^ I honestly think race was a bigger factor for most people than they want to admit. Nothing against you personally. And a lot of the white people just thought it would be neat to have a bi-racial man as President.

 

I understand where you are coming from and perhaps I did not articulate my opinion effectively. What I am saying is that race was a significant factor - meaning that it was not insignificant and it should not be overlooked or ignored. The only reason I am focusing on race in my last post is because that was the topic/focus of the post. That does not mean that race was the focus of voters. Like I said before, when we have stats to analyze then we can make more informed statements.

Another point, race is a factor in every race. 80-90% of blacks vote democrat every election. That means that on average democrats begin with roughly a 10% lead in the popular vote.

The fact that Obama is black has had a huge impact on many people in this country. To say that this did not translate to an advantage during the election is a hard thing to defend. You cant say that race was not important unless you have good evidence for that.

 

Race was important and one of many deciding factors for most, and for some- the sole factor. I'll say that.

Hah... NEAT! Maybe those people who were swayed by the neatness factor will develop a broader involvement and awareness of politics now that their candidate got elected and factor in other things when they vote in future elections.... Hopefuly.

 

As I'm sure Airguard can agree with me, when you've served in the military you look past race and look at the core of a person.

Personally, I based my opinion on the way he carried himself through the election. He didn't make up complete fabrications or result in innuendo smear campaigns to win.

Even when asked about Palin's daughter being pregnant - he shut the media down and said those type of questions were off limits.

The man achieved a great deal in his 48 yrs. Especially since he came from a low middle class family origin. He wasn't rich like the Clintons or came from prestige like McCain or Rhomney. He aspired to biggger and better things - just like any of us Americans can do.

And Mr. Synister - for a guy who claims to have been in politics - you're not convincing me of anything you've said. For I would believe that is someone was involved in politics would know more than you do.

But honestly, the day we can drop the hyphenated Americanism is the day we'll honestly put race behind us. But as people continue to label themselves and others - it's not going to happen anytime soon, I'm afraid.

 

I honestly hope they do too. I know some people voted for Barack because they would have rather seen a polar bear in office than a Republican, and they really didn't take the Independent candidates into account. I still can't figure out why no one wants to point the finger at the least effective Congress to date.

 

The way I see it.... Congress works kind of like the stock market. No confidence in leadership leads to counter productivity in what makes the gears turn. I think you'll see congress get a lot done under Obama, but we'll see.

 

The governmental departments operate under a checks and balances system but are also supposed to be able to operate by themselves. Little confidence in leadership is no excuse to stop doing your job. 8% approval rating is unforgivable. Also, if Congress stops introducing and pushing new bills, then the President has nothing to act on.

 

For sure.

 

Oops, except during times of war! This is a pretty paranoid theory, but it would be possible for Bush to declare a State of Emergency, declare Martial law, and to suspend Obama's inauguration. Et voila, a dictator is born...a Constitutional dictator!

Now as for the people's confidence in their leadership, it matters a lot! Actually, consumer confidence is a major pickle in economic forecasting...we know it exists, we know it matters, but it's hard to quantify in a timely enough way to be helpful. So, Americans have a big role in the current direction of the American economy (and policy, of course) just by FEELING optimistic or pessimistic, but it's the mistakes (or successes) of our leadership that decide public sentiment. We can't change our perceptions or reservations about the future without good reason...so, 111th Congress...give us something to believe in!

 

Its my expierence thats leads me to believe these things because you dont believe that things work like they really do is why you think i dont know what im talkin about. its really quite simple its all about one side against the other and they do the oposite of what eachother is doin always no matter how dumb or how much they should work together. obama only won because not many people wanted a republican and if ya think obama ran the squeaky clean campain your a complete idiot. he played every card including the race card but the really dint have too. if you really want to see the big change your getting promised you need a 3rd party that way people have to actually agree on **** and do something besides vote with there party. and i hate bein lumped in with white people look im irish get it right i like every one but the english