POLITICAL: Ironies & Flashbacks (2008 vs 2016)

[the_mother_thing]

I wasn't a PS member during the last major presidential election/change, but given all the discussion about 'how it used to be', I was curious about PS perspectives, reactions, etc. during/after that election compared to this one ... soooo I went for a stroll down memory lane.

It was like the oddest form of deja vu.

Names (and some 'identifying parts' of comments) have intentionally been withheld as this isn't intended to pick on any one person. I just found it interesting, given the 'turning of the table'. And there were some that just made me ... not because I don't take things seriously, but because sometimes you just need to loosen up & laugh.

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ON 'OUTCOMES'

A 'Mandate for Change' - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-saunders/mandate-for-change_b_141666.html

Barack Obama ran on a platform of fundamental change to the way our government works and serves its people.

...Barack Obama is under no obligation to govern like a centrist or temper his policy goals to accommodate a point-of-view that the American people have decisively rejected. Obama won. Elections have consequences.

The word "mandate" has been thrown around and I agree.

Please let Obama live to see his inauguration and give him the chance to lead.

I hope the election of Obama begins to heal some of the old, deep psychological wounds in the black community, and can bridge the hug divide of polarization that has gripped our country for so long now.

McCain should have shown the side that gave that speech through the whole campaign. It definitely would have helped.

Now we wait and watch him attempt to clean up this mess.

now that Obama will be our next President...when can i expect to receive some "windfall" money?

I hope he can turn this country around and bring people together. We need it desperately. The middle class especially needs a break, myself included. ... It''s about time someone stood up for the average worker in this country, instead of big business or special interest groups.

What people fail to point out is that the "country" doesn''t have a feeling of hope, only Obama supporters do.
48% of voters are not happy with the results. That''s a big portion of the population. It isn''t any different than any other election.

...many I've spoken to are a) happy the election is over and hopeful the nation will heal in the aftermath of the election and b) that Bush and Company will be out of office and the Republican Party will need to re-evaluate, hopefully for the better of their party.

I''ll only say that I do indeed hope that the Republican party adheres to it''s strategy of pandering to the doctrinaire anti-intellectual anti-education religiously extreme right-wing of their party. It worked so well for them this time ....with the doctrinaire anti-intellectual anti-education religiously extreme right-wing of their party. Didn''t play so well with the moderates and independents though.

Obama supporters are counting their chickens before they hatch.

... impossible for President, they can not run without being owned by wall street and big business because of how much money they have to raise.

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ON 'CALLS FOR UNITY'

I hope that the followers of Mr. McCain are not unduly negative to Mr. Obama in the weeks to come. Our country needs to come together as we did after 9/11 to dig ourselves out of this economic mess!

Kudos to John McCain. Let''s hope his call for unity will be heeded.

Time to come together again, America.

Here''s hoping all of the divisiveness will fade away and people will begin to work toward the common good.

I am so scared someone will try to cut him down before he can fullfill the promises he has made. I pray to God that he is kept safe, secure and alive. ... Please god, let this country unite, to stand behind this man we've elected. And please, let every person in this country do their best to keep him safe, and to safeguard the hope that he has brought into the hearts of so many.

The seemingly unavoidable nasty fights between campaign/supporters can finally end, both in this country and on pricescope.
It is now the responsibility of ALL OF US to work TOGETHER to make this country a better place!

I''m really sad to hear all the negativity about Obama. I can certainly understand being dissapointed, I have felt that for the last 8 years. But the fear of what he will do comes from ignorance. People don''t know what he''ll do, they only imagine. Why don''t they do something novel, like wait and see before spreading the hate/fear.

Playing devil''s advocate: People who keep saying he is going to fix the country are in that case also ignorant because they "don''t know what he''ll do, they only imagine."

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ON 'SPORTSMANSHIP'

I''m actually amazed that you guys are surprised with the booing! Hello! They are supporters that don''t want to hear their candidate concede! It''s more that their candidate lost than the other one winning. Do you not remember your democratic supporters booing in 2000 and 2004?

I''m not surprised at the booing. There will always be sore losers and sore winners on both sides alike, regardless of who wins and who loses.

Here it goes! Wow. McCain supporters are booing! Classy!

Yeah WTF is wrong with those people booing President Elect Obama. BLEEPING BLEEPING BLEEPERS.

Yay for change ... Congrats dems.

Here''s what Bush said of his 2004 victory: "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it." I trust that Barack Obama will spend wisely.

SNORT! Temper, temper, (McCain)! Nobody likes a sore loser!

I''m just hypersensitive to folks automatically spinning stuff about Obama in the most negative way possible.

I''m just full of jubilation! And compassion also for those who are disappointed this morning. I hope that you find peace eventually and that you will come to realize that we are not as divided as you think.

I agree with you about McCain''s speech, it was eloquent and heartfelt and I admire him for being so gracious. It seemed almost the opposite of how he ran his campaign!

All of the smear campaign tactics were coming out every day on the radio. It got to the point where I had to shut it off, because they made an Obama supporter feel stupid or unpatriotic, which is a shame. I can''t believe how low the campaign against Obama had sunk.

We ALL need to pray for his safety.

We as Americans need to look forward, and be hopeful that our new president is the answer.

They are absolutely frothing for him to fail, and by extenstion themselves I suppose. Makes no sense to me. ... I went in determined to NOT be some sort of sore winner, and I wasn''t. I said not a word. But it was hard, after listening to that for hours on end....

...because doing so, can lead to unproductive and hate-producing things like this ... a highschool teacher, had to break up what was setting up to be a screaming match between a McCain supporter and the black girl who had continued to prod another girl (white) to say who she would have voted for. When the girl said McCain, the other started accusing her of being a racist and they were off.

This will be the biggest riot in history if he does not win.

...And doesn''t that say something about his supporters??

Not all, or even a large percentage, of Obama''s supporters are the rioting type.

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ON 'FEAR MONGERING'

The FEAR ... is talking about comes from believing the BS that has been thrown around in this campaign and letting that nonsense affect your perception of the man & his plans. ... Those things are based in pure, unfiltered ignorance - trussed up & served like Thanksgiving turkey by a bouffant-haired buffoon.

Most of us are afraid of what he promised to do, which is why 60 million people didn''t vote for him.

Not everyone is going to see Obama''s victory as a step in the right direction because not everyone believes in what the democratic party represents.

The whole "redistributing the wealth" catchphrase appears to me to be fear mongering. And once again trying to paint Obama as a socialist.

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ON 'VOTING'

... it galls me when anyone who can vote her, doesn't, simply because they dont love the entire package. So I always tell people, if you dont love the entire package, just pick one or two issues that are your personal touchstone issues, and vote based on that. ... Apparently speaking out against things one feels are wrong, has been "Un-American" for the last 8 years.

No, Obama isn''t perfect. Just like every other candidate who has ever run for President in the history of this country, he is just a human being, with all the flaws and imperfections and mistakes that go along with that.

Obama has rallied people who have never believed that they had a stake in our country and those who are most invested in the system and gotten them invested and involved in planning a future for our country.

If your gut tells you not to believe him, don''t. If your instincts tell you he isn''t being truthful, trust them. And if you can''t vote for the ''other guy'', then don''t.

But at the same time, it''s insulting, demeaning, and frankly, inaccurate, to insinuate that people who vote for McCain do so for "lesser" reasons than those of us who chose to vote for Obama. I really hope that if this message is being put out there, we can put an end to it.

They believed with all their heart that he would be the best man for the job, and there is nothing MORE American than backing the candidate you feel is best for the country.

I agree with what is being said by some analysts: it is a vote in opposition of Bush, and not a vote in favor of Obama.

Don't believe everything you see on TV.

Yet another reason NOT to trust the media...

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ON 'BEHAVIOR'

And I actually did understand the "God D*** America" comment. It's kind of ironic that of all the things he's said, that one gets thrown out the most. I think a lot of people may not really be hearing what he's saying there...

I do not believe that politicians should be expected to be perfect, and have perfect pasts to be elected in the future, but I would appreciate a minimal effort to be forthright.

Mr. Obama is obviously a toucher. ... I like people who touch .

I do think though that touchy people (and I am one of them) need to be aware that some people really don''t dig being touched.

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ON 'EMOTIONS & TOLERANCE'

I have never seen so many people so emotional over the results of an election.

I can''t believe how emotional this is...

I felt really bad for Hillary when she lost lost in the primaries, and now I feel really bad for McCain because I just feel like he deserves it so much for all that he''s done for our country, and it was his last chance.

...my district had to have a meeting yesterday before school to discuss how to support the minority of students who had been McCain supporters and were now going to not only be feeling sad, but possibly taunted by peers. Teachers brainstormed ideas on how to acknowledge these kids'' sense of loss and how to discuss how all of America had won the election because the people chose our next president.

yeah, he''s an angry white man.......but he''s articulate with his anger!

The divisiveness of it all bothers me. People were beaten and taunted and attacked and treated altogether in a repulsive way for their beliefs, in a FREE country. People were scared to speak their mind, and many were unable to have a rational conversation, or agree to disagree.

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ON 'PROPOSALS'

President-elect Barack Obama raised questions during an election campaign stop in Colorado Springs when he asserted the U.S. needs a “civilian national security force”...

http://www.wnd.com/2008/11/80298/

the clip of Obama''s actual words were sixteen seconds. I''m going to refrain from judging them until I can find some more credible information about them. ... the best I can surmise is that this somehow relates to how America can meet our ever-increasing needs for national security.

If we''re going to be fearful over something we don''t yet understand that the president elect might or might not be doing, because of some random comment he made that we can''t find anymore on, I figured we could at least point out what we can be fearful of that President Bush has done.

I''d suggest the prudent thing to do would be to calm down & listen to plans as they are proposed & explained. There''s plenty of urgent house-on-fire matters to deal with. Reading nefarious intent into vague statements (though a popular past time lately) is just spinning yourself up for naught.

...he has shown more than a bit of naivete when it comes to foreign policy and how to deal with some countries (witness his rather silly comments during the Russian/Georgian skirmish), and some of those ''less than friendly to American'' leaders out there (he would sit down and just talk to them; like Carter, ''cause that worked really well back in the day).

Unless you make more than $250,000 a year (or is it $200,000? Or is it $150,000?) you won''t see a tax increase!

Middle class families will see their taxes cut – and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase.

I''m glad he got a little "angry" because I think there are alot of people deep down who are very angry at the turn this country has made, and he made the point that this is not an ordinary election.

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ON 'TRANSITIONS'

I think it''s great that Bush is being so helpful regarding the transition. I guess he can''t wait to hand that mess over to someone else!

I read the other day that Mrs. Bush had defended Mrs. Obama about a statement she made that was blown out of proportion by the media. And Mrs. Obama wrote her a note to thank her. These are all decent, caring people, just with some differing political viewpoints. That''s why I try to be respectful towards all of them.

Much commentary was made about how bad things are in this country and that it is mostly his fault. So I just think it is nice if they can at least put that behind them and get this transition moving smoothly for the sake of helping heal the country.

And I can''t imagine George being anything but gracious. He''s got to feel sorry for Obama, after everything he''s been through in the past 8 years.

... his new Cheif of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. I've heard he will be good at reigning in/cutting off the very liberals with an agenda the president elect doesn't agree with. That's where that "bulldog" mentality may come in handy, among other things.

I had no idea who you were talking about until today, when I read that he is Obama''s new chief of staff. From Israel. I have to confess, I feel more than a little depressed learning about Rahm''s partisanship. From my perspective as an outsider, doesn''t bode well for the US''s perceived non-partisanship in international affairs.

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ELECTION NIGHT/OUTCOME THREADS

2008:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-election-night-thread.99113/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-election-night-thread.99113/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/congratulations.99168/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/congratulations.99168/[/URL]

2016:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/nyt-live-election-forecast.226701/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/nyt-live-election-forecast.226701/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-day-after-reflections.226717/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-day-after-reflections.226717/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/re-election-saw-this-on-fb-sums-it-up-well.226768/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/re-election-saw-this-on-fb-sums-it-up-well.226768/[/URL]

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[OreoRosies86]

Wow, you must have devoted a lot of your day to finding all those snippets! But I think you could have saved yourself the time. Several PS members have openly said their minds have changed with new information.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Wow, you must have devoted a lot of your day to finding all those snippets! But I think you could have saved yourself the time. Several PS members have openly said their minds have changed with new information.

Here, these are way less stressful.

 

[ruby59]

Wow, you must have devoted a lot of your day to finding all those snippets! But I think you could have saved yourself the time. Several PS members have openly said their minds have changed with new information.

Here, these are way less stressful.

Jenn, have you heart from Red.

If so, tell her I have been thinking about her.

 

[AnnaH]

Wow, you must have devoted a lot of your day to finding all those snippets! But I think you could have saved yourself the time. Several PS members have openly said their minds have changed with new information.

Here, these are way less stressful.

Jenn, have you heart from Red.

If so, tell her I have been thinking about her.

+1

 

[AnnaH]

Thanks for the info, Jenn. I read all the excerpts but not the threads. Maybe another time.
In the old threads did you see any of those, "Oh, you think it's bad now. You should have seen it back then!"
Whenever the minority posters say they don't participate because of the vitriol or someone complains about rudeness, that often comes up.
Yes, entertaining.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Thanks for the info, Jenn. I read all the excerpts but not the threads. Maybe another time.
In the old threads did you see any of those, "Oh, you think it's bad now. You should have seen it back then!"
Whenever the minority posters say they don't participate because of the vitriol or someone complains about rudeness, that often comes up.
Yes, entertaining.

There were a few references to previous administrations' actions, segregation of topics/discussions, reminders to be respectful, etc., followed by termination of political discussions altogether, but I didn't want to highlight those because it appeared there was different ownership/management of PS at the time.

I just found - as I was reading - the irony of comments to be amusing (sincerely, not maliciously). I fully suspect a 'replay' if there is another such change in 4 or 8 years.

 

[AnnaH]

Just curious as to what could be worse than the treatment this election. All the isms, piles of....etc.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Just curious as to what could be worse than the treatment this election. All the isms, piles of....etc.

Actually being the hypocrite who joyfully shoved spoonfuls of crap into others' mouths for 8 years, then gets whiny when it's time for them to eat?

 

[AnnaH]