[Archived] Barack Obama

[American Rover12]

Don't take anything at a political convention to be "true". Conventions are nothing more than political pep rallies. If something gets teh crown to applaud and get excited, they'll say it again and again.

The debates is where we'll see what's up.

Actually: just less BS then the usual BS at speeches and conventions.

[Flopsy]

As is Palin to be fair to her.

oh good, I'm glad it wasnt just me

Must be the footage of her with the M16 carbine

[philipl]

It seems that McCain's speech has flopped from reading the initial coverage from both sides today.

Having read all four speeches, the Vietnam material apart (which he has used many times before but never fails in its impact), the content was very poor compared with Biden, Obama and Palin.

Of course on delivery, he is by far the poorest public speaker of the four and it seems he did not make any special effort last night either.

Obama with a hugely reigned in and very detailed speech has beaten McCain on the respective Convention efforts.

Now to the campaign proper with the McCain side looking oddly vulnerable in having selected Change as their theme- it will not be difficult to trap them either into bad-mouthing Bush or looking like empty sloganisers. If they slag off Bush, they have a chance.

[Billy Castell]

I think Mrs. Palin making her daughter, oddly named Bristol I believe, marry the kid who knocked her up might win a few votes in the bible bashing areas. I don't think Obama can do anything about his blackness to counter that. I was only half listening, but aren't Palin's kids called Trib, Bristol, Burberry, Halibut, and Luxury Yacht? Can't remember all of them, but they must have been on something when naming them.

The Coventions are just vomit inducing wastes of time in whch a bunch of yanks wrap themselves in flags and get sentimental about their country. The head to heads will be interesting.

[Rovermatt]

The evangelicals who pollute the RNC were claiming that they were totally fine with Palin's daughter being knocked up since she has 'chosen to have the baby'. Sarah Palin herself should also be admired, they said, for giving birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome (rather than aborting the child like they do in the evil corners of the nation). You can bet your bottom dollar they would have been wailing from the rooftops if Obama had a teenage daughter with one in the oven. Bloody hypocrites.

[philipl]

McCain old?

Not with a fruitcake Granny thirty years his junior as his running mate.

[Flopsy]

Sarah Palin herself should also be admired, they said, for giving birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome (rather than aborting the child like they do in the evil corners of the nation).

to be fair, most people dont know the baby has downs until its born.

[American]

Actually, Flops, there are tests now and most people know in advance. Back years ago they didn't, but not the case, at least in the states, now.

The one plus about McCain being so old and dying in office would be Hillary losing out on the chance to become the first woman president. That would ###### her off to no end.

[Rovermatt]

to be fair, most people dont know the baby has downs until its born.

I don't think so. My mum had my sister in her late thirties (she's 20 now) and there was test available then.

[benlloninho]

I'm voting for Obama. But I'm from Georgia, so it looks like my vote won't be counting.

[Flopsy]

I don't think so. My mum had my sister in her late thirties (she's 20 now) and there was test available then.

There are blood tests, but what happens is you get odds - ie 1 in 420 chance = Low Risk and they also check during the 20 week scan to see whether there is a flap of skin on the neck. And thats that. If you're high risk/must know, you can have an test carried out on the amniotic fluid (I'm not going to try and spell the name for it) but that has risks.

What usually happens is that the baby is born, the attending paediatrician looks at the baby, gets their boss in for a second opinion, and then say "We think your child has Downs syndrome. Sorry, Bye" and then walk out.

[USRoverME]

Obama with a hugely reigned in and very detailed speech has beaten McCain on the respective Convention efforts.

Can't disagree there, but then again, that's nto a surprise, they are coming off the heels of the least liked sitting president in recent memory. for their convention to Not succeed more than the Rep would have spelled doom for them.

but all in all the Conventions are rather meaningless, other than its a chance to hear the candidates speak uninterrupted and unfiltered by the media for nearly and hour. The polls in the next few days will be the telling story, not the text of the speeches. If McCain gets the typical convention bump, the polls could show basically a tie, since the pumps are usually ~ 5 points, and he's 5-6 points behind in most polls I've seen since just after the Palin annoucnement.

If they slag off Bush, they have a chance.

Going to disagree with this, actually. Disagreeing with Bush woul be good, but slagging him off would be a disaster for him. The stronghold voting block of the party base still likes Bush (oddly). He's walking a tight rope, get some distance from Bush to attact the middle of the road, but keep close enough to Bush so as to not cheese off the party base. If Obama gets McCain to slam Bush in a debate, the race is over and Obama wins. At this point I don't think there's going to be much movement between Obama and McCain in the polls once the convenction hype dies off. I mean we know jsut abotu all there is to know about them at this point. Unless one of them makes a huge gaffe, or some amazingly horrific scandal drops, I don't see much room for those two to "push" the polls.

I'm more looking forward to the Palin - Biden debates. I always have liked Biden, and his interviews about McCain speak highly of Biden. But It'll be Biden's task to tiptoe the file line of attacking Palin's policies and credentials without looking like he is sexist and without tipping the balance of the women voters that clearly the Reps are trying to court. That one should be good TV.

[Paul]

Flops is right about the testing procedure for the uk. I doubt things have changed much. Basically you only do the definitive tests if you are ready for termination if the result is adverse.

As for palin does she expect medal? Big deal there are 60000 people per annum facing the same thing in the uk alone

[Rovermatt]

I think it's the Republican supporters exploiting it rather than Palin herself.

[adopted scouser]

[blue phil]

The evangelicals who pollute the RNC were claiming that they were totally fine with Palin's daughter being knocked up since she has 'chosen to have the baby'.

That seems a fairly consistent line to take if you ask me - pro life and all that . I assume they would have preferred her not to have got pregnant ....but then again wouldn't anyone ?

I suspect they would have taken a different line if she hadn't kept the baby . That too would have been consistent .

[Bazzanotsogreat]

Very close contest this one. If I was eligible to vote I would be really torn. Obama is the greater orator, with the ability to unite. Whilst McCain has great personal integrity and vast sum of experience.

Sure McCain is no Obama in terms of personality; however his straight talking nonsense style has a great appeal in its own appeal and will go down well in middle-America.

I have watched quite a bit of both Democrat & Republican conferences and the one characteristic of both that has stood out to me is this ; The US as a nation wants change and what is good to see is the nation seems genuinely interested in politics again. Something that ourselves in UK should take a close look out. For all the gimmicks and glamour US politics seem to draw in the masses far better than ourselves in the UK.

[philipl]

This is a devastating analysis of debt and ordinary people- it has taken me three readings to take it all in but it makes sense.

[USRoverME]

I stopped reading when I saw "advisor to Dennis Kucinich"... He's got a few too many nutty ideas for me to be comfortable "beliving" anything written by someone in that camp... a Ron Paul advisor might have been worse, but that's about it.

[philipl]

This article in the Jerusalem Post is one of thye most balanced and sensible assessments of the US Presidential Elections I have seen.,

[blue phil]

I wouldn't have thought the readers of The Jerusalem Post gave a crap who won the US presidency . Either way their man will win .......

[Billy Castell]

It's all gone a bit odd in Obamaland, Obama and his 'lipstick on a pig' comment, which made me smile, and now Biden saying Hillary would have been a better VP than him. It's almost as if they're embarrased by being the favourites.

[USRoverME]

It's almost as if they're embarrased by being the favourites.

Nope, more like they are embarrased that despite having BEEN favorites, they's given up the lead (the polls show it basically becoming a dead heat right now), and they don't know how to deal with the Palin phenomenon. The probably drove Biden's comment. Would Palin be getting this much press (would she even have been teh choice) if Hilary was the Veep? She'd certaily be better able to stop Palin's momentum.

The early story was the crowds surrounding Obama. For whatever reason you want to believe, Palin is now drawing those crowds, and the Obama camp apepars unable or unwilling to combat the Palin publicity and stop the gains the Reps are making.

[Billy Castell]

Maybe we're seeing a Demcrat plan here. Get the party feeling confident with a decent candidate that puts a sring in people's step, and not some lame duck like Kerry, but then lose in November. McCain then has to deal with an economy that is imploding, and an empty treasury after bailing out the many failing banks. The Republicans became as popular as AIDS, and Hillary, with her '30 years experience' gets in at 2012. Obama still gets kudos for being the 1st black nominee, breaking barieers etc.

Whatever happens, after the past week or two it may be a good election for a party to lose.

[American Rover12]

Maybe we're seeing a Demcrat plan here. Get the party feeling confident with a decent candidate that puts a sring in people's step, and not some lame duck like Kerry, but then lose in November. McCain then has to deal with an economy that is imploding, and an empty treasury after bailing out the many failing banks. The Republicans became as popular as AIDS, and Hillary, with her '30 years experience' gets in at 2012. Obama still gets kudos for being the 1st black nominee, breaking barieers etc.

Whatever happens, after the past week or two it may be a good election for a party to lose.

You, my friend, are giving the Dems and the American Political Machine too much credit.