TC American Presidential Election Thread

I'm sure one of his 12 homes is in warm weather during the winter months. :icon_mrgreen:

 

That was a major breaking point for me. I had switched in 2006 from independent to Republican so I could vote for McCain in primaries (and I did). But as the final races started getting underway there seemed to be a lot of red flags about what direction McCain was really going... about him selling out the independant side of his politics that made him so attractive... Palin was the smoking gun for me.

I'm not sure Obama will get a lot of votes because of Palin (though he did get mine), but at the very least I think a lot of people are going to take Diegans' route and not vote for McCain.

Great post, but this part also reminds me of another point.
Why is it OK to have a massive military machine with supposed "small government", but spend some cash to unfuck the healthcare system and that's * pinko marxist ??
How did the lower middle class become convinced that their children should get terrible healthcare unless they enlist in the military?

 

McBama.

 

Well it's also worth noting that we spend more money on our military then we do healthcare as well. We spend ridiculous amounts on weapons and defense systems and even then we did not have enough money for proper equipment to keep the troops safe and we have many unemployed veterans sleeping in the streets? It's basically just priorities and what you spend your money on. Rich politicians have good healthcare and do not see it as a major priority that every American is properly cared for as it does not effect them directly. If we adopt a preventitive healthcare system in the long term it saves money. Instead of taxpayers paying for someone who is uninsured and in the hospital for an emergency surgery, if they were able to see a doctor regulary then the problem could be diagnosed earlier before it turns into a life threatening problem and an expensive operation. As for universal healthcare, small businesses would not have to pay these costs correct? In essence this reduces fringe benefit costs that are normally large expenses for companies and the government/taxpayers are the ones who remove this burden from businesses. Surely this would cancel out if not result in a net gain for the so-called Joe the Plumbers who are afraid of paying higher corporate taxes.

 

The national healthcare I've seen is actually kind of paid for by companies (x amount per employee) ... and subsidized by taxes in addition to a small fee from the employee, who can opt out for private insurance if they really want.
What this does is cut out the "health insurance" middle man -- a middle man that I believe increases the prices dramatically and makes for an over-complicated system where you're forever fighting for the benefits you've paid so much for. This also consolidates the healthcare system, standardizes the prices, and puts limits on liabilities (tort reform) which would reduce legal fees.

 

The first polls are about to close in 10-15 minutes... then we will be able to see who's getting the first states. The stations aren't allowed to comment until all the polls in a state are closed due to the fact that they single handedly * up the election in 2000 by forgetting that Florida was in two timezones.

Do you guys want a play by play of what's going on? I don't want to come across as spamming so I'll (we if anyone else is on) only give a state by state update if it's needed.

Now that it's down to the wire I guess I'll reveal that I'd rather have Obama than McCain. But for me it's like choosing between Rangers and Chelsea.

 

I've got it on Sky News, but I'm listening to sounds. :snack:

 

I'm going to mention the Congressional races, too... because that has just as big of an impact on the macro level that the Presidential race will have. If the Dems get above the filibuster level, they can do what they want without ever consulting the Repubs, if they have just a simple majority then they will have to work a little bit with the Republicans. The Republicans just simply won't win a majority, so that's out of the question.

Obama ahead in Indiana with just a few votes in. 11 votes there in Indiana.
McCain ahead in Kentucky with just a few votes in. 8 votes for Kentucky. Remember the magic number for winning is 270.

 

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To be honest I think this is going to be a quick and clean victory for Obama. I really don't imagine this being that close at all. We'll know once the numbers for Virginia and Georgia come in, and their polls close in 18 minutes.

On the TV they keep having to tell the conservative pundits to be quiet because they are getting depressed and basically saying Obama is going to win. They're not allowed to do that because it is possible to influence the vote like in 2000.

 

First two states have been called. Louisivlle has apparently been accounted for and wasn't enough to bring a win for Kentucky, so McCain wins there. Vermont has been called despite 0 votes in because it is a very liberal state. Indiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, parts of Florida are now closed so the numbers are going to start coming in a lot more. I'm just going to edit this post unless more people start talking so check back every once in a while.

McCain - 8 (Kentucky)
Obama - 3 (Vermont)

 

Is 8 - 3 a big lead ?

 

First to 270 wins..

 

It's now 16-3.

McCain - 16 (Kentucky, South Carolina)
Obama - 3 (Vermont)

If you're going for Obama there is absolutely no need to panic... Kentucky and South Carolina are some of the deepest red blood states, this was expected.

I've been looking and there are some counties in Appalachia that are going to Obama, which is absolutely earth shattering news. Very good news indeed for him.

 

FFS Palin's running away with this.

 

McCain 16
Obama 3

*? I thought Obama was meant to win this by a mile...?

 

Same mate, I'm confused, apparently it isn't a big lead, but it * looks it.