2008 US Election Thread

[chippa13 1844]

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A booming economy and low-crime rate has catapulted the city of Nashua, New Hampshire, to the top of Money Magazine's annual ranking of best places to live in the United States.

I believe you but the highlights are Pheasant Lane Mall, Greeley Park and Hayward Ice Cream. Haywards is the best freakin ice cream btw!

Main Street is much nicer now. A bunch of restaurants and a new Irish pub, good stuff.

[jimmy 194]

Oh yea, and speaking of raising sales taxes to pay for stadiums, seems Palin is not the only one to do it, this method has been is widespread across the country, oh, since about 1917. Very popular in heavily Democrat areas. In case of Wassila, the voters approved it. It was not forced on them.

[donkey87 0]

I just imagine if McCain keels over and Palin takes over, that Putin will have his subs in the Bering Sea before Sarah knows WTF is going on. Putin would just eat her up and spit her out in no time. Don't forget the Bear, fellas. His little hike through Georgia was just training camp for bigger things. "Golly gee, Vlad! Whatcha doin' on Wasilla?" Uh-oh.............

I can't believe Obama is going to be any better. At least Palin will have decent military advisor. Obama's top military advisor is General McPeak, the man who disbanded SAC.

[fastbrother7 0]

I love McCains "healthcare reform plan" where he states that in order to offer a $5000 tax credit to Americans for healthcare, he would tax the healthcare allocations that people receive from their respective employers as income. On the average, healthcare costs for companies per worker is around $900 per month, which means you would be taxed overall like you make an additional $12000, just to get a $5000 credit. I guess my question is, what if you only make like $25000 per year or something lowly like that? Brutal. But I guess billion $$ tax breaks to oil companies and other corporations creates jobs-oh no wait, that creates more profits lol

I agree with you. His plan is BS. All you have to do to figure that out is look at your costs for COBRA or look on your pay statment. My employer pays about $1500 a month for my family's medical coverage, equaling $18000 a year. I don't see how a $5000 tax credit is suddenly going to make up for taxes on an extra $18000 a year.

I try not to buy into any of the partisan hype on either side so I actually looked up some information.

If you make under $65k as a couple, your tax rate would be 15% and you would pay $2700 in taxes on your $18000 health care benefit. Even if you move up to the next level and paid the full 25% on the entire $18000 you would still be paying only $4500 and getting a $5000 credit. It's not until you get to the 131k-200k group where you would pay more in taxes than you would get in the credit.

Personally I think government should stay the hell out of health care entirely. Look at the only existing example of government run health care in the US, the Veterans Administration. If anyone thinks that example is what they want for the country, they're out of their minds. The tax code already has way too many credits and loopholes as it stands. Let's just get a nice low rate and eliminate the loopholes.

yeah, the VA is definately NOT what you want a health care plan to look like. We treat those who serve our country like garbage in reference to the VA's system. It would have to be on a whole other level than the VA, and McCains plan certainly does not suffice. I also agree with you on the loopholes. People get all up in arms about higher taxes, but I would gladly pay higher taxes if I was getting something from it, like say a solid healthcare plan. Furthermore when businesses ( especially big ones ) whine about taxes, its laughable, because a half way decent accountant could write off a rediculous amount of "business related" expenses that would cover most of, if not all of any more taxes they would pay on income. I dont make $250k per year, but if I did, and my country taxed me a reasonable amount on my income and I saw something being done with my money, for my country ( and I dont mean running off to spend billions per month on wars-dont confuse this with not supporting our military either because just because you have a military, doesnt mean you have to blow everybody up, and just because I own a gun, doesnt mean Im going to fire it ), I would gladly fork over my coin. No questions asked.

[Chadd 916]

I dont make $250k per year, but if I did, and my country taxed me a reasonable amount on my income and I saw something being done with my money, for my country ( and I dont mean running off to spend billions per month on wars-dont confuse this with not supporting our military either because just because you have a military, doesnt mean you have to blow everybody up, and just because I own a gun, doesnt mean Im going to fire it ), I would gladly fork over my coin. No questions asked.

You should always ask questions. Not asking questions of both sides is why we're in this situation.

[Bane 1]

I was wrong on that. So he did comamnd the training squadron. It pretty much seems like a pitty assignment. Not sure how you can justify putting a guy that lsot 5 planes in command of a squadron. Not exactly the guy you wat teaching pilots.

You don't know much about the military do you?

Yeah actually I do. I am a Gulf War vet. How about yourself? I have seen plenty of general's kids and politicians' kids get commands or special treatmet due to who their daddy or mommy is, in fact it happens pretty frequently. I even watched one son of a US congressman get a TI removed from duty, because he called his dad and told him the TI wasn't treating him right.

[donkey87 0]

yeah, the VA is definately NOT what you want a health care plan to look like. We treat those who serve our country like garbage in reference to the VA's system. It would have to be on a whole other level than the VA, and McCains plan certainly does not suffice. I also agree with you on the loopholes. People get all up in arms about higher taxes, but I would gladly pay higher taxes if I was getting something from it, like say a solid healthcare plan. Furthermore when businesses ( especially big ones ) whine about taxes, its laughable, because a half way decent accountant could write off a rediculous amount of "business related" expenses that would cover most of, if not all of any more taxes they would pay on income. I dont make $250k per year, but if I did, and my country taxed me a reasonable amount on my income and I saw something being done with my money, for my country ( and I dont mean running off to spend billions per month on wars-dont confuse this with not supporting our military either because just because you have a military, doesnt mean you have to blow everybody up, and just because I own a gun, doesnt mean Im going to fire it ), I would gladly fork over my coin. No questions asked.

Good luck with that. We could be doing so much more with our current tax revenues if it wasn't for all the pork that both parties insist on including in every budget. As long as we have politicians we will continue to waste money and the richest of our citizens will continue to pay the vast majority of income taxes.

[Bane 1]

I was wrong on that. So he did comamnd the training squadron. It pretty much seems like a pitty assignment. Not sure how you can justify putting a guy that lsot 5 planes in command of a squadron. Not exactly the guy you wat teaching pilots.

You don't know much about the military do you?

He doesn't know much about training squadrons either.

Transplant to Nashua, best place to live in 1997 and 2007, by the way.

No president is an expert on everything. That is why they have a cabinet and advisors. I'd rather have a guy who knows what he doesn't know.

Yes, Nashua is a great place to live. BTW, who lives there? And yes, you echoed what I said earlier, a good leader will surround themselves with good experienced people and advisers. That's why a good CEO can lead any company in any industry. Obama was a lawyer and has absolutely zero economic experience, I find it amusing that people think he's the economic savior when in fact, he's done nothing and knows nothing, except campaigning. At least Palin has run a city and state budget and McCain as a Squadron Commander had a huge budget to meet as well. Some experience is better than none, isn't it?

I served in the Gulf how about you?

I love McCains "healthcare reform plan" where he states that in order to offer a $5000 tax credit to Americans for healthcare, he would tax the healthcare allocations that people receive from their respective employers as income. On the average, healthcare costs for companies per worker is around $900 per month, which means you would be taxed overall like you make an additional $12000, just to get a $5000 credit. I guess my question is, what if you only make like $25000 per year or something lowly like that? Brutal. But I guess billion $$ tax breaks to oil companies and other corporations creates jobs-oh no wait, that creates more profits lol

I agree with you. His plan is BS. All you have to do to figure that out is look at your costs for COBRA or look on your pay statment. My employer pays about $1500 a month for my family's medical coverage, equaling $18000 a year. I don't see how a $5000 tax credit is suddenly going to make up for taxes on an extra $18000 a year.

I try not to buy into any of the partisan hype on either side so I actually looked up some information.

If you make under $65k as a couple, your tax rate would be 15% and you would pay $2700 in taxes on your $18000 health care benefit. Even if you move up to the next level and paid the full 25% on the entire $18000 you would still be paying only $4500 and getting a $5000 credit. It's not until you get to the 131k-200k group where you would pay more in taxes than you would get in the credit.

Personally I think government should stay the hell out of health care entirely. Look at the only existing example of government run health care in the US, the Veterans Administration. If anyone thinks that example is what they want for the country, they're out of their minds. The tax code already has way too many credits and loopholes as it stands. Let's just get a nice low rate and eliminate the loopholes.

I love McCains "healthcare reform plan" where he states that in order to offer a $5000 tax credit to Americans for healthcare, he would tax the healthcare allocations that people receive from their respective employers as income. On the average, healthcare costs for companies per worker is around $900 per month, which means you would be taxed overall like you make an additional $12000, just to get a $5000 credit. I guess my question is, what if you only make like $25000 per year or something lowly like that? Brutal. But I guess billion $$ tax breaks to oil companies and other corporations creates jobs-oh no wait, that creates more profits lol

I agree with you. His plan is BS. All you have to do to figure that out is look at your costs for COBRA or look on your pay statment. My employer pays about $1500 a month for my family's medical coverage, equaling $18000 a year. I don't see how a $5000 tax credit is suddenly going to make up for taxes on an extra $18000 a year.

I try not to buy into any of the partisan hype on either side so I actually looked up some information.

If you make under $65k as a couple, your tax rate would be 15% and you would pay $2700 in taxes on your $18000 health care benefit. Even if you move up to the next level and paid the full 25% on the entire $18000 you would still be paying only $4500 and getting a $5000 credit. It's not until you get to the 131k-200k group where you would pay more in taxes than you would get in the credit.

Personally I think government should stay the hell out of health care entirely. Look at the only existing example of government run health care in the US, the Veterans Administration. If anyone thinks that example is what they want for the country, they're out of their minds. The tax code already has way too many credits and loopholes as it stands. Let's just get a nice low rate and eliminate the loopholes.

It's ridiculous that they would tax medical care as income at all. And when employers stop offering medical care because they get hit with payroll taxes on it too, do you think that the $5000 tax credit will cover the insurance you ahve to go out and buy? I've had to do it, so I know that the kind of health plan you get for $5000 doesn't cover a whole lot. My wife be in the third group, in California that isn't rich, its soundly middle class so I can do without this plan. And last, we've seen how well deregulation has worked for the financial sector, I don't have a lot of faith in McCain's idea of increasing health care through more de-regulation.

I do agree that the VA is not exactly a shining example, neither was military medical when I was in (might be better now).

[donkey87 0]

I was wrong on that. So he did comamnd the training squadron. It pretty much seems like a pitty assignment. Not sure how you can justify putting a guy that lsot 5 planes in command of a squadron. Not exactly the guy you wat teaching pilots.

You don't know much about the military do you?

Yeah actually I do. I am a Gulf War vet. How about yourself? I have seen plenty of general's kids and politicians' kids get commands or special treatmet due to who their daddy or mommy is, in fact it happens pretty frequently. I even watched one son of a US congressman get a TI removed from duty, because he called his dad and told him the TI wasn't treating him right.

I'm currently on active duty.

Anytime an officer receives command of a squadron it is because of who that officer knows. The more you progress through the officer ranks, the more political it becomes.

I really don't understand your arguments. McCain has never commanded anything, oh I mean the only reason he got his command was because of who his dad was and he must have been terrible because he lost 5 aircraft. Which argument are you going with? If you have any facts to support your arguments I would love to see them. Otherwise it is pointless for the two of us to argue about the details of how McCain was selected for command.

Bottom line is that no matter how he got that command McCain was successful and while military service doesn't automatically qualify anyone to be President it can provide useful insight to that person's leadership abilities.

[chippa13 1844]

I love McCains "healthcare reform plan" where he states that in order to offer a $5000 tax credit to Americans for healthcare, he would tax the healthcare allocations that people receive from their respective employers as income. On the average, healthcare costs for companies per worker is around $900 per month, which means you would be taxed overall like you make an additional $12000, just to get a $5000 credit. I guess my question is, what if you only make like $25000 per year or something lowly like that? Brutal. But I guess billion $$ tax breaks to oil companies and other corporations creates jobs-oh no wait, that creates more profits lol

I agree with you. His plan is BS. All you have to do to figure that out is look at your costs for COBRA or look on your pay statment. My employer pays about $1500 a month for my family's medical coverage, equaling $18000 a year. I don't see how a $5000 tax credit is suddenly going to make up for taxes on an extra $18000 a year.

I try not to buy into any of the partisan hype on either side so I actually looked up some information.

If you make under $65k as a couple, your tax rate would be 15% and you would pay $2700 in taxes on your $18000 health care benefit. Even if you move up to the next level and paid the full 25% on the entire $18000 you would still be paying only $4500 and getting a $5000 credit. It's not until you get to the 131k-200k group where you would pay more in taxes than you would get in the credit.

Personally I think government should stay the hell out of health care entirely. Look at the only existing example of government run health care in the US, the Veterans Administration. If anyone thinks that example is what they want for the country, they're out of their minds. The tax code already has way too many credits and loopholes as it stands. Let's just get a nice low rate and eliminate the loopholes.

yeah, the VA is definately NOT what you want a health care plan to look like. We treat those who serve our country like garbage in reference to the VA's system. It would have to be on a whole other level than the VA, and McCains plan certainly does not suffice. I also agree with you on the loopholes. People get all up in arms about higher taxes, but I would gladly pay higher taxes if I was getting something from it, like say a solid healthcare plan. Furthermore when businesses ( especially big ones ) whine about taxes, its laughable, because a half way decent accountant could write off a rediculous amount of "business related" expenses that would cover most of, if not all of any more taxes they would pay on income. I dont make $250k per year, but if I did, and my country taxed me a reasonable amount on my income and I saw something being done with my money, for my country ( and I dont mean running off to spend billions per month on wars-dont confuse this with not supporting our military either because just because you have a military, doesnt mean you have to blow everybody up, and just because I own a gun, doesnt mean Im going to fire it ), I would gladly fork over my coin. No questions asked.

People who don't have money are always the ones who don't mind the government spending it. What do they care, if taxes go up it won't go up for them.

[Jason Harris 31]

McCain has actually been more aligned with Bush than he has the Republican Party. According to the Congressional Quarterly, McCain voted along party lines 81% of the time, yet in support of Bush 90% of the time. Among all Republicans in both chambers, 10.4% voted with Bush more often than McCain, 5.6% voted with Bush as often as McCain, and 84% voted with Bush less often than McCain.

Further, on Meet The Press, McCain had the following exchange.

Meet The Press: The fact is you are different than George Bush.

McCain: “No. No. I–the fact is that I’m different but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush…...the war on terror, the war in Iraq, national security, national defense, support of men and women in the military, fiscal discipline, a number of other issues.”

This “maverick’s” track record is making it hard to argue that the next four years would differ from the past eight.

***********************************************

Taxes are the boogeyman for too many people, when the more important issue is the health of the economy. By virtually any measure, the majority of Americans are worse off than they were eight years ago, even though taxes are ostensibly lower.

***********************************************

Given McCain’s age and history with cancer, this is the first election I can remember where the VP candidate is effectively a surrogate candidate. Thus, Palin’s credentials are quite relevant to the discussion.

Palin is touted as being fiscally conservative, but during her tenure as mayor, she increased the budget 63% from $4.3 million to $7.0 million; she pushed for a sales tax increase to pay for a sports complex; and she led the town of 6,000 from no debt to just under $19 million.

Her views on abortion do not sync with the majority of Americans. She does not favor an abortion in any circumstance (only 20% -- hereinafter referred to as wackos – agree with her), which could lead to the lamentable circumstance of some young girl saying, “I’d like to introduce you to my mother. Whoops, I mean my sister…..”

Palin believes dinosaurs and humans coexisted, yet fortunately is

, all of which might lead some of you to conclude what her preferred curriculum for “science” is.

Last, I visited Tijuana a couple of times when I lived in San Diego, but I’m not sure how much that should factor into my foreign expertise.

***********************************************

Outside of two trips to the Middle East, Obama does not appear to have much experience in negotiating with foreign entities, yet Christiane Amanpour had a forum with five former Secretaries of State (Colin Powell, Rep; Madeline Albright, Dem; James Baker, Rep; Warren Christopher, Dem; and Henry Kissinger, Rep) discussing their suggestions for the next President’s foreign policy, and their overall consensus is in alignment with Obama’s platform.

***********************************************

History has shown that experience does not always turn out to be indicative of what is ultimately the perceived success of a President. Still, each of us has to decide whether a candidate has enough political experience – not executive experience, but political experience – to lead our country. From all I’ve read, I'm comfortable that Obama is a consensus builder.

There was a famous bill that Obama sponsored in the Illinois Legislature (SB0015), which passed in 2003. It was the first in the country to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations, and it grew out of Governor Ryan (Rep) putting a moratorium on executions in 1999 after 13 death row inmates had been exonerated. Obama has said he's not a heavy believer in the death penalty, but he’s claimed he believes in it for heinous crimes, and he realized that videotaping would actually help strengthen cases, since Illinois had a reputation for coerced confessions.

Naturally, this wasn’t a popular bill with certain groups, and the original vote was pretty much a rout against Obama. However, Obama listened to all parties and made the necessary changes to the legislation, which passed 53-0 with the Governor publicly praising Obama.

That seems to be someone who is politically savvy enough to know how to gain consensuses across the aisle. In my opinion, that is second in importance only to vision, yet this nuance is something that McCain appears to lack.

[Bane 1]

I was wrong on that. So he did comamnd the training squadron. It pretty much seems like a pitty assignment. Not sure how you can justify putting a guy that lsot 5 planes in command of a squadron. Not exactly the guy you wat teaching pilots.

You don't know much about the military do you?

Yeah actually I do. I am a Gulf War vet. How about yourself? I have seen plenty of general's kids and politicians' kids get commands or special treatmet due to who their daddy or mommy is, in fact it happens pretty frequently. I even watched one son of a US congressman get a TI removed from duty, because he called his dad and told him the TI wasn't treating him right.

I'm currently on active duty.

Anytime an officer receives command of a squadron it is because of who that officer knows. The more you progress through the officer ranks, the more political it becomes.

I really don't understand your arguments. McCain has never commanded anything, oh I mean the only reason he got his command was because of who his dad was and he must have been terrible because he lost 5 aircraft. Which argument are you going with? If you have any facts to support your arguments I would love to see them. Otherwise it is pointless for the two of us to argue about the details of how McCain was selected for command.

Bottom line is that no matter how he got that command McCain was successful and while military service doesn't automatically qualify anyone to be President it can provide useful insight to that person's leadership abilities.

Show me one other pilot that lost four planes before going on a combat mission who also got a command. Do a google search for "how many planes did John McCain lose." Read the information and decide for yourself. I didn't say he was given a command due to his dad, just indicated that it was a possibility.

[donkey87 0]

Show me one other pilot that lost four planes before going on a combat mission who also got a command. Do a google search for "how many planes did John McCain lose." Read the information and decide for yourself. I didn't say he was given a command due to his dad, just indicated that it was a possibility.

McCain lost a total of 4 aircraft. Two were due to mechanical failures. One was the result of a fire that started when a different aircraft fired a rocket while still onboard the USS Forrestal and the last aircraft was lost on a combat mission. I fail to see the point. McCain is not the only pilot to lose a airplane due to mechanical failures. Early jet aircraft had many issues with the reliability of their engines.

[Bane 1]

Show me one other pilot that lost four planes before going on a combat mission who also got a command. Do a google search for "how many planes did John McCain lose." Read the information and decide for yourself. I didn't say he was given a command due to his dad, just indicated that it was a possibility.

McCain lost a total of 4 aircraft. Two were due to mechanical failures. One was the result of a fire that started when a different aircraft fired a rocket while still onboard the USS Forrestal and the last aircraft was lost on a combat mission. I fail to see the point. McCain is not the only pilot to lose a airplane due to mechanical failures. Early jet aircraft had many issues with the reliability of their engines.

I worked on jets (I am an A&P mechanic) so I don't buy it. We have KC135's, B52's, and C130's in the US military that don't have as many problems as the planes he flew. The first two were while he was training, one in Corpus Christi and the other over the Iberian Peninsula neither due to mechanical failure. The third was mechanical failure, the fourth was on the Forrestal, number 5 was the one that was shot down. Most military pilots that crash ONE plane in training do not continue to be pilots. To crash two in training and still be allowed to continue to be a pilot is unusual from what I have seen. Maybe they were more desperate to keep pilots during that time I don't know I didn't serve in Vietnam but the whole thing seems suspect to me.

[chippa13 1844]

"You see..........these go to 11."

[Bane 1]

"You see..........these go to 11."

LOL.. Great movie.

[mrusse01 0]

I applaud Palin for not knowing what magazines she read. I suspect instead of wasting her time on BS books and mags, she was more focused and busy running a State Gov't! I haven't read a magazine in years and the only time I do is if I'm waiting in a doctors office. Who reads magazines anymore? Who reads newspapers? Only a liberal would think reading Time or Newsweek, or worse the NY Times, is qualification and prerequisite for being president. Stupid question by a stupid interviewer.

By far, worst post of 2008.

When I see arguments like that, it doesn't really surprise me the United States has a VP candidate who thinks that humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time (around 6000 years ago, don't ya know).

[donkey87 0]

I worked on jets (I am an A&P mechanic) so I don't buy it. We have KC135's, B52's, and C130's in the US military that don't have as many problems as the planes he flew. The first two were while he was training, one in Corpus Christi and the other over the Iberian Peninsula neither due to mechanical failure. The third was mechanical failure, the fourth was on the Forrestal, number 5 was the one that was shot down. Most military pilots that crash ONE plane in training do not continue to be pilots. To crash two in training and still be allowed to continue to be a pilot is unusual from what I have seen. Maybe they were more desperate to keep pilots during that time I don't know I didn't serve in Vietnam but the whole thing seems suspect to me.

All the jets that you worked on have multiple engines. The aircraft flown by McCain were single engine. One engine failure on a KC-135 is unlikely to lead to the loss of the aircraft while an engine failure on an single engine trainer is more serious. The first crash in Corpus Christi bay was due to engine failure while he was practicing for landings. The incident over the Iberian peninsula did not result in the loss of the aircraft, however several power lines were cut which resulted in many irate Spaniards.

Crashing an aircraft does not mean that the pilot will be removed from training. There are many situations where an aircraft can be lost without the pilot being at fault(bird strikes, mechanical failures, structural failures). I know of a pilot who lost two aircraft to bird strikes and is still a squadron commander.

Finally crashing an airplane is much more serious today than in the past due in large part to the cost of aircraft. The B-2 that recently crashed cost more than all 4 planes that McCain lost.

[Bane 1]

I worked on jets (I am an A&P mechanic) so I don't buy it. We have KC135's, B52's, and C130's in the US military that don't have as many problems as the planes he flew. The first two were while he was training, one in Corpus Christi and the other over the Iberian Peninsula neither due to mechanical failure. The third was mechanical failure, the fourth was on the Forrestal, number 5 was the one that was shot down. Most military pilots that crash ONE plane in training do not continue to be pilots. To crash two in training and still be allowed to continue to be a pilot is unusual from what I have seen. Maybe they were more desperate to keep pilots during that time I don't know I didn't serve in Vietnam but the whole thing seems suspect to me.

All the jets that you worked on have multiple engines. The aircraft flown by McCain were single engine. One engine failure on a KC-135 is unlikely to lead to the loss of the aircraft while an engine failure on an single engine trainer is more serious. The first crash in Corpus Christi bay was due to engine failure while he was practicing for landings. The incident over the Iberian peninsula did not result in the loss of the aircraft, however several power lines were cut which resulted in many irate Spaniards.

Crashing an aircraft does not mean that the pilot will be removed from training. There are many situations where an aircraft can be lost without the pilot being at fault(bird strikes, mechanical failures, structural failures). I know of a pilot who lost two aircraft to bird strikes and is still a squadron commander.

Finally crashing an airplane is much more serious today than in the past due in large part to the cost of aircraft. The B-2 that recently crashed cost more than all 4 planes that McCain lost.

Bird strikes are bit different than flying too low like McCain did in the Iberian case. If you have something reputable that says he didn't lose the plane in the Iberian incident, or about the Corpus Cristi incident being mechanical failure, I would be interested in seeing it. About the only time a bird strike is avoidable is if there is a flock of birds at the end of a runway, you can wait until they are gone, so to hold a pilot responsible for a bird strike is quite a bit different than crashing during touch and goes or crashing due to flying too low.

[chippa13 1844]

I applaud Palin for not knowing what magazines she read. I suspect instead of wasting her time on BS books and mags, she was more focused and busy running a State Gov't! I haven't read a magazine in years and the only time I do is if I'm waiting in a doctors office. Who reads magazines anymore? Who reads newspapers? Only a liberal would think reading Time or Newsweek, or worse the NY Times, is qualification and prerequisite for being president. Stupid question by a stupid interviewer.

By far, worst post of 2008.

When I see arguments like that, it doesn't really surprise me the United States has a VP candidate who thinks that humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time (around 6000 years ago, don't ya know).

There is something to be said for folks not reading magazines. In today's internet age magazines print history. If you want to be up to date then you are surfing the web and not sitting by the mailbox.

[donkey87 0]

Bird strikes are bit different than flying too low like McCain did in the Iberian case. If you have something reputable that says he didn't lose the plane in the Iberian incident, or about the Corpus Cristi incident being mechanical failure, I would be interested in seeing it. About the only time a bird strike is avoidable is if there is a flock of birds at the end of a runway, you can wait until they are gone, so to hold a pilot responsible for a bird strike is quite a bit different than crashing during touch and goes or crashing due to flying too low.

Check out Robert Timberg's book "The Nightingale's Song" which was published in 1995. It is cited on sites like Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain.com. If you read the actual account in the book Timberg attributes the Corpus Christi crash to engine failure and make no mention of the Iberian incident resulting in the loss of the plane. See this website for clarification and excerpts from the book.

Getting back on the subject of Palin. I still have a hard time understanding why people are so concerned about her inexperience. If McCain is elected there is a chance that he dies and Palin(who lacks experience) has to lead the country for a portion of the four year term. If Obama is elected then we are guaranteed to have an inexperienced leader running the country for at least four years.

[mrusse01 0]

I applaud Palin for not knowing what magazines she read. I suspect instead of wasting her time on BS books and mags, she was more focused and busy running a State Gov't! I haven't read a magazine in years and the only time I do is if I'm waiting in a doctors office. Who reads magazines anymore? Who reads newspapers? Only a liberal would think reading Time or Newsweek, or worse the NY Times, is qualification and prerequisite for being president. Stupid question by a stupid interviewer.

By far, worst post of 2008.

When I see arguments like that, it doesn't really surprise me the United States has a VP candidate who thinks that humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time (around 6000 years ago, don't ya know).

There is something to be said for folks not reading magazines. In today's internet age magazines print history. If you want to be up to date then you are surfing the web and not sitting by the mailbox.

That is true.

But when someone asks me what newspaper I read, I say 'the Globe and Mail', even though I read it online everyday. I don't think that's what Palin, or the poster above, was getting at.

Palin could have made an argument that she is too busy to read newspapers or magazines, I get that. But that's not what she said, she just mumbled some BS about 'reading them all' as if she was either afraid to divulge what she reads, or she just doesn't read anything.

If you want to come out and say, "you know Katie, I'm too busy to spend a lot of time reading what the media writes...but as Gov. of Alaksa, I had a great team of people that would provide me with briefs, reports, and other such documents that allowed me to not only keep up to date with current events, but to understand them in a context and get a variety of perspectives that probably isn't available to a person who only gets their news from a couple of newspapers or a magazine', I mean that is an intelligent, reasoned response. I obviously don't have a team of people putting together my news for me, nor am I so busy that I can't actually read news first hand, but I could UNDERSTAND someone being in that situation. It makes sense.

[fastbrother7 0]

I dont make $250k per year, but if I did, and my country taxed me a reasonable amount on my income and I saw something being done with my money, for my country ( and I dont mean running off to spend billions per month on wars-dont confuse this with not supporting our military either because just because you have a military, doesnt mean you have to blow everybody up, and just because I own a gun, doesnt mean Im going to fire it ), I would gladly fork over my coin. No questions asked.

You should always ask questions. Not asking questions of both sides is why we're in this situation.

Im sorry that you took that last line so literally, but in order to see an outcome one would obviously had to have asked questions to know what to look for, so I wasnt saying that I would just randomly fork it over. I would say that any election is primarily the lesser of two evils, and you have to choose which one you like the best. I just know that I dont want 8 more years of unregulated banking practices and frivolous spending.

[Jason Harris 31]

Getting back on the subject of Palin. I still have a hard time understanding why people are so concerned about her inexperience. If McCain is elected there is a chance that he dies and Palin(who lacks experience) has to lead the country for a portion of the four year term. If Obama is elected then we are guaranteed to have an inexperienced leader running the country for at least four years.

Wait, are you talking about having experience or being a leader? Because those are different traits.

A leader can have absolutely no experience, as long as he can convince others to follow -- which is the tricky part for one without experience. In the case of a President, what would be needed to be a leader? He'd have to have the self confidence to realize it's impossible for anyone to have knowledge in all fields, so he has to surround himself with people who are smarter than him in the various disciplines. (It sounds simple but a lot of people in management feel threatened by hiring "underlings" who are smarter.) He'd have to remain calm during a crisis to instill confidence with his staff as well as the public, consult his inner sanctum for information and ideas, have the intelligence to analyze his options and their projected repercussions, then have the confidence to act decisively. He'd have to have the political skill to massage different cultures, personalities and ideologies. He'd have to have the resolve to continue fighting for his positions, even as he suffers losses.

I'm sure we all could come up with more requirements for the job, but those are generally what would be needed to lead this country as a President. If we are objective, we'd have to admit that none of those traits require experience, with two caveats. One is everybody, regardless of how skilled they are to begin, become more skilled with more repetitions. The second is it's easier for others to feel confident in the leader when the leader has more experience, but that doesn't mean it's impossible for the inexperienced leader to instill confidence.

So let's look at the three candidates, since I'm including Palin as a surrogate given McCain's health history.

Based on Palin's three rambling interviews, she doesn't seem to be the type to remain calm when confronted with unexpected issues. However, her performance at the debates showed she can learn the issues given time to study, but her mannerisms of winking at the camera and smiling at inappropriate times came across more as a flirt who tries to use her looks. I don't know how well that would play out.

I'm confident that McCain had to show great leadership to the other POW's, so he probably would know how to remain calm during a crisis. On the other hand, he has a history of blow ups when people have challenged him. What I don't know is whether these are to be expected over a career spanning 24 years, or is he a Peter And The Wolf guy who makes too many political enemies?

Obama hasn't lost his cool, to the dismay of some of his followers, which suggests he's the most politically savvy of the three, but we don't know whether he would maintain that demeanor during times of crisis. This is purely speculation but, based on his intelligence, he seems more likely to surround himself with people who truly are qualified to be on his Cabinet versus strictly cronyism.

We're on a message board, so this is only an opinion, but I'd say that McCain has more experience, while Obama appears to have more traits to be a political leader.

[troy 12]

But don't you think experience is important in being a well-equipped leader? And I'd be terrified if someone with no experience managed to convince throngs of people to follow him. What I gathered from that post is that Obama is such an eloquent speaker and supremely intelligent man how could he not be a great president. As for your final points, I'm just glad you qualified them as pure speculation