US Presidential Elections

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...03.html?via=mr

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THE MAGPIE: MAGPIE WILL return to unalloyed silliness next week but right now, and once more with feeling, we have a final (mildly serious) whirl on the merry-go-round that has been the US presidential election.It was a notable feature of the campaign that some online readers in the US reacted, foaming at the mouth-style, anytime anyone had a pop at Sarah Palin.

Maybe it's asking too much to expect people who hate liberals to be anything other than illiberal, but when Magpie did a turn on October 3rd on Tina Fey's demolition job on the Alaskan governor on Saturday Night Live ("Side-splitting parodies by two comedians make Palin a laughing stock in US," ran the headline), the e-mails came thick and fast.

"You are an idiot - your headline is absurd. Why don't you stick to picking potatoes and your nose," suggested a chap named Lou. A political science PhD candidate clearly.

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Just came across this on the Irish Times site. Bit of an interesting read, especially the one who left Ireland.

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Originally Posted by superfrank

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...03.html?via=mr

Just came across this on the Irish Times site. Bit of an interesting read, especially the one who left Ireland.

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Sounds like a lot of Fox viewers to me.

Without the hyberbole there is a point to be made about media coverage of Palin. While SNL's sketches were excellent, they were still only viewed by a miniscule amount of US voters. Even with web views and through other reports of them, they'd still only reacha small percentage of the voters, and most of them would've been Democrat leaning anyway.

To say it made "Palin a laughing stock in US" is overstating the reach of SNL. In the CNN exit polls, about 7% of people said Palin was the biggest deciding factor in their vote. 54% of those voted Obama, but 46% voted for McCain

The fact that she clearly is a dummy, isn't really the point

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html

Anybody see this ? Palin was "interviewed" by Greta Van Susteren from Fox. It is car crash stuff.

She is utterly inarticulate, drifts aimlessly, and is clearly not on top of the global subject matter.

Now, you don't get to be governer of anything without being politically skilful and I am sure she is - but at this level (where very very few people can play) she is useless.

If a republican fails with a softball Fox interview they have no chance in the real world.

The first 120 minutes she tries to "deal" with the clothes and other nonsense issues - why do you put this on the table ?

Stunningly inept - I hear that Huckabee and Jindal are both in Iowa this weekend for "book tours" - we need a 2012 Presidential Election thread already !!

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Originally Posted by Dodge

To say it made "Palin a laughing stock in US" is overstating the reach of SNL. In the CNN exit polls, about 7% of people said Palin was the biggest deciding factor in their vote. 54% of those voted Obama, but 46% voted for McCain

The fact that she clearly is a dummy, isn't really the point

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Yeah but parts of the SNL skits were broadcast by nearly every other channel on the box. They were subject to newspaper articles, magazine articles, chat shows, news broadcasts, radio broadcasts - trust me SNL's reach CAN be overstated with regards to their coverage of Palin.

Whether Palin likes it or not, she is walking parody. Her accent, her background, her lack of knowledge...really there very little SNL needed to add to it. Infact with regards to her Russia comment, Tina Fey quoted much of that exchange VERBATUM - thats how rediculous Palin got.

But when the Fox reporter relayed those claims about Africa and the NAFTA countries I thought, "Nobody is that dumb - they're just up to their scapegoating". But when i heard her response after being asked about the whole affairI thought, "Maybe she is THAT dumb". I really think the aide might have been telling the truth.

Bit late to the party on this but the atmosphere in New York and New Jersey on election eve and election day was something else.

I hung around NBC's election plaza the day before the election and there was a real buzz in the air. Then while in hospital for a foot injury the next morning I heard the guy in the bed next to me describe how he waited 90 minutes after he started having a heart attack to go to the hospital because he wanted to vote first.

Ended up in a house full of Obama campaigners in New Jersey on election night and it was something else alright.

Disturbing trend, but hardly surprising. Hope these far right pundits are happy with themselves i.e. Hannity, Limbaugh, Savage, Malkin etc...

Story

I know it's on AP but you'd have to wonder at the legitimacy of that article. It reads very like the kind of out-of-context and exaggerated crap we've all come to expect from Fox News.

dont know how heavily it is being reported in Ireland, if at all, but it looks like Obama wants Hillary as secretary of state. I think she will accept.

That would have been agreed long ago.

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Originally Posted by SkStu

dont know how heavily it is being reported in Ireland, if at all, but it looks like Obama wants Hillary as secretary of state. I think she will accept.

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Looks like she is going to accept this position after clearing the vetting process, according to CNN.

Seems ironic that Obama is offering Clinton a position on possibly the area he disagreed most - foreign policy.

Obama proclamations of change looking sketchy now as he hires ex Clinton administration staff.

He also favours the bailout of the big three US car manufacturers & you have to wonder how long it will take for them to flush that cash away.

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Originally Posted by pete

Seems ironic that Obama is offering Clinton a position on possibly the area he disagreed most - foreign policy.

Obama proclamations of change looking sketchy now as he hires ex Clinton administration staff.

He also favours the bailout of the big three US car manufacturers & you have to wonder how long it will take for them to flush that cash away.

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Not really, he's always said he values the policies of Lincoln above all others, and Lincoln invited people whos views he was strongly opposed to into his cabinet so that he would have people who would make him think about his decisions before he acted on them.

I wouldn't be surprised to see another Republican besides Colin Powell given an administration job as well. Plus putting Hilary in his team will fully win over any of those racist democrat soccer mums who refused to vote for him

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Originally Posted by pete

Seems ironic that Obama is offering Clinton a position on possibly the area he disagreed most - foreign policy.

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Hmmm, hard to say really. Their major difference surrounded the issue of face to face meetings without pre conditions. This was the single biggest difference. Now, if Clinton is willing to take the job knowing that she may have to abide by Obamas wishes - wheres the problem?

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Originally Posted by pete

Obama proclamations of change looking sketchy now as he hires ex Clinton administration staff.

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Yes and no. They are Clinton staff, but that doesn't mean that Obama is Clinton. Bottom line is the economy issue over here is getting bigger and bigger each week. It makes a degree of sense to call on the people from the last economically successful administration....an administration that cleaned up the record deficit run up primarily by Reagan and topped off with Bush 1.

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Originally Posted by pete

He also favours the bailout of the big three US car manufacturers & you have to wonder how long it will take for them to flush that cash away.

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Pete, you say it like its a problem - did I pick you up wrong? The auto bail out is one that really needs to be thought carefully about. If the government sit back and let them fail, there will be MILLIONS of people left unemployed. I heard on the radio that if even ONE of them fail there would be as many as 3,000,000 people out of work as a result. The auto companies themselves and the smaller companies they subcontract to. Now, thats a situation too serious to just say, "Fcuk'em - let'em fail". Many will agree that it should be a case of letting them collapse, they dug their own grave by continuing to produce big pick ups and hummers when people couldn't afford the gas to fill them. Its agreed that IF they get bailed out, there will be severe restrictions

I dunno. Bottom line is the economy has changed the whole dynamic. And thats understandable.

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Originally Posted by dancinpants

I dunno. Bottom line is the economy has changed the whole dynamic. And thats understandable.

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Seems to have now started a culture of big business in the US looking for government bailouts. Going to be difficult for Obama to shake that once it continues. Bail Out for US Auto companies will be money down the drain but I agree he has little option.

BBC News

Obama Canbinet so far:

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton
Defence Secretary: Robert Gates (current DS)
Treasury Secretary: Timothy Geithner (currently involved in solving banking crises for Bush)
Health Secretary: Tom Daschle
Attorney General (Justice Secretary): Eric Holder (formerly worked for Clinton)
Homeland Security Secretary: Janet Napolitano
UN ambassador: Susan Rice (formerly worked for Clinton)

Not exactly evidence of big changes in Washington. I wonder did the Democratic party encourage any of those appointments...

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Originally Posted by jebus

Not really, he's always said he values the policies of Lincoln above all others

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I agree.

He has lied and talked out both sides of his mouth quite a lot.


You can forget about any progress in the Middle East now that Miss Israel is Sec of State

The more things change the more they stay the same eh? :)

Can we move Obama-specific stuff here now please?

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=107573

adam