Obama, A View.

[Oakman]

One of the things I think that a good chunk of the world and its leaders cannot understand (though that doesn't include "the west") is that today, at the stroke of noon, the most powerful man in the world will willingly turn his position over to someone else and leave the capital he has ruled for the last eight years in a revolution that is so peaceful that most of us take it for granted. In a time of Supreme Beloved Leaders; Presidents-for-Life; Chairmen of the Central Committee; etc. The U.S.A. is far from alone in being able to pull off peaceful revolutions, but those countries that are ruled by the law are pretty special. Today, especially, I am proud to be an American.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[Reagan Conservative]

Hear, hear!! Gets my 5!

AF Pilot

[BoneSoft]

Dalek Dave wrote:

May he make the right decisions.

There's the kicker, and my agreement with your well wishes hindges soley on that.

Dalek Dave wrote:

He is an intelligent man, Professorship material even

No doubt, he's certainly Marxist enough.

Dalek Dave wrote:

Whilst Bush was a moron

Could it be, and I'm not looking for an argument this is just food for thought, could it be that by and large that sentiment was carefully cultivated by a biased media? If you don't like him, it's easy to assume he's a head-wounded retard and that a cabal of evil doers "put" him in his position, but I think it makes much more sense, without a need to reach for a conspiracy, to believe that he's much more intelligent than he gets credit for. Though, as you pointed out (or someone did) deeper in this thread, Obama is a much better public speaker. But what does that have anything to do with other than public perception?

Dalek Dave wrote:

An auspicious day, not least becasue of his race, and I hope that the bigoted white supremecists do not get to draw a bead on him, which is a very great possibility.

Very much agreed. It is without a doubt a monumentally historic day. Today, for the first time in American history, we enaugurate the first foreign born Constitutionally ineligible Socialist to the office of President of the United States. God help us all.

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Visit BoneSoft.com for code generation tools (XML & XSD -> C#, VB, etc...) and some free developer tools as well.

[Vikram A Punathambekar]

Yes, much as I despise Indian politics and politicians, I am proud that the change of Govt has always been effected by the ballot, not the bullet. I hope this President strengthens the bonds between the two greatest democracies in the world.

Cheers, Vıkram.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every moment of it.

[Dalek Dave]

BoneSoft wrote:

Today, for the first time in American history, we enaugurate the first foreign born Constitutionally ineligible Socialist to the office of President of the United States

As he has a Kenyan Father, it may be pointed out that he is actually a de facto British Subject! Rule Britannia and Her Immortal Empire!

------------------------------------ "The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion" Arthur C Clarke

[AndyKEnZ]

BoneSoft wrote:

t's easy to assume he's a head-wounded retard and that a cabal of evil doers "put" him in his position

Don't you know anything about his life?

[BoneSoft]

Some yes. What information am I missing that made all the pieces fall together for you?

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Visit BoneSoft.com for code generation tools (XML & XSD -> C#, VB, etc...) and some free developer tools as well.

[Diego Moita]

Oakman wrote:

countries that are ruled by the law are pretty special

And very rare. Most just pretend it. Many times I wonder if my country is one of them. Also: most people in the world don't even know the deep meaning of it.

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Of all forms of sexual aberration, the most unnatural is abstinence.

[Lost User]

Intelligent people decided to surround him, not the same thing.

Visit http://www.notreadytogiveup.com/[^] and do something special today.

[Oakman]

BoneSoft wrote:

Though, as you pointed out (or someone did) deeper in this thread, Obama is a much better public speaker. But what does that have anything to do with other than public perception?

A great deal, methinks. A leader, regardless of his views or philosophies must be able to inspire those he would lead. Bush, regardless of his IQ, often made himself a laughingstock when he spoke, either extemporaneously or using a prepared speech. This seemed to become worse as time went on and I have wondered, more than once, whether we might discover in a year or two (similarly to the announcement of Reagan's Alzheimer's) that he has developed aphasia.

BoneSoft wrote:

that sentiment was carefully cultivated by a biased media

Not for me. If anything cultivated my slowly growing unease with his presidency, it was the stupid arrogance and lack of foresight he and his Secretary of Defense showed in the management of the occupation of Iraq.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[Stan Shannon]

BoneSoft wrote:

Though, as you pointed out (or someone did) deeper in this thread, Obama is a much better public speaker.

Obama is not a better public speaker than is Bush. They both have a very poor ability to speak off the cuff without a teleprompter. They have different problems (Bush tends to scramble his syllables while Obama stammers a lot), but both can give a prepared speech in front of a teleprompter pretty well. The best natural public speaker we saw in the last election was Sarah Palin, a bit shrill perhaps, but certainly able to get her thoughts across with few verbal mistakes. Both Bush and Obama have practiced affectations in their speech. Bush tries to put on a phoney Texas accent, while Obama goes for the overly refined cadence of black public speaking. Neither comes off as being real.

Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.

[Shepman]

Stan Shannon wrote:

Obama is not a better public speaker than is Bush

Obama could hardly help being anything but better: George Bush: "Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those-changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red." ." — Explaining his plan to save Social Security, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 4, 2005