Congrats, USA!

[MU]

I hope this thread will not become a strong dispute about politics, with personal attacs.

I just want to congratulate those people, who voted Obama.
According to requests in germany, around 80% of the germans would have voted Obama.

So this result certainly will strengthen the friendship among the USA and Germany in the next years.

For Obama I wish, that the citizens will not be too disappointed, if he cannot offer quick solutions to solve the current problems.
The iraqwar costs 400.000.000 US$ /day, so the financial situation is very problematic.
It will take a very long time, to solve this.
Germany also has high financial problems, and the last years were very difficult for "the small man".
So Obama as well the the nation that he represents, has a very difficult heritage to deal with.
I wish you good luck and "a good hand" to find solutions, to solve these issues.

Mark

[Caneri]

I'm a Canadian with an American mother and heritage

I also wish the United States all the best with President-elect Obama.

Now to put Bush/Cheney into the world court as the criminals that they are.

Eric

[Béèm]

Yes all the best for Obama. The Belgian government seems to be pleased with his winning and it was said the the relationship would be easier then it would have been with McCain.

Now to put Bush/Cheney into the world court as the criminals that they are.

You mean, sent them to the The Hague court?

[hillside]

An Obama win is a real relief. Now, it'll be a long hard climb out of the hole we've dug ourselves into.

Bush? Irrelevant.

[DialupDude]

The sad part is Bush still has two more months in office.

I wonder if this thread will get locked after AJ puts in 2 bits? LOL

[KF6SNJ]

I'm sorry, I pity this country I live in. Obama is a first term senator with no military experience. Such an individual should not be entrusted with the highest office in the country. In fact, I am convinced that the election was decided more upon skin tone than actual qualifications. Of course I am also of the opinion that ALL the candidates are in violation of the 26th amendment. However, when was the last time this nation actually abided by the constitution?

[benali72]

Thank you to those who wish us well from abroad.

As an American citizen, I was extremely embarrassed by the fact that President Bush was breaking many laws (such as those against torture and domestic spying), and seemed to be setting us up for dictatorial system (Patriot Acts I and II, FISA II, Warner Defense Act, Military Commissions Act, etc).

I believe both Republicans and Democrats have much to contribute to our country. Unfortunately, George W. Bush was neither. He wasn't one of the many great Republican contributors in our land but rather an individual who committed verifiable criminal acts. Moreover , he started a war that killed many thousands of people and the reasons he gave for it have proven unfounded.

Agree with his policies or not, hopefully electing Senator Obama means we're back on track as a lawful democracy that will try to work on a positive basis with other countries again.

[alienjeff]

...I am also of the opinion that ALL the candidates are in violation of the 26th amendment.

Excuse me? 26th? Please elaborate.

[WhoDo]

I'm sorry, I pity this country I live in. Obama is a first term senator with no military experience. Such an individual should not be entrusted with the highest office in the country. In fact, I am convinced that the election was decided more upon skin tone than actual qualifications.

I understand and respect your right to your opinion, KF6SNJ, but as an outsider I didn't see the choice as one of "skin tone". The contrast was clearly "black and white", but it was the people themselves who presented such a stark contrast, not the color of their skins.

In Obama I saw a young, intelligent, articulate and passionate family man who is determined to restore the damaged reputation and health of his country and its economy.

In McCain I saw the embarrassing remnant of the old guard of politicians who believe that it is enough to be white-haired, connected and well-funded to become President of the most influential democracy on earth. Fortunately for the rest of us, your voters are smarter than that. Simply declaring "I will be the President" doesn't "make it so, Number 1".

As an Australian with no close relatives living in the USA, I have no political axe to grind with either Republicans or Democrats. As much as I hate the fact, "if America sneezes the rest of us get a cold", and I for one am tired of fighting repeated infections. Please God let us have a prolonged period of peaceful good health to restore our batteries!

My only fear at this point is that the gun-toting, redneck element of the US population will make this brilliant, brave man a martyr before he has the opportunity to finish what he has started. BTW, didn't Geo. W Bush have "military experience"?

[alienjeff]

...as an outsider I didn't see the choice as one of "skin tone".

Of course you didn't. You're there. We're here.

Just as some whites didn't vote for Obama because of the color of his skin, there were just as many blacks, if not more, who voted for him simply because of the color of his skin. If you don't believe this, you really need to get your head out of the sand. Or out of your ass.

In Obama I saw a young, intelligent, articulate and passionate family man who is determined to restore the damaged reputation and health of his country and its economy.

In Obama, I saw a young, arrogant, Chicago based political hack with 190-something days "experience" as a U.S. Senator when he decided to run for the Presidency. His U.S. Senate "experience" features a pitiful voting record that clearly indicates he's incapable of defining a stand on important issues. His associates swim in murky waters. More will be revealed.

Family man? That's laughable. Obama voted against a ban on late term abortions. You know ... third-trimester; as well as partial-birth abortions.

I'm not fan of McCain, however he spent 5-years of his life as a POW. That alone is considerably more impressive than the 190-some odd days Obama served in the US Senate.

In McCain I saw the embarrassing remnant of the old guard of politicians who believe that it is enough to be white-haired, connected and well-funded to become President of the most influential democracy on earth.

FYI, Obama was just as "connected" and BETTER funded than McCain. So scratch that argument.

You may not have an axe to grind with Republicans or Democrats, but you SURE have an axe to grind with America. Give it a rest. Worry about your OWN government's move to censor the content of your Internet experience. Worry about your OWN country's horrendous treatment of Aborigines. Worry about getting a place in line and a club to beat the bloody corpse of the John Howard administration. In other words, mind your own mess before you start worrying about someone else's.

My only fear at this point is that the gun-toting, redneck element of the US population ...

Oh, PUH LEEZ. Stop with the stereotypes, you drunk, sheep-jumping, Aussie wanker.

[ttuuxxx]

I was forced watched the election coverage for over 1.5 yrs here in Australia, For one thing I think it was very poor taste to put the world through such a long process, Really for a 4yr term and they spend 2yrs of it debating on who will be the next leader, on 3 of the 4 news channels that we get on foxtel. Sure the USA is the world super power, and over flaunt it. But everybody knew change was going to happen, it was either going to be a Women or a African American. and Macain was a war hero but was too old and got into the race too late to win, It was like it was staged.
And what about Obama 4yrs ago at a anti-Israel meeting where the news coverage was blackballed. Reagan wasn't a war hero either and probably accomplished more than any other American President since Lincoln maybe Obama will also, but the wall is already down. I have a feeling for once the American Public will get what they deserve, Less wars and more money spent on the people, Heck maybe even a free health care plan if they reduce the size of the military for 4 years. Also due to the history of assinations on past presidents life, I do not think that Obama has a chance to last 2 terms if re-elected. The reason well, when I was 5yrs, my parents took me to a bar in the Florida in 1975, The bar had a sign " No Blacks Allowed" that was 33yrs ago. I do not think that the USA has change that much in that little time. Its a real shame. The thing that did change is the amount of visible minorities in the USA. Obama had the ethnic vote, plus the younger vote. it was easy for him to win, you can tell by how much he won by, Thanks to Bush and Clinton a couple of elections back they done away with minority parties actually being a part of the debates, If you would of had a minority party like what ross perot almost accomplished, it could of been a whole different race. More balanced and fair elections.
ttuuxxx
Ps Good luck to Obama and all Americans I'm proud for your win.

[alienjeff]

I was forced watched the election coverage for over 1.5 yrs here in Australia

ORLY? Were you bound to a chair with your eyelids taped open like poor Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange?

[ttuuxxx]

I was forced watched the election coverage for over 1.5 yrs here in Australia

ORLY? Were you bound to a chair with your eyelids taped open like poor Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange?

Well Jeff, if you must know, I do enjoy politics a great deal and like to follow world news, if you have only 4 news stations and 1 is Australian only, then basically you'll get bored to tears with 1 main topic everyday, Put yourself for once in someone else's shoes, say it was a Canadian or Australian election with the over blown coverage for 2 yrs on 3 of the 4 news channels you get, wouldn't the first and last week really be enough for you, Really I should just complain to foxtel and tell them off. We only get ripped off and pay around $80 a month for about 30 channels, Yes I know were being ripped off, I did have like 300 channels in Canada for about $30 a month.
ttuuxxx

[alienjeff]

Oh, so you WEREN'T "forced" to watch. You watched by choice: YOUR choice. Now I'm starting to understand.

BTW, the last time I owned a television was 1997 and don't miss it a bit.

A suggestion: try switching the power button to "off." It's a handy feature which you might like.

[KF6SNJ]

...I am also of the opinion that ALL the candidates are in violation of the 26th amendment.

Excuse me? 26th? Please elaborate.

The amendment to the constitution that I am refering to states rather expressly that whomever does not win the presidency becomes the vice president. There is no apparent allowance for running mates. The presidential candidate does not decide his vice president. His vice president is whomever got the second highest number of votes. Such being the case, here is what I believe that the constitutional results should be:

President: Obama

Vice-President: McCain

Oh, and I was wrong. It is amendment XII. It can be found here:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution ... ntxii.html

If I am somehow wrong in my interpretation, please elaborate.

[Pizzasgood]

Way I read it: you vote for pres and you vote for vice pres, as separate entities. The winner of the president category becomes president, and the winner of the vp category becomes vp.

[Lobster]

This was for a year or two our image at wikipedia


Is Puppy Linux suitable for the White House?
http://tmxxine.com/wik/wikka.php?wakka= ... ntialPuppy

[KF6SNJ]

@Flash


I love it.

@Pizzasgood

I wonder then, why don't we vote for the VP apart from the president? Seems to me that if we continue to allow for this unconstitutional practice of the presidential candidate picking the VP, we have no balance of power. That is to say we are giving too much power to any one particular party. That is not fair to the citizens of this nation.

[WhoDo]

If you don't believe this, you really need to get your head out of the sand. Or out of your ass.

Umm... I was talking about what "I" saw, not what may or may not have been the reality for you in your world; if indeed that isn't an oxymoron. My point was that whether Americans voted on skin tone or not, IMHO they got it right based on what "I" saw of the candidates performances on the hustings. BTW, my head is way too big to fit up my relatively petite ass, unlike your feet which seem regularly to find the inside of your not inconsiderable mouth!

In Obama, I saw a young, arrogant, Chicago based political hack with 190-something days "experience" as a U.S. Senator when he decided to run for the Presidency.

So how does a "political hack" get to be the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review? Are you suggesting a "fix" was in play even back then?

Family man? That's laughable. Obama voted against a ban on late term abortions. You know ... third-trimester; as well as partial-birth abortions.

If that's the WHOLE truth, it would seem incongruous. On that issue I'll readily admit to not knowing the whole truth. How about you, AJ?

I'm not fan of McCain, however he spent 5-years of his life as a POW. That alone is considerably more impressive than the 190-some odd days Obama served in the US Senate.

It is a sad commentary on the views of some in the USA that military service, even failed military service viz. being captured and imprisoned, is more laudable than the private struggle of an oppressed individual to overcome prejudice and hatred at home. Tch, tch, tch, AJ. I would never have picked you for a Hawk.

You may not have an axe to grind with Republicans or Democrats, but you SURE have an axe to grind with America. Give it a rest.

Pardon me for having an opinion on an election that has the potential to shape ALL of our futures; mine included! Since when did one have to take a rest from making ONE single comment? And since when did expressing an opinion on the outcome of a single election disclose "an axe to grind with America"? Clearly I have inadvertantly yanked your chain, AJ.

Worry about your OWN government's move to censor the content of your Internet experience. Worry about your OWN country's horrendous treatment of Aborigines. Worry about getting a place in line and a club to beat the bloody corpse of the John Howard administration. In other words, mind your own mess before you start worrying about someone else's.

I wasn't aware I was "worrying" about anything. On the contrary, I'm pretty sure I was applauding that IMHO, and for whatever reason, Americans seem to have elected someone with some moral fibre; someone who isn't afraid to stand up to tyranny, even if it is tyranny by those who are part of a gun-toting society with a history for assassinating their best and brightest leaders, and who as a nation have long been convinced they have some sort of God-given right to dictate what the rest of the world should think, say or do!

Oh, PUH LEEZ. Stop with the stereotypes, you drunk, sheep-jumping, Aussie wanker.

No, no, no, AJ. It's the Kiwi's that have an affinity for their sheep. We prefer the quiet solitude of any outback dunny if we need a wank. You, AJ, seem to prefer to do it in a decidely more public fashion. Oorah!

[vootie]

I wonder then, why don't we vote for the VP apart from the president? Seems to me that if we continue to allow for this unconstitutional practice of the presidential candidate picking the VP, we have no balance of power. That is to say we are giving too much power to any one particular party. That is not fair to the citizens of this nation.

Indeed it is constitutional: electors are chosen by their respective states, and the states themselves choose electors by popular vote. In the years since 1802, (when the XII Amendment was written to prevent repeat snafus of the 1800 Jefferson/Burr electoral tie), most state's laws have been modified so that a state's electors are pledged to vote with its citizens. Citizens voting for president are in effect voting by proxy, for electors, who faithfully vote as their state's majority does.

Some topics that seem dull when expressed positively, make much more sense after looking at strange or exceptional cases. These two articles should help in that sense:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faithless_elector
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unpledged_elector