Comments on: How To Decide Whom To Vote For in the US Presidental Primary http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary Software and Innovation Sun, 10 Jul 2011 14:13:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: dlweinreb http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-353 dlweinreb Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:06:47 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-353 I am delighted that I was wrong about Clinton being nominated. Since the beginning of the campaign, my regard for Sen. Clinton has fallen tremendously. Well, I was almost right: it was very close. The Republican attack machine has started, unsurprisingly. Here's a line of attack that we'll be hearing from now until January: ----- This was Rove’s take on Obama to Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club Monday, according to Christianne Klein of ABC News: “Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.” ----- This is the "Obama is a liberal" line of attack. "Liberal", in politics today, means "a person who thinks he is better than you are; who sips wine and eats sushi; who makes more money than you and doesn't have to deal with any of your concerns; and who sneers at you and things that you value." They painted Dukakis and Kerry that way, and they will unquestionably try to paint Obama that way. Obama's unfortunate comment that Pennsylvania's small town voters are bitter about losing jobs and that to explain their frustrations, they "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them. is something we'll hear over and over. It will be interesting to see how the Republicans try to appeal to racism. They can't do it directly, but there are plenty of ways to stir anti-black feeling. The classic way is to talk a lot about "crime". We won't hear it from Sen. McCain directly, I'm sure, but I do expect to hear it, or perhaps something more subtle but clearly coded, from the Republican's instruments such as Fox News. They'll also play on everything that Sen. Clinton used: Wright, "inexperience", and so on. I'm glad Sen. Obama is forgoing public financing, even though I agree with his point that public financing is in the public interest. It's perfectly valid to advocate a change in the rules, while playing by the current rules until the rules actually change. Obama is going to need all the money he can get to fight off the attacks. I know that in many ways, it looks like the Democrats have a slam-dunk, but they are awfully good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I am delighted that I was wrong about Clinton being nominated. Since the beginning of the campaign, my regard for Sen. Clinton has fallen tremendously. Well, I was almost right: it was very close.

The Republican attack machine has started, unsurprisingly. Here’s a line of attack that we’ll be hearing from now until January:

—–

This was Rove’s take on Obama to Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club Monday, according to Christianne Klein of ABC News:

“Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.”

—–

This is the “Obama is a liberal” line of attack. “Liberal”, in politics today, means “a person who thinks he is better than you are; who sips wine and eats sushi; who makes more money than you and doesn’t have to deal with any of your concerns; and who sneers at you and things that you value.” They painted Dukakis and Kerry that way, and they will unquestionably try to paint Obama that way. Obama’s unfortunate comment that Pennsylvania’s small town voters are bitter about losing jobs and that to explain their frustrations, they “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them. is something we’ll hear over and over.

It will be interesting to see how the Republicans try to appeal to racism. They can’t do it directly, but there are plenty of ways to stir anti-black feeling. The classic way is to talk a lot about “crime”. We won’t hear it from Sen. McCain directly, I’m sure, but I do expect to hear it, or perhaps something more subtle but clearly coded, from the Republican’s instruments such as Fox News.

They’ll also play on everything that Sen. Clinton used: Wright, “inexperience”, and so on.

I’m glad Sen. Obama is forgoing public financing, even though I agree with his point that public financing is in the public interest. It’s perfectly valid to advocate a change in the rules, while playing by the current rules until the rules actually change. Obama is going to need all the money he can get to fight off the attacks.

I know that in many ways, it looks like the Democrats have a slam-dunk, but they are awfully good at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

]]> By: dlweinreb http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-352 dlweinreb Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:18:34 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-352 The only activity going on now is the primary election to choose the candidate from Democratic party. There are only two candidates who might win, and their policy positions are essentially the same. That may be why it seems as if there is so little emphasis on actual politics. When it's time for the general election, I hope we'll see more emphasis on substantive issues. It would be absolutely out of the question for an atheist to become president of the USA at this time or in the foreseeable future. I know that this must seem strange to anyone from Western Europe. I always find it ironic that Americans are characterized as nonreligious by many Islamic activists. The rate of attendance of churches and other places of worship is extremely high in the USA, and even those who don't attend regularly nevertheless usually characterize themselves as having some religious affiliation. And there seems to be a widespread sense in the USA that it's OK to be of some other religion, but it's not OK to be an atheist. In a recent speech, Barak Obama said something like "this is not only a Christian nation but also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of non-believers." I was so impressed that he included that last clause! The only activity going on now is the primary election to choose the candidate from Democratic party. There are only two candidates who might win, and their policy positions are essentially the same. That may be why it seems as if there is so little emphasis on actual politics. When it’s time for the general election, I hope we’ll see more emphasis on substantive issues.

It would be absolutely out of the question for an atheist to become president of the USA at this time or in the foreseeable future. I know that this must seem strange to anyone from Western Europe. I always find it ironic that Americans are characterized as nonreligious by many Islamic activists. The rate of attendance of churches and other places of worship is extremely high in the USA, and even those who don’t attend regularly nevertheless usually characterize themselves as having some religious affiliation. And there seems to be a widespread sense in the USA that it’s OK to be of some other religion, but it’s not OK to be an atheist.

In a recent speech, Barak Obama said something like “this is not only a Christian nation but also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of non-believers.” I was so impressed that he included that last clause!

]]> By: Julian St. http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-351 Julian St. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:35:44 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-351 Viewing the election process from a German perspective, I find it very scary how little emphasis is put on actual politics... Btw, it would be interesting to know how many Americans would have objections against an Atheist as president. According to Richard Dawkins, he would be worse off than a gay black president.. which is even more scary. Viewing the election process from a German perspective, I find it very scary how little emphasis is put on actual politics…

Btw, it would be interesting to know how many Americans would have objections against an Atheist as president. According to Richard Dawkins, he would be worse off than a gay black president.. which is even more scary.

]]> By: Phil Earnhardt http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-350 Phil Earnhardt Sat, 09 Feb 2008 09:59:25 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-350 Interesting reading of this entry. I was poking around LinkedIn tonight and found the listing for your blog there. I hope you have a good WordPress client (perhaps MarsEdit) for your postings. Dan: Friday's WSJ had an article about what a large percentage of Americans were unwilling to vote for a Mormon for President: 'A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in late January revealed that 50% of Americans said they would have reservations or be "very uncomfortable" about a Mormon as president. That same poll found that 81% would be "enthusiastic" or "comfortable" with an African-American and 76% with a woman.' No matter what judgment one has of Romney, these numbers have to be disturbing. We as a nation also seemed rather complacent about what seems like rather blatant religious discrimination. I live in CO; I've known enough LDS members to be fully comfortable and trusting of them. At the same time, I don't know if that had been the case if I had stayed in the South my whole life. Comments? --phil Interesting reading of this entry. I was poking around LinkedIn tonight and found the listing for your blog there. I hope you have a good WordPress client (perhaps MarsEdit) for your postings.

Dan: Friday’s WSJ had an article about what a large percentage of Americans were unwilling to vote for a Mormon for President:

‘A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in late January revealed that 50% of Americans said they would have reservations or be “very uncomfortable” about a Mormon as president. That same poll found that 81% would be “enthusiastic” or “comfortable” with an African-American and 76% with a woman.’

No matter what judgment one has of Romney, these numbers have to be disturbing. We as a nation also seemed rather complacent about what seems like rather blatant religious discrimination.

I live in CO; I’ve known enough LDS members to be fully comfortable and trusting of them. At the same time, I don’t know if that had been the case if I had stayed in the South my whole life.

Comments?

–phil

]]> By: dlweinreb http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-349 dlweinreb Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:15:24 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-349 Bob: An interesting thing I heard recently is that on the whole, older black voters are more for Clinton, while younger black voters are for Obama. Some of the older black voters, who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the Sixties, feel Obama isn't "one of them" in a political sense; he hasn't paid his dues, he gets along too well with whites (!), and generally that he isn't "black enough". Whereas these older black voters have formed a close relationship with Bill Clinton. The other reason I thought blacks might vote for Clinton is that they may feel more strongly, having felt the effects of racism directly, that whites in America just won't go for a black president. But I haven't been hearing that, or at least not much, in the news coverage. (My news comes from NPR and The New Republic, for the most part.) Well, just a few more days to go before it becomes far more clear who is going to win the primaries. Bob: An interesting thing I heard recently is that on the whole, older black voters are more for Clinton, while younger black voters are for Obama. Some of the older black voters, who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the Sixties, feel Obama isn’t “one of them” in a political sense; he hasn’t paid his dues, he gets along too well with whites (!), and generally that he isn’t “black enough”. Whereas these older black voters have formed a close relationship with Bill Clinton.

The other reason I thought blacks might vote for Clinton is that they may feel more strongly, having felt the effects of racism directly, that whites in America just won’t go for a black president. But I haven’t been hearing that, or at least not much, in the news coverage. (My news comes from NPR and The New Republic, for the most part.)

Well, just a few more days to go before it becomes far more clear who is going to win the primaries.

]]> By: Bob Coyne http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-348 Bob Coyne Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:58:36 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-348 Dan, On the issue of race and gender being major factors for voters, I'm not sure they are, or even in what direction they play out. While I'm sure there's some number of whites who would tend not to vote for a black candidate, there are also many who would *prefer* to vote for a black candidate. It would appeal to many as a tangible step of healing the racial wounds in the country. This is certainly true in the Democratic Party and most likely true of many independents and Republicans too. Condi Rice and Clarence Thomas are very popular with the right wing. Also regarding the "looks like a president" argument, I'd argue that Mitt Romney certainly looks the part more than anyone...he's straight out of central casting. But his success has been limited, despite all the money and backing of a big part of the right-wing establishment -- talk radio especially, who hate McCain. I guess my main comment is that voters are more intelligent and fairer than you're giving them credit for. Dan,

On the issue of race and gender being major factors for voters, I’m not sure they are, or even in what direction they play out. While I’m sure there’s some number of whites who would tend not to vote for a black candidate, there are also many who would *prefer* to vote for a black candidate. It would appeal to many as a tangible step of healing the racial wounds in the country. This is certainly true in the Democratic Party and most likely true of many independents and Republicans too. Condi Rice and Clarence Thomas are very popular with the right wing.

Also regarding the “looks like a president” argument, I’d argue that Mitt Romney certainly looks the part more than anyone…he’s straight out of central casting. But his success has been limited, despite all the money and backing of a big part of the right-wing establishment — talk radio especially, who hate McCain.

I guess my main comment is that voters are more intelligent and fairer than you’re giving them credit for.

]]> By: Thomas Lord http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-347 Thomas Lord Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:25:38 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-347 Daniel: First, that's funny. Second, I owe you my honest thoughts. I haven't decided who to vote for or anything but here's where I'm starting from: On the D side, while I admire and share the purported <i>aim</i> of the "vaguely in the general direction of the neighborhood of progressivism" attitudes -- the policies and polarizations scare me. I see mostly proto-fascists. Clinton strikes me as someone a little more feet-on-the-ground and worldly enough to avoid stupid mistakes. I'm tentatively excited about the possibility that her gender, personality, brains, and history can be very effective at empowering our diplomats. On the R side: McCain is the only (and not a bad) choice. He won't screw up on the world front either and, again, seems a stand-out in terms of rationalism. -t Daniel:

First, that’s funny.

Second, I owe you my honest thoughts. I haven’t decided who to vote for or anything but here’s where I’m starting from:

On the D side, while I admire and share the purported aim of the “vaguely in the general direction of the neighborhood of progressivism” attitudes — the policies and polarizations scare me. I see mostly proto-fascists. Clinton strikes me as someone a little more feet-on-the-ground and worldly enough to avoid stupid mistakes. I’m tentatively excited about the possibility that her gender, personality, brains, and history can be very effective at empowering our diplomats.

On the R side: McCain is the only (and not a bad) choice. He won’t screw up on the world front either and, again, seems a stand-out in terms of rationalism.

-t

]]> By: dlweinreb http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-346 dlweinreb Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:20:46 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-346 Thomas: Would it be better to bow to the racists and not the sexists? Another thing I worry about is that some people will vote for whoever "looks Presidential". All previous presidents look like white males. Looks matter. After all, why is the average height of Presidents significantly higher than that of the general male population? Thomas: Would it be better to bow to the racists and not the sexists?

Another thing I worry about is that some people will vote for whoever “looks Presidential”. All previous presidents look like white males.

Looks matter. After all, why is the average height of Presidents significantly higher than that of the general male population?

]]> By: Thomas David Baker http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-345 Thomas David Baker Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:40:47 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-345 Gee, Dan, it's not exactly Vaclav Havel's "we must live with hope", is it? Out of hard-nosed pragmatism you're going to bow to the sexists but not the racists? If only there were a non-black, non-female candidate in with a real chance of winning the nomination?! I understand where you are coming from. You do have a moral duty to keep fundamentalist Christians out of the White House. But it's pretty unpleasant to hear! Gee, Dan, it’s not exactly Vaclav Havel’s “we must live with hope”, is it?

Out of hard-nosed pragmatism you’re going to bow to the sexists but not the racists?

If only there were a non-black, non-female candidate in with a real chance of winning the nomination?!

I understand where you are coming from. You do have a moral duty to keep fundamentalist Christians out of the White House. But it’s pretty unpleasant to hear!

]]> By: Max Lybbert http://danweinreb.org/blog/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/comment-page-1#comment-344 Max Lybbert Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:30:13 +0000 http://dlweinreb.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/how-to-decide-whom-to-vote-for-in-the-us-presidental-primary/#comment-344 Ah yes, my prediction: Democrats will control Congress after November, but not the White House. I originally thought Clinton would win the nomination, but she's gone into some weird self-destruct mode, and Obama seems to be the most likely nominee other than her. I have no idea who the Republicans will choose. Ah yes, my prediction: Democrats will control Congress after November, but not the White House. I originally thought Clinton would win the nomination, but she’s gone into some weird self-destruct mode, and Obama seems to be the most likely nominee other than her. I have no idea who the Republicans will choose.

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