• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PoliGAF Interim Thread of USA General Elections (DAWN OF THE VEEP)

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

BotoxAgent

Member
I'm liking Obama's strategy: more aggressive ads locally while playing the more charismatic ones nationally. At least Obama's attacks aren't based on fluff like McCain's.
 
O

Odrion

Banned
The last line in the ad comes off well, and needs to be the focus of the offensive campaign: America can't afford to have more of the same.

edit: Okay I swear that's a piece of Brian Eno's ambient work in the commercial, anyone know which song it's from?
 
mckmas8808

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
HylianTom said:
I tend to agree. He's not winning outright because he isn't fighting. Taking the high road might've worked for the pie-in-the-sky idealists who vote in Democratic primary contests, but it won't work here.

This commercial is a step in the right direction. I like. You might think it's "douchbaggery," but I'm betting, sadly, that Americans like douchey commercials and campaigning tactics; it's why the GOP wins elections so often.
Click to expand...

Do some of you guys realize that Obama is hitting him harder? Maybe he isn't hitting as hard you would like but he is hitting him.

Theres at least 5 hard hitting Obama commercials that just digs into Mccain's ass, but Obama is running them locally.
 
S

soul creator

Member
Steve Youngblood said:
Despite my cynicism, I don't think that's entirely fair. At the very least, 'like' is not the correct word. I don't think it's that we 'like' negative attack ads, so much as they are effective at evoking an emotional response.

Obama certainly could go negative. There's no shortage of McCain gaffes that he could blast him on. But he doesn't necessarily have to go negative. He just needs to be more aggressive, be it offensively or defensively. Obama has a reputation for being a charismatic and charming orator. He also has an enormous and heavily devoted base of supporters thanks to his grassroots efforts. Why, then, can he not effectively counter a perception that McCain only recently cooked up of him being an unpatriotic opportunist who has no energy plan, is all flash and no substance, and wants America to lose the fight for freedom in Iraq?

The only solace that gets offered is "wait for the debates!" It just eludes me that thanks to politics and an increasingly lazy press corps, politicians just engage in sound bite wars in the hopes of gaining single digit point leads. If your Obama, and your opponent is gaining ground with the dubious pro-war, pro-drilling, anti-tax, pro-America rhetoric, why is it so difficult to counter that? And before you answer that, responding with "it's because Americans are stupid" is not a correct answer.
Click to expand...

I've come around to thinking that it's not that American's "like" negative ads, but they have become so cynical
bitter!
towards government, that they figure what the hell, might as well just approach elections as a game. Not like anything is really gonna change, right? Might as well just approach it from a gut emotional level and instead of actually researching policies.

It's actually quite genius when you think about it. Republicans have gotten power in government, do a shitty job of governing, and then turn around and say "government is the problem!", and blame liberals for it. People get cynical about government, and Republicans exploit that. Then they get voted back in, and the cycle repeats.

Elected representatives are probably the only place where hating your potential job and saying it's a "problem" is somehow seen as a benefit.
 
S

Steve Youngblood

Member
mckmas8808 said:
Do some of you guys realize that Obama is hitting him harder? Maybe he isn't hitting as hard you would like but he is hitting him.

Theres at least 5 hard hitting Obama commercials that just digs into Mccain's ass, but Obama is running them locally.
Click to expand...
Are they working? Ads are only as worthwhile as their efficacy.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
woeds said:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26321224/page/3/

Rural slice of a big state tests Obama
Once solidly Democratic, western Penn. is now uncertain political terrain


I believe that there's nothing that Obama can do that will make him more appealing to 'blue collar' 'white middle class' voters. Throughout that article people are quoted as saying that they don't know what he stands for. Compared to McCain, who relates everything to war and his time as a POW, Obama has been very detailed, elaborate and precise about what he wants to do as president.
Click to expand...
Admitting that you don't have time to check if bullshit like that is true should be grounds for having your voting rights revoked.
 
C

Clipjoint

Member
Screw it, I hope Obama chooses Hillary as his VP. The Republican attack machine already has Obama in its sights, they're not going to back off no matter who he picks. Why not take Hillary and give them the big fuck you, while shoring up his weakest demographic (old white people) who seem to love Hillary, and completely destroying McCain in the female vote?
 
D

Diablos

Member
Dan said:
Admitting that you don't have time to check if bullshit like that is true should be grounds for having your voting rights revoked.
Click to expand...
It's unreal that people actually believe these chain letters in the first place.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
soul creator said:
random observation, but I swear I've never even heard of the phrase "reading the tea leaves" until all this VP speculation stuff started.
Click to expand...
Haven't read Harry Potter, eh? ;)
 
R

reilo

learning some important life lessons from magical Negroes
soul creator said:
heh, I think I'm the one person in the world who's never read a Harry Potter book, and never seen a Harry Potter movie
Click to expand...

Nope. Haven't read the books nor seen the movies either.
 
H

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
516XXQ5CAXL._SL500_.jpg
 
N

NLB2

Banned
the disgruntled gamer said:
Really? People don't like hearing that while they're struggling, politicians who pretend to feel their pain are thriving.

I live in Ohio, and most of my family is conservative, and for the entire year in 2004 I got dozens of forwards everyday from friends and family with pictures of all of John Kerry's houses. The message works.
Click to expand...

Because its the democrats. They'll botch it. How can Kerry take hits from Bush Jr. about having a privileged life?

McCain or his surrogates can turn it into a my wife makes money by serving Americans their favorite beverage. Mrs Obama makes money by hiring less qualified minorities IOT prevent lawsuits, or something along those lines.


BTW, here's why Obama voted against the born alive infant act - it "burden the original decision of the woman [to have an abortion]"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDwNpgIUQc

Edit: didn't see this: “Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses? Does a guy who worries about the price of arugula and thinks regular people ‘cling’ to guns and religion in the face of economic hardship really want to have a debate about who’s in touch with regular Americans?”

Much better than my idea :D
 
Xisiqomelir

Xisiqomelir

Member
HylianTom said:
http://thepage.time.com/

McCain responds to Obama's commercial about his houses:



I will now propose Obama's response: "Hmm.. $4 million, eh? According to you, John, I'm technically in the middle-class." :lol
Click to expand...

I think all Obama needs to do is display his ~$2M net worth and watch the McCains run and hide to avoid disclosing Cindy's hundreds of millions.

Also, this 'arugula' shit is fucking annoying.
 
S

Steve Youngblood

Member
Diablos said:
It's unreal that people actually believe these chain letters in the first place.
Click to expand...
Why? I know better, but that's mainly because I'm inherently skeptical and cynical about hearsay. That's just who I am. I'm also resourceful, and have always been interested in the idea of the "urban legend" and attempts to debunk them.

But that's me. I'm not saying I've never been tricked ever, but I hate being taken for a ride. Thus, I take everything I hear with a grain of salt. However, move away presidential politics for a second and just consider everyday conversation. Your mileage may vary, but for me, if I'm paying even a mild amount of attention, it's simply amazing how much gossip you'll hear. Some if it will seem preposterous, while some will seem entirely mundane and pedestrian, but people love to talk about other people, and they love to believe what they hear simply because it's interesting. A discussion at the water cooler about whether or not Jamie in accounting is sleeping with Brad is far more interesting than nuanced discussion about foreign policy differences between McCain and Obama.
 
H

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
Haha, ok, nevermind, turns out that particular expression isn't even in that book. Still, it's an old expression that's been kicked around in one form or another, all relating to some form of divination.
 
S

suaveric

Member
Clipjoint said:
Screw it, I hope Obama chooses Hillary as his VP. The Republican attack machine already has Obama in its sights, they're not going to back off no matter who he picks. Why not take Hillary and give them the big fuck you, while shoring up his weakest demographic (old white people) who seem to love Hillary, and completely destroying McCain in the female vote?
Click to expand...

I'm actually starting to come around to this. The Republicans are already so deep in the mud, I'm not sure Clinton would have that much of a negative impact. If she could help solidify Ohio and Pennsylvania...
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
There's a new thread?

BTW, I didn't see it, but Obama uncorked on McCain today. Hopefully he's going to stick to this narrative.

First he noted that McCain said that the U.S. is making "great progress economically."

"Who's he talking to?" Obama asked.

Then he cited McCain's "joke" from the forum at Saddleback Church when he offered to Pastor Rick Warren the definition that someone who's rich is someone who makes $5 million a year.

"I guess if you're only making $3 million a year then you're middle class," Obama said. "I guess that's what he meant."

Obama then cited the controversial comments by McCain economic adviser and former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, that the U.S. had "become a nation of whiners," and that the country was in a "mental recession."

Obama said that McCain said recently, "I think the economy is fundamentally strong."

"This puzzled me," Obama said. "Then there was another interview the same day…Somebody asked John McCain, 'How many houses do you have?' and he said, 'I'm not sure, I'll have to check with my staff.'"

The crowd laughed.

"True quote!" Obama said. "'I’m not sure, I’ll have to check with my staff.’ So they asked his staff and he said, ‘at least four.’ ‘at least four.’

"Now think about that," Obama told the crowd, "I guess if you think that being rich means you gotta make five million dollars, and if you don’t know how many houses you have, then it’s not surprising that you might think the economy is fundamentally strong.

"But if you’re like me and you’ve got one house," he continued, "or you're like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so that they don’t lose their home, you might have a different perspective.

"By the way, the answer is John McCain has seven homes," Obama said. "So there’s just a fundamental gap of understanding between John McCain’s world and what people are going through every single day here in America. And you don’t’ have to be…a Nobel Prize laureate economist. You just have to have a little bit of a sense of what ordinary people are going through to understand that we cant afford eight more years or four more years or one more year of the same failed economic policies that George Bush has put in place."
Click to expand...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/people-who-live.html
 
S

siamesedreamer

Banned
scorcho said:
wow, SD. that's really one of the stupidest points you've ever made...
Click to expand...

How so? I'm not rich, but I couldn't imagine allowing either of my half-brothers to become destitute. I would always do what I could to help them if they really needed help. Isn't that the attitude you would expect any normal decent person to have ? Why isn't normal decency expected of Obama?

A couple hundreds bucks a month wouldn't affect Obama one bit but would probably completely change his brother's life.
 
G

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
siamesedreamer said:
How so? I'm not rich, but I couldn't imagine allowing either of my half-brothers to become destitute. I would always do what I could to help them if they really needed help. Isn't that the attitude you would expect any normal decent person to have ? Why isn't normal decency expected of Obama?

A couple hundreds bucks a month wouldn't affect Obama one bit but would probably completely change his brother's life.
Click to expand...

Giving up your own money to those in need? Sounds like socialism to me!
 
E

electricpirate

Member
Man, those straws you're grasping at sure are slippery SD. It's a pretty crazy logical leap to assume that his brother sought help, and Obama turned him down, or that obama even knew of the situation, and that a hundred dollar handout is some kind of magic cure all.
 
B

backbreaker65

Banned
siamesedreamer said:
How so? I'm not rich, but I couldn't imagine allowing either of my half-brothers to become destitute. I would always do what I could to help them if they really needed help. Isn't that the attitude you would expect any normal decent person to have ? Why isn't normal decency expected of Obama?

A couple hundreds bucks a month wouldn't affect Obama one bit but would probably completely change his brother's life.
Click to expand...

You are flat out lying, just to make a point. He's his half brother, but he probably doesn't even know him, so save that bull.
 
S

scorcho

testicles on a cold fall morning
a. you don't know what relationship (or quality thereof) exists between Obama and his half-brother, so passing judgment on what is ultimately a personal affair is low.

b. if you want to sit on a throne and cast aspersions on one's morality, why not also dissect McCain's first affair (leaving behind a crippled wife that wasn't pretty anymore for the soon-to-be maverick) and Cindy's relationship to her half-sister, who was left only a pittance in inheritance ($10,000 versus tens of millions).
 
K

Kildace

Member
siamesedreamer said:
How so? I'm not rich, but I couldn't imagine allowing either of my half-brothers to become destitute. I would always do what I could to help them if they really needed help. Isn't that the attitude you would expect any normal decent person to have ? Why isn't normal decency expected of Obama?

A couple hundreds bucks a month wouldn't affect Obama one bit but would probably completely change his brother's life.
Click to expand...

Yes I'm sure that if you were Obama you'd give handouts to the multiple offspring your estranged father had after leaving your mother and moving halfway across the world.
 
S

Steve Youngblood

Member
gluv65 said:
You are flat out lying, just to make a point. He's his half brother, but he probably doesn't even know him, so save that bull.
Click to expand...
It's really better just not to get suckered into this game. He doesn't know him? Why, that just shows that he lets political ambition get in the way of family ties! This can go on and on.

The outlandishness of the attack speaks for itself.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
gluv65 said:
You are flat out lying, just to make a point. He's his half brother, but he probably doesn't even know him, so save that bull.
Click to expand...
According to an article I read a few days ago, they've met twice in their entire lives. Once many years ago, once when Obama was there in 2006.
 
S

siamesedreamer

Banned
Article said:
He has only met his famous older brother twice - once when he was just five and the last time in 2006 when Senator Obama was on a tour of East Africa and visited Nairobi.

The Illinois senator mentions his brother in his autobiography, describing him in just one passing paragraph as a "beautiful boy with a rounded head".
Click to expand...

. . .
 
D

Diablos

Member
suaveric said:
I'm actually starting to come around to this. The Republicans are already so deep in the mud, I'm not sure Clinton would have that much of a negative impact. If she could help solidify Ohio and Pennsylvania...
Click to expand...
PA shouldn't even be a problem. This sucks! God dammit!

Obama MUST get what Kerry got or he loses. Kerry only won the state by 2.2% or so. Anything less is basically failure and a good chance of losing the election.

I really hope he can do some interesting things with the electoral map, since both PA and OH are in a position to possibly slip away from Obama.
 
B

backbreaker65

Banned
GhaleonEB said:
According to an article I read a few days ago, they've met twice in their entire lives. Once many years ago, once when Obama was there in 2006.
Click to expand...

I said know, I have plenty of cousins that I have met on occassion but I don't know them. Their is a big difference between a family member you grew up with as oppose to someone you didn't and only met a few times, hence the word "know".
 
Smiles and Cries

Smiles and Cries

Member
God's Beard said:
His brother might not even want the help. Besides, he'll be fine, he's good with his fists.
Click to expand...
the media finding all these Obama brothers make this story of Barack even more amazing to me... each one of them seems worlds apart... One in China has Chinese girlfriend... One visits UK to spend time with mum and proud of Barack... now younger 26 year old I'm from the streets I live in a shack and good with my fist, he sounds like the most detached one of them all
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

SCHiM | Review Thread
Analysis Review
7
957
Eiknarf replied
[IGN] Explaining – and Fixing – IGN's Face-Off Controversy
20
2K
March Climber replied
Satya Nadella: Annual letter to stockholders. Content on new platforms will continue
4 5 6 7 8
352
19K
noob smokes replied
Sand Land | Review Thread
Opinion Analysis Review
16
3K
adamsapple replied
Sexualizing
Opinion Drama Science 2
62
6K
Raonak replied
Top Bottom