The 2008 US Election thread

[J70]

Who mentioned Palin mispronouncing someone's name?

The auld nerves getting the better of ye J or wha, not like you to have to resort to name calling?

As to the above quote, I was merely pointing out the fact that Palin was never afforded the right to
hide behind the " I was unaware" trick.

Yeah, having a bad day at work and also getting nervous about the election. Apologies for any offense.

As to the point, let's assume that Obama did know his aunt was illegal. Was he supposed to turn her in?

The lad I share a flat with is illegal - am I supposed to do likewise?

[DrinkingHarp]

I also believe the "Bradley Effect" is overestimated.
Voters who wouldn't vote for a black man are invariably Republican voters anyway.
The States which would be most hostile to black candidate i.e. the Confederate leaning ones who also were most against Civil Rights are mostly definites in the McCain column.

For a bit of background on the Race issue, have a look at the "Past elections" tab here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/americas/04/vote_usa/map/html/default.stm
Slide between 1960 and 1964 and notice the South East bible bashing States switched sides.
With one stroke of a pen, Lyndon Johnson flipped these states over to the Republican side with his Civil Rights bill.

Race will not make a difference in this election this year. Almost every major trade union is supporting Obama and every union is about 90% white.
There are union guys I have worked alongside that would make a KKK man blush with their rhetoric. Now the same guys who know 30+ words for a Black Man are the same guys who say they have to vote for one to keep their jobs going.

This election is really between a Republican nominee whose party has a president sitting during one of the worst economies in almost a century and the Democratic nominee who is not sitting there now. I personally believe it does not matter who the parties put up for election, a democrat was going to win because of the economy, people want a change for the better or worse.

A majority of the people will put up with war and soaring energy costs but they will not put up with being out of a job, and that will put Obama in the White House.

Simple as that.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Obama's granny dead

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4A26GV20081103

[tyssam5]

Read something over the weekend, think they called it 'The Bradley Effect'
Think it was in 1982 & there was voting for some position & all the polls had the black candidate in front but he ended up losing.
They reckoned it was because when polled, many people said they were voting for the black candidate because they didnt want to be seen as racist, but when they entered the polling booth, their vote was purely based on racism - hence the white candidate winning
Sounded quite plausible



Edited after ziggy shows his superior knowledge

Something else called the 'cell-phone effect' may offset any remaining 'Bradley effect'

Polls are done using land-lines only. 20% of people don't have a land-line. Most of these are younger people and hence mostly Obama voters and so we have a sizeable group under-represented in polls.

[Kerry Mike]

Very sad for the poor woman not to have lived for a few more days to see her grandson become President.

May she RIP.

Being the auld cynical person I am, I just wonder will this news be the final push Obama needs to get over the line, unfortunately there is nothing like death to galvanise support and many may vote for him subliminally at the last minute out of sympathy.

[whitey]

Problem with illegals is that the republicans think the democrats are going to legalize them all, thus adding approx 12 million new democrats to the voting rolls. I feel bad for the poor woman-my issue is not with her, its with the media's double standards. If there was a similar "bombshell" about McCain everyone would be screaming holy blue murder. The Boston Globe didnt even report it from what I can see

[muppet]

Problem with illegals is that the republicans think the democrats are going to legalize them all, thus adding approx 12 million new democrats to the voting rolls. I feel bad for the poor woman-my issue is not with her, its with the media's double standards. If there was a similar "bombshell" about McCain everyone would be screaming holy blue murder. The Boston Globe didnt even report it from what I can see

Who is McCain's grandmother, Cleopatra?

[ziggysego]

Sad news about Obama's Grandmother.

RIP Madelyn.

[ziggysego]

The Bradley Effect.

Anyway I they feel that it won't affect Obama too much this time. He has a strong enough lead, plus he will get a strong black vote this time which should counteract 'The Bradley Effect'. I think, and I could be wrong, The Bradley Effect is about a 5-6 point swing and Obama is ahead in the polls by more. I'm sure I will probably be proved wrong with regards the points.

The poll on the front page of The Times today had Obama at 51.9% and McCain at 47.2%.

It's going to be a lot closer than some are making out, I think...

A USA/Today Gallup poll published on Monday gives Senator Obama an 11-point lead over Senator McCain to be the next occupant of the White House.

[FL/MAYO]

Very sad for the poor woman not to have lived for a few more days to see her grandson become President.

May she RIP.

Being the auld cynical person I am, I just wonder will this news be the final push Obama needs to get over the line, unfortunately there is nothing like death to galvanise support and many may vote for him subliminally at the last minute out of sympathy.

I agree, the picture of Obama with his white grandmother all over the evening news will help remind voters that Obama is half white. Sad for Obama but this will actually help him tomorrow.

[whitey]

Quote from: Kerry Mike on Today at 10:08:32 PM
Very sad for the poor woman not to have lived for a few more days to see her grandson become President.

May she RIP.

Being the auld cynical person I am, I just wonder will this news be the final push Obama needs to get over the line, unfortunately there is nothing like death to galvanise support and many may vote for him subliminally at the last minute out of sympathy.


I agree, the picture of Obama with his white grandmother all over the evening news will help remind voters that Obama is half white. Sad for Obama but this will actually help him tomorrow.

Can you imagine if McCain referred to someone as a "typical black person" (in the same way Obama referred to his grandmother as a "typical white person") they'd be diggging around in his trash looking for white robes and a hood  and the remenants of a burning cross. Unbelievable what Obama was able to get away with during this election!

[J70]

Can you imagine if McCain referred to someone as a "typical black person" (in the same way Obama referred to his grandmother as a "typical white person") they'd be diggging around in his trash looking for white robes and a hood  and the remenants of a burning cross. Unbelievable what Obama was able to get away with during this election!

Let's see...

Here is the original statement in his speech on race in the US:

I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

Here is the statement you refer to where he was clarifying (as if it was needed) the statement above...

The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, you know, there's a reaction that's been bred in our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that's just the nature of race in our society.

That's pretty f**king far from klan hoods and burning crosses. The simple truth is that many Americans are wary of young black males. That is a fact. Stating that does not make Obama racist. You should go back and read the original speech. You might learn something.

[Tyrones own]

let's assume that Obama did know his aunt was illegal. Was he supposed to turn her in?

Well it would be setting a bad example as well as double standards in it's purist form for someone in his position to knowingly overlook it IMO
it's not like illegal immigration and border security isn't in the fore front of a lot of minds in this country
anyway at least we know who's side he's on in that particular issue

[J70]

Problem with illegals is that the republicans think the democrats are going to legalize them all, thus adding approx 12 million new democrats to the voting rolls. I feel bad for the poor woman-my issue is not with her, its with the media's double standards. If there was a similar "bombshell" about McCain everyone would be screaming holy blue murder. The Boston Globe didnt even report it from what I can see

Given that McCain sponsored the ill-fated immigration bill last year, I doubt if he would have got much hassle. If one of the senators or congressmen or talkshow hosts who whipped up the opposition to the bill had been in the situation, then there would have been a huge reaction.

Personally, I do not see how Obama or McCain could be held responsible for a relative being illegal in this manner, and thus the media (and the McCain campaign) are correct to let it go. Feel free, yourself or TO, to tell me why I'm wrong.

[J70]

let's assume that Obama did know his aunt was illegal. Was he supposed to turn her in?

Well it would be setting a bad example as well as double standards in it's purist form for someone in his position to knowingly overlook it IMO
it's not like illegal immigration and border security isn't in the fore front of a lot of minds in this country
anyway at least we know who's side he's on in that particular issue

And if he turned her in you'd be up in arms over his callousness to his aunt.

Sorry TO, but his aunt is a grown woman. Her legal status is not Obama's responsibility. If he, say, gave her a job knowing she was illegal, that would be a different situation.