packalum44
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I just got done reading yet another anti-Obama thread and I just can't help but wonder...how the hell did he win NC?!! I have to assume that 80-90 percent of the bloggers live in NC, yet only one comes to mind who actually ever defends Obama. So seriously, someone please explain to me how this guy wins a moderately red swing state when everyone seems to be swinging right?! Maybe the redneck NC State stereotype is true and we simply are not a random sample of the NC population...Noah did I hit the nail on the head?
packpowerfan
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Well, I've always heard that when it comes to commenting on the internet, being interviewed, and responding in polls, the only people who really come out are those that feel strongly in one way or another. No "average" people get involved. There are plenty of Americans, and North Carolinians, who voted for Obama...myself included. I would even say that a lot of the southerners who voted for him are keeping their mouths shut, or even swinging back right. President Obama isn't helping himself with some of his recent action (missing the BSA event in favor of fundraisers and an appearance on The View), and he's hurt significantly by the recent events with BP and the floundering economy. Compound that with a futile Democratic congress and a voracious GOP, and you've got a powderkeg for criticism and resent that wasn't present in the run-up to his election.
And before I get ripped up for voting for Obama, I am displeased with exactly how things have been handled. However, I'm clueless as to whether or not a Republican President would have "cured" America of its ailments or not. I feel we would be in this world of shit regardless, it'd just be in a different way.
highstick
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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All you have to do is observe the folks around you...the ones who never take the cell phone out of the ear, don't pay attention driving, can't name the Vice President, and I could go on and on, but they vote "too"!!
hoop
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Obama won because he is not Bush. And he had a better running mate.
McCain could have had it except for the seriously inept and revealing selection of his running mate. (Who is a good person and could have been a good running mate, one day.)
McCain also swung heavily from maverick to centrist in a transparent attempt to get more votes. In short, he compromised himself.
That's how I saw it. Plus he didn't distance himself from Bush's politics like I thought he should.
And of course Obama ran a great campaign. He was smart enough to say what he needed to say to get votes.
packpowerfan
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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That first line is pretty much it. The entirety of the country was anti-GOP after 8 years of Bush, and we had a few reasons to be. That being said, I liked McCain (and his centrism) until the addition of Sarah Palin. I don't care if she is a "good person", or a "hockey mom", or what have you...she is far too polarizing to be put into any power position. If the GOP truly wants to right America, they will steer far away from giving Palin the nomination in 2012.
JEOH2
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I voted for him...so there hahaha
ncsufan13
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Plenty of people voted for him. If you think an NC State sports message board is the place to find those people you are probably looking in the wrong place.
tjfoose1
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Obama won because of the laziness and ignorance of the electorate; the voters who fail to meet or even understand their responsibility as citizens of a free society.. with an assist from corrupt and agenda driven news media that also falls woefully short in meeting its constitutional responsibilies.
Lots voted on 'hope and change' and emotions without spending 5 minutes to inform and educate themselves.
I know lots who voted for him who now have voters remorse. I ask why, because he's not doing anything he didn't campaign on. If you judge a man by what he has done, by what he says and has said, and by those w/ whom he associates, nothing Obama has done should come as a surprise.
I tell them the electorate, as a whole, usually gets the candidate they deserve. I thank them for negating my well inform vote and suggest that maybe next time, they meet their responsibility and get off their lazy ass and inform themselves before they next cast a vote.
That does not always go over well, but I do leave no ambiguity as to my thoughts on the matter.
Pack78
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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^Obama ran a great campaign,was not Bush (or the very disappointing Republican Congress from 2000-2006), and spoke to many voters' desire as a 'post-racial' candidate. tj nails it in that Obama has done largely what he promised to do-many were not paying attention or needed to assuage some misplaced racial guilt and vote for the man. Obama is not what many voters hoped for, but he is what he has said and done-the 'Chicago Way' neither works well for people in Chicago or nationally.
NCStatePride
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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So seriously, someone please explain to me how this guy wins a moderately red swing state when everyone seems to be swinging right?!
When Obama won, it was because the supporters were enthusiastic and the public backed him (de facto, his supporters) by almost 60-70%, depending on where you looked. Those who opposed him from the get-go, or probably moreso those who actually gave him a chance and saw the near immediate liberal agenda getting pushed, didn't shut-up so now that Obama's approval has been below 50% for a couple months, the supporters are getting quiet.
Just as during the presidential elections, the sway of the electorate isn't necessarily in who is actually speaking up.
Plz2BStateFan
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Two words
Race Ist
packplantpath
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Two wordsRace Ist
Is that directed at anybody in particular? Is that the reason you think he was elected or the reason you think he is now unpopular in NC?
Please, extrapolate.
TheCOWDOG
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Do you honestly think things would be any different with a republican in office?
13 words.
You'd still have half the populace bitchin' about something or other.
otisthetowndrunk
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I was still taking classes on campus during the election. I voted for Obama as did the majority of students that did vote. There was enormous support for him on campus. Ron Paul had more support on campus than McCain did.
My mother, a registered Republican voted for a Democrat for the first time in her life when she voted for Obama. She had just retired having been an educator her whole life and Obama's speeches on education, specifically the parts about blaming not the school but the parents who take no part in their kids education swayed her.
It is normal for people to spend time with and know people like themselves, so of course you don't know many people who voted for Obama if you are Republican. Who voted for McCain? None of my friends did. Sure some old people must have, and you can't forget the racist people. See how stupid that logic sounds in reverse.
NCStatePride
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Do you honestly think things would be any different with a republican in office?
Yes, because McCain was a RINO so rather then (less than) half the country supporting the White House and his agenda and the other half wanting to throw him out yesterday, we'd just have everyone kind of pissed off a little.
Seriously, the fact that "oh well, that's just the way it would have gone with anyone" is just an ignorant assessment. I can recall Republicans doing pretty controversial things over the past 20 years, but can you honestly look yourself in the mirror and recall everything surrounding Obama in the past 2 years and say "yep... those kinds of things would have happened to a Republican, too!" I can't recall the last time a Republican president decided to devote the greater part of a year of his tenure to one agenda item that the public overwhelmingly disapproved of. Hell, even when we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, approval for those actions were at least respectable, and look what the final approval on that was! Did Democrats think they were immune to the same effect just because their candidate wasn't named "Bush"?
SeaWolf
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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(Sarah Palin) is far too polarizing to be put into any power position
More polarizing than Obama?
Like Otis, most of the hip 20-something's I know voted for him simply because it was cool. I resisted. Supported Paul, but ultimately voted for McCain as my choice was between a mum old man and a left wing extremist. For the record, I'm a 'right wing extremist' by homeland security's definition. Read the PDF for the good stuff.
DiscoStu65
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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if yall are gonna pull the racist card on us republicans
i'll see your "racist" and raise you one "white guilt"
NCStatePride
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Who voted for McCain? None of my friends did. Sure some old people must have, and you can't forget the racist people. See how stupid that logic sounds in reverse.
I think you missed the point, Otis. The point is that today, with the rhetoric you read in the media, online, or amongst your friends today, Obama's supporters have either (a) switched sides or (b) quieted down. From there, the question is "who voted for Obama back in 2008 when support for him was so high".
BTW, I was on campus and hung out with a lot of conservative friends... but also hung out with a ton of die-hard liberals who thought Obama was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I've noticed the same fall-from-grace that packalum44 was talking about. I was also still taking classes during the elections and I remember hearing a (very small yet vocal) group of individuals supporting Ron Paul, but I saw a decent group of supporters for McCain, yet obviously smaller than that for Obama. The point, Otis, is that the assumption that none of us associate with anyone other than those that vote like we do is stupid. Remember, most people on this message board are college educated, AKA we've kind of been forced to intermingle. If you haven't done the same... hey, that's your prerogative.
---
Interesting Side Note: I even asked one of the Obama supporters (Campus Democrats) who handed me a sticker what they felt about Obama's foreign policy and their response was "Well, I agree that we need to get out of Iraq now! That's an unjust war." I then asked them if they had heard what Obama's conceptual strategy was for getting out of Iraq without putting the entire populous in danger from invasion of Iran or other terrorist organizations that would murder and suppress the freedoms of the people.
He called me a racist and walked away. Those are the people that aren't talking as loudly anymore because Obama's actual agenda and actual plans have become more common knowledge.
JasonP
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I don't think McCain was in it to win it. The only thing he had to do to win was to come out against the financial bailout, which he took time off of his campaign to work on and then approve. When both he and Obama approved of that bill, it proved there was no fundamental difference in them.
As much as people harp on Obama's Chicago machine connections, I didn't hear anyone during the campaign mention McCain's ties to Kemper Marley. Both of them are products of their own state's mafia. Essentially we had a choice between one criminal network and another. So Cowdog, I'm with you. I don't think there'd be any significant difference.
baxter
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I voted for him, and I'm still glad I did. No other party produced a viable candidate to even challenge him. I don't even think he is doing a bad job either, given all the variables he inherited (TOBesque haha), I think whoever was in office the last few years would be getting the spit kicked out of them just the same. He has passed several reforms that he campaigned on, and has done what he could as a figure head to restore the image of the US world wide. I like having an educated guy in the oval office, instead of someone who, in my opinion, constantly embarrassed us on a world stage. Maybe it is because I work on a global stage, but that is very important to me. (Not saying the JMc couldn't have done that somewhat, but I think he would have been only a mediocre image boost, I don't think a really old white guy POW is attractive to the modern world). There is only so much someone can really do for the economy, and while most of you will disagree with healthcare reform, I believe in it and I do not think its going to destroy America. Some of you are really hot on the BSA snub, while I'm a bit surprised he didn't show up, I recalled my friend who was an eagle scout and very involved with the OA that when Bush was involved he wasn't exactly proud to have him as the President involved with his Jamboree.
I don't know, no one on here is ever going to support the other teams President, so why do we even bring this up?
NCStatePride
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Both of them are products of their own state's mafia.
In short form, look at these identical individuals:
Childhood
Obama: Decent wealth from family that hopped around the world.
McCain: Decent wealth as a congressman's son.
College:
Obama: Ivy League. Participated in several liberal organizations.
McCain: Military Academy. Gained commission as an officer.
Young Adulthood
Obama: Participated in 'community organizing' and activism associated with academia.
McCain: Served in Vietnam, POW. Returned and entered politics as his family did.
Adulthood
McCain: Ran for US Senator. Has been senator ever since.
Obama: Ran for state senator, then US senator, after serving less than a term, ran for POTUS.
Politics
Obama: Left.
McCain: Centrist.
Look, if you want to say there are some similarities, they both are politicians and they both are males, I guess. I didn't like McCain and honestly, I don't think he would have done a good job either, but I also claim that McCain was not a 'Republican' as much as a RINO. I voted for him because, as SeaWolf said, he was the lesser of the two evils.
JasonP
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Baxter, I gathered from Obama's campaign that he would seriously look into lessening American military involvment in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with shutting down Guantanamo. Not only has none of this occurred, but Obama has actually expanded Bush's predator drone strikes into Pakistan and Yemen and has signed off on the "surge" of troops to Afghanistan (and all the billions of dollars that entails). As you're an Obama voter, I'm curious about what you think of these actions.
His judiciary appointments also have a common theme of hostility to habeus corpus, a carry-over from GWB. His cave-in on the public health care option, blank checks to the DoD, and seeming callousness to the electorate all defy his words on the campaign trail.
old13
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I'm not a resident of N.C., but, tjfoose1, I agree that electorate laziness and ignorance and the anti-Bush movement were the major factors, with others contributing as well. I'm essentially a conservative independent with more liberal leanings on some (not all) social issues. In any case, I voted for McCain, not because I thought he was a good candidate, but because I thought (and still think) that Obama was a danger to this country. I said that during the campaign, that he's more interested in ruling America as king than serving America as President.
And I certainly don't buy Obama's socialist approach to government. The engineering firm I retired from had an association with a British firm that spun off from the now-defunct British national electrical power system when the Brits woke up and reprivatized it. Folks I knew in that firm had nothing good to say about a national energy system. We also have a British friend who works in the English health care industry. She thinks that health services have vastly declined in Brittain since socialized medicine came in there.
otisthetowndrunk
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Pride you misunderstand/represent my quote. Perhaps I should have put air quotes around it to make it more clear. To say that the Obama supports have all have abandoned him - not true. It is only natural to notice the most vocal segments of the population. Right now only the people who are very upset are the ones hollering and screaming right now. So of curse you are going to notice them. And many people who voted for Obama and are not mad go about their business, they have nothing to shout about. I am not a liberal, I changed my party affiliation to Dem so I could vote against Hillary in the primary. I am not 20-somthing, I was back at school for a second time. I actually voted for W over Gore in his first election, so broad sweeping generalizations are not always applicable.
Again Pride I call shenanigans on your comment
...decided to devote the greater part of a year of his tenure to one agenda item that the public overwhelmingly disapprovedI take this to mean you are talking about health care reform. Show me data that said that the majority of people were against it. The data I saw show that people felt something had to be done, in fact a majority of them felt that way. They did not all support the "Obama plan" not really his plan, but polls done by Pew should that more than half of the population felt something had to be done. Of course who got all of the tv time? The people who shouted the loudest.
To prove I am not making sh*t up here is the link to one of the hundreds of polls done.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1160/health-care-support-stem-cell-opinion
JasonP
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I voted for him because, as SeaWolf said, he was the lesser of the two evils.
Choosing the lesser of two evils is political whoredom. We should demand better than that, and I don't think we'll ever get it by staying in this two-party sytem.
SeaWolf
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I gathered from Obama's campaign that he would seriously look into lessening American military involvment in Iraq and Afghanistan
Not to be annoying, but Obama actually said he thought Afghanistan was the war that was valid. He didn't like Iraq, and said that we need timetables to leave both. However, I plainly remember him saying we need to stay there until Osama is dead/captured.
Also, I don't mind the two party system (though I'm unaffiliated), but Republicans did a horrible job selecting their candidate. But I'm not going to vote Nader. I'd rather give someone better a chance.
Obama was a danger to this country
And still is.
otisthetowndrunk
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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I think we are over looking the main reason why Obama won. He is a great public speaker, I would listen to him read the dictionary.
JasonP
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Seawolf - Yes, but I also took that to mean that he would so intently focus on Afghanistan/Bin Laden that he would move for a quick resolution and begin to draw down our involvement there. Whether quick resolution means during his first term or in both, realistically he has only 6 years as the last 2 of a 2nd term the sitting pres becomes a lame duck. I've seen no progress at this point.
SeaWolf
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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Great orator indeed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThEAO0lt4Dw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZOxqVl5oP4
Jason:
I don't necessarily disagree with much of his Afghanistan/Iraq policy. Although I didn't like his announcement of when we would leave. That's absolutely tactless.
pakfanistan
Member
Posted 1 month ago
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These political threads are so retarded. I can't wait until football season so I don't have to see this drivel.
Just because someone voted for a candidate you didn't like doesn't make them lazy or ignorant or racist. There is no media conspiracy.
Also, the claims that Obama is a left wing extremist, socialist or wants to be "king" are so ridiculous it's laughable.