republican house majority expand, and Ohio slowly slip away. And chills went down my spine as I heard W’s promise to spend his political capital. But more than anything, I saw vindication. George W Bush and Dick Cheny systematically dismantled this country, and they were rewarded. They crippled the country’s ability to respond to a true threat, they raped the constitution. They transformed our economy into a sad, empty shell. And their solution was to run a campaign of transparent misinformation and fear. And it worked. It fucking worked. Not only was there to be no retribution, they were rewarded.

A beating like 2004 changes a person. I saw that in a number of ways. Some resolved to fight back harder, smarter. Some simply despaired. And as New Orleans fell, ethnic cleansing took place in Iraq, and the emptiness of the ownership society was exposed, it’s like the world was raining salt into that wound. 8 years under the Bush administration? It’s tough to overcome the cynicism that will give you.

I’m really not sure where exactly Obama won me over. It might be after Super Tuesday when his speeches slowly transformed from hope and change to hope and change and nerdy policy stuff. Maybe it was when his supporters talked me into finally reading his book. Possibly when I saw his legislative record in the senate and was surprisingly pleased. I guess the exact time doesn’t matter. Eventually, I was his.

When I think about the problems this country face, the problems seem so overwhelming and severe that something I just want to scream, or rail hopelessly that we not only wasted eight years but spent them running backwards. Working people as a share of the population will shrink, and burdens will grow. Our infrastructure, from bridges to water pipes, crumbles. Oil and raw materials slowly price themselves out of reach, and the threat of environmental catastrophe continues to creep closer by the minute. Health care burdens keep growing, even as the system is so poorly structured that preventative care and the long term view aren’t even considered. Our country grows dumber as the world surrounding us grown less competitive. And the current financial shitstorm and size of our debt are so significant that we have more blanks than bullets in the chamber.

No matter how bad things were in 2004, I’m not going to forget that no matter how bad things got then, there remained that stood outone significant hope. And no matter how bad I might fear the problems down the road are, there is one hope that persists:

That if I could pick anyone to lead now, it would be someone who is already thinking about how to address the seriousness of these problems, and who does it with a respect for the intellectual weight they carry. I’d want him to be able to find common ground to yield practical results. I’d want him to demonstrate effective managerial skill. I’d want him to have an electoral landslide, a huge majority in the house, and a filibuster-proof senate, so that there’s a legitimate chance of actually being effective.

And now, with one crisis already here and so many others lurking in the shadows, is the time history will judge us. Now is the time we can salvage whatever we can from the situation or walk along the same path, and into ruin. George W Bush may escape any formal calls for justice, but I can think of no sweeter justice than teaching him and the lunatics who supported him exactly what the word "mandate" actually means – no greater pleasure than showing him a true liberal platform after his agenda failed so miserably.
 
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