In Search of Rational Voters

Bonus is with Palin hopefully she can make the laws and punishments a lot tougher for wife beaters out there (she'll at least have the power to do so)....finally maybe someone will realize "fathers" shouldn't have the same rights as mothers especially when they've been abusive! And I agree with her not to let her daughter have an abortion....that's such a bad thing to do....I think more guys who get girls pregnant should be real men and stand up to their responsibilities, get married & get a job! I think this is a very positive role model for our children. It's just sick how these young girls can just go get abortions!

"The crowd, in some mysterious way, is wiser than the individual." Please....lynch mobs are way more brutal than the average individual too. I agree that we are less well informed then a generation ago, but it's not all the fault of the press or professional spin artists. We are a short attention span generation that prefers to be spoon fed our values and opinions by experts rather then thinking and studying issues ourselves. Our political process has sunk to the level of reality TV.

What Thomas Jefferson said about our democracy still stands: the only way a democracy can survive is if the populace is educated and thus is able to hold its leaders accountable. God help this country if we cast our vote based on lies and innuendo. The Republicans have made making their apponent the issue an art form; Democrats have yet to realize if you spend time dodging bullets, you cannot make your position clear, thus further enabling the dysfunction of politics. In our high-speed internet blog world, no one seems to take the time to analyze new data, much less the question the source. In a country where many do not understand their own government, or remotely how it functions, lies and innuendo replace rational analysis of current events. Any one with an inkling of foreign affairs or civics would have and did question the lies which led this country into our perilous position in the world. How often will the voters be lied to and hungrily believe it? I am sure, based upon my lifetime of observation, forever. My prayer is that the public wake up and educated themselves

What luck for rulers that men do not think.
- Adolf Hitler

Rational voters see that Palin has done nothing but lie everytime she speaks. The lies she spews come straight from Rove. She has said the same words in every speech since the Convention. She is already sitting with C Gibson going over the script. McCain has done nothing but lied. He has lied on his positions, he has lied on Obama's positions, he has lied about his voting records, he has lied abotu his allegiances.

Obama has been the only straight talking candidate. If he makes a mistake, he mans' up to it. McCain cowers in the corner expecting the bull dog to attack and all she can do is bark the same old talking points. There is no rationale behind McCain's campaign.

I see roblend you are one of these free traders that believe that closing every American factory is OK because Communist countries like China can make it cheaper, is that right. America became a great nation because of her manufacturing might and when you allow so-called free trade to destroy her than you are in my opinion a TRAITOR. These Communists are the ones I fought against in Vietnam and now their taking over my Beloved America economically instead of militarily. You cant compete against countries that have no morals or ethics but you can refuse to buy thier crap......

TheInformer :
Your really on to something! I agree, vote for the hottie! Just like the way President Kennedy was selected, vote based on who looks better. I like it!

Of course, a majority of American voters are stupid. How else could you explain George W. Bush winning two terms as President!

Here is something to think about from a historical perspective:

If you had to choose between a presidential candidate with 20 years of experience in Congress or one with 6 years in the Illinois state senate and 2 years in Congress, who would you pick?
If you picked the first one, congratulations you just picked James Buchanan who is considered by historians as the second worst president in US history. Most historians agree that Abraham Lincoln, who only served 6 years in the state senate and 2 years in Congress, to be the best president in history, particularly during a difficult time. What does this all mean, too much emphasis should not be placed on experience.

Here is another tidbit of information. So, maybe they have or don't have a lot experience. So what about executive experience? Well, here is a list of presidents who had no prior executive experience prior to taking the oath of office:
James Madison, John Q. Adams, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy. As you can see, this list contains some of the best presidents in US history.

Therefore, too much emphasis should not be placed on previous experience and/or executive experience. So, then you might wonder how do you pick between two candidates. That question is obviously difficult to answer. Some may look at the ideology of the candidate or other factors that don't directly relate to being an executive. Just something to think about. Remember the old saying, those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

Blackbird747: You say "Picking Palin, a woman with no national experience what so ever was not brilliant"
Point 1: look at the polls
Point 2: Lets compare national experience, GOP #1 to Dem #1, GOP #2 to Dem #1, GOP #1 to Dem #2, and then there is the one and only advantage the Dems have, GOP #2 to Dem #2. We win 3-1!
Point 3: And how long is the press going to continue to give Obama a free ride?

The economic disaster facing our nation is a direct result of the Republican "laissez faire" doctrine of government. For the past eight years we have experienced the privitisation and deregulation of business which has led us to the current economic crisis-recession. We must elect Obama as a deterent to the outsourcing of jobs to other countries. The Republican "Trickle-down" theory of economics can only succeed when it benefits the American worker.

hankthetank:
Obama's increase of corporate taxes will force more companies to move business off shore. Why would they stay if the economic conditions put such a strain on the bottom line? Business is in busi ness to make money. Decreasing the corporate tax incourages more economic activity, creates jobs and tax revenue, strengthens the dollar, decreases interest rates, and has been proven to work the world over. Just because Obama takes the matter out of context, focusing on one company's economic picture as it regards to the decrease in corporate taxes, does not tell the whole story. The statement that McCain is an \oil man because the decrease in corporatte taxes for ALL companies results in a 4 billion dollar decrease for that one company does not make McCain pro oil. Get real!

In response to vindido:

I don't think you got this straight at all. This article isn't bringing up a new point and it isn't just talking about those supporting McCain and Palin. It is talking about how Americans, as a whole, are not as informed about the issues and the facts as we should be. He specifically talks about how both parties take advantage of that fact and how there is misinformation on both sides. Whatever your opinion of Senator Obama happens to be has nothing to do with this article or the point it was trying to make. I don't see how the electorate becoming as informed as possible is a bad thing. Do you? If you focused more of your energy on making a logical argument as opposed to an emotional one filled with insults you might have taken more from this article than it appears you did.

TO rboelend, Picking Palin, a woman with no national experience what so ever was not brilliant, but will end up a huge mistake when she has to defend her radical positions, that is provided she does get vetted by this very biased media who does not seem to understand the American people demand to hear from her.... The press had given her a free ride for to weeks now......

"Ok,so let me get this straight.Now that Mccain/Palin are ahead in the polls,the electorate are,at best,un informed?What a croc.This is the exact kind of thinking that will cost Obama Hussein the election this November.Not that his elitist condenscending Holier than Thou attitude is unique for his party.The Democratic party could only nominate two people this year who could lose to McCain.One was Hilary.The other one.....the former Muslim from that bastion of clean politics,Chicago.NObama 08.And keep the change"

-The Irony of this post kills me. This is EXACTLY the non-sense that fools believe.

Americans do not take the time to be informed (busy watching reality TV). They believe anything they see on Fox news and anything that they get e-mailed to them especially if it is what they want to believe. We are a society that would rather have a President that we can have a beer with then someone that is intelligent ,insightful, but they couldn't go hang out with them. Wow! that is great reasoning. Would you pick your surgeon that way?

As Dems and Repubs argue with each other regarding which slate of candidates is the best... it is driving me nuts that our choices are so awful. Obama was in the Senate for 143 days before he started campaigning for the presidency. Palin barely has two years as governor of Alaska. As I sit here watching each party bash the other, I wonder how we got to the point where two weak tickets are the best the U.S. has to offer?