Disagree, if you like. But don't condescend.
First, a quiz gacked from thewhiteowl:
Your Issue Profile: 36% Obama, 64% McCain
When it gets down to it, you tend to best match John McCain.
But he's not the perfect candidate for you, and you may not be sold on him yet.
Obama shares a good number of your views too, so you might want to give him a second look.
It all comes down to which issues matter to you the most.
Should You Vote for Obama or McCain?
If you feel so inclined, please take the quiz and either post your results in the comments, or if you post them on your LJ, post a link here (JIC I miss it on my regular flist perusals). I have a little hypothesis I'd like to test.
And now, some reading material that should be of interest to the US-politics otaku on my flist. I've excerpted some of the most relevant bits, but you really should read all of it. (You may need to register--for free, but a bit of a hassle--to read the rest.) Please consider what it has to say carefully. If you lean to the liberal side, please note that I am posting this for your benefit. And I mean that, truly, in the sense that I want you to benefit from reading it. I support McCain/Palin, but I don't think it would be a tragedy for Obama to win this election--not least because I know it would mean a lot to those of you who have suffered so much frustration with the current leadership and would like to see the reins change hands to the Democratic party.
Okay, I admit, this is probably more than half of the column. Seriously, you should just click the link and read the whole thing.
Clive Crook writes in Financial Times:
This article is not the first to note the cultural contradiction in American liberalism, but just now the point bears restating. The election may turn on it.
Democrats speak up for the less prosperous; they have well-intentioned policies to help them; they are disturbed by inequality, and want to do something about it. Their concern is real and admirable. The trouble is, they lack respect for the objects of their solicitude. Their sympathy comes mixed with disdain, and even contempt...
It is an attitude that a good part of the US media share. The country has conservative media (Fox News, talk radio) as well as liberal media (most of the rest). Curiously, whereas the conservative media know they are conservative, much of the liberal media believe themselves to be neutral.
Their constant support for Democratic views has nothing to do with bias, in their minds, but reflects the fact that Democrats just happen to be right about everything. The result is the same: for much of the media, the fact that Republicans keep winning can only be due to the backwardness of much of the country...
The irony in 2008 is that the Democratic candidate, despite Republican claims to the contrary, is not an elitist. Barack Obama is an intellectual, but he remembers his history. He can and does connect with ordinary people. His courteous reaction to the Palin nomination was telling...
The problem in my view is less Mr Obama and more the attitudes of the claque of official and unofficial supporters that surrounds him. The prevailing liberal mindset is what makes the criticisms of Mr Obama’s distance from working Americans stick.
If only the Democrats could contain their sense of entitlement to govern in a rational world, and their consequent distaste for wide swathes of the US electorate, they might gain the unshakeable grip on power they feel they deserve. Winning elections would certainly be easier - and Republicans would have to address themselves more seriously to economic insecurity. But the fathomless cultural complacency of the metropolitan liberal rules this out...
They will have to develop some regard for the values that the middle of the country expresses when it votes Republican. Religion. Unembarrassed flag-waving patriotism. Freedom to succeed or fail through one’s own efforts. Refusal to be pitied, bossed around or talked down to. And all those other laughable redneck notions that made the United States what it is.
Hope that provides some good, nutritious food for thought--as opposed to the mental indigestion that often comes from reading political commentary, especially if it is critical of your own side or party.
To my friends of all political persuasions: please, please, be courteous. Think carefully about the language you use, and the attitude you take, when you address or talk about the other side.
Your friend,
Joie
P.S. On a totally unrelated note, can anyone tell me why my mood theme doesn't seem to work today?
Your Issue Profile: 36% Obama, 64% McCain
When it gets down to it, you tend to best match John McCain.
But he's not the perfect candidate for you, and you may not be sold on him yet.
Obama shares a good number of your views too, so you might want to give him a second look.
It all comes down to which issues matter to you the most.
Should You Vote for Obama or McCain?
If you feel so inclined, please take the quiz and either post your results in the comments, or if you post them on your LJ, post a link here (JIC I miss it on my regular flist perusals). I have a little hypothesis I'd like to test.
And now, some reading material that should be of interest to the US-politics otaku on my flist. I've excerpted some of the most relevant bits, but you really should read all of it. (You may need to register--for free, but a bit of a hassle--to read the rest.) Please consider what it has to say carefully. If you lean to the liberal side, please note that I am posting this for your benefit. And I mean that, truly, in the sense that I want you to benefit from reading it. I support McCain/Palin, but I don't think it would be a tragedy for Obama to win this election--not least because I know it would mean a lot to those of you who have suffered so much frustration with the current leadership and would like to see the reins change hands to the Democratic party.
Okay, I admit, this is probably more than half of the column. Seriously, you should just click the link and read the whole thing.
Clive Crook writes in Financial Times:
This article is not the first to note the cultural contradiction in American liberalism, but just now the point bears restating. The election may turn on it.
Democrats speak up for the less prosperous; they have well-intentioned policies to help them; they are disturbed by inequality, and want to do something about it. Their concern is real and admirable. The trouble is, they lack respect for the objects of their solicitude. Their sympathy comes mixed with disdain, and even contempt...
It is an attitude that a good part of the US media share. The country has conservative media (Fox News, talk radio) as well as liberal media (most of the rest). Curiously, whereas the conservative media know they are conservative, much of the liberal media believe themselves to be neutral.
Their constant support for Democratic views has nothing to do with bias, in their minds, but reflects the fact that Democrats just happen to be right about everything. The result is the same: for much of the media, the fact that Republicans keep winning can only be due to the backwardness of much of the country...
The irony in 2008 is that the Democratic candidate, despite Republican claims to the contrary, is not an elitist. Barack Obama is an intellectual, but he remembers his history. He can and does connect with ordinary people. His courteous reaction to the Palin nomination was telling...
The problem in my view is less Mr Obama and more the attitudes of the claque of official and unofficial supporters that surrounds him. The prevailing liberal mindset is what makes the criticisms of Mr Obama’s distance from working Americans stick.
If only the Democrats could contain their sense of entitlement to govern in a rational world, and their consequent distaste for wide swathes of the US electorate, they might gain the unshakeable grip on power they feel they deserve. Winning elections would certainly be easier - and Republicans would have to address themselves more seriously to economic insecurity. But the fathomless cultural complacency of the metropolitan liberal rules this out...
They will have to develop some regard for the values that the middle of the country expresses when it votes Republican. Religion. Unembarrassed flag-waving patriotism. Freedom to succeed or fail through one’s own efforts. Refusal to be pitied, bossed around or talked down to. And all those other laughable redneck notions that made the United States what it is.
Hope that provides some good, nutritious food for thought--as opposed to the mental indigestion that often comes from reading political commentary, especially if it is critical of your own side or party.
To my friends of all political persuasions: please, please, be courteous. Think carefully about the language you use, and the attitude you take, when you address or talk about the other side.
Your friend,
Joie
P.S. On a totally unrelated note, can anyone tell me why my mood theme doesn't seem to work today?