Fair enough and I will accept your premise that the childhood of somebody born in the 1880's and somebody born in the 1890's is relevant to my point about the current situation (though one of them did grow up on his familys 600 acre farm - I'm fairly sure that my most definitions people owning 600 acres of farm would be considered fairly well to do but I don't know / care enough about the details to argue the toss)
American Politics
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Fair enough and I will accept your premise that the childhood of somebody born in the 1880's and somebody born in the 1890's is relevant to my point about the current situation (though one of them did grow up on his familys 600 acre farm - I'm fairly sure that my most definitions people owning 600 acres of farm would be considered fairly well to do but I don't know / care enough about the details to argue the toss)
fair enough - it just strikes me that it looks a lot like nepotism which is generally not a great thing - if they have naturally risen to positions of power due to acumen and skill so be it.
Afterall if its good enough for north Korea its good enough for anywhere right
He was elected in the fifties, post world war two is generally considered to be the modern era. Bringing up the birth date is disingenuous.
except your point was about him growing up poor - so I kind of figured the period of him growing up might be you know sort of linked to his date of birth? - anyway we disagree that's fine lets move on
There's definitely an advantage in terms of name recognition and resources, but the candidates still have to perform - run strong campaigns, take the right positions etc. Its easier for people who come from political families to enter into politics, because they've experienced first hand what it takes to be successful. The great thing about the US is you don't have to be from a political family - you can be an actor (Reagan, Schwarzenegger) or a community organizer like Obama.
You're being deliberately obtuse. Your snidey remark implied that it was not possible for anyone to become president. My examples from the modern era were to prove this isn't the case and that most presidents we've had since world war two are the perfect counterpoint due to their not-rich childhoods like Kennedy and the bushes had.
From the outside it seems that the fundraising is key to any successful political career and that perhaps those whose family have fundraising connections have an (unfair?) advantage.
Not that the UK has a perfect system of course and hereditary members of the house of lords is frankly laughable but certainly the image of nepotism and of the importance of political / fundraising connections to get ahead does make the political elite seem from a distance to be less than entirely honourable.
the North Korea analogy was slightly tongue in cheek - but if you do end up with another clinton vs bush which I guess is a realistic possibility it will (certainly from the outside looking in) make the election process seem a little tarnished.
Except Obama raised more money than ever before.
Yeah definitely. In terms of the Clintons or the Bushes, they would definitely benefit from their name recognition, which is a significant part of branding oneself into people's good (or bad) graces during political campaigns. The interesting thing about the Bushes is that they are quite different - Jeb Bush is perceived as significantly more pragmatic and collaborative than Dubya - although in Dubya's defense, he was probably a bit like that before he became President. His persona was darkened quite a bit by his post-911 reaction (same with Blair I would think). Jeb on the other hand, seems considerably more pragmatic - in fact his politics seem vaguely more in line with Conservative Democrats than Conservative Republicans.
As for Hillary, she is definitely more hawkish than Obama. He views US interventionism as problematic and criticized the Iraq War and a few other things as they happened. He also held back on things like arming the Syrian rebels, having the US take lead role in the Libya campaign, arming the Ukrainian government etc. Those are all things Hillary would have probably done and still may do if she's the next President.
Christie may run for President as well. He seems to be on the moderate side of the spectrum.
If it is those two I suspect a very close fight for the centre ground and honestly this far out I couldn't even guess which way that election would go (But both candidates will be framed by the opposition largley in light of the perceived failings of administrations they can be linked with) - either way potentially you get a winner who could get some cross party support
Rubio would make it a much clearer fight between the left and right and I suspect (hope?) be considered to extreme (ie close to the tea party) to win and if he did I could certainly see a very very divided political landscape with little / no co-operation on most things
What are your thoughts on who the likley nominees are (though I guess this time 8 years ago nobody would have picked out obama) - any chance of condi rice going for VP to J Bush?
It will be the wild west for Republicans - probably split among three factions - Tea Party Conservatives including full on nuts like Cruz and a muppet show of lesser known ones, a moderate group containing the likes of Jeb Bush, possibly Romney again, as well as a few governors and senators, and the third will be a smaller contingent of Rand Paul and possibly one or two others who are anti-interventionist libertarians. Rubio, despite having ridden into office on a Tea Party wave a few years back, will probably try to get in with the moderates. He's been speaking a distinctly moderate game over the past year or so, which to me suggests he is honing his rhetoric for a Presidential run. The trouble for him will be if Jeb Bush runs, since they're both from Florida.
Expect a lot of patriotic chest pounding among GOP candidates, as to who, if elected, will be tougher on Vladimir Putin and ISIS, in addition to usual boring stuff about who will undo Obama care on day one.
Further to Rubio and Jeb Bush - I think the strongest ticket the GOP could possibly have is Jeb Bush with Rubio as his running mate. Not only would they easily win Florida, but they would more than likely win a series of states Republicans have been drifting away from during the Obama years, like Ohio, Virginia, NC etc.
Rubio as a Presidential candidate would also work with a moderate running mate. Those are the options that would give Hillary the biggest challenge.
Rubio as a Presidential candidate would also work with a moderate running mate. Those are the options that would give Hillary the biggest challenge.
sounds about right for the republicans - probably mention of a trade war with someone as well (china / eu / mexico etc)
Do you think clinton will have to distance herself from the obama administration (well the second term at least to try and get swing voters - also who are the realistic VP candidates? Warren (would appeal to the party base) Patrick (playing the race card potentially to try ensure they dont loose some of the african american turn out that was particularly strong for obama) or would they go for somebody who appeals to the centre ground?
I would have guessed at clinton, patrick but its hard to gauge from a distance.
AND excellent fundraising powers from the G/GW Bush infrastructure.
I guess Rubio is young enough to use it potentially as a stepping stone for a future presidential run as well?
this couldn't happen could it?
Like the Dems still blame Bush?
Just so you know I am once again running for President in 2016, more in an unofficial manner. While I will not campaign, I will not spend a penny seeking office, I belong to no political party, I will not appear on any ballot, you may feel free to write me in as your choice. I believe in the last election I received as many as 5 or as few as 1 vote, depending on whether or 4 voters meant me when they wrote in "Some Asshat"
I am prepared to withdraw from the race should either Bill the Cat decides to run again (as long as Opus is still his Veep) or Pogo jumps into the race.
I am prepared to withdraw from the race should either Bill the Cat decides to run again (as long as Opus is still his Veep) or Pogo jumps into the race.
I guess Rubio is young enough to use it potentially as a stepping stone for a future presidential run as well?
this couldn't happen could it?
Well she could run, nothing can really prevent that, but she will not receive the Republican nomination. I suppose she could try to run as a third party candidate.
Interesting months coming up for the R's. No doubt, Cruz will push for a hardline right candidate (himself lol) saying that the verdict now is a reflection of people's view against the government and will try to legitimize the shutdown of government. Christie may very well say that he led the way in the Governor's elections and he's got the lead for the presidential post. Mitch Mcconnell though, will probably sway the opinion and will lead a moderate charge and try and shut up Cruz. He'll surely plump for Rand Paul.
The hell with obamacare every year I'm paying more for my premiums for less.
Y
You don't think Christie will run for president?
I don't know why nobody attempts to fix the real problem here. The cost involved. In India, it takes about 8000 rupees (roughly 135 dollars) for an appendicitis operation. Guess how much it costs in US? Even considering higher level of quality, dearth of doctors and other factors, there is a crazy price difference there. Since Insurance pays for it, people just don't care enough about it.
Pizza costs roughly the same in both countries.
Still not convinced by it. It became so ridiculously watered down from its initial concept that its questionable how effective it will be, especially with Republicans pecking away at it each chance they get.
Yeah forgot about him. He will likely be primary fodder. Don't expect him to do much beyond that.
Crap! I want him out of New Jersey
The salaries in both countries have a huge difference but the health care here in the states are of high quality, I came from Portugal and they want the people to die for sure, just found out a friend of mine who moved back to Portugal just died with lung cancer when they detected a spot on his lungs a few years ago and told him that's nothing.
I think the American system is incredibly well developed. The founding fathers implemented a representative democracy, with the representation layer as a buffer against autocratic change and against mob rule. It works just fine.
Anytime you have one party in power you get these big omnibus bills, like the Patriot Act and Dodd-Frank and these are 1,500- or 2,000-page bills that no legislator has read and none knows how to implement.
Is a system really well developed when millions of people are homeless and don't have healthcare or any prospects while a minority amass the majority of the wealth for themselves?
He is from Wall Street IIRC. They are not happy with Obama right now supposedly due to any minuscule regulation he brought forward. Happy they have republicans now to block every thing in sight.
I just don’t think that’s how the economy’s working. What’s actually happening is we have a reasonably well-functioning capitalist system with a decent safety net. We have very high tax rates. We generate enormous amounts of tax revenue, and we have a very big safety net. There are 15 national nutrition-assistance programs in the U.S. right now. Not one. Fifteen.
We have people rising out of poverty at a global level and in the U.S. at unprecedented rates. In 50 years, we have gone from hunger being the dominant problem among lower-income people to obesity being the dominant problem.
Is it perfect? No, but it's pretty good.
It's not about Obama, Wall Street and all this ideological warfare. If we had a Republican president, I'd vote Democrat on midyear elections.
Can't comment on Portugal, but I know most Indians plan for a vacation to coincide with their dentists appointment back in India
Compared to what?
Let's not be disingenuous and say that Republican policies implemented since Reagan and doubled down by Clinton and Bush didn't cause the financial mess. Added to that, how can any leader of a country actually fix a problem after 2008 when the legislature is as lame as ever? The only people who came out of 2008 smiling after the dust settled were the banks and insurance companies.
My Dad is a dentist. Do visit when you are in India next time. I will give you a Modi poster as complimentary gift.
I wonder what you have against Dodd-Frank?
What's made Obama and his party this unpopular? I knew he wasn't exactly doing superbly, and was coming in for some flak as a lot of politicians in power do, but didn't realise he was in so much danger of being comfortable beaten by the Republicans in an election like this.
Nothing major comes to mind, apart from the sputtering economy.
Edit: Effects of Obamacare.
Edit: Effects of Obamacare.
The Affordable Care Act didn't cause that..what planet are you on? The law only took effect in January of 2014. Insurance premiums have been rising since 2005 and more and more insurance companies are cherry-picking what they would cover you for and having you pay more for it eventually.
Wall Street would disagree. Their profits have never been higher since 2008.
Yeah, a law that came into effect this year is the cause of the sputtering economy. Nice one Sherlock!
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