Iowa Watching Party

[Mango]

:roll: (I just drank a whole bunch this morning, and will take some when I run today!)

 

[Jdarg]

Candidate websites are excellent places to start when you want to narrow your choices based on the issues. After you have narrowed your choices, them it is time to delve a bit deeper.

It was very easy to cross Huckabee, Paul, Thompson, and Giuliani off my list, based on their positions. Their positions no longer matter to me because I found their positions to be either polar opposites of mine, or the views are too unrealistic and simplistic to ever come to fruition. The rest of the candidates are still interesting to me either because I might vote for them, or they may be VP material.

I'm not a Hillary fan, but I am watching because I might have to keep an eye on her. I am also watching McCain and Romney, because if we have to have another Republican president, I could live with them (I think;-)).

 

[goofer]

DON'T FORGET TO WATCH BOTH DEMOCRAT AND REPUBLICAN DEBATES ON
ABC TV TONITE. STARTS AT 6pm CST. THE DEBATES WILL LAST 3HOURS. CHANNEL 13 ON DISH SATELLITE. DON'T KNOW WHAT CHANNEL ON MEDIACOM. FIRST UP ARE THE REPUBLICANS FOR 90 MINUTES. THEN THE DEMS. CHARLIE GIBSON MODERATES BOTH DEBATES.

 

[Teresa]

punzy:

I wish we could have come! what a uniter you are! and an educator. thank you for this thread. wish I had some of the food.

You didn't ask me, but the thing that impressed me about Obama from early on was his seemingly big, fat brain.
I live in Illinois, so he's been newsworthy here for some time. It may be a simplistic, shallow assessment I'm making, but I've always thought he comes across as plain ol' smart, and that makes a difference to me.

I feel exactly the same. Give me a leader with a huge brain. and I'm talking about a comprehensive kind of intelligence. TFT describes it well when she talks about her impression of Obama.

It was a very inspirational speech. You need to watch it...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gFgfxl9mFcw&feature=related

thanks! I'm getting ready to do just that.

I'd be a little more than scared of a candidate with too high of an IQ. Good leaders don't have to be geniuses. They need to surround themselves with intelligent advisers, but common sense and a little book smarts can go a long way.

SJ - I would have agreed with you on this before Dubya rode into town. When he was elected (much to our horror) I truly prayed that his administration officials and advisors would contribute to an effective leadership of America.

Give me someone who is articulate, with ability to identify solutions and solve problems, react quickly, think on his feet, look beyond party affiliation, etc. give me a leader who is extremely intelligent in many, many ways.

TFT - as usual I like your thinking! thanks for sharing your views.

 

[TooFarTampa]

Who has read the book, Blink? I may reread it before going to the polls.

I have it and have read most of it. (Tipping Point, written by the same author, is one of my favorite books ever; I liked learning that I am probably a Maven. ) The premise of Blink is all about "thin-slicing" -- you take what you know of a situation and generally a snap judgment is going to be pretty good. I am not explaining it well at all, but I think SJ is saying that we pretty much KNOW what we are going to get with these people. We just have to quiet our minds, focus on what we KNOW for a minute or two, and make our decision.

I'm not quite ready to do that yet, but I don't feel bad about all the choices, and that makes me reasonably happy.

TFT - as usual I like your thinking! thanks for sharing your views.

The older I get the more I just say what I think. I am going to be a PITA when I am 80!

I am also watching McCain and Romney, because if we have to have another Republican president, I could live with them (I think;-)).

I like the return of Maverick McCain. I'm a lifelong Democrat; hubby a diehard Repub, and it's funny that we pretty much agree on everything. We are not that far apart folks. That's one reason I do like Obama's message. The devil is in the details, however, as SJ points out.

Here's an interesting site for those Mavens out there ... I don't have time to read it all the time or as in depth as I would like, but I will once again be a pimp for my local paper. They started this fact-checking site called Politifact.com It's been widely recognized and is a nice complement to factcheck.org et al. There are links to all those places at politifact. It isn't great that they have to pick and choose statements (they can't cover everything) but I find it interesting. Obama has been a bit naughty lately it appears. :nono1:

 

[Smiling JOe]

Tootsie, did you really feel that W had common sense? He has always looked rather childish and uneducated to me.

 

[Smiling JOe]

The premise of Blink is all about "thin-slicing" -- you take what you know of a situation and generally a snap judgment is going to be pretty good. I am not explaining it well at all, but I think SJ is saying that we pretty much KNOW what we are going to get with these people. We just have to quiet our minds, focus on what we KNOW for a minute or two, and make our decision.

I'm not quite ready to do that yet, but I don't feel bad about all the choices, and that makes me reasonably happy.

TFT, that is a good one sentence summary of the book. I think it is important to note that one would have to know (be familiar with) each candidate before one could make that "snap-judgment" of a choice. It sounds as though many people are still learning about the possible choices. I have studied every candidate enough to make an informed "snap-judgment" decision, and all the new information is just more confusing, but entertaining.

I'm looking forward to watching the static (literally) of the "partial" debates on Fox, tonight. I hope the weather is clear enough to be able to listen.

 

[Teresa]

We just have to quiet our minds, focus on what we KNOW for a minute or two, and make our decision.

amen tampa wench!

I would like to see you start a blog or thread focusing on your selection of political articles, websites, news stories, etc., along with your own editorial comments. whattaya think?

Tootsie, did you really feel that W had common sense? He has always looked rather childish and uneducated to me.

not for a minute. but I still prayed that maybe I was wrong, since so many americans put their trust in him.

I do agree that a truly effective leader will surround herself/himself with the best of the best.

I'm looking forward to watching the static (literally) of the "partial" debates on Fox, tonight. I hope the weather is clear enough to be able to listen.

:roll: outta be good for saturday night entertainment.

 

[John R]

Secondly, I am a New Yorker. Some will make the argument that Hillary helped helped some of the families of 9/11 and workers. Any honorable politician would do that, but lets not forget who the real heroes of that event were here in NY. It was Guiliani and Pataki. Hillary was just a carpetbagger.

I'm not sure all New Yorkers would agree with Rudy's heroism with regards to 9/11

http://www.rudy-urbanlegend.com/

 

[NoHall]

Bite me...