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British Newspaper Makes Fun Of & Mocks Barack Obama

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D. Spencer Hines - 25 Jul 2008 13:23 GMT
Classic!

Real British Humour...

'Strod'nry!
Signature

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
-----------------------------------------

From The Times
July 25, 2008

He ventured forth to bring light to the world

The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and
a blessing to all his faithful followers

Gerard Baker

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the
Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the
shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the
wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family,
offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an
African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of
righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a
little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of
Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet
Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard
and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our
hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary,
wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of
Working Class Whites.

And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the
appointed year, the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the
light unto all the world.

He travelled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that
consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He
ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the

Taleban had harboured the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror
on all the world.

And the Child spake and the tribes of Nato immediately loosed the Caveats
that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the
forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the

Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and
the threat of terror was no more.

From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great
ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month
Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy
it.

And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of
Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste
of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very
presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.

And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak
with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the
mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their
uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares.

From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through
the gate seated on an a.s. The crowds of network anchors who had followed
him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them
at his feet.

In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews
and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion
lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long
enmity and lived for ever after in peace.

As word spread throughout the land about the Child's wondrous works, peoples
from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and
McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites.

And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the
Child's journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and
the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over.

The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the
anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one
generations had been waiting for.

And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall,
spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates
on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond
tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again.

Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In
hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were
uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it.

And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to
the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw
it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.

Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the
shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast
multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length.

But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was
hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for
him.

And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was
five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the
frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes.
And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets.

Thence he travelled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla
of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with
the Child, but he was tempted not.

On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient
land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once
great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor,
David the Golden One.

And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host
of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and
singing: “Yes, We Can.”

Jack Linthicum - 25 Jul 2008 13:39 GMT
> Classic!
>
[quoted text clipped - 131 lines]
> of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and
> singing: “Yes, We Can.”

Looks like someone wrote down Jon Stewart's opening monolog from
Tuesday.
James Hogg - 25 Jul 2008 13:53 GMT
>Classic!
>
>Real British Humour...
>
>'Strod'nry!

Aye, a good mixture of sacrilege and satire.

And real British humour, as you say. It could never have been
written by Obama's right-wing fundamentalist opponents in the
USA. They would be too superstitious to desecrate the Bible in
that way (although they unconsciously do it in other ways, but
that's a different story).

James
La N - 25 Jul 2008 14:24 GMT
>>Classic!
>>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> USA. They would be too superstitious to desecrate the Bible in
> that way (although they unconsciously do it in other ways,

Oh, you mean like throwing wars, exercising bigotry, hypocritically and
unilaterally deciding who's going to Hell and such ....

- nilita
James Hogg - 25 Jul 2008 15:06 GMT
>>>Classic!
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>Oh, you mean like throwing wars, exercising bigotry, hypocritically and
>unilaterally deciding who's going to Hell and such ....

That kind of crap, yes.

Anything based on a literal interpretation of "God's Holy Writ".
(It's not always literal, of course, only selectively so. Jesus's
admonition to "Turn the other cheek" is - paradoxically -
interpreted to mean "Nuke the bastards". Paul's declaration that
"The love of money is the root of all evil" is wisely expounded
as "Don't tax the churches".)

Let's hope no fundamentalist (or Jeremiah Wright) issues a fatwa
against Gerard Baker for daring to make fun of their religion.

James
deemsbill@aol.com - 26 Jul 2008 13:24 GMT
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:24:01 GMT, "La N"
>
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> "The love of money is the root of all evil" is wisely expounded
> as "Don't tax the churches".)

           So, you choose to fight bullshit with more bullshit?

> Let's hope no fundamentalist (or Jeremiah Wright) issues a fatwa
> against Gerard Baker for daring to make fun of their religion.
>
> James

          Dude, you're teetering on the edge of psychosis. You
probably should get some help.
La N - 26 Jul 2008 16:53 GMT
On Jul 25, 10:06 am, James Hogg <Jas.Hogg...@SPAM.gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:24:01 GMT, "La N"
>
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> "The love of money is the root of all evil" is wisely expounded
> as "Don't tax the churches".)

           So, you choose to fight bullshit with more bullshit?

> Let's hope no fundamentalist (or Jeremiah Wright) issues a fatwa
> against Gerard Baker for daring to make fun of their religion.
>
> James

          Dude, you're teetering on the edge of psychosis. You
probably should get some help.

*********************************

Oh, come now, meester deemsbill. Mr. Hogg is jes' funnin'.  I know you're a
good Christian, and I - too - am a (not so good) Christian. However, if
hypothetically people were forced to choose between 2 theisms -
fundamentalist Christianity and atheism, I'd swing over to the latter group
of people who seem to be less hypocritical.

- nillita, who spent her youth in a pacifist Mennonite congregation and ergo
doesn't like war by default ...;p
Jack Linthicum - 25 Jul 2008 14:51 GMT
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:23:57 +0100, "D. Spencer Hines"
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> James

The same idea was on The Daily Show this week with Jon Stewart
following Obama around from his birthplace in Bethlehem.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/obama-quest-bethlehem/51641541
Singanas@Texasgulfcoast - 25 Jul 2008 13:58 GMT
> Classic!
>
[quoted text clipped - 131 lines]
> of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and
> singing: �Yes, We Can.�

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander,

Many thanks for this remarkable piece of irony from the sceptred isle.
My take on  Obama is that he aspires to be the black Ibrahim Lincoln,
now
that Colin Powell has been perceived as the black Eisenhower.
There are remarkable similarities between Lincoln and Obama, not the
least of which is physical appearance.  They are both rather ugly, if
you ask
me.

Cheers, David H
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
J A - 25 Jul 2008 23:27 GMT
> Classic!
>
> Real British Humour...

Sort of funny.

Are they implying they would prefer a third Bush term?
Andrew Chaplin - 26 Jul 2008 12:23 GMT
>> Classic!
>>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Are they implying they would prefer a third Bush term?

I don't think even Bush wants a third term.

Some people are missing the point. The piece is not so much satirizing Obama
as it is satirizing the obsequious media machine that trails in his wake
(ObSMN).
Signature

Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

La N - 26 Jul 2008 15:31 GMT
>>> Classic!
>>>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> Obama as it is satirizing the obsequious media machine that trails in his
> wake (ObSMN).

Yeah, I got that.

Pretty much most of the world is in (humorous) awe of the length, cost$ and
fanfare of American pre-election campaigning.

- nilita
Raymond O'Hara - 26 Jul 2008 15:55 GMT
>>>> Classic!
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> - nilita

the candidates would like it shortened too.'but the press, especially the
cable "news" cover it incessently and it forces the candidates hands with
constsnt coverage and speculation.
deemsbill@aol.com - 26 Jul 2008 16:12 GMT
On Jul 26, 10:55 am, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> >>>> Classic!
>
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> cable "news" cover it incessently and it forces the candidates hands with
> constsnt coverage and speculation

              Gotta sell those ads.
La N - 26 Jul 2008 16:16 GMT
On Jul 26, 10:55 am, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> "La N" <nilita2004NOS...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> cable "news" cover it incessently and it forces the candidates hands with
> constsnt coverage and speculation

              Gotta sell those ads.
***********************************

I was watching a CBC news clip not long ago where people in the UK were
interviewed on the street about American elections. The thing that astounded
the Brits was that candidates were seemingly crowing about how much money
they raised for their campaigns - in the millions! The report went on to
contrast the comparatively low costs of electing heads of state in other
countries.

- nilita
Jack Linthicum - 26 Jul 2008 16:33 GMT
> <deemsb...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 44 lines]
>
> - nilita

The difference in national TV operations and the number of TV markets
in each country.

Florida is an important state and has seven TV markets, seven areas to
hit with ads on more than one station. There are about eight in
California, Texas may have 13 or 14.

UK seems to be about that same number eight or so markets, but we have
50 states, not all of which would be targeted. And, it would appear
that if you hit the three "national" channels in the UK you will get
most of the viewers.
William Black - 26 Jul 2008 17:22 GMT
> UK seems to be about that same number eight or so markets, but we have
> 50 states, not all of which would be targeted. And, it would appear
> that if you hit the three "national" channels in the UK you will get
> most of the viewers.

Except that direct political advertising on TV in UK elections is prohibited
by law.

The parties are given exposure with the time made available being exactly
proportional to the number of candidates they field.

So the three major parties get the same exposure and the myriad of minor
ones get,  usually,  one slot,  if they field 80 or more candidates (I
think).

Signature

William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time,  like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

deemsbill@aol.com - 26 Jul 2008 17:37 GMT
On Jul 26, 12:22 pm, "William Black" <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote:

> > UK seems to be about that same number eight or so markets, but we have
> > 50 states, not all of which would be targeted. And, it would appear
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> --
> William Black

    I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
much of a rich man's game.
Raymond O'Hara - 26 Jul 2008 19:22 GMT
    I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
much of a rich man's game.

who is going to vote for a poor guy?
William Black - 26 Jul 2008 19:25 GMT
>     I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
> much of a rich man's game.
>
> who is going to vote for a poor guy?

We prefer our politicians to be clever, rather than dim but rich.

That's why we tend to go for academics and lawyers.

Obama is very bright,  but 'too clever by half' is an expression that
somehow springs to mind when I look at him...

Signature

William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time,  like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

Fred J. McCall - 26 Jul 2008 19:49 GMT
:That's why we tend to go for academics and lawyers.
:
:Obama is very bright,  but 'too clever by half' is an expression that
:somehow springs to mind when I look at him...

And yet he is both an academic and a lawyer; precisely what you say
you "tend to go for".

Signature

"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar
territory."
                                     --G. Behn

William Black - 26 Jul 2008 22:37 GMT
> :That's why we tend to go for academics and lawyers.
> :
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> And yet he is both an academic and a lawyer; precisely what you say
> you "tend to go for".

I know.

In all honesty I should be the sort of person rooting for him.

But I'm not.

I just don't trust him at all.

There's something creepy about him,  and McCain,  while he's far too old for
the job,  isn't creepy at all...

Signature

William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time,  like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

D. Spencer Hines - 26 Jul 2008 23:18 GMT
Obama is decidedly, in that excellent British capsule character
description...

"Too clever by half"...

And it's beginning to catch up with him.

Even Pogue Gans, a lifelong Left-Wing Democrat, has his severe doubts and
fears about Obama.
Signature

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

>> :That's why we tend to go for academics and lawyers.
>> :
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> There's something creepy about him, [sic]  and McCain, while he's far too
> old for the job, [sic]  isn't creepy at all...
Singanas@Texasgulfcoast - 27 Jul 2008 08:50 GMT
On Jul 26, 4:37 pm, "William Black" <william.bl...@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote:

> > :That's why we tend to go for academics and lawyers.
> > :
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> All these moments will be lost in time,  like icecream on the beach
> Time for tea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So now we have a creepiness factor.  I remember when  the Dems
had a "family values" deficit, as when Hillary would throw a table
lamp
at Bill or Bill would disrespect the Secret Service staffers.

I remember all that gushing right wing praise for Dubya and Laura on
account of their politeness to the help and their televised warmth and
hand holding.  Well look where "family values" got us.  Unchecked
global warming, trillions of national debt, $700 billion going abroad
per
annum for 70 % of our energy, no national health fix, and no social
security
fix.

Sir William, I say "Bring on the creepy, the floppy-eared, and the
ugly."
Bring on a  late bloomer like Lincoln or Churchill, and let's put the
"family values" ilk on the back burner this November.

Cheers from the other Gulf,
David H
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William Black - 27 Jul 2008 10:46 GMT
> Sir William, I say "Bring on the creepy, the floppy-eared, and the
> ugly."
> Bring on a  late bloomer like Lincoln or Churchill, and let's put the
> "family values" ilk on the back burner this November.

First of all,  I don't think either of these two are comparable to Churchill
or Lincoln.

Second,  if given the choice,  and I won't be,  I'd be hard pressed to say
anything supportive about either of them.  In my opinion neither is fit to
be the leader of the free world...

Signature

William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time,  like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

Zombywoof - 27 Jul 2008 20:49 GMT
>> Sir William, I say "Bring on the creepy, the floppy-eared, and the
>> ugly."
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>anything supportive about either of them.  In my opinion neither is fit to
>be the leader of the free world...

Who says the leader of the "Free World" has to be the American
President?
Signature

"Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites.
Moderation is for monks."

D. Spencer Hines - 27 Jul 2008 20:57 GMT
No one else is willing to step up to the plate....

Gordon Brown?...

Hilarious!

The U.N. is also a farce when it comes to taking forceful action against
vengeful aggressors and mass murderers.
Signature

DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor

>>Second,  if given the choice,  and I won't be,  I'd be hard pressed to say
>>anything supportive about either of them.  In my opinion neither is fit to
>>be the leader of the free world...
>>
> Who says the leader of the "Free World" has to be the American
> President?
William Black - 27 Jul 2008 22:19 GMT
In my opinion neither is fit to
>>be the leader of the free world...
>>
> Who says the leader of the "Free World" has to be the American
> President?

You have an alternative candidate in mind?

Signature

William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time,  like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

Andrew Swallow - 27 Jul 2008 10:57 GMT
> :That's why we tend to go for academics and lawyers.
> :
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> And yet he is both an academic and a lawyer; precisely what you say
> you "tend to go for".

'too clever by half' does not mean very clever, it means a suspected
liar and cheat.  What ever he says, he is not on our side.

Andrew Swallow
Fred J. McCall - 27 Jul 2008 18:35 GMT
:> :That's why we tend to go for academics and lawyers.
:> :
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
:'too clever by half' does not mean very clever, it means a suspected
:liar and cheat.

Uh, I know that, Andrew.  I was pointing out that that statement was
rather at odds with the "we tend to go for academics and lawyers"
position, since Obama is both.

Sorry I confused you by not putting some obvious construct like "And
yet" at the front of my sentence to indicate I was contrasting two
conflicting statements.

Oh, wait, I *did* do that...

Signature

"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar
territory."
                                     --G. Behn

Raymond O'Hara - 26 Jul 2008 23:49 GMT
>>     I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
>> much of a rich man's game.
>>
>> who is going to vote for a poor guy?
>
> We prefer our politicians to be clever, rather than dim but rich.

explain the chimpler then. he is the ultimate expression of "dim but rich"
William Black - 27 Jul 2008 10:43 GMT
>>>     I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
>>> much of a rich man's game.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> explain the chimpler then. he is the ultimate expression of "dim but rich"

I'm British you idiot.

Signature

William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time,  like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

Raymond O'Hara - 28 Jul 2008 03:51 GMT
>>>>     I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
>>>> much of a rich man's game.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>>
> I'm British you idiot.

i didn't say you weren't blackguard, it is well known you are a limey
Andrew Swallow - 27 Jul 2008 11:00 GMT
>>>     I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
>>> much of a rich man's game.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> explain the chimpler then. he is the ultimate expression of "dim but rich"

Mr Black does not have to.  Black is British and was talking about
Britain.  The chimpler is American.

Andrew Swallow
Raymond O'Hara - 29 Jul 2008 00:05 GMT
>>>>     I could go for something like that. Our system makes politics too
>>>> much of a rich man's game.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Andrew Swallow

the chimpler is the classic "dim but rich"
Singanas@Texasgulfcoast - 29 Jul 2008 13:08 GMT
On Jul 28, 6:05 pm, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> >>>> <deemsb...@aol.com> wrote in message
> >>>>news:54ea5592-53e0-4b1f-ab0b-dcf54966968b@m73g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> the chimpler is the classic "dim but rich"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was treading a David Brooks column in the Corpus Christi daily
Caller-Times called "The radical optimist offers lofty rhetoric."
Brooks is becoming a little disenchanted with Obama's lofty treacle
about groups coming together and people uniting and standing as one.
Brooks cites a lack of realism in Obama's recent orations.

Repetition of his obvious and simple vision reinforces my belief that
Obama is going to be a superb organiser of the committees, the boards,
the action groups, and the teams which will be called upon to bring
about
change in 2009.  The Obama message is not so much about what he
personally knows but who he will bring together to accomplish his
change
agenda. FDR did it in 1933-40 when he put together the Brain Trust,
the
NRA, the CCC, the NLRA, the WPA, the TVA, the REA, et cetera.
Kennedy repeated the same momentum in 1961-63.  LBJ succeeded with
Civil Rights and Medicare but then stumbled completely into the Viet
Nam
quagmire.

Cheers, David H
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
deemsbill@aol.com - 26 Jul 2008 19:32 GMT
On Jul 26, 2:22 pm, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> <deemsb...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> who is going to vote for a poor guy?

          How about a regular middle class guy/gal that's actually
worked all their life?
Jack Linthicum - 26 Jul 2008 19:35 GMT
On Jul 26, 2:32 pm, "deemsb...@aol.com" <deemsb...@aol.com> wrote:
> On Jul 26, 2:22 pm, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>            How about a regular middle class guy/gal that's actually
> worked all their life?

Fictional character
Raymond O'Hara - 26 Jul 2008 23:51 GMT
On Jul 26, 2:22 pm, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> <deemsb...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> who is going to vote for a poor guy?

          How about a regular middle class guy/gal that's actually
worked all their life?

=========================================================

they are the ones who keep voting for the rich guys.
Andrew Swallow - 27 Jul 2008 10:53 GMT
>> <deemsb...@aol.com> wrote in message
>>
[quoted text clipped - 42 lines]
> that if you hit the three "national" channels in the UK you will get
> most of the viewers.

In Britain political parties are not allowed to advertise.  They get
one or two free 5 minute slots in the entire campaign.

Andrew Swallow
Roger Conroy - 26 Jul 2008 22:54 GMT
> On Jul 26, 10:55 am, "Raymond O'Hara" <raymond-oh...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
[quoted text clipped - 40 lines]
>
> - nilita

The two main "problems" with the US election system are:
1. Rigidly fixed election dates -  everyone is always campaigning.
2. The primary system - in most countries the leader of the party is by
default the candidate for president/prime minister. Other than hardcore
party members, can anyone even name the Dem & Rep party bosses?
Raymond O'Hara - 26 Jul 2008 23:52 GMT
> The two main "problems" with the US election system are:
> 1. Rigidly fixed election dates -  everyone is always campaigning.
> 2. The primary system - in most countries the leader of the party is by
> default the candidate for president/prime minister. Other than hardcore
> party members, can anyone even name the Dem & Rep party bosses?

we like our system
in parlimentary systems you only get party insiders and then they have to
kiss a.s to keep their job.
Fred J. McCall - 26 Jul 2008 23:54 GMT
Your main complaint seems to be that it's not like Britain's.  Let's
examine that just a bit.

:The two main "problems" with the US election system are:
:1. Rigidly fixed election dates -  everyone is always campaigning.

As opposed to the parliamentary system, where everyone must be
campaigning all the time because they don't know when an election will
be called.  Add to that the likelihood that they can be called at the
least opportune times (when you need stability because of some
international crisis) and that you can get things like the Italian
system after WWII, where the government seemed to change every week or
so.

This difference in our system is a feature, not a bug.

:2. The primary system - in most countries the leader of the party is by
:default the candidate for president/prime minister. Other than hardcore
:party members, can anyone even name the Dem & Rep party bosses?

Again, a feature rather than a bug.  Why should a bunch of politicos
get to pick who is in charge of the executive?  Primaries take that
decision down to the voters rather than leaving it in the hand of the
political elites.

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"It's always different.  It's always complex.  But at some point,
somebody has to draw the line.  And that somebody is always me....
I am the law."
                              -- Buffy, The Vampire Slayer

Zombywoof - 27 Jul 2008 20:46 GMT
>>>> Classic!
>>>>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>Pretty much most of the world is in (humorous) awe of the length, cost$ and
>fanfare of American pre-election campaigning.

What is the old saying "Everybody loves a parade"?
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"Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites.
Moderation is for monks."

 
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