Who will be the next President of the United States?

[August]

Originally Posted by geetrue

P.S. Did you hear why the democratic and republican conventions are so late in the year? (end of August and beginning of September)

Due to Federal matching funds for the men and women running for office, that's why ...

Then how do you explain the fact that those conventions were held during the same time periods long before anyone thought of the concept of matching funds?

[geetrue]

Originally Posted by August

Then how do you explain the fact that those conventions were held during the same time periods long before anyone thought of the concept of matching funds?

Uhmm, lets see that's easy ... uh, no airconditioning?

[August]

Originally Posted by geetrue

Uhmm, lets see that's easy ... uh, no airconditioning?

[Von Tonner]

Originally Posted by Skybird

You talked of the "most powerful individual in the world". thus my response.

As CINC, the president may be a powrful figure indeed. But still, be careful to call him the most powerful individual just becasue of thos circumstance. You overestimate the importance of military power. Fact is that the Us is more depending of foreign nations and interests than it could be pleased with to admit. since a while now there are first signs that the dollar will never be the important leading currency that is once was. OPEC openly speculates about abandoning it. china wants to avoid loosing billions from sticking to dollar reserves, and if it starts for real to transofrm it's reserves into Euros, there is nothing you can do abiut that but suffer the smashing consequecnes to your finacial system and economy. Your military helps you nothing in that. I honestly doubt that the US miulitary is able anymore to wage and win a major war within the Chinese sphere of influence anymore. the war in ieraq has not and will not been ended with a clear military victory. nor the war in Afghanistan. that should put your entzhusiams of military power into relation a bit. Fact is that there is a monumental debts level, and stellar budget defiict, major poarts of the Us economy having go0ne or are going offworld and folliwng the cheaper labour elsewhere, and steel industry beinh heavily overaged, the car industry as well, and the US due to the war production it lived by since end of WWII and never switched back to civilian standards being dependent on oumping more and more money into that defense sector, if no0fr no toher reason than to keep at least that part of the industry alive and healthy. This causes nevertheless massive hurtings to american overall budget. And all this whuile being heavily dependant on the good will of foreign nations to keep on transfering immense volumes of money into the finacial market of the Us where the money often just dissapears. But some gulf states, china, several european poltiicians have shown more and mor willingness to allow this going on forever. The corrent stockmarket crisis, which is far from being over: you better believe that, and the triggering mortage crisis did not really helpt to make this trend going reverse. the ameircan economy design is no longer capable to live all by it'S own effort and fiannce the state and the military all by it's own effort - and this dependency simply leaves the Us more vulnerable than prpoud americans thinking just in terms of who has the bigger battleship are likely to admit. Again, China is outmaneuvering the Us right now - and it even does not need it's military for that. If the american CINC is so powerful and military is all that counts - I wonder why this could be, then.

But these issues have been discussed repeatedly, and with no result. So people have to wait and see who was right in the late months of 2007, and early months of 2008.

Misguided judgement? Get back to your senses. Essentially you say this: their oil is all yours, and thinking different from the US being the navel of the earth is just a mental disease that you will cure with your big stick. that's exactly the kind of arrogant attitude that earns america so much sympathy all over the globe. And btw, if oil deals turn to be done in euros not dollars, this alone would deloiver the american economy and the finances a very massive blow. It means that you have no longer a concession to print money as you like, need and feel fit.

Ok Skybird lets put it simply. The US finds itself the villian of the world for whatever reason. Its citizens are starving, new born babies are dying, factories are shut down because of lack of power, the stock market has gone belly up, farmers can't farm - lack of fuel, it is under sanctioned UN sanctions (much like other countries have undergone, SA, Rhodesia etc) but hey, it has this military might BUT oh no commander in chief you can't send that nuke off because THEIR OIL IS THEIRS - let our babies die. Get real Skybird. When it comes to survival, morals, ethics, dipolmacy, what is right what is wrong has no place in this equation - whatever secures your survival as a race, nation, identity, existence as a group however you want or wish to define is RIGHT. And because of that simple truth, that is why homosapiens rule the world.

So to come back to the origial premise. The president of the US is the most powerful individual in the world is a fact. Simply because under his command is the biggest military might this world has ever seen, put their and maintained by US tax payers to ensure their survival regardless of whose oil it is. Survival is survival whatever the cost - failure to accept that simple truth relagates you and your like to the trash heap of history.

[dean_acheson]

Reports of the demise of the U.S. are, as they were in the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s, are a tad bit premature. In fact, a last year I dropped my Economist subscription. I read it for about ten years, but realized after the first five that it was always predicting the end of the U.S. led world economy.

Yes, the Euro is going to replace the dollar, I'll hold my breath waiting for that, yes, this will be the Chinese century, blah blah blah.

Of course, if we kill off the free market, we'll end up that way, but I doubt it, for the forseeable future.

Things always seem gloomy during an election cycle, whichever party is on the outs talks up all the more dreary parts of the economy/foreign affairs/etc.

Having said all of that, I had a professor who used to say in every class session "where you stand depends on where you sit" and it never ceases strike me that those who live in countries that have no military power claim that military 'hard' power isn't as relative as 'soft' power. Those on the left always talk down 'hard' power too, since they hate the idea that a military takes away from their free school lunch programs or saving the wales, or free needles for IV users, or whatever the cause du jour is.

whatever.

'Soft' power wouldn't mean squat if not for a world held together by 'hard' power.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by dean_acheson

Those on the left always talk down 'hard' power too, since they hate the idea that a military takes away from their free school lunch programs or saving the wales, or free needles for IV users, or whatever the cause du jour is.

whatever.

Woof woof! Instant characterisation.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Von Tonner

Ok Skybird lets put it simply. The US finds itself ... (...) ... like to the trash heap of history.

If I ever come around to see it as queer as you do, I will be amongst the first to call for nuking the USA totally in a clear case of self-defense - and call it preemptive warfare against terror. Thank god I have a far better opinion of the US than you have yourself - if that does not come as a surprise for some... right now, the US repeats the same old, long-lknown mistakes european states have done before in the past centuries - and failed. And that hardly can be seen as a clever strategy for survival.

[dean_acheson]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

Woof woof! Instant characterisation.

Yeah, that kinda was, wasn't it?

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by dean_acheson

Yeah, that kinda was, wasn't it?

That is funny Dean. I have never seen that before. Makes you think thought!

[dean_acheson]

Really?

I seem to see that bumper sticker everytime I'm near a college campus....but not to stereotype....

[geetrue]

Originally Posted by dean_acheson
Those on the left always talk down 'hard' power too, since they hate the idea that a military takes away from their free school lunch programs or saving the wales, or free needles for IV users, or whatever the cause du jour is.
whatever.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^

Dean is that the wales in the South Pacific or the Med or the welsh people your reffereing to ... ?

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Originally Posted by dean_acheson

Really?

I seem to see that bumper sticker everytime I'm near a college campus....but not to stereotype....

Hah, my girlfriend's father is a college Dean. He doesnt have a bumper sticker, but I hear he sings Okie from Muskogee very loudly sometimes.

Particularly the line "And kids they still respect the college Dean"

:rotfl:

Funny unrelated story, when I was over visiting, we sort of bonded by singing in the car. Much to the embarassment of the poor lass sat next to me

[Tchocky]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...full_spectrum/

A Q&A on executive power.

My favourite is Giuliani's :p

[sonar732]

I can't find the political post where you state your positions and your result is graphed according to the canidates. Wanted to send it to a few people.

[Tchocky]

Political Compass maybe?



politicalcompass.org