OH/TX primaries...

[godfry n. glad]

Well, the polls are putting Clinton ahead by 5% in Ohio, and Obama leading in Texas by 2% points. McCain is leading by 10+% in both on the Repugnantcan side.

I'd say they are both too close to call. With those numbers either Demo could win, and in Ohio, the Diebold company is probably over-involved in the Democratic selection...yes, already.

Should the FF pundits dit some puns here?

[viscousmemories]

I'll be throwing my considerable weight behind Barak Obama tomorrow.

[D. Scarlatti]

Unfortunately I have to work with a hot girl tomorrow and will miss the returns.

[viscousmemories]

Damn, sorry about that D.

[D. Scarlatti]

Seriously though, I guess tomorrow is D-Day for Hillary, eh? Personally I think they're both pretty damn sharp. Either one works for me. Of course, anything is preferable to Republicans remaining in power.

[ChuckF]

Originally Posted by D. Scarlatti

Unfortunately I have to work with a hot girl tomorrow and will miss the returns.

Volunteering at the junior high school again?

[godfry n. glad]

I think it's going to be a split decision. One state to Obama, one to Clinton, and both close. Closer than the Ohio polls state, which is a 5% spread at last count.

[D. Scarlatti]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

spread

That's what I'm thinkin'.

[godfry n. glad]

Not at 5%, it doesn't.

[Doohickie]

I was Voter #1 in my precinct this morning. I got there a few minutes early, they opened a few minutes late. I voted and got out. By the time I left the line was out the door already.

I was reading about some stuff Obama has done and said lately, and I'm starting to wonder if maybe he isn't a Black, articulate, Democratic George W. Bush. By that, I mean that there seem to be coming to light a lot of gaffs on his part that, according to snopes.com, are *not* made up just to discredit him, that he really didn't put his hand over his heart during the national anthem, that he's made several factual errors during speeches, etc.

I voted for him and he's the one I hope wins the presidency, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe he, like W., is more of an empty shell of a leader that will need a staff to keep him from looking like a fool.

I'm ready for someone with a name other than Bush or Clinton to occupy the White House. I sure don't want it to be McCain. Obama is *almost* compelling; I just wish the substance of his speeches were as presidential as his delivery of them.

Maybe I'm just getting jaded.

[Stormlight]

Originally Posted by Doohickie

that he really didn't put his hand over his heart during the national anthem

I read that before and have to ask: is this a joke? He didn't put his hand over his heart for the national anthem makes him unfit for presidency? That seems almost too stupid to be true.

[D. Scarlatti]

Also, he doesn't wear his American flag pin.

And his wife isn't proud of our country.

Face it, he's dangerous.

He's even been seen in a turban.

That is the most important fucking issue ever, and you libtards need to get it through your thick skulls that the 9/11 terrorist strikes ordered by Saddam Hussein would never have happened if Barack HUSSEIN Obama had done what the Bible teaches us to do and covered his fucking black heart during the song Jesus personally wrote for us!

[D. Scarlatti]

Oh yeah I forgot, his middle name is the Arabic equivalent of "Goodman," so he's actually Jewish.

[Doohickie]

Originally Posted by Stormlight

I read that before and have to ask: is this a joke? He didn't put his hand over his heart for the national anthem makes him unfit for presidency? That seems almost too stupid to be true.

It can be used to make him look "unpresidential" when running for office and conducting presidential business. It makes him harder to sell to (and easier to dismiss by) people who might be on the fence.

The fact that W. says NUKE-QUEUE-LAR (and his long list of other malapropisms) does not mean he is unfit for public office, but it gives the impression of ignorance.

Yes, I realize that no one is perfect, but I’m starting to think that even wanting to be president indicates a fundamental flaw in one’s character. Maybe the internet just makes it harder for presidential candidates to carry off that impression of being presidential- their every word and deed is instantly picked on by the pundits.

[Stormlight]

Originally Posted by Doohickie

I’m starting to think that even wanting to be president indicates a fundamental flaw in one’s character.

Nice.

[Doohickie]

It's not original; I read it somewhere (maybe Orwell's 1984?). I'm just now starting to believe it.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Stormlight

I read that before and have to ask: is this a joke? He didn't put his hand over his heart for the national anthem makes him unfit for presidency? That seems almost too stupid to be true.

We talked about it a bit in this thread.

[Joshua Adams]

Originally Posted by Doohickie

It's not original; I read it somewhere (maybe Orwell's 1984?). I'm just now starting to believe it.

"There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don’t know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president." - Kurt Vonnegut

That it?

[Stormlight]

Originally Posted by Adam

We talked about it a bit in this thread.

Interesting. That whole patriotism/saluting the flag theme just seems so utterly bizarre to me. I guess it's a cultural thing.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Stormlight

Interesting. That whole patriotism/saluting the flag theme just seems so utterly bizarre to me. I guess it's a cultural thing.

In related news:

Do we see a subtle pattern emerging here? Every presidential candidate of both parties who ever wore a lapel flag during the debates, even as briefly as Biden, bought himself a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

And every major party candidate who remains viable today -- John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- has seldom if ever been spotted with a flag in his or her lapel.

...

Obama said he had worn a pin after 9/11 but stopped once he began to notice, and here I paraphrase wildly but no doubt accurately, that most of the people still wearing lapel flags were assholes.

Also, just for the lulz, and cause we don't have 9iu11iani to kick around any more:

Rudy Giuliani, who probably wears a flag to bed...

[Doohickie]

Originally Posted by Joshua Adams

"There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don’t know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president." - Kurt Vonnegut

That it?

Could be... what book? It still remains tied to Orwell in my mind though.

Originally Posted by Stormlight

Interesting. That whole patriotism/saluting the flag theme just seems so utterly bizarre to me. I guess it's a cultural thing.

I think it is. In many countries, there is a visible symbol of the country that embodies the personification of that country- the Queen in England perhaps, maybe the Arc de Triomphe or Eiffel Tower in France, that sort of thing. In the U.S., maybe the Statue of Liberty fills a similar purpose, but most people don’t have direct contact with that. So I think the flag has become the most powerful symbol of the country.

Obama actually violated federal code by not holding his hand over his heart during the national anthem, according to the US Flag Code. Although conduct concerning the flag is codified into law, there are no federal penalties for violating the code (although states may impose their own).

[Clutch Munny]

Yeah, but nobody in England wears the Queen. Not even Philip.

[Caligulette]

I had seen displays of patriotism before, but it has increased dramatically since 9/11. It has reached a fever pitch, and can be sometimes worrisome when I think about the extremes to which nationalism has gone in the past. (Here and elsewhere.) The lengths to which people will go to "prove" their loyalty are frightening (agreeing to NSA wiretap approval, say...Imprisoning people without due process, for instance...).

[Joshua Adams]

Originally Posted by Doohickie

Could be... what book? It still remains tied to Orwell in my mind though.

According to Wikiquote, it's listed as from "A Man Without a Country" or from an essay called "Cold Turkey". Could be in both, since the former is just a collection of essays.