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[one-eyed-fatman]

Originally Posted by yeahYeah

its not all the time that my name is discussed in such high regard. What is the occasion? has the govt. been overthrown by the people yet?

Naaa... I don't think we have enough people with the balls to do that. That's how our government got so far out of whack to begin with. We the people have no say so anymore. You can cut Obama down all you want, hell I don't care but I have to wonder what good it does? I'm not seeing anyone here saying how great McCain is or will be. I'm not seeing anyone cheering the war on like McCain wants to do and by having secret meetings with Bush I think he's cutting his own throat. Everybody here already knows Obama will be a rotten choice for president. Everybody here already knows McCain will be a rotten choice for president. The only thing he might have going for him is he's hopefully gun friendly. Other than that we're screwed. With either one of those two guys we better start learning Spanish. This is America, it's easy to cut people down. I guess I'd just like to see Americans have someone, something to brag about for a change.

[Son of Norway]

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

Naaa... I don't think we have enough people with the balls to do that. That's how our government got so far out of whack to begin with. We the people have no say so anymore. You can cut Obama down all you want, hell I don't care but I have to wonder what good it does? I'm not seeing anyone here saying how great McCain is or will be. I'm not seeing anyone cheering the war on like McCain wants to do and by having secret meetings with Bush I think he's cutting his own throat. Everybody here already knows Obama will be a rotten choice for president. Everybody here already knows McCain will be a rotten choice for president. The only thing he might have going for him is he's hopefully gun friendly. Other than that we're screwed. With either one of those two guys we better start learning Spanish. This is America, it's easy to cut people down. I guess I'd just like to see Americans have someone, something to brag about for a change.

Damn skippy! Good post.

[one-eyed-fatman]

People here better get use to Obama for pres. To many people against the war. That and the Ron Paul vote will kill off McCain. MHO.

[Frenchy]

That's quite possible...

[KingArthur]

Still it is our duty to inform the public about the leftist communist intent of Barak Husein Obama, which is a direct threat to the Bill of Rights. Communism and Freedom are never friends, and the goal of Communism is to irradicate all individual freedoms. McCain is no prize, but at least we know that our Constitutional Freedoms will remain in tact.

[AZXD]

Our duty
Someone did a poll about 6 months ago and if memory serves me ... 1 person said they would vote for Obama.

Perhaps what OEFM is saying is that the Obama threads are a continual bombardment of what is bad about the man ... But it falls upon a bunch of ears that already know this.

If it is a duty, perhaps the time would be better used on a forum that is dedicated to basketweaving.

KA,
What you say about Obama is true .... But is it a public service if everyone agrees with the message, and no one needs to be converted/convinced ??

As for the rest of what OEFM has said ... Yea, it would be nice to say look admirably and with hope at our next great President. But the reality is ... The choices being presented by both parties SUCK, and they will most likely F things up even more. Each in his/her own way .... But, bottom line the choices SUCK.

OEFM, I agree!! It would be nice to "have someone, something to brag about for a change".

[Frenchy]

We are heading down one of these...



The only question is which direction we take!

[Delija]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

We are heading down one of these...

....(edit)...

The only question is which direction we take!

What's sad is it seems not to matter - "left" or "right", the end result, as you said, is "down".

Maybe (definitely?) I'm a bit too optimistic, but I'll keep on hoping for the best. Is it possible to go downhill from here?

Seems like the overwhelming stumbling block is that anyone who actually WANTS to be president would seem to have some serious character flaws just based on that desire alone.

I mean seriously.....what normal person wants absolutely no private life, wants to do a virtually impossible job, in many, if not most cases, takes a drastic cut in income, has probably a higher chance of being killed while on the job than any other profession (at least any legal profession in the US), can't even take a dump without Secret Service guys standing outside the door to the commode, (forget about relaxing on the can with the sports section - let alone the latest "Hustler"...LOL) can't drive a car, gets ragged on by every comedian and targeted nightly by the late night talk show hosts in their monologues, and has Rush Limbaugh either cheering him (or her) or denigrating him (or her) to a bunch of mindless robots. (I'd say it's a toss-up which is worse....having Rush cheer you or jeer you - maybe the perfect example of a "lose/lose" situation).

When I was a very young kid I thought JFK was a great man and a great president. I still think he was a guy that did what he thought was best for the country at that time. But if he didn't have a favorable relationship with the press - a "gentleman's agreement" (or whatever term fits) with the "fourth estate" that looked the other way at his personal life.....well, look what happened to Clinton who was an amateur. I mean really...[gag]Monica Lewinsky[/gag] as opposed to Marilyn Monroe? (and only God knows who else at this point - LOL) - Clinton played in the low minor leagues, maybe even just "Little League" while JFK and Bobby were perennial All Stars - (excuse the piss poor analogy, it's late and I'm tired).

It seems (IMHO) that each president since, and our choices in each election since, have gone progressively down that proverbial toilet Frechy was kind enough to share the image with us).

Who would have believed at the time he left office that the bottom of the barrel could possibly be even lower than where Nixon found his comfort level?

I have a very hard time believing that guys like Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Franklin, etc..stopped existing after the 18th century. Where are they now? (Yeah, I know the old joke too....they're in the NBA).

Adlai Stevenson ran for president TWICE and lost. Granted, he had stiff competition (Ike). But it's hard to imagine that if anyone with his brains and integrity were to run today (for either party) that he'd not win in a landslide....or have we been dumbed-down so much that we are beyond hope as an electorate? Scary to contemplate. Maybe too close to home to think about.



Peace,
D.

[Frenchy]

or have we been dumbed-down so much that we are beyond hope as an electorate?

I believe that this is the key, D. I have my doubts if a true leader would be recognized, if he or she wasn't wrapped in a given ideology. I believe that such a leader could rise from the masses after a catastrophic failure of this nation.
However...That true leader is not on the immediate horizon, so it's a moot point.

[jmichna]

I'd like to propose something to consider:

If you read the Constitution and all the Amendments carefully, the scope and power of the Office of President is fairly limited; there are very few actual "powers" delegated to the Chief Executive. Most all of his powers are defined in Article II, Sections 2 and 3.

Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

IMO, the primary influence - with the most lasting and potentially dangerous impact - any president can have is the appointment of the Supreme Court justices.

Perhaps our Founders, in their wisdom, did not intend for any president to have or exert extraordinary influence or power. As a nation, following the initial Founders serving in that office, we've had some (very few) giants as presidents (whether you agree with their policies or politics), men such as Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Reagan... people along those lines. They generally occupied the Office under some trying condition or state of affairs, and wielded influence and power beyond the scope of their office. Some set new precedence (like Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus), or policy (like FDR's social(ist) experiments) things which we have come to regret given the benefit of hindsight. Some inspired citizens to civic action through words (TR and JFK come to mind here).

At best though, perhaps the president should function as essentially a figurehead, and executing only those obligations specifically set out for his Office. It is the Legislature, for good or evil, that has the power to create laws. And, the Judicial branch's responsibility to enforce those laws.

As a Republic, we are supposed to be a knowledgeable Electorate, and we should be doing our homework, and getting rid of the scum at a more local level, starting at the Senate and House and working our way down. Maybe we need a weak president or two, and need to recapture government at the Congressional level and below.

I don't know... maybe I'm just discouraged by the whole mess and dissatisfaction with all the candidates. As some one else implied, what reasonable man (or woman) would actually want what the job has become?