Personally, I would have been happy if Obama had picked Hillary. But, many of my friends and family really do not like her. I think Joe Biden may have been a safer pick.
One person said to me, "With Joe Biden on the ticket, I'm a little closer to voting for Obama."

Villages Kahuna, I agree with you!

Unfortunately, for most people an election is a popularity contest. To intelligently analyze the issues takes knowledge, some insight into the problems and some very serious and unemotional thought. Most people do not critically read---other than the sports page---and don't want to think too much. They would rather sit by the boob tube and watch and listen to sound bites, be fed by "news" reporters reading from a script written by someone else, or listening to talking heads who have their own agenda.
Address the issues? You've got to be kidding! That takes mental energy.

Originally Posted by Avista

Personally, I would have been happy if Obama had picked Hillary. But, many of my friends and family really do not like her. I think Joe Biden may have been a safer pick.
One person said to me, "With Joe Biden on the ticket, I'm a little closer to voting for Obama."

I agree. Being from New York, where she is very popular, I'm a Hillary fan. But to many people she's a turn off. Picking Biden probably increases the chances of garnering votes from independents.

There are many Catholics that are very liberal

Yes, like my mother in law for example. She also says she would vote for a chimpanzee if it meant keeping the Dems in power. Nothing like putting some thought into your vote huh? ;D

Oh yeah, and Obama picked Biden because he needed a set of balls to do his dirty work for him.

Sid, that's kind of smart but I think Obama may have more testicular fortitude than you are giving him credit for. We shall see.

Boy Sid, I love to see you in a debate with Senator Obama. You're so articulate. 1rnfl

BTW, I'm Catholic and Pro Choice. Go figure! :dontknow:

Originally Posted by samhass

Sid, that's kind of smart but I think Obama may have more testicular fortitude than you are giving him credit for. We shall see.

You are probably correct but.....
Obama has an underlying thug-type personality that he keeps bundled up so noone can see it hence the Biden choice. There are youtube videos where you can watch and listen to BHO change into an entirely different personality than what we see in the news. When he isn't concentrating on how he speaks and acts he becomes, like I said, thug-like. Many people have commented on his lack of communication skills without a prompter and speechwriter, underneath, he is just another streetwise punk, IMHO.

Originally Posted by chelsea24

Boy Sid, I love to see you in a debate with Senator Obama. You're so articulate. 1rnfl

BTW, I'm Catholic and Pro Choice. Go figure! :dontknow:

btw....I am catholic too, atleast brought up and still believe a lot of....but I am pro-choice and gay....Go figure!!!!

:yikes: :yikes: :yikes:

1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl 1rnfl

But no offense to anyone!!! Gosh I do open my mouth too much sometimes...but that is what this place is for....

Kahuna,

I like your style of trying to get away from the demonizations and instead, discussing issues. Here's my take on this topic:

Yes, the national debt has increased over the last 8 years, but a large part of that was the Bush administration's support for a typically Democratic agenda - more entitlements (prescription drugs for the elderly) and more education expenses (No Child Left Behind). Yes, the war played a big role too, but one must be intellectually honest and admit that Dems supported it as well. (Recall that it was the Clinton administration who first pushed for regime change in Iraq, and that Al Gore, in early 2002 was one of the first to call for a "final solution" for Saddam. Also recall that most Dems in Congress voted for the war.)

The other piece of the puzzle regarding debt is revenues. The simplistic view is that the tax cuts resulted in the debt growing. However, this ignores the fact that tax receipts went up significantly after tax cuts were enacted - giving credence to the notion that lower taxes do stimulate the economy thus creating higher overall revenue collected by the government.

So, where does this leave us in terms of this election. Obama, if nothing else, wants to be more of a Democrat than his predecessors with even more spending. So, that means more outflow. However, he wants to also raise taxes ... but only on the "rich" (I've heard that line before). So, somehow this top 2 percent or whatever of the population will be responsible for supporting all of the increased spending that he proposes (not to mention the tax "cuts" that he is dangling in front of the naive who think he will actually do that ... I'm still waiting for the middle class tax cuts that Clinton promised). Also, this tax increase will somehow be done without hurting the economy. If I didn't know better, I'd say that Obama's degree is in alchemy.

That's not to say that I'm letting McCain off the hook on this issue. He says that he wants to keep all of the Bush tax cuts intact. Perhaps this balance of tax cuts on the various economic classes is exactly precise in terms of providing optimal stimulation to the economy, but I personally would like to see him take a more open view on perhaps jiggling with the rates for different groups. However, at least McCain seems pretty good from the spending perspective so even if he does nothing on the income side of the equation, he likely won't do much damage on the expense side. The same can not be said for Obama.

I thought Jay Leno's comment was funny...Biden has 30 years experience in Washington and he and Barrack together now offer 31 years experience.......badda....bump...ta bump.....tish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTK :joke:

If Hillary got the Dem nomination, would she have picked Obama as her running mate?

When, if ever, did the nominated person pick their closest rival as their VP?

I like Hillary very much (and supported her) but why does Obama "owe" her the VP position?

I don't get it.

Originally Posted by Peggy D

If Hillary got the Dem nomination, would she have picked Obama as her running mate?

When, if ever, did the nominated person pick their closest rival as their VP?

I like Hillary very much (and supported her) but why does Obama "owe" her the VP position?

I don't get it.

Your 2nd question first, it's not unknown to happen. The two most prominent "recent" examples are Kennedy/Johnson and Reagan/Bush.

As to whether she would have chosen him, had the primary been that close, it's possible. I agree that Hillary was not "owed" the slot, but this was a very, very unusual primary race and Obama was/is a very unusual candidate. I thought there was no way she would get the nod, but that was because of Bill. Had Hillary been any other female Dem with similar or more extensive credentials and similar primary results, she would have had a better shot. Could be wrong, tho.

How can you be a strong Catholic and be for abortion like Biden.
Time to talk to your confessor.

Originally Posted by inholmdel

How can you be a strong Catholic and be for abortion like Biden.
Time to talk to your confessor.

I do not think anyone said they were FOR abortion...please do not put words in our mouths...however what we said was that we were FOR a woman having a choice. Everyone is entitled to make their own decisions, their own choices and have their own belief system. We are not put on this earth to judge, condemn or dictate...we are here to love and live our own life and have our beliefs. Women and Men should be allowed to choose what they want with their own bodies. This is not pro-abortion. I also do not think that Mr. Biden is pro-abortion and has never stated so. He simply believes that we are in America...land of the FREE....meaning...FREE to make ones own choices.

My opinion on abortion for myself is my OWN business....no one should tell me how to believe or act. I believe in PRO-CHOICE....