Posts by Andrew E
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Update from Alaska:
Stevens 104,564 48%(Incumbent)
Begich 100,968 47%CNN have this as still too close to call.
Which is pretty unbelievable really, considering that Stevens is now a convicted felon. Or do Alaskans not think federal anti-corruption laws apply to them? Weird shite really: on the one hand, they support Palin who wants to be the 'anti Washington machine' candidate, but on the other they support the archetypal Washington machine candidate. And how much do you want to bet that Palin's coyness about how she voted was to avoid disclosing that she voted for Stevens?
-
well, that's kind of my point. i heard a guy who having the shackles of representing those people being lifted of his shoulders.
because... well... he can't do it himself...
Yes he could - McCain chose to go down the Rovian path after 2004. Nobody forced him to do that. After another 4 years of Bush incompetence he might have stood a better chance against Obama if he'd been his former self. But I still think his former self was highly suspect anyway.
-
Yep, agree with Don.
McCain's job was to sound gracious and try to avoid the blame for the feral elements of the Republican supporters going out and behaving badly. He was out to salvage some of his reputation for behaving honourably and acting in a less partisan manner. The fact that he delivered it well and sounded like a half-decent human being shouldn't disguise the people he represented during this campaign, and the compromises he made with his own, much-vaunted, integrity to secure the Republican 'base'.
Like I said a couple of pages back, McCain may have delivered a good speech warmly, but Obama's is the one that historians are going to be able to look back on and say, 'yep, here's a man mapping out the challenges of his presidency and how he's going to govern'.
-
I thought Obama gave a damn fine speech. McCain's was good and he delivered it well. But Obama's had a much tougher job to do - not just to celebrate, but to start making it crystal clear to people that the enormous challenges his government will face cannot possibly be overcome by government alone. The references to the sacrifices that Americans will need to make in order to turn around their country are a key part of starting to lower expectations and make people realise that it's going to take time deliver the improvements to American society that the people want.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the thinking behind the references to the sacrifices that need to be made stem from an article in Foreign Policy magazine this time last year. This discussed the extent to which Bush continued with 'business as usual' domestically (e.g. 'go and shop' in response to 9/11) at the same time as using the rhetoric of a Global War on Terror to eviscerate civil liberties and 'justify' torture and illegal detentions.
Obama's point is that the Bush government hasn't mobilised the population to face the challenges faced by the USA, but that he will do so in the next 4-8 years. Not surprising therefore that he would have done so in a restrained and sober manner. What also stands out from his acceptance speech, and that great finish to his final address in Virginia the night before, is that he really does get that social and political change will not be achieved from the top down, by the Fords, Boeings, Microsofts, Lockheeds or Merril Lynch's, but from the bottom up, through re-energising popular civic re-engagement in solving the problems of America - that each person needs to ask themselves not what their country can do for them, but what they can do for their country. A lesson that the NZ government would do well to heed, given the lip service large parts of it tends to pay towards consultation and public engagement.
I agree with Giovanni that referencing Martin Luther King is appropriate, but if you're Obama I don't think Craig's reference to Churchill is off-base either: America has been at war for longer than WWII on two fronts and is facing a massive financial crisis. America has, in effect, elected a different war time leader after 7 years of massive failure on the international front, and even longer economic and social failure at home. It's a serious time, so a serious acceptance speech seems appropriate to me.
-
Joshua, the BBC live stream seems pretty solid. It's what I'm watching since I don't have a TV.
-
Craig, I hope you've got something good lined up for post #4000.
Ignore the trolls like Baiter. Not worth the expenditure of bytes on.
-
BTW, am I the only person who thinks it's not a particularly good look seeing Labour election ads -- or anyone else's come to that -- on TVNZ's Election 08 web pages?
I agree, but if you go for a advertising-based funding model for your broadcaster, maybe it's inevitable? Or are you suggesting that someone in the management of TVNZ should have some sense, and regard for their perceived independence? And is that the sound of porcine wings I hear?
-
Success! - Thank you Graham.
-
Thanks Graham - I was thrown by not seeing a preview. Let's see if this works...
-
<threadjack>
Depressing stuff from McCain supporters
A bit more uplifting from Obama supporters
BTW Russell, please could you knock up a quick 'help' page that contains useful things like the code for embedding a YouTube video?
</threadjack>