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Post by lagatta on Apr 3, 2019 16:25:18 GMT
Well, have you seen the new mayor of Chicago?
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 3, 2019 16:47:23 GMT
Yes, but she's not running for president yet!
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 12, 2019 17:16:44 GMT
Pete Buttigieg continues to win points in France because he speaks relatively acceptable French. It's funny because this is the sort of thing that didn't really work for John Kerry, because he clearly thought that he spoke better French than he actually did.
Obviously, American candidates who are fully fluent in Spanish are at least 800% more important, at least in terms of American politics. It is only after (winning) an election that other languages come into play.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 14, 2019 21:58:01 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 14, 2019 22:11:24 GMT
re: Pete Buttigieg and French ~ fair or unfair, being able to speak French still confers an air of educated sophistication on the speaker, so were Buttigieg to win the presidency his approval rating in France would be no small thing. Sure, a candidate's ability to speak Spanish might well garner him/her a good chunk of votes in the US, but there is the world stage, after all. Considering the US's dangerous clown president that other world leaders have had to contend with, can you imagine the automatically warm reception they would extend to a gentleman or lady US president?
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Post by Kimby on Jun 15, 2019 0:10:08 GMT
There are currently 6 Democratic candidates who would beat Trump if the race were held today. But in the next year, they will beat each other up for the nomination, and the GOP will use their remarks against the eventual nominee.
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Post by bjd on Jun 18, 2019 17:01:15 GMT
I had always assumed that whoever is president in the USA is the automatic incumbent in an election for a second term, unless of course he quits.
So why on earth is Trump announcing his candidacy today? Of course he prefers campaigning to the actual job of governing, but still. And why did people camp out overnight in front of a basketball arena in Orlando, Florida so be able to buy tickets and go listen to him?
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Post by Kimby on Jun 19, 2019 20:56:17 GMT
On occasion the incumbent is “primaried”, that is faces a same-party candidate in the primary election. Thus far there is at least one Republican who plans to run against DJT. Wish there were more!
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Post by bjd on Jun 20, 2019 6:06:08 GMT
One comment I heard on the news yesterday was that Trump is no longer the president of all Americans. Of course, he never was but in principle while in office, he is meant to be. But since he kicked off his campaign so early, he is positioning himself as a candidate of the Republican party.
The same commentator said that since there are so many Democrats lining up, some will criticize Trump's outrageous comments, instead of letting his blowhard ways dominate the news. And since he doesn't know who his opponent will be, he is repeating the same old bullshit from 2016: immigrants, Hillary Clinton (!), attacking the press.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 20, 2019 8:53:15 GMT
As far as I know, Clinton has retired except for those lucrative speaking tours, so it seems rather ridiculous to pick on her.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 20, 2019 9:57:39 GMT
I think that she is so despised by the Trump supporters that every mention of her name pumps up their rage. Whenever the Democrats finally get a viable candidate, all Trump has to do is say "he/she is just like Hillary" and their hatred will just transfer to the new person seamlessly.
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Post by patricklondon on Jun 20, 2019 11:31:47 GMT
As far as I know, Clinton has retired except for those lucrative speaking tours, so it seems rather ridiculous to pick on her. I get the impression Trump has never let relevance get in the way of a grudge.
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Post by fumobici on Jun 20, 2019 11:51:23 GMT
I think that she is so despised by the Trump supporters that every mention of her name pumps up their rage. Whenever the Democrats finally get a viable candidate, all Trump has to do is say "he/she is just like Hillary" and their hatred will just transfer to the new person seamlessly. It isn't only the Trump mob who despise Hillary, we on the left have always as well with her sneering corruption, her right-wing devil-take-the-hindmost economics policies, and her criminally war-mongering neocon history. She is the near-perfect embodiment of the moral vacuity of the "liberal" establishment. Joe Biden is the current avatar for that same "liberal" morass, if he winds up as the Democratic nominee, he won't be getting my vote or those of many on the left. He has a political history as shameful as many a Republican -- so much so that he dosn't even pass the low bar of "lesser evil" for us. He'd just be a "different" and possibly more effective evil. No, thank you.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 20, 2019 12:48:23 GMT
In a certain sense it is none of my business, as a) I don't live there and b) there are alternatives which have elected MPs and provincial premiers, such as the social-democratic NDP and the Greens. I've never voted for the Liberals. That said, some NDP leaders and MPs have been quite lacklustre. There are movements to shift the NDP leftwards, such as the Leap. Both MPs in my riding (federal and Québec)and borough mayor and council members are from parties to the left of the Liberals (not to say the US Democrats). I won't mention Québec solidaire in Trump's earsight, for he'd invade us.
I wasn't saying that to defend Ms Clinton; just that I thought it was absurd to dump on someone not remotely in the race. Biden did have ONE good idea and policy plank: greatly increasing passenger rail, hereabouts the Northern New England (and Québec) line that would connect Montréal and Boston via Vermont and New Hampshire. Otherwise I agree with your evaluation.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 17, 2019 17:45:17 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Aug 17, 2019 23:48:10 GMT
I don't like Hillary, but can't stand listening to that disgusting P.O.S. The thing about late-term abortions is an outright lie. Most are dead, acephalic, brain-dead or otherwise unviable, or a horrible choice when the birth would kill Mama, a born human being.
And the Donald is no saint who has devoted his life to abandoned children.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 2, 2019 19:16:11 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 2, 2019 19:26:02 GMT
My big fear is that the DNC will ramrod Biden through as the candidate, just as they did with Clinton in 2016. That didn't turn out so well, did it?
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Post by bjd on Oct 2, 2019 19:30:41 GMT
Sanders' heart problem today will remind everyone that he is kind of old to be running for president.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 2, 2019 19:53:48 GMT
Yep, that was my first thought, too. It's an unfair judgment, though. My stepfather had more than one stent put in when he was in his early 80s and lived to be 94, finally succumbing to a physical accident.
It kind of gives me a laugh that Biden seems so very, very much more old-guy, more clueless politico, more doddering than Sanders, who is two years Biden's senior and who is so lively, passionate, and sharp-minded.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 2, 2019 23:07:42 GMT
So I think (and fervently hope) the DNC is not being so stupid this time. And I fervently hope you are right! I agree with everything you said except the "we all love him" part. I can't do the quote thing. Huckle, here is the poop on quoting: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/post/302445/thread (#879 in the tech support & advice thread).
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Post by Kimby on Oct 3, 2019 1:06:12 GMT
GOP can run former Ohio governor John Kasich, who stayed in the 2016 race till the end of primary season. He did not attend the 2016 nominating convention and did not endorse Donald Trump. At least he’s not crazy, and he’s younger than Trump. www.cnn.com/2015/08/25/us/john-kasich-fast-facts/index.html
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Post by Kimby on Oct 3, 2019 4:47:19 GMT
Bernie’s heart issues remind us how old he really is, and his voters are likely to start shifting to his more energetic female counterpart, Elizabeth Warren. Her poll numbers will shoot ahead of Uncle Joe’s, especially if/when Bernie drops out and endorses her. It will become her nomination to lose. The other candidates are gaining name recognition for future runs and positioning themselves for VP or cabinet positions.
I do worry that she doesn’t appeal to “minority voters”, and is too far left for many independents and Republicans. And she can be kinda shrill and preachy. (Sorta like Hillary.)
So far, though, she’s running a good campaign.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 3, 2019 4:54:20 GMT
Jimmy Carter who just turned 95, and is still swinging a hammer building Habitat for Humanity houses, said in an interview that he feels he wouldn’t have been able to do the work of the Presidency when he was 80. Well, Bernie and Biden would both turn 80 before their term was up.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 3, 2019 5:11:27 GMT
Nothing like injecting ageism and sexism into a political discussion.
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Post by bjd on Oct 3, 2019 5:41:11 GMT
I don't think it's a question of ageism. It's perfectly normal that as we get older, we have less physical energy even if minds stay sharp. The presidency of a country is a demanding job -- just look how Obama aged over the course of his 8 years in office -- and he was in his 40s.
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Post by whatagain on Oct 3, 2019 7:33:05 GMT
Petain bouteflika Castro were not in their finest hour when they got old.
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Post by questa on Oct 3, 2019 7:56:35 GMT
Age gradually creeps up on people. Decision making slows down. After age 70 our Judges must retire from court duties. Lack of good judgement is not something you would want in a president. Especially one who has his finger on the red button.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 3, 2019 11:59:56 GMT
I don't think it is ageism to look at how much older the main candidates are - not to mention Trump, who is completely out of it, and I have no idea whether dementia is involved or something that goes back much, much farther. Sanders and Warren are both exceptionally fit for their ages, but as we know, that is becoming far more common, especially among certain segments of the population. A very dear friend is an extremely involved and active emeritus professor, and my friend who died earlier this year was involved and active in all senses until he contracted bladder cancer, which could have happened at any age.
As bixa said, it is easy to fall back on ageist - and sexist - tropes.
I was pleased to see Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu, welcoming Harry and Meghan and above all baby Archie, and no, it is not out of Royal-watching. The Tutus were just so happy to see a wee new life, of any station. And they've been through so much. I've met them.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 3, 2019 12:44:53 GMT
The problem with age is not whether or not one's brain is fully functioning and one's body can keep up with the rigors of such a job.
I am much more concerned about lives and objectives being fully anchored in the 21st century, and I am not seeing enough of it. While experience should always be taken into consideration, the capability of projecting society into the future really seems more important to me now because we are facing all sorts of challenges that were never addressed in the past -- climate change, pollution, sustainable development, the need for negative growth in some areas, unbridled technology, new medical situations, dealing with 50 different cultures rather than just the 5 or 10 of the past, refugees to a degree that has never before been seen, the vast numbers of the elderly in the developed countries. "Experience" about what happened 50 or 70 years earlier is not necessarily useful in a lot of these domains.
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