Who should win the presidential election?

[Bi-honar]

Romney is unqualified? It is good that we elected a "qualified" candidate 4 years ago. Highest office held to full term? Illinois state senator. Other qualifications? Street agitator and rabble rouser. The bar is pretty low to qualify for presidency anymore.

Well, resume for resume, you're probably right and Romney would seem more qualifed than Obama was 4 years ago. But by qualified, I was referring to potential foregin policy, not just what he has on his resume. Romney's still very much in the cold war mentality - he thinks the Russians are America's number one enemy, the Chinese are currency manipulators and he should start an economic tit-for-tat war with them, the Israeli-Palestinian issue should be a non-issue, Iranians are the #1 security threat to the US, etc. That's a potentially a dangerous combination of regional players (adversaries) to piss off, even before he gets elected. In fact, the only one he hasn't pissed off yet is the Indians, but if you read between the lines, he has said that he will deal much more harshly with countries that import Iranian oil. As far as the allies go, the Europeans don't care much for him, the US aligned Arabs and Turks don't care much for him, Ausies don't care much for him and even the Republican-puppet conservatives in Canada would likely prefer Obama. If he has put himself in such a weak position from the get-go, I certainly don't think he has the qualification to be one of the most, if not the most, powerful person on the planet.

Come on BH jan you can't possibly think Romney is dumber than Bush. He would have never been elected in Mass. as Gov.

Well Siavash joon, if we were to give them an IQ test, you're probably right and Mitt would score a couple of points higher. But the man is wishy-washy as hell, switches sides like a Gemini (borrowing from the Ricki Martin song) and has lived a very sheltered life. That makes him much dumber than GWB IMHO when he has to understand 100's of different nations, cultures and religions around the world as the true ambassador of the greatest political player in the world. And the fact that he switches sides and doesn't have a back-bone (which GWB did despite all his stupidity) means he can and will be, easily manipulated by people beind the scenes, which is going to make for a seriouslystupid decision making process @ the WH. Last, but certainly not least, this guy subsribes to what is for all intents and purposes a religous cult. People have their ideas that religions are dumb, but religous cults like the Church of JC of the Latter Day Saints, certainly take that issue to the next level... hence from dumb to dumber!

 

[lordofmordor]

And are you willing to take that chance? Adding that Knowing the same economic policy he has as Bush ended up with 800k job loss a month?

BA jan the only thing that is a concern is the appointment of judges but we have seen that Republicans have appointed liberal judges either knowingly or unknowingly and given the fact that Romney is to the left of all of the former Republican presidents "except for maybe Ike" there is a chance that his nominee wouldn't be that different from a BHO nominee. At the end of the day I don't see too many differences between the two of them. Having said that I don't like Paul Ryan at all and I think it is scary that he is a heartbeat away from being the president of the USA. I just wished that Ron Paul would run as an independent and we get a younger version of him soon for 2016.

 

[Bi-honar]

The so called Democratic process here, has been reduced to a choice between preservation of gains in civil rights that were gained by people in 60s and 70s or losing them all to the religious right and multi millioners..

Beautifully put Aram jaan and it sounds very much like another episode in modern times. I just hope all this doesn't end up on the same path as the Spanish Civil War.

 

[lordofmordor]

Which one is liberal? There used to be ones appointed who used to be swingers, but not anymore. The ones Republicans have appointed since Reagan have been very conservative: Lets not forget they got involved in politics and stopped state of FL from counting the votes and giving the presidency to GW Bush.

What is F***ed up is Clinton putting 2 people as old as the ones appointed by Reagan.

BA jan the only thing that is a concern is the appointment of judges but we have seen that Republicans have appointed liberal judges either knowingly or unknowingly and given the fact that Romney is to the left of all of the former Republican presidents "except for maybe Ike" there is a chance that his nominee wouldn't be that different from a BHO nominee. At the end of the day I don't see too many differences between the two of them. Having said that I don't like Paul Ryan at all and I think it is scary that he is a heartbeat away from being the president of the USA. I just wished that Ron Paul would run as an independent and we get a younger version of him soon for 2016.

 

[LDPC]

I also think Ron Paul should win.

 

[biAzar]

BA jan the only thing that is a concern is the appointment of judges but we have seen that Republicans have appointed liberal judges either knowingly or unknowingly and given the fact that Romney is to the left of all of the former Republican presidents "except for maybe Ike" there is a chance that his nominee wouldn't be that different from a BHO nominee. At the end of the day I don't see too many differences between the two of them. Having said that I don't like Paul Ryan at all and I think it is scary that he is a heartbeat away from being the president of the USA. I just wished that Ron Paul would run as an independent and we get a younger version of him soon for 2016.

Zob jon, you are underestimating the significance of supreme court appointments. First of all , no republican is going to endorse a liberal judge, secondly they may appoint an individual that may be considered a swing vote 1 out of 100 cases, and that is their moderate guy.
Just look at some of the rulings in recent years, 2000 elections in Florida which changed not only future of America but ended up impacting destiny of the world or the decision on corporates buying elections (hampering democratic process).....

Next step is individual freedoms particularly woen and labor force..........................

 

[Flint]

Well, resume for resume, you're probably right and Romney would seem more qualifed than Obama was 4 years ago. But by qualified, I was referring to potential foregin policy, not just what he has on his resume. Romney's still very much in the cold war mentality - he thinks the Russians are America's number one enemy, the Chinese are currency manipulators and he should start an economic tit-for-tat war with them, the Israeli-Palestinian issue should be a non-issue, Iranians are the #1 security threat to the US, etc. That's a potentially a dangerous combination of regional players (adversaries) to piss off, even before he gets elected. In fact, the only one he hasn't pissed off yet is the Indians, but if you read between the lines, he has said that he will deal much more harshly with countries that import Iranian oil. As far as the allies go, the Europeans don't care much for him, the US aligned Arabs and Turks don't care much for him, Ausies don't care much for him and even the Republican-puppet conservatives in Canada would likely prefer Obama. If he has put himself in such a weak position from the get-go, I certainly don't think he has the qualification to be one of the most, if not the most, powerful person on the planet.

On Russia- he said they are geopolitical enemies. If you doubt that just watch them stalling at the UN, invading their neighbors and threatening Poland to kick out US missile defense. In the end, the Poles wanted them to stay but it was Obama who withdrew them with nothing in return.

As for other countries "approving" who Americans elect, I am sorry but that is not part of the qualifications. How would you feel if somebody went to France and said you shouldn't have elected .......because Americans don't like him.?

 

[Zob Ahan]

Which one is liberal? There used to be ones appointed who used to be swingers, but not anymore. The ones Republicans have appointed since Reagan have been very conservative: Lets not forget they got involved in politics and stopped state of FL from counting the votes and giving the presidency to GW Bush.

What is F***ed up is Clinton putting 2 people as old as the ones appointed by Reagan.

View attachment 32160

David Souter has not been too conservative.

 

[Bi-honar]

On Russia- he said they are geopolitical enemies. If you doubt that just watch them stalling at the UN, invading their neighbors and threatening Poland to kick out US missile defense. In the end, the Poles wanted them to stay but it was Obama who withdrew them with nothing in return.

As for other countries "approving" who Americans elect, I am sorry but that is not part of the qualifications. How would you feel if somebody went to France and said you shouldn't have elected .......because Americans don't like him.?

Well, my concern is on the use of the word enemy or foe. The Russians may not agree with the Americans on many issues, but to go ahead and label them as foes or enemies is taking it WAY too far IMHO and doesn't create a warm and fuzzy feel for me as an observer of the potential reltionship between two nuclear powers loaded to the teeth under a Romeny presidency. The US missile defence was a dumb idea raising tensions and anti-american sentiments in eastern Europe and served absolutey no purpose. Again, it was a step back toward the cold war mentality and I personally think Obama made the right decision and one of the reasons the Europeans would prefer him to stay on.

On your second point, it's not that one specific nation wouldn't prefer Romney as president - it's a HUGE majority of the world's population and if you guys really want the US to maintain its influence, policing status, or image abroad, Romeny is definitely the wrong guy for the job. If you guys don't care what the rest of the world thinks about the US or Americans in general, then even Sarah Palin would be qualified for the job!

 

[Flint]

On your second point, it's not that one specific nation wouldn't prefer Romney as president - it's a HUGE majority of the world's population and if you guys really want the US to maintain its influence, policing status, or image abroad, Romeny is definitely the wrong guy for the job. If you guys don't care what the rest of the world thinks about the US or Americans in general, then even Sarah Palin would be qualified for the job!

You see, that's how Obama was foisted on us. We were told that the world hates the US because of George Bush. He creates more terrorists by keeping Gitmo open. He is too trigger happy. He goes around the world bombing places. If you just elect this worldly figure who has actually lived in the third world and understands them, then the US will once again be loved. After the election, he went around the world and dutifully recited the case of the left against America, you know, the usual, dropping the A- bomb, supporting dictators, polluting the air, using up world's resources etc. etc. What did we get in return for all that self-bashing? More US flags are burning, first US ambassador is killed in a generation and cries of death to America has never been louder. Now you are coming out and singing the same tune again. I am sorry but we have tried that bill of good and we ain't buying again.

 

[byebyenow]

Who ever will win, it will be the people who will lose. Gerald Celente says the best and says, " its the battle of empty suit vs stuffed shirt." what it means is both will destroy this country and take this globe to the world war. Both wont do nothing for people and will only benefit the wall street. It really doesnt matter who will become the president its the same party with two heads, this two are probably the worst presidental candidate in American history both are clueless, they have no solution for recovery but only have plans how to destroy this world and give more power to centralized bank. Voting in this system doesnt matter nomore the system is failing and the only solution is people rise up against this corporation mafia.

 

[Mahdi]

You see, that's how Obama was foisted on us. We were told that the world hates the US because of George Bush. He creates more terrorists by keeping Gitmo open. He is too trigger happy. He goes around the world bombing places. If you just elect this worldly figure who has actually lived in the third world and understands them, then the US will once again be loved. After the election, he went around the world and dutifully recited the case of the left against America, you know, the usual, dropping the A- bomb, supporting dictators, polluting the air, using up world's resources etc. etc. What did we get in return for all that self-bashing? More US flags are burning, first US ambassador is killed in a generation and cries of death to America has never been louder. Now you are coming out and singing the same tune again. I am sorry but we have tried that bill of good and we ain't buying again.

More US flags burning?. Excuse me? Like compared to 2001 were people were sick enough to celebrate 9/11 in their hate for the US or throwing shoes at the US president? Really? Have you been outside of Alabama in recent years?

 

[Bi-honar]

You see, that's how Obama was foisted on us. We were told that the world hates the US because of George Bush. He creates more terrorists by keeping Gitmo open. He is too trigger happy. He goes around the world bombing places. If you just elect this worldly figure who has actually lived in the third world and understands them, then the US will once again be loved. After the election, he went around the world and dutifully recited the case of the left against America, you know, the usual, dropping the A- bomb, supporting dictators, polluting the air, using up world's resources etc. etc. What did we get in return for all that self-bashing? More US flags are burning, first US ambassador is killed in a generation and cries of death to America has never been louder. Now you are coming out and singing the same tune again. I am sorry but we have tried that bill of good and we ain't buying again.

Flint, you know I try to take the middle ground on most issues even though I'm VERY liberal when it comes to civil liberties and tend to be more concervative on immigration or believe in responsible fiscal policies. If I was an American citizen, I would not agree with Obama on many domestic policies (like how much focus he has put on healthcare) or even foreign issues (I like the Republicans' hawkish stand on some interventionist policies), but as an independant observer, I think Obama's foreign policy has been top notch. It hasn't been perfect by any standards and I don't think that's ever going to be possible under any president (because of the complexities of international relations), but they haven't been short-sighted and the US image abroad has really changed - I'm not just basing that on articles that I read (and I often check news articles from all around the world), but on observations on the ground and from talking politics with people in different countries. You couldn't start a conversation about politics 10 years ago in any part of the western world even, without some serious anger or resentment spewing out about Americans for those who take their politics seriously and non-stop jokes from the light-hearted. Now, when you talk to people, they don't even mention anything negative about the US and Merkel has become the new Bush and the target of resentment and humour.

Look, what happened in Bengazi was regrettable, but you're never going to eliminate these types of incidents completely in countries where fanatic Islamist are hell bent on portraying the west, particularly the US as pure evil. Their sole purpose is to cause divisions and instigate reactions where they can say, see we told you the US is evil and Sharia law is the way to go. I was 100% with McCain on the need to take a stronger stance on Libya two years ago. Obama's response was very reserved and calculated and the result of that was the Libyan people as a whole (not the fantics) view the US as a country who helped them during their struggle and that's why the Navy didn't have to get involved and drop 100 bombs to get rid of the militants and the people themselves pourd onto the streets and kicked them out of their cities. That's actually a perfect example of how the Amercian foreign policy is now working and creating more regional friends than foes. The same calculated response went into Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt, all of which had more Islamist tendencies than Iran did in 1978, yet we haven't seen a single new Islamic Republic come to power. The middle East is a very complicated place and we can't just look at individual events and how things shape up in the short term, but what the medium and long term effects are for individual actions or policies. Myanmar is another example outside the ME and even the Cubans and North Koreans are embarking on the type of economic transformation now that has never happened before. What I've noticed is that when you take outside pressure )threat of military action) off these types of governments, you also take away the only leg they're standing on, which is telling their citizens they're what's needed to counteract that foreign pressure and the focus naturally turns back into their own domestic policies and how their citizens view those policies.

And there's no better example of all of this than Iran where after all of these sanctions, because all the military huff and puff and rhetoric hasn't been there, you see people more frustrated with the government and even inside IR's own ranks turning against one another, rather than focusing on the US or the West in general. We have never seen this ferocity of cyber and economic attacks on Iran since the IR came into power, as we have seen in the last two years, yet the only thing the IR has been able to do is say we're okay, none of this is working and look at our technological and military achievements we've made. Thye've been weakened in Syria, even Hamas is turning to the anti-IR Qatar and Hezbollah just lost a huge chunck of its credibility in the past few weeks. The Russsians and the Chinese are happy that they have a say and some influece on global conflicts and Assad will eventually fall - it's not a question of if, but when at this point. The calculated response on Syria has not strengthened any Islamists in the Arab countries, rather strenghtened US's relationship with all the players - including Iran which hasn't been given the pretext of starting a regional conflict as an act of desperation. Yes, patience is not one of my virtues either, but I'd be hard pressed not to admit that things are working - slowly, but surely.

 

[Mahdi]

Look, what happened in Bengazi was regrettable

never mind for a second that the Republican congress decided to cut funds for embassy security (which is fair enough...maybe too much money is wasted there)..

at some time during the reign of a US president a certain city was attacked by a couple terrorists and they flew 2 planes into one of that cities landmarks.
A bit later another plane flew into the Pentagon.

that was an attack on homecourt..

benghazi was away, somewhere the US had limited control.

Just saying, if Obama is at fault and responsible for Benghazi, then the Republican party shouldn't even bother running for president because 9/11 happened under their watch.

 

[khodam]

What did we get in return for all that self-bashing? More US flags are burning, first US ambassador is killed in a generation and cries of death to America has never been louder. Now you are coming out and singing the same tune again. I am sorry but we have tried that bill of good and we ain't buying again.

While support for Obama worldwide has dropped since 2009, mainly due to drone strikes, comparing how the world views him with Bush is pretty ridiculous. See this:

http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2012/06/Pew-Global-Attitudes-U.S.-Image-Report-FINAL-June-13-2012.pdf

In particular direct comparison with Bush/Obama eras are pretty clear (e.g. top table on page 5). This is what the report says about the topic:

"Outside of Pakistan, however, Obama consistently receives higher ratings than Bush did in 2008. This is particularly true in Western Europe and Japan, but it is also true in several predominantly Muslim nations where Obama’s ratings –while not especially high – are nonetheless more positive than his predecessor’s."

 

[Behrooz_C]

Funny thing is, if a Republican president had imposed the same sanctions on IR, their supporters would be queuing to give him a blow job!

 

[Kaz]

I also think Ron Paul should win.

I've always been a fan of Paul - no mystery there - but ever since these two corrupt dunderheads (Romney and Obama) have been pitted up against each other I have really come to appreciate him even more. Even if you don't agree with him on issues (IMO, mostly it is because people don't know enough of what he is saying) then you gotta give it to him for his honesty and his class. He is a Republican but is a statesman first...and is more than willing to criticise his own party for doing the wrong things. A Ron Paul, a guy that pure, is rare, rare, thing.

 

[masoudA]

Look, what happened in Bengazi was regrettable

B-Honar jaan - what realy did happen in Benghazi? do you think we will ever know?
Let me tell you some of the things one can hear in all circles in America (except in LA area of-course!!!!) .....I am not saying it's all true...I am saying people are contemplating....also - some the allegations are based on words of parents of the killed Navy Seal who have come out making claims based on discussions with their son while they were attacked.
- Obama was running arms to Al Qaedeh.....!!
- Several requests to get or give help were denied by the WH.
- Many American lives were saved because the Soldiers did not follow orders!!!
- The Brits claim their diplomatic staff had been attacked a couple of months ago!! and they moved all staff out a couple of Lybia just a couple of weeks before the attack on Americans. They also claim the long range heavy missiles which they brought to Lybia and are now in the hands of the Islamists, were given to the Americans and depot in their compound when it was attacked.
Meanwhile - Obama and his Admin claimed for weeks the attack was by typical citizens pissed about a movie!!

 

[Mahdi]

I've always been a fan of Paul - no mystery there - but ever since these two corrupt dunderheads (Romney and Obama) have been pitted up against each other I have really come to appreciate him even more. Even if you don't agree with him on issues (IMO, mostly it is because people don't know enough of what he is saying) then you gotta give it to him for his honesty and his class. He is a Republican but is a statesman first...and is more than willing to criticise his own party for doing the wrong things. A Ron Paul, a guy that pure, is rare, rare, thing.

I don't agree with Paul and Paul fans on 9 out of 10 things though I appreciate a lot that he's a social liberal/libertarian which to me is more important than anything else, that people realize we live in the 21st century but yes, my respect for him for sticking to his ideals and not flip flopping around. that's rare and important..

 

[Bi-honar]

B-Honar jaan - what realy did happen in Benghazi? do you think we will ever know?
Let me tell you some of the things one can hear in all circles in America (except in LA area of-course!!!!) .....I am not saying it's all true...I am saying people are contemplating....also - some the allegations are based on words of parents of the killed Navy Seal who have come out making claims based on discussions with their son while they were attacked.
- Obama was running arms to Al Qaedeh.....!!
- Several requests to get or give help were denied by the WH.
- Many American lives were saved because the Soldiers did not follow orders!!!
- The Brits claim their diplomatic staff had been attacked a couple of months ago!! and they moved all staff out a couple of Lybia just a couple of weeks before the attack on Americans. They also claim the long range heavy missiles which they brought to Lybia and are now in the hands of the Islamists, were given to the Americans and depot in their compound when it was attacked.
Meanwhile - Obama and his Admin claimed for weeks the attack was by typical citizens pissed about a movie!!

Masoud jaan, as they say hindsight is 20/20. Give me one example of a terrorist attack on US interests in the past 20 years where there was absolutely no intelligence about a potential threat beforehand, the conduct of the US government during the attack was perfect and the response was satisfactory to everyone in the world. We can sit there anddisect the action of every administration to pieces, but I can tell you ahead of time that none has been anywhere close to the level of perfection that you demand from the WH under Obama.