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For those citizens of the U.S. 18 years of age, make sure you get out to vote on Tuesday!

It doesn't matter who you're voting for, just make sure to do it!  Your vote can only be counted if you go to the polls.  It's the only time you're given an easy way to affect policies in Washington, so make sure your voice is heard!!!

Hugs to all!

Good luck mounting a campaign against apathy. It is our greatest collective weakness, but will sadly never be overcome.

That's some serious irony right there.

But the rest of you - vote!

That is needlessly cynical, Caddies. Over 25% of registered voters in the US have already voted-- around half of the normal voting base. Voting has skyrocketed this election, up to 6x the number in some places. Early voting has gone up from 12% in the last election to 25% today, 4 days before election day.
 
I predict there will be massive turnout, and it will be record breaking.

8 years of dog shit should be enough to motivate anyone

Just remember, while you're voting, McBush... err... McCain will give us another 4 years of what Bush has been doing, and this country cannot afford more of the same.

And while you are voting, remember that Obama will give us far worse than anything you think was bad about the current administration.

Alright, Squyrl, I'd like you to tell us why. What is Obama going to do worse?

Just don't let The Gays marry.

Republicans vote on the 5th, don't forget. The 5th.

Quote from: Nightshadow;95591Just remember, while you're voting, McBush... err... McCain will give us another 4 years of what Bush has been doing, and this country cannot afford more of the same.

That's what happens when you listen to political propeganda and don't listen to the actual speaches. You get the bias. - Mccain has said clearly "I am not Bush, and I will not do what Bush is doing, simply because I am a republican."

Sure if you vote for Obama, make less than 250k a year, you're in the clear.. But what of those that work to earn that money? - Obama showed his true colors the day Joe The Plumber asked his question. "Share the wealth." Mccain wants to tap into american resources, and not foreign. Create a ton of new jobs, and such.

But go ahead and listen to the "Proven" monotonic/hypnotic/reverbing voice of Obama. Let his 18 Charisma, 20 Bluff get you.

Mccain - Palin '08

Quote from: DFTPeeper;95602That's what happens when you listen to political propeganda and don't listen to the actual speaches. You get the bias. - Mccain has said clearly "I am not Bush, and I will not do what Bush is doing, simply because I am a republican."

Sure if you vote for Obama, make less than 250k a year, you're in the clear.. But what of those that work to earn that money? - Obama showed his true colors the day Joe The Plumber asked his question. "Share the wealth." Mccain wants to tap into american resources, and not foreign. Create a ton of new jobs, and such.

But go ahead and listen to the "Proven" monotonic/hypnotic/reverbing voice of Obama. Let his 18 Charisma, 20 Bluff get you.

Mccain - Palin '08

How is he different, other than saying he is different? Is it the foxy side-kick?

I have decided to try to mash Peeper into the ground. I do not particularly follow voting trends, because I think it's silly to say 'He voted against this' or 'He voted against that', because bills are long things and contain several articles. These are the policies that he has said he will pursue.
 
McCain has said he is not Bush, only because he knows if he says he is Bush he will immediately lose. Looking at his policies, lets compare them. McCain wants to make Bush's tax cuts permanent. He wants to continue Bush's wars in the Middle East. He wants to continue to tax the lower class and give more of Bush's tax breaks to big corporations. He wants to continue Bush's strategy of not talking to enemy nations. He wants to destroy public schools, like Bush, and give out vouchers, which only work for some students. He wants to focus on unsafe methods of drilling, uncaring for the environment, and give big oil companies more of Bush's subsidies for drilling. He, like Bush, does not care about global warming, or take any steps to stop it. He, like Bush, has resorted to almost 100% negative campaigning this election. He changed his stance on gay marriage and abortion to match Bush's, in order to win this election. McCain keeps saying he wants to make new jobs, but has said he will invest in companies that ship jobs overseas.
 
Obama has advocated for tax increases for more than 250k a year. Yet, it's not the end of the world for them. Those who make more -already- pay more in the income tax, due to different tax brackets based on income. This country has flirted with socialism since the beginning of the income tax. Taxes pay for services, and this country desperately needs services right now. Instead of putting the burden of these services on the poor, who already have enough problems, Obama wishes to make those who have a healthy living pay a little bit more so that this country as a whole benefits. Big companies like Exxon Mobile who made 14.8 billion in 1/4 of a year do not need tax cuts-- they should pay more money in order to prop up schools, and families, and social security.
 
This is not socialism. There is already a socialist candidate for president, and the socialist party has condemned Obama as a capitalist. Bush has just nationalized the banks, that is a -huge- socialist move, and more so than anything Obama has offered. McCain himself has said that he supports nationalizing the banks because this country is in crisis. This country is -still- in crisis, and requires a new system to make sure this does not happen again. Obama is not proposing full socialism, but he is edging away from pure capitalism, which both Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan (Fed Chairs) have supported. Palin has said that this is not the time to be experimenting with ‘socialism’. Such broad generalizations have drawn criticism from even herself, when she said she did not want to ‘label herself as anything, because labels do not represent what something truly is’.
 
This is the best time to be trying something new to help the economy. If things continue to go as they have been, this country may be facing another recession, if not global depression. We need a leader who will talk to our enemies, and a leader who will focus on the concerns of the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy, instead of just the wealthy.
 
You mention that Obama has 18 charisma. That is an excellent trait in a leader, especially one in such volatile times. We need a leader who everyone looks to for guidance, someone who can put our country ahead of political pandering and partisan lines. Obama is the only candidate who is doing that, seeing as more than a few high ranking republicans have been endorsing him in the recent days. Very few democrats, if any, ranking democrats have made the switch to McCain.
 
You mention Obama has 20 bluff, as if he’s lying to us. He has had a clear and consistent message the entire campaign. His policies and plans have not changed one inch since he took the stage a year ago and announced his candidacy for president. McCain’s plans, and strategies, have jumped all over the board, as he desperately tries to find something to bash Obama with. First it was negative campaigning about the Reverend Wright, then it was about Bill Ayers, then it was about Socialism and Communism. They are grasping at straws, and the only fear that is spreading is the fear that the republicans same old message of fear is not working anymore on a country so jaded by their party.
 
I will leave it at this. Is it more reasonable to think Obama has been lying so skillfully, without any leaks in his office, and has no idea what he is talking about, or is it more likely that the McCain campaign just wants to spread fear and doubt, as they have the entire campaign, in a last ditch effort to make you think he is evil and incompetent?

Was it not McCain who also said that he voted with Bush 90% of the time? Fine, McCain does not equal Bush... At least, 10% of him doesn't equal Bush, the other 90% of him is the very same. Yes, I know, I listened to the speeches/debates, I know that he told him that if he wanted to run against bush he should've done it four years ago, but it seems Obama is getting a second shot at it now.

9lives, please tell me you aren't serious, what's wrong with gays? Sure, it's pretty gross, in my opinion, but so what? It's their choice, not ours. And I don't care what you say, having two men marry eachother isn't going to hurt another family, there's just no reason why it would, all that crap about 'protecting the family' is just a bunch of homophobes being sensitive.

Another reason why NOT to vote for McBush is because of the 'War' in Iraq. This isn't a matter of pride, people are dieing there (civilians mostly, in other words, women and children and other defenseless people), they hate us, it's dragging our own economy down, they want us gone, and there was never any reason for us to be there. Suddam Hussein was in no way, shape or form responsible for 9/11, infact, he had NO ties with al Qaeda, he didn't like them either. He also had NO WMD's. Ever wonder why they weren't used against us? Honestly, if he had any, they would've been fired at us when we invaded, but that's just logic thinking. So other than to defend your goddamned pride should we stay? I am not entirelly sure on what it is at right now, but last I heard (couldn't have been more than a year ago), only like 7% of the terrorists/insurgeants in Iraq were al Qaeda.

It is quite simple, really. Vote for McBush if you want 8 years of the same thing, the same slow death to the poorer people, in the hopes that trying the same thing over and over again will miraculously work. Vote for McBush if you believe this is a mental recession we're going through. Or, vote for Obama and his 18 charisma, as Peeper said. That will come in handy in foreign relations. Vote for Obama for a change from a slow death to healing. Vote for Obama to get us out of Iraq and put our recourses where they are needed. Vote for Obama to have a competent president in the White House.

(As a side note, something that I find funny. I am glad to see republicans finally take offense to McCain being thought of as Bush 2.0, I'm glad to see people seeing through the lies. Also, not everyone to the left of Hitler is a communist, alright?)

Can a DM please lock this thread? This was a reminder to vote, not a political debate.

9lives is trolling. Or so I hope.

There's nothing wrong with a debate either, so long as everyone remains respectful, right?

As it is election season, I don't mind a debate. Just keep it civil. Once it gets unruly I'm going to lock this sucker up.


My parents made low income. When I was five I remember living in a small, cramped house with no furniture. We slept on the floor, and my parents would go to work, come home, play with me, and sleep. I can't imagine that was the American Dream for any of us.

Eventually, my parents were able to get out of that slippery slope and now live a comfortable, middle-class life. We could not have done it without the help of my dad's social security, and other governmental benefits. While my parents live well now, and can afford some luxuries, they still work hard. Right now we're trying to start a business, write a book, and find other jobs to keep the income flowing. My dad is now an old man, so it is difficult for him to work longer than three or four hours a day. Yet he continues to work hard every day so I can go to college, and so he can life comfortably.

Those of you who know about me may know that I'm an engineer. I put a lot of work and pride into my education, and it is important for me to be successful in my field. Although I have yet to graduate from my university, I make three or four times more money than my parents through engineering summer internships. The money I make in three hours of work equals a day's work for them, and I am already interviewing for jobs with engineering firms who will pay me over $250,000 annual salary when I graduate. I feel comfortable knowing that I'll live a good life when I'm done with my schooling.

Yet I am a philanthropist. My parents instilled a lot of love and passion into me, and I still hold that today. Next year, I plan to travel to Africa to join a project that my university is conducting. Our engineers will give running water and sanitation to poverty-stricken environments at no cost to them. When speaking with engineers who participated in this project last year, they showed me pictures of African children dancing and playing with running water for the first time. I remember doing this as a child in my backyard, yet when I was little I didn't realize how lucky I was. It was a beautiful thing to see these children experience technology and get away from the horrible living conditions around them, just for an instant. This is something I want to do, and I plan to invest in philanthropy, and maybe I'll join the Peace Corp.

Even though I'll be making over $250,000, I plan to put a lot of that money away into good causes. I felt blessed to have the middle-class life my parents gave me, and I feel that's all I need to be happy. With $250,000, I could travel to different countries every year, buy expensive sports cars, live in a million dollar house, and have many luxuries. Yet would it hurt me to not have a vacation every year, or to drive a normal vehicle, or to live in a middle class neighborhood? I have relatives who are millionaires, yet they have decided to live in a middle class neighborhood because they don't need all the luxuries to be happy. They donate a significant portion of their money to charity. This is a virtue I plan to continue.

Peeper argued that those who make over $250,000 a year will have their taxes raised. He makes them sound like victims of Obama, as they are working to earn that money. While I do not dispute that they have worked hard for it, I know there are people working even harder for much less. These people were once my parents. While they're working seven days a week, my engineering firm will only ask me to work four days a week, and for fewer hours. While some people do hard labor, I'll be in an air-conditioned environment directing a project. Sure, I worked for that money, but am I really a victim? Does raising a tax on my income put a significant dent into my quality of life? No matter what, I'll live comfortably, but will they?

So yes, spread the wealth. What is wrong with this notion? Donald Trump has many mansions, and even an apartment made of gold. If we took away one mansion from him and used it to house the homeless, would Trump's daily life be affected? Probably not, but the world of those homeless people would be warped entirely for good.

My question is this. Do the critics of Obama's tax plan make over 250k? Do they really feel like they cannot spare an extra dollar for their fellow man? What is wrong with socialism? When we were in kindergarten, our mothers and fathers taught us to share. Why can we not share as adults?

So no, it's not Obama's "18 charisma, 20 bluff" that gets to me. It's how his beliefs match my own, and how he wants to help everyone succeed, while John McCain does not offer that. And if we want to talk about bluffing, don't get me started on how McCain has run his campaign.

I'm looking forward to how a McCain supporter will reply to this.

(Related video: http://www.hulu.com/watch/5287/30-days-minimum-wage)

I'm uncertain how anyone could take "socialist" as a serious charge.  It's one of the oldest tricks in the Republican playbook - Heck, Goldwater called JFK a socialist.  Most people who respond most negatively to charges of "socialism" or "sharing the wealth" seem to have very little concept of what socialism means, and seem to be unaware that the progressive income tax has been around for quite some time.  Even if Obama is elected and passes his tax proposals, the wealthiest Americans still won't be paying any more than they were under Reagan.

The other argument that rings hollow to me is the one of experience.  Undoubtedly McCain has more experience in government than Obama does, but this is touted like it's a complete argument.  The historian in me asks: is experience actually a predictor of performance?  James Buchanan had tremendous amounts of political experience and was a horrible president.  Compared to other presidents, Nixon and Ford were very experienced; one was a petty grudge-holding criminal and the other was profoundly mediocre.  In contrast, both Roosevelts - often cited as heroes of both parties - had about 10 years of experience between the two of them.  Any way you look at it, there is no statistical correlation between experience and performance, not even a weak one.

Without his "socialist" and "experience" arguments, all McCain really has left is his cry of "Maverick."  But a real "maverick" doesn't coddle the religious extremists he once called "agents of intolerance," or support passing the tax cuts he once opposed, or say he'd vote against his own immigration bill, or make an about face on issues like torture, or commit to running a positive campaign and then turn to an almost completely negative strategy, offering the lame and painfully childish excuse that it was Obama's fault for not doing town meetings with him.  Certainly Obama has made his own reversals, his broken commitment to public financing being chief among them, but nobody has tried as hard as McCain to make an end run around their own record and compromise so many political positions to energize the party base.  In 2000, "maverick" might have been apt, but there's not much of that McCain left - or if there is, his handlers and managers won't let it out.  The McCain I respected then and came close to voting for in 2000 no longer exists.  He is, in the deepest and most profound sense of the word, a sell-out.


I hope everyone will vote, no matter which way you lean.  But I also hope you'll vote based on the candidate's policy positions instead of irrelevant noise, whether it's guilt by association, cheap shots about how many houses somebody owns, or meaningless political catchphrases like "socialism."  If everyone in this country ignored that rubbish and voted for the policies that are best for themselves and for the country, we would be a much stronger community and a better democracy.  Start with your own vote.

I'm not going to enter the debate over the candidates, but I think Stardog captures the spirit of the centre-left "share the wealth" policy which I also agree with.

I would however like to add my voice to "please vote!" and leave you all a couple of links:

Political Compass' Mapping of the 2008 US Election (http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2008) - if you've not experienced Political Compass before, check out the rest of the site and maybe even do the test yourself.

Avaaz.org's For All of Us Campaign (https://secure.avaaz.org/en/for_all_of_us/%5B/url) - the ad is cheesy, but Avaaz is a great organisation with a commitment to progressive (libertarian social) ideals that resonate strongly with me.

Best of luck November 4!

i agree with squyrl's statement, but would say that obama is a better choice than mccain. i love mccain's automated phone calls to me 3 times a day telling me obama worked with a terrorist or whatever

i found it a suprise that political compass says that bob barr enjoys deaf penalties and is pretty up there on authoritarian

I don't mind the debating, it hopefully will encourage people even -more- to get out to vote, to ensure their voice is heard!

The 2000 election, as messy as it got, was a wonderful gift.  It reminded us that just a handful of votes can change the course of history.

Don't be a person who, on Nov. 5th, says "I wish I would've gone to the polls, yesterday!"  Be the person that, for better or for worse, is able to say, "Well, I did MY part."

VOTE!  VOTE!  VOTE!

I was going to jump into the debate, but then I realized that anyone who honestly thinks Obama is a socialist is pretty much dead set on voting for McCain anyway.  Although, I think anyone who actually votes based upon the false allegation of socialism should immediately refund the state the money used to provide them with a public education (assuming they went to public schools).

My favorite get out the vote method is this Moveon.org ad:  http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/taf.shtml?hp=1

It's hilarious.

Quote from: derflaro;95683i love mccain's automated phone calls to me 3 times a day telling me obama worked with a terrorist or whatever

I don't live in the States. Are you trolling or do you really get these automated calls? <_<

Quote from: Caddies;95698I don't live in the States. Are you trolling or do you really get these automated calls? <_<

Yes.  They are called "robocalls."  I haven't gotten any, but only because I live in California, which isn't a contested state.  Presidential politics here is very mean-spirited.  McCain and his campaign officers have defended this practice in interviews.

What's really sad about it is that very similar tactics were used against McCain in 2000, with callers and push pollers calling him a traitor, implying he had an "illegitimate black baby" (he adopted a daughter from Bangladesh), calling his wife a drug addict, and so on.  Those were certainly worse than his present smears against Obama, but it's a shameful practice in general.

They are called robocalls (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocall).

John McCain was a victim of robocalls in 2000 when Bush's campaign, during the Republican Primary, sent out robocalls claiming that he had a black baby.

This time around McCain has hired the same folks who did that to him to go after Obama.  Robocalls are going out claiming that Obama is a terrorist, among other things.

I have some things to say.......

1 Vote for Obama.

2 How is Obama a socialist when he voted for President Clintons plan to tax the middle class less?


3 It is Socialism to increase taxes to those who dont need it? Such as big corporation and stuff.

4 Mccain last I checked keeps flip flopping on the issues.

5 The war in IRaq is wasting tons of Americas Money meaning yours and mine. It is also wasting the Lives of Soldiers that could be defending our home or doing something more useful.


6 John Mccain had admitted variouse times that he still needs "educating" on ecnomics.

7 John Mccain dosent want to spread the wealth around because many of his friends and himself would have to pay more taxes and he dosent want his friends that work in Greedy corporations to spare some money so that average people can pay less.


8 Obamas 20 bluff? well Id perfer a leader with 20 bluff then a leader with -5 bluff Bush and Mccain both are bad at lieing

9 Mccain has run more negative Obama adds.

10 Last I checked in one week Vp Canidate Sarah Palin spent $150,000 on her wardrobe I think if we elect John Mccain our money will be spent to improve someones outfit.

11 Sarah Palin is crazy.


12 Obama dosent brag about being tortured like John Mccain. I find it shameful that one would keep telling stories of how they got tortured for sympathy.

13 Mccain and Palin are pro life.

14 Palin is crazy and if John Mccain dies I do not want Palin in office.    



-DrD officially Endorses Barrack Obama for this election

OBAMA 08!

While I had written and re-written comments on what I think about the presidential election and how I would vote, I did delete it to get post back on track - get out and vote, but, ...
 
First thing to do is not just look at the presidential election.  Lots of things to decide this Tuesday.  Please do some research before checking yes or no and all those pretty little boxes.  For example, here is a site that has tons of info on the Propositions on the California ballot.
http://citizenvoiceblog.wordpress.com/
 
Actually if you have not done any research should you vote?  Should you blindly take a stab at voting just because you have seen some commercials on TV?
 
Educate yourself then vote, please.

Why I as an outsider would prefer if Barack Obama loses the US election on November 4th.
 
First, I would like to say that I am basically a fan of the United States of America, its constitution and its founders, but of course I most likely know much less than those who live there and as an outsider it is not quite right of me to comment on this nation's election or so. Secondly, I would appreciate if none of you would troll me or say that I am an unreasonable extremist or maybe worse, because I am truly not one and I do feel that my concern is reasonable and just as valid as yours.

The United States of America has been the greatest and kindest nation/superpower in the history of humanity and now in this current election, many Americans feel that their country is going the wrong direction/has been doing the wrong things in the World and now many would like change; which many of you seem to believe Obama will bring about. I feel that Obama is extremely overrated and I do not believe that Barack Obama or John McCain will change much at all for the USA or worse nothing at all, but I do think that McCain would still be better than Obama and if Obama were to win, the decline of America would be quickened in this time where the World is getting more dangerous.

To quote from C.S. Lewis, "We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive." I think this is very right and instead of radical change, I believe what the USA needs to do is take a turn and return to what its founders envisioned. It should not need to follow the footsteps of Europe and turn more into a Western European country or other First World Countries.

And I would like to add another quote, this time from the Second President of the USA, John Adams- "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." I believe the decline of morality and religion in society is why all these problems in America is here now. While it is true that many of the Founders were deists, they still believed in Christian morality and I am confident that they would certainly not support things like Gay Marriage and Abortion.

I think I cannot go further than I have without causing a mess on this thread and then it would be locked, so I will just add this. I simply hope that the USA remains a unique and special country in the world for a long time and that none of you vote/or be persuaded to vote for Obama due to the fact that basically almost every other country in the world would prefer and love him, especially the Western European ones for I feel that they only want him to win so that America is turned into more of a country like theirs and/or made weaker and also I doubt that they themselves would elect him if he was actually running in their own country. Lastly, I hope that the fall/decline of America as a superpower or as a great country will not happen in my lifetime.

I have certainly many other reasons as well, but it is likely best that I do not say more.

Oh, lol.

Wern8, couldn't one argue the right road is the one Clinton put us on? That's the road Obama is looking at. Is there a better road that McCain speaks of?

Also, Obama is a religious man. He isn't extremist, but he does follow Christian morals. Yet, he supports abortion and gay marriage. I believe it's silly to say the Founding Fathers would be against abortion and against gay marriage when those were issues that weren't tackled then, and when there are lots of christians today who are for those issues.

Tradition holds us back as a Country, I feel. Sometimes you must give up some of your values to progress as a nation as a whole.

Obama 08.

Wern brings up some good points. However, one major contradiction that strikes me is this: As I understand it, Wern wishes to restore religion and morality to the masses, and to government. However, the government, as the Founding Fathers originally thought of it, was completely seperate religion and government. They did not want religion to permiate the constitution, or be the force behind any of the governmental institutions. The Constitution mentions religion no times, except to ban it as a litmus test for governmental positions. The US Supreme Court has even said..
"The fundamental law of our nation — the basis of our liberties — is the Constitution, not the Bible. Indeed, it is the Constitution that elected officials are sworn to uphold. "
 
Thomas Jefferson in 1802 issued this statement about the first amendment.
"The course of constitutional neutrality … is to insure that no religion be sponsored or favored …"
 
The Founding Fathers clearly had no intention of having religion be a part of any decisions made by the government. Tolerance of religion is another topic. However, it seems to be best described by this topic in the modern day.
 
(http://www.rossde.com/wiley990522.jpg)

On Tuesday, I will be voting for Barack Obama for President. I feel strongly that he is, by far, the better choice for a stronger, more prosperous, safer, freer nation and world. I would be happy to explain why at length if anyone is undecided and actually interested in my opinion, but as I'm not very interested in writing at such great length I will instead link to my personal favorite endorsement, the New Yorker's (http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/10/13/081013taco_talk_editors). And for those of you who consider yourselves to be conservative, and have not already been swayed by the arguments made by conservative realists such as Colin Powell on behalf of Senator Obama, here are A ndrew Sullivan's Top 10 Reasons a Conservative Should Vote for Obama (http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-top-ten-rea.html).

But I do for a moment want to address some arguments advanced against Senator Obama in this thread.

First, there's the matter of taxation. Returning to Clinton-era levels of taxation are hardly "socialist." I absolutely am a proponent of being prosperous and people being rewarded generously for hard work and success. I know some very deserving, very wealthy people who have certainly benefited considerably from Bush's tax cuts. But I think most of these people understand that it's wiser to pay a little more in taxes and have an economy be healthy and competently managed, and have an opportunity to produce more wealth because your customers are doing well rather than - have a couple of years of paying less in taxes, and having the private airplane/yacht industries do very well, but the country find itself in massive debt to other countries and then the stock market crash and the value of one's investments be cut in half. If you're rich, I think a US under Obama would be much better for YOU than it would be for McCain. It is easier to get very rich in a country that is prosperous, investing in the right kinds of things, not wasting money, and where most people are doing relatively well so they are buying your product.

Second, there's the question of morality. Putting aside that Senator Obama opposes gay marriage (he does approve of some kind of civil union, though - for the record I personally disagree with this, I am all for marriage being recognized between homosexual couples and not just civil unions), I think it's very clear if you look at the record that Obama holds himself to a higher ethical, religious, and moral standard than McCain does. Examine their histories. Study how they both have conducted their campaigns. I'm not particularly Christian myself, but Senator Obama's religion is clearly a more important part of himself than McCain's.

For me, Senator Obama is not the perfect candidate. And regardless, the trials and difficulties facing this country may be beyond any man to manage. I certainly anticipate problems to come, and am prepared to be fully critical of an Obama administration, and to hold them accountable to the mistakes he will surely make. But this has been a long, difficult, and pretty nasty campaign - and even for those of you who find yourselves voting for McCain, I hope you will be prepared to realize that if Senator Obama is victorious, he will be fighting for you just as much as any of us, and deserves respect and should not be feared. There's a lot of strong emotions flying around right now, and although I'm not particularly optimistic about swaying people's decision on who they're going to vote for at this time, I just hope even McCain supports will find themselves being receptive to Senator Obama as their president should he be elected.

I just want to point out something for those that don't know, because I know there are a fair amount of college students here on this forum.

If you got a letter from your local county registrar's office informing you that you were ineligible to vote because you listed a dormitory as your address, then you should know that this is completely bogus.  The supreme court ruled in 1971 that students may register to vote where they attend school.

Republican's are trying to suppress the votes of students (who are going to vote overwhelmingly in favor of Obama) here in Virginia.  Here in Virginia the state board of elections explicitly states that a dormitory may constitute a valid address.  If you got this piece of paper here in Virginia then you should know that it violates your constitutional rights as a voter.

Don't get screwed over by voter suppression efforts.  

Also, on Tuesday expect the lines to be pretty long.  Make sure you've had something to eat before you go vote - it will likely take over an hour.  The longest wait I've heard about was down in Atlanta which was 10 hours (for early voting!).  If you can vote early in your state I suggest going Monday, in hopes of avoiding even longer crowds on Tuesday.  Don't think you can do this between classes or while on lunch break, you may have to take off of work (or show up late) or skip class.

Some areas, in particular low income and minority areas, there are fewer voting machines put there in hopes of creating these long lines, getting people discouraged and therefore preventing them from voting.  Don't be discouraged, don't let your vote not be counted, stand in line as long as you have to - no matter what it takes.

Just remember that in 2000 Al Gore lost the election by just over 500 votes, and that in 2004 Kerry would have won with just over 10,000 votes had everyone who stood in line in Ohio stayed in line.

Also, you can't wear buttons, T-Shirts, carry signs or any type of campaign paraphernalia when going to vote.

Please be informed. Regard voting records, disregard them, whatever you believe is best. So long as you're looking at something substantial (and the less potential bias involved, the better). Be wary of spin, media, polls, etc. Then, please vote for a candidate you think is best.

If you want to support a party (or perhaps work against one), do so in the congressional races where party distinction bears particular importance. These men write the laws, these men decide the changes.

VOTE!  VOTE!  VOTE!

And please make sure that you tune out the crackpots out there, regardless of whether they come from the left or from the right.

If anyone is trying to convince you to vote one way or the other by smearing a candidate or claiming a candidate would ruin your life, odds are they're revealing more about what's wrong with THEIR candidate.  Most often, what a person criticizes in others is what they fear about themselves or are prone to doing themselves - it's why they are fixated on it.

Listen to the candidates.  Read about their accomplishments.  Watch who they pick to work with them, and watch how they run their campaign - that will tell you more about their abilities and leadership than just about anything else.

Ultimately, you will also be compelled to match your candidate with your own moral compass.  But please keep in mind that you need to respect the moral compass of others.  Morals and ethics are extremely subjective, and the beauty of our democracy is that we can come to an agreement of how to live together while still preserving our individual beliefs.  

While I respect Wern quoting John Adams, and respect Wern's beliefs, I could not disagree more about the place of religious morals in our government.  Dogma and government are an extremely dangerous mix, and have been arguably the source of the greatest travesties mankind has ever wreaked upon itself.  The Holocaust and 9/11 are two such examples.

I also do not see America in a decline, having lived here for 44 years.  There are always cycles of growth/decline, but the overall trend for 44 years has been constant improvement.  Often, however, we fail to notice how far we've come because some people are determined to do nothing but complain and criticize (usually in order to advance their own self-serving agenda.)

As for Garem's statement that you should vote for a candidate and not a party, I would agree for the most part but would qualify it further:  Vote for an administration and campaign, not a party.  The individual candidate is nothing without the people behind him or her.

Most importantly, VOTE!  VOTE!  VOTE!

THANKS, AND AWESOME JOB, TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED!!

No matter who you voted for, be proud that you did your part to actively contribute to a better future!  Let's continue to work together toward that better day!!!

Your inspiring use of capital letters has touched me in a special place, Jacqueline of Swords.

It absolutely cracks me up that everyone thinks that the President of the United States has the power to raise or lower your taxes.

He doesn't.

Anyways, the king is dead.  Long live the king.

It's about the sway of power. Barack Obama is the figurehead of an administration and a whole political party/agenda that wants to raise taxes to fund their programs. Plus, he (and all presidential candidates) talk about taxes, raising, lowering, etc. in their campaigns. This isn't just fluff. It's just not an explicit power of the executive. If President-to-be Obama wants to change taxes, he can walk over to Capital Hill, tell Congress what he wants, and chances are that it's going to put the wheels in motion (although Pelosi and the gang will be waaaaaay ahead of him, making it rather silly for the President to be walking around D.C. to tell someone to do what they're dying to do anyways!).

As well, don't forget the power of veto when it comes to budget issues.  While the President doesn't have direct power to raise or lower taxes, s/he can still keep vetoing bills until s/he gets one s/he likes.  And ultimately, Congress would like to continue to get their paychecks.

A bit late but ... thanks Americans ... we as you say "the rest of the world" thought you were going to do nothing about the election again as you did in Bush's 2nd mandate, I mean fraud election... thank you.

It means that although your college election system is quite strange to some of us ... you still fight for Democracy, in real fights like voting.

The winning of Obama brings back in everyone chest that tiny little flame of hope that human kind still carries around in their...
I know it is just a small step also to disappointment but what can we do if not to believe and hope ... some called it faith once ...

So as I said OBAMA DID PREVAIL ! =)