US Elections 2008

[einhorn303]

The best Secretary of State is probably someone we don´t know of. The position needs a talented and educated administrator, not some politician.

Originally Posted by mg1942

hmmm I wonder~

For US secretary of state position, should Obama...

1 pick John Kerry
2 keep Condoleezza Rice
3 or salvage McCain by giving him this position

?

[yezhanquan]

Well, although the presidential election is a done deal, the Senate and House ones are still on-going. 4 Senate seats still undecided, along with 7 House ones.

The electoral vote stands at 349-162. Popular vote: 63,761,560 to 56,309,115. 7 million votes more.

Also, Prop 8 goes through.

[james0246]

Originally Posted by einhorn303

The best Secretary of State is probably someone we don´t know of. The position needs a talented and educated administrator, not some politician.

Well Sec. of Treasury has to come first. Obama will establish the tone of his (possible)economic change depending on who he chooses as the Sec. of Treasury. While Buffet would be an interesting choice, he shys away from the limelight, perffering th company of Bill Gates and Paul Allen . Volcker would aslo be an interesting choice, except for the bad connection with Jimmy Carter. Honestly, a center, or left of center, individual would be the best choice to show the willingness to change, while a right of center will show a willingness to (somewhat) keep the status quo.

After that comes the Sec. of State. Obama needs to pick an individual that can apease Israel, Iran, and Iraq (not to mention the rest of the world ). This will be extremely hard. For example, Iraq and Israel greatly like John McCain, but Iran dislikes him. So, McCain might be considered too detrimental for the position. This will be the second major decision that Obama will make that will show just how far he is willing to go as a diplomat, and just how far he is willing to go with our armed forces.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

Also, Prop 8 goes through.

And now the bickering at both the state and Federal level is now unleashed. People are going to challenge at the state level because it violates other parts of the state constitution.

Anyway, a sad personal story like this reflects all my sentiments about the issue.

More importantly... I am quite interested in seeing how Obama fills up his cabinet, and I am curious if he might actually use John Mccain.

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Reckoner

And now the bickering at both the state and Federal level is now unleashed. People are going to challenge at the state level because it violates other parts of the state constitution.

Anyway, a sad personal story like this reflects all my sentiments about the issue.

More importantly... I am quite interested in seeing how Obama fills up his cabinet, and I am curious if he might actually use John Mccain.

Aye. But, the history of the US has several state vs. federal cases which were momentous. For those fighting the case, it was an ordeal; the legal implications, however, lasts for one heck of a long time.

The Commander would have to do a balancing act: the old and the new, the pragmatic and the realistic. I'll be waiting as well.

[Anh_Minh]

What about Colin Powel? Is he getting anything?

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

What about Colin Powel? Is he getting anything?

Nice question. He might be associated with the old scam that was the "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq. He's a decent man, but politically, I'm not so sure that he won't be a liability.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

What about Colin Powel? Is he getting anything?

I think he has had enough

[nanafan]

well, i missed a lot. but i admit i was shocked that obama won, for some reason i thought mccain would win, it would be like the bush reelection again. but i am soooo happy. i watched most of the coverage. i can tell my children and grandchildren about the us and the first black president. unfortunately it is still undecided as to who won missouri, supposedly it was a close one.

[Shadow Kira01]

Honestly, I was a little worried when the numbers were 134 vs 220 had remained idle for nearly over an hour, but then...

Suddenly, everybody cheered and was leaping, the next thing.. The numbers turned 134 vs 297. Wow!! A landslide!!!

I can't believe it. Obama won all 4 battlegrounds: Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and Iowa. Amazing!!

[james0246]

^It's relatively sad news for Missouri, though. No longer can Missouri claim to be a bellwether state. Missouri is now just Southern...not that there is anything wrong with being Southern .

[yezhanquan]

Actually, does Obama have the "mandate"?

[Aya Reiko]

It appears Missouri went Red and McCain takes all of Nebraska's EVs.
However, North Carolina goes to Obama. The results won't be made official until next month when the provisional ballots are counted, but the odds of the result being changed is regarded as being very low.

Therefore, this is the final result:

[nanafan]

Originally Posted by james0246

^It's relatively sad news for Missouri, though. No longer can Missouri claim to be a bellwether state. Missouri is now just Southern...not that there is anything wrong with being Southern .

damn, i was hoping obama won our state...not that it matters. i don't think missouri is southern it's smack in the middle.

[Irenicus]

Obama will have a hard time deciding, I suspect. He would probably need to wash his hands from any Bush Administration-related candidates, meaning no Rice, no Powell, despite the former's talent and the latter's popularity. And this isn't just political symbolism either: Europe and the world would probably not take very well to a continuation of the status quo in the Office of the Secretary of State.

Far more important in the short run is his Treasury Secretary choice, however.

I wonder if he'll go the dream-team approach or the unknown administrator approach or even young intellectuals/vibrant professors approach.

Originally Posted by Mystique

All everyone knows is that it's the end of Bush. We're just as tired and wary of him as probably a good deal of America is, so it's nice to try to mend some broken bridges.

'tis something to hope for.

I just finished watching the Obama Berlin speech (the one that drove some US circles crazy screaming "Look, he's anti-American! They can't even vote, what is he campaigning there for?" Interesting and kind of ironic how he takes position on many key and volatile European issues and deftly avoid others.

I would think something like Let's welcome immigrants who seek hope in the West would prove controversial in Germany and in other places what's with European dynamics on immigration issues. Guess not: they cheered him.

Also wondering if he'll actually take his promise against nuclear weapons seriously, although I see it as a very clever backhanded declaration that he'll be harsh on Iranian nuclear aspirations "because we all must get off of nuclear weapons" (lol); or, for that matter, his promise for carbon emission reductions, and his subtle acknowledgment of the importance of [free] trade, with just enough vagueness and subtle caveat as to not contradict himself later on.

...and thus the man remains so far strangely consistent, be it Berlin or Chicago he's speaking to, hm...

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

Also, Prop 8 goes through.

Three, two, one, strike down.

I dearly hope it is the social conservatives' one last gasp of dying breath. :/

[Xellos-_^]

ironically prop 8 pass becuase of support form black and latino voters who supported Obama.

While one door was open for Blacks they slam door shut on another group.

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

ironically prop 8 pass becuase of support form black and latino voters who supported Obama.

While one door was open for Blacks they slam door shut on another group.

Don't forget asians. My relatives all reside in California and they voted YES.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by mg1942

Don't forget asians. My relatives all reside in California and they voted YES.

polls had asians at about 50/50 for prop 8, whites were slight anti prop8. the biggest support came form blacks and latino. Something on the order 7 out of 10 blacks voted yes.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

Anyway, I wonder how non-Americans feel about the election today. Happy? Sad? Couldn't care less? Screw America? Welcome back to the world?

She spoke my mind better than I could:


Why America matters to Singapore: Obama's story echoes our own

By Lee Wan-Jean (Nov 6, 2008)

I was waiting with an American friend at 5am on a chilly autumn morning in New Hampshire. We were going to canvass for Mr Barack Obama. And that was when I asked myself why I, a Singaporean, care so much about the American elections.

It began as a fascination with the media circus that is the presidential pollls. I came of age amid reality shows and 24-hour news networks. Living in the United States as the most important election in history unfolds is like watching reality TV "live".

Then came Mr Obama's landmark speech on race in America, in which he proudly declared that in "no other country on earth is my story even possible". As I listened, I realised that his journey is not uniquely American: It is Singaporean as well.

He talked about how different his life is from his grandparents' and parents'. My late grandfather, who sold prawn noodles on the streets of Hong Lim, could not have imagined one of his grandchildren training to be a scientist in the US. Mr Obama's story reminded me of the opportunities Singapore has afforded me, and that I should be just as proud of how far my family and country have come from humble beginnings.

I now see that America's strength lies not in its uniqueness, but in the similarities of its people's struggles to those of the citizens of the world. The fact that the words of an American could renew my appreciation of my Singaporean roots means there is something special about him, the US, and the American electoral process.

I have been a true-blue Obama supporter ever since.

- 我报 (My Paper)

Lee Wan-Jean, 28, is a PhD student at the University of New Hampshire at Durham. She has lived in the US since 2005.

Originally Posted by shelter

Eh. This is a gross understatement. Sorry for going counter to your argument, but slums don't need to be visible to exist.

And yet, ironically, the opposite is also true. In comparison to slums in the rest of the world, Singapore's "slums" will seem like a paradise of effective socialism. All I can say is this: Seeing is believing.

Originally Posted by shelter

Envious... (because Americans) had the chance to cast (their) choice based on the vague ideal of "hope". I don't think I'll get the opportunity to cast a ballot based on anything other than "economic necessity".

We are prisoners of our own making. Granted, Singapore's political landscape will not change until a certain person is gone for good, but hey, he's already an old man. How much longer can he last?

I believe that Singapore's youth are not as politically apathetic as many would like to think. It's not that they don't care, but rather that they are turned-off by a cynical government that believes that Singaporeans care only about their wallets and nothing else.

Change comes in generations. I am hopeful that things will look very different here, 20 years from now, because of Singaporeans like Lee Wan-Jean.

[jsieczkar]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

Actually, does Obama have the "mandate"?

Yes and no. Does he have a mandate on liberal policies, no. America breaks down as 50% moderates, 20% liberals and 30% conservatives. His mandate is to bring the county back to the center like it was for the 12 years before the second President Bush. According to CNN around 25% of the Obama vote sides with McCain ideologically, but were voting out the Neocon grouping that has been in Washington.

The Republicans need to learn from this that Neocon policies that had become the "core" of the party drove the moderates, and the Libertarians from the party.

What you are going to see is Sen. Obama moving towards the center with the house liberals will trying to pull him left. I order to fix the mountain of problems left by 20+ years of poor housekeeping that finally caught up to the nation he will need the support of the nation outside of Washington. If he goes against the moderates you will see the same thing that has been happening, lawsuits and congressional delegates in unsafe districts will be challenged in 2010.