If Foreigners Could Vote in '08

[freebird]

Originally Posted by ToughOmbre

I can't comment on the political awareness of the voters of other countries, but I can say that the average American voter leaves a lot to be desired.

IMHO not enough vote issues or philosophy (i. e., secular progressive liberal vs traditional conservative).

TO

You got that right TO.

Originally Posted by renrich

by the way, according to Wiki, in 1780, Parliament was elected by less than 3% of the people. I would hesitate to call that a democracy..

According to my estimate about 97% of the people are not capable of making an intelligent vote....

I think the ballots should be changed to essay question format instead of multiple choice!

[eddie_brunette]

to all above...at least Zimbabwe isnt your Neighbour, and have an idiot for a president like we do

[freebird]

Originally Posted by eddie_brunette

to all above...at least Zimbabwe isnt your Neighbour, and have an idiot for a president like we do

You got that right, the African Union is a joke, they didn't even mention Zimbabwe at their meeting....

[machine shop tom]

It is interesting to note that those foreigners who seem to favor Obama or Clinton come from countries where the government is expected to look after the populace and run the economy. But what makes the USA different is the tradition of letting the private sector control the economy and look after social issues. If a Democrat is elected, I would expect them to look abroad for solutions to American issues, instead of looking to the American people for inspiration. In other words, following instead of leading.

I'm for McCain, if for nor other reason than to piss of the socialists among the American electorate and abroad.

tom

[freebird]

Originally Posted by machine shop tom

It is interesting to note that those foreigners who seem to favor Obama or Clinton come from countries where the government is expected to look after the populace and run the economy. But what makes the USA different is the tradition of letting the private sector control the economy and look after social issues. If a Democrat is elected, I would expect them to look abroad for solutions to American issues, instead of looking to the American people for inspiration. In other words, following instead of leading.

I'm for McCain, if for nor other reason than to piss of the socialists among the American electorate and abroad.

tom

probably true Tom, but of course the President can't set economic policy, that has to start in congress.

The main duties for the next president will be foreign & military policy

[plan_D]

I would like to quickly point out that of the three 'leading' parties of Great Britain - the Liberal Democrats are the farthest left, not labour.

[renrich]

Tony Blair was a member of the labour party but he was a patriot, saw what he felt was in the best interests of his country to do regarding Iraq and did it ignoring the political consequences. There is an article in the latest "Forbes" magazine by a British historian and author, Paul Johnson, about Bush and I heartily reccomend everyone read it, if possible.

[Krabat42]

Oh, come on. Someone like Blair would never ignore political consequences, if he knew them. He just made the wrong decision. I'm not very familiar with UK politics, but as far as I understood the media then, he ignored his people's will. And when all went wrong - and maybe even if it had not - he had to go.

Krabat

[freebird]

Originally Posted by Krabat42

I'm not very familiar with UK politics, but as far as I understood the media then, he ignored his people's will.

Krabat

Both the Conservatives and Blair's Labour (most of them) voted to support Bush in Iraq. Blair certainly saw the political consequences during the next 4 years after the invasion but he didn't back down.

[trackend]

The general rule of thumb in the UK is if you have money you vote conservative if you are working class you vote labour.
The conservative voter is generally a reliable voter so turns out everytime where as the Labour voters tend to be far more fickle and often fails to use their ballot.
As for the Liberals they lost most of their support when the labour party was originally formed and never really recovered.
If I was voting in the USA I would probably go for Obama,
1. Im a labour voter and 2. IMHO I feel that the role of a nations leader requires a rare talent and the chances of either a relitive or spouse having that same rare ability is very remote and its a case of riding the waves of their predecessors to get the vote.

[Krabat42]

I think this means, the politicians said "Go" and the people on the streets said "No". He went with the politicians (in fact, they never go for themselves) and that cost him. Yes, that's how I remember. Did you read "Adrian Mole and the weapons of mass destruction."? I know it's fiction, but still a good account of the time.

Krabat