News What are the Key Factors for Victory in the 2008 Presidential Election?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Evo
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
The discussion centers on the electoral significance of Hispanic and Black voters in the upcoming Obama-McCain election, highlighting that New Mexico's 5 electoral votes may not be pivotal despite its Hispanic population. Eligible Hispanic voters total approximately 17 million, while Black voters are around 24 million, compared to 151 million White voters, indicating a demographic imbalance. Concerns are raised about the potential impact of a Hispanic vice-presidential candidate for Obama, with opinions divided on whether it would significantly sway Hispanic votes. The conversation also touches on the importance of the vice-presidential picks for both candidates, especially considering McCain's age and the historical context of racial tensions surrounding Obama. Overall, the thread emphasizes the need for informed discussions about voter demographics and electoral strategies as the election approaches.

Who will win the General Election?

  • Obama by over 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 16 50.0%

  • Obama by under 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 6 18.8%

  • McCain by over 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 4 12.5%

  • McCain by under 15 Electoral Votes

    Votes: 6 18.8%
  • Total voters
    32
  • #691
turbo-1 said:
Bachmann may have ruined her own chances in this election. In the three days since her comments, her Democratic challenger has raised $700,000 for his campaign AND the Republican that she beat in the primary has thrown himself back into the race as a write-in candidate. Her Tail-gunner Joe mentality is on public display, and it's blowing up in her face.

It would be a fitting end for such an ignorant divisive representative of the people of Minnesota.

There is too much division in the world as it is, and her paranoid charges of those in Congress as being Anti-American is simply stupefying.

I think she should be retired along with McCain.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #692
Astronuc said:
That's an interesting comment by Biden.

Unfortunately it was Biden being Biden. His foot is no stranger to his mouth. Neither are his shoes.

I vaguely understand what his point was and likely it is a possibility that Obama will be tested maybe even because he will be thought to be new to the office. But he does not strike me as someone that will do anything but act firmly in the interests of the common good. Personally I should think that any foreign power would be thinking twice about the power of a more unified and a more focused and determined United States leading a broader coalition of world nations - something the more divisive McCain approach to getting in office cannot hope to do.

The suggestion that I heard this morning that foreign powers wouldn't act the same with McCain because they would be afraid of him is undoubtedly true, because to be honest speaking as a citizen, I'm afraid of his erratic behavior as well. Heaven forbid that he wouldn't survive the office and unleash what I think would be a constant fear of the potential End of Days Nightmare from this Palin woman.
 
  • #693
Biden's comments were ill-advised, absent context. BUT, the plain truth is that in times of crisis EVERY president relies on a team of advisors pulled from (but hopefully not limited to) the diplomatic corps, the cabinet, and senior advisors (both on-staff and unofficial). It is unreasonable to expect the president to possesses the experience and detailed knowledge of every region and every political faction when a crisis breaks out, or is perhaps still in a state where it can be averted. The president should cast a wide net, and secure the cooperation of the most experienced distinguished advisers he can. Hopefully, the next president will not rely on an insular group of top staffers like Nixon and W. There were some horrendous decisions made and acted on under such circumstances, and our country suffered.
 
  • #694
Bachmann has company.

Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), has conceded that he did tell a North Carolina crowd that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God," even though he initially denied making such a statement.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14797.html
 
  • #695
The RCP national polls appear to show a couple of points jump for Obama today.
 
  • #696
What would McCain and his surrogates say if after an Obama rally, his staff disrespected the US flag? It happened after a McCain rally in St.Louis, with a huge American flag unceremoniously dropped to the ground by a crane and then cut from its fastenings the rest of the way to the ground. KSDK seems to think there's a story there.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=158061&catid=3

Edit: lest I get jumped on, I know that McCain bears zero responsibility for the way the employees of the production company who set up the event treated the flag, but I have no doubt that had this happened at an Obama event, it would have been the newest attack ad.

Also, if the production company had asked for assistance in handling that flag from Boy Scouts, local National Guard, etc, they would have gotten it.
 
Last edited:
  • #697
Republicans protest at voting site.

...Photographer Joe Eddins and I headed over to the closest one and found a steady line of voters hoping to cast ballots early. Most seemed to be Obama supporters and several had come from the rally. Nearly all the voters were black.

Also at the polling site was a group of loud and angry protesters who shouted and mocked the voters as they walked in. Nearly all were white. [video][continued]
http://www.washingtontimes.com/webl...ct/20/mccain-supporters-call-early-voters-ch/

About 30 cars had their tires slashed during that rally, according to a local press report.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Protesting_early_voters.html?showall
 
  • #698
McCain reminds Biden he's been tested in crisis
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081021/ap_on_el_pr/mccain
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Republican John McCain told voters in this key electoral state Tuesday he was personally tested by the same kind of crisis that Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden warned Barack Obama will almost certainly face if elected president.

McCain recalled being ready to launch a bombing run during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which Biden said over the weekend tested a new President John F. Kennedy and was the template for the kind of "generated crisis" the 47-year-old Obama would face within six months of taking office.

"I was on board the USS Enterprise," McCain, a former naval aviator, said in the capital city of Harrisburg. "I sat in the cockpit, on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, off of Cuba. I had a target. My friends, you know how close we came to a nuclear war."

As the crowd of several thousand began to swell with cheers and applause, he added with dramatic effect: "America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I've been tested, my friends."

If one is a carrier pilot, and one sits ready to do a run - that's not a test. That is doing one's job - a job for which one signed up.

The true test is avoiding military conflict through diplomacy. Kennedy passed that test.

McCain's claim has no merit in the context of the office of president. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #699
For most Inds, the experience issue was settled once and for all by Powell's endorsement. Powell is greatly respected by key, swing voter groups.
 
  • #701
Astronuc said:
If one is a carrier pilot, and one sits ready to do a run - that's not a test. That is doing one's job - a job for which one signed up.
Yes, and McCain is making a leap that is above his (then) pay-grade. Launching air-strikes on a base under construction would not necessarily have led to nuclear warfare. McCain and the other fighter/bomber pilots had targets, yes, but those target were not nuclear-tipped missiles, nor would their planes have been carrying nuclear weapons. If the US wanted to open that can of worms, they would have used SAC, not the Navy. This GOP campaign (and indeed the fluff surrounding McCain for years) is liberally salted with historical revisionism.
 
  • #702
Astronuc said:
If one is a carrier pilot, and one sits ready to do a run - that's not a test. That is doing one's job - a job for which one signed up.

The true test is avoiding military conflict through diplomacy. Kennedy passed that test.

McCain's claim has no merit in the context of the office of president. :rolleyes:

What again were his choices?

Drop bombs or court marshal?

How Presidential is the life of any grunt then?
 
  • #703
Palin says Obama's policies could lead to crises
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081021/ap_on_el_pr/palin

Palin is one to talk. She's a crisis in the making as VP.

_Advancing the idea of invading Pakistan without that government's permission. Obama has said he would authorize an attack if the whereabouts of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden were known and Pakistan's government were unable or unwilling to go after him.
. . . .
Ummm - I don't think Palin has been paying attention. US troops have already crossed into Pakistan without permission in order to attack Taliban/al-Qaida targets.

If bin Laden is in Pakistan, how would Palin propose to 'get him', which has been one of Bush's principle goal? How would McCain 'get' bin Laden?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #704
McCain is still bombarding the 2nd congressional district in Maine with negative ads, mailers, etc. He is running one new TV ad in which he says "The last 8 years haven't worked very well, have they?" and then asking for votes because he's going to make things better. No explanation how, just the unsubstantiated claim.
 
Last edited:
  • #705
The Palin campaign asks its neighbor for cash.

The neighbor is Russia.

http://www.undispatch.com/archives/2008/10/russian_un_amba_1.php
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #707
What a great ad! It ought to run once an hour 'round the clock in Florida.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #708
turbo-1 said:
What a great ad! It ought to run once an hour 'round the clock in Florida.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQVlNgdn2_Y

That really is a good one.

I'm voting for that one.
 
  • #709
This is funny.

Besides, the robocalls could work. Never underestimate the power of the robocalls. Because people really like getting robocalls, right?

You are at home, it is dinnertime (which is when they call you because they figure you are at home then), and you are either trying to relax or get the kids fed, and the phone rings and it is this recorded voice saying: “I’m calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.”

And does that make you feel more or less positive about John McCain? Does it persuade you that McCain has a plan to save the economy? Or to help you pay your mortgage? Or that he has a steady hand on the tiller?

For the robocalls to be effective, the Republicans would need Bill Ayers to plant bombs today and not when Barack Obama was 8 years old. They need Ayers to plant bombs in key states right now with stickers on them that say: “I am Barack Obama, and I endorse this bomb.”

But McCain may have found his October surprise after all. In Bensalem, Pa., on Tuesday, McCain said: “Now, I’m not dumb enough to get mixed up in a World Series between swing states. But I think I may have detected a little pattern with Sen. Obama. It’s pretty simple, really. When he’s campaigning in Philadelphia, he roots for the Phillies, and when he’s campaigning in Tampa Bay, he ‘shows love’ to the Rays.”

And rumors are now flying that McCain has proof that when Obama was in the second grade he once ate paste.

The Democrats are fearful of all this. The Democrats are always fearful.

“We have been on the precipice of victory before,” Dan Pfeiffer, an Obama spokesman, told me. “You have never seen a more superstitious campaign than ours. We do not talk about victory.”

Talk about it, no. Plan for it, yes.

Also, please do not think you don't need to vote because Obama is ahead in the polls.

Obama himself has reacted to the dismal drumbeat of good news. At a fundraising concert in Manhattan last Thursday featuring Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, Obama got up and said: “Don’t underestimate the capacity of Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Don’t underestimate our ability to screw it up.”

Which is the prevailing mood in the top echelons of the Democratic Party right now. The McCain campaign cannot possibly be as hapless as it looks, party leaders feel. It is lulling the Democrats into complacency. The Republicans have to have an October surprise, because the Republicans always have an October surprise.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081022/pl_politico/14800
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #710
Which is the prevailing mood in the top echelons of the Democratic Party right now. The McCain campaign cannot possibly be as hapless as it looks, party leaders feel. It is lulling the Democrats into complacency. The Republicans have to have an October surprise, because the Republicans always have an October surprise.
:smile: Those sneeky GOPers.

Is this anyone to run the process to select the executive who is supposed to run the US, the world's biggest economy? :rolleyes:
 
  • #711
Man! This is getting pretty sick. Just a few minutes ago, I got a flyer out of my mailbox that claims that Obama is soft on crime, and that he doesn't want tough penalties for drug-related crimes (the flyer specifically mentioned crack cocaine), refused to take a stand against people who fire guns at or near schools, is against tough penalties for street gangs, and is against a mandatory 48-hour cooling off period for people accused of domestic violence. I have paraphrased a bit, for the sake of brevity. Each charge is accompanied by a scary picture meant to raise doubts about Obama, and the headline on the address side said "Obama; he acted more as a friend to criminals than to cops..."

No sooner had I tossed that crap in the trash (I had to retrieve it to write this) than I got a robo-call recorded by Giuliani saying among other things that Obama opposes mandatory sentences for murder. The tone of these attacks does not suggest that Obama hesitates to tie the hands of judges, but wishes to give them leeway - instead the suggestion is that Obama is actually FOR all these crimes and the people who commit them. It's getting sick out here in battle-ground-land.
 
  • #712
Since the battle is raging in Missouri, residents have been mailed CD's called "Radical Islam". My co-workers have been receiving them.
 
  • #713
Remember, it's not over until the former first lady sings.

Come to think of it, now that Obama has reached an almost insurmountable lead, Hillary Clinton is on TV every day campaigning for Obama.
 
  • #714
BobG said:
Remember, it's not over until the former first lady sings.

Come to think of it, now that Obama has reached an almost insurmountable lead, Hillary Clinton is on TV every day campaigning for Obama.
Clinton would LOVE to be one of the Supremes, despite her recent denials, so she'd better keep sucking up to Obama. McCain would never put her there.
 
  • #715
Youtube recording of Robin Haynes saying the very hateful divisive things that he denied saying. As long as you hate liberals, you can be a "real American".

 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #716
turbo-1 said:
Clinton would LOVE to be one of the Supremes, despite her recent denials, so she'd better keep sucking up to Obama. McCain would never put her there.

I think Hilary is a little too political for the Court. I doubt that she would get the nod from Obama. It strikes me that he would choose on merit. I rather suspect his nominations would be from the best available Active Appeals Court or Federal Judges. Hopefully he will get the chance to replace the idiot Thomas - though regrettably I doubt that will happen for another decade. He's only 60.
 
  • #717
An embarrassing error by McCain's camp :smile:

Russians reject McCain cash plea

The Russian mission to the UN in New York says it has turned down a request from John McCain to help fund his presidential campaign.

Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin and others received standard mail-outs asking them to help "stop the Democrats from seizing control of Washington".

Spokesmen for the McCain campaign and the mission accepted the letters were "a computer error".

Mr McCain has been a strong opponent of Russia on human rights and Georgia.

Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, told the BBC the campaign had not itself received any complaints from the mission and that "it sounds like they're having a little fun at our expense".

"It's just an error," he said.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7681168.stm

and on a more ominous note

Warning over US election problems

Researchers are warning of potential problems during the US election with record numbers set to vote and many states using new voting machines.

Long queues are likely at polling stations on 4 November, Pew researchers say, and both parties are hiring lawyers in anticipation of challenges.

Voters have already had long waits in some states where early voting is under way, like North Carolina and Florida.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7683677.stm
 
  • #718
Interesting article detailing various voter suppression efforts in battleground states.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/22/voter_supression_guide/

I think one of the more crucial things a Democratic Congress could do would be to secure the election process for National elections, both as to accountability and verifiability for recount purposes, and also to simplify the voter registration and voting access rights for all Americans.

These stunts have been going on for at least 8 years under this administration and look at the mess we have to show for it - a wrecked National Balance sheet and deep social divisions that makes it harder than ever to be a United States.
 
  • #719
LowlyPion said:
I think Hilary is a little too political for the Court. I doubt that she would get the nod from Obama. It strikes me that he would choose on merit. I rather suspect his nominations would be from the best available Active Appeals Court or Federal Judges. Hopefully he will get the chance to replace the idiot Thomas - though regrettably I doubt that will happen for another decade. He's only 60.
You may be right. Still, Clinton would be a solidly liberal justice, providing some sort of balance against the right-wing activists and essentially negating one vote (Thomas comes to mind) in almost every decision. There would be lots worse places to put her, like Secretary of State, where her husband and their past political associates could wield undue influence. We need a clean start in DC.
 
  • #720
turbo-1 said:
Man! This is getting pretty sick. Just a few minutes ago, I got a flyer out of my mailbox that claims that Obama is soft on crime, and that he doesn't want tough penalties for drug-related crimes (the flyer specifically mentioned crack cocaine), refused to take a stand against people who fire guns at or near schools, is against tough penalties for street gangs, and is against a mandatory 48-hour cooling off period for people accused of domestic violence. I have paraphrased a bit, for the sake of brevity. Each charge is accompanied by a scary picture meant to raise doubts about Obama, and the headline on the address side said "Obama; he acted more as a friend to criminals than to cops..."

No sooner had I tossed that crap in the trash (I had to retrieve it to write this) than I got a robo-call recorded by Giuliani saying among other things that Obama opposes mandatory sentences for murder. The tone of these attacks does not suggest that Obama hesitates to tie the hands of judges, but wishes to give them leeway - instead the suggestion is that Obama is actually FOR all these crimes and the people who commit them. It's getting sick out here in battle-ground-land.

Sounds annoying, turbo. Meanwhile, it's nice and quiet here in the almost-certainly-blue State of Washington! Just the occasional TV ad.
 

Similar threads

News Does Your Vote Really Matter in Presidential Elections?
  • · Replies 139 ·
5
Replies
139
Views
16K
News Was the 2008 election a repudiation of Bush and the Republican Party?
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
4K
News What were the top issues in the 2008 presidential election?
  • · Replies 82 ·
3
Replies
82
Views
20K
  • Poll Poll
News What Will the Voter Turnout Be in the Upcoming US Presidential Election?
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K
News Who will win the popular vote and by what margin?
  • · Replies 39 ·
2
Replies
39
Views
6K