NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Sep 12, 2008 -> 10:49 AM) Just curious? Which ones? I think he really only has a shot in Michigan and New Hampshire... And I just don't see those spots flipping. I think McCain takes MI. But I think Obama takes NM, CO, and some other western states. Obama takes it by a hair, with the electoral map showing some shifts as noted.

Here is the exercise in this thread. Post in this thread with this very specific thing... LIST THE 3 BIGGEST STRENGTHS AND 3 BIGGEST WEAKNESSES FOR EACH CANDIDATE - OBAMA AND MCCAIN - IN YOUR VIEW. These are not necessarily policy stances (though they could be), but are probably more in terms of resume, leadership and management style, chances of success at their initiatives, etc. Put what you want, though. As an example, here are mine... McCain Strengths: 1. Record of working with the other party, and in general, working with people outside his circle 2. Experience - Senate and military 3. Fiscal conservative, for the most part McCain Weaknesses: 1. Tendency to make decisions without enough forethought - goes to management skills 2. Poor communication skills (not just in speeches, but also smaller scale situations) 3. Bad ideas on tax policy Obama Strengths: 1. Real desire for, and large scale voter support for, real change 2. Communications skills and intelligence 3. Management style - decisions are made based on real expertise and forethought, and with downstream consequences in mind (not just short term results) Obama Weaknesses: 1. Lack of executive and high level experience 2. Poorly designed ideas for tax and fiscal policy 3. I think expectation levels for him, both his own and that of his supporters, are far, far above reality

NO SPAMMING OR CHEERLEADING IN THIS THREAD.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Sep 12, 2008 -> 06:46 AM) Some will mock me, but I truly believe we have two good to excellent candidates. Both parties nominated the candidates I hoped they would. Both candidates have demonstrated a commitment to the public good throughout their careers. They both, IMNSHO, fumbled their VP selections in attempts to "balance". So I am, as Kap would say, /popping some corn / and waiting for the show. I've said before, I don't think we've had this good a choice in my lifetime. Neither are perfect, but they are both better than most we've seen.

81-65, +1 over MIN 13 games remain. We need breathing room.

I think it will be fun to have this poll now... another one after the debates... and one more just before the election. Just to see how people see it happening. Remember, this isn't who you are rooting for necessarily - its who you think will actually win.

QUOTE (Middle Buffalo @ Sep 12, 2008 -> 01:08 AM) I WAS POSTING THIS IN THE "SARAH PALIN" THREAD, BUT IT WAS CLOSED AS I WAS TYPING. I'LL POST IT HERE BECAUSE I REALLY LIKED THE IDEA BEHIND THIS THREAD. I'M NOT CHANGING THE CONTENT OF MY POST BECAUSE IT'S LATE, AND I'M LAZY. [As submitted to the "Sarah Palin" thread] This thread perfectly represents the worst things about politics. People are so dug in as Dems or Reps that they won't admit when someone from their party is wrong, made a mistake, is underqualified, etc. It's really pretty disgusting. 39 pages of people bending the truth to fit their argument. I was watching CNN (Anderson Cooper) tonight, and there were experts on assessing the performance of Palin in her interview with Gibson. The Republican said she did great. The Democrat wasn't impressed. Wow. Shocking. This thread has been exactly the same. I like when I see McCain and Obama being cordial to one another. I think they're both pretty classy guys who've pretty much been above much of the mud-slinging. I wish the liberals and conservatives in the media (and here on Soxtalk) would follow their lead and talk about the issues. This forum should be a place where people can go to see what the other side thinks and why. Maybe, people might even change their minds on some issues based on some of the discussions they participate in here. Unfortunately, it's mostly a place where staunch Dems/Reps go to post rhetoric. Bolded part is an excellent point. A lot of the snark happening is NOT coming from either campaign - its coming from supporters, followers, and party reps.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 04:01 PM) I would argue he is closer than not though, just because the way he has voted on policies since Bush has been President. Policy wise, yes, they have a fair amount in common. Not everything though. But in terms of management and leadership style, and personality, I think they are quite different.

QUOTE (shipps @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 02:56 PM) Do you throw the ball with two hands? No, just one bad one. I think I might need to switch to lefthanded. I did that in baseball (hitting, not throwing), and golf, and I ended up better at each one.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 03:51 PM) Not on my team, we are full. But as long as you are consistent, average dopesn't matter too much. Wife bowls about 110, I bowl about 180. But as I said, there are about 6 people under 100, sevveral between 100 and 120, and most everybody elsy a little above that. I usually don't break 100. I can't do it anyway - just wanted to run out that line.

I bowl worse than Barack Obama. You don't want me on your team.

QUOTE (BlackBetsy @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 02:39 PM) Relevance? Buehrle was a 38th rounder. Pujols was like a 5th rounder... Draft round is not a perfect predictor of success, but its not like that was a dumb question. I think its relevant.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 03:29 PM) You're right. So because someone says something, other people have the right to manipulate it however they please apparently. And thats okay. I mean, leading people to believe one thing that it isnt is technically not lieing so that makes all the difference! No one said it was good or OK. Hyperbole much? Each party, IMO, has one particular bad habit that annoys me to no end. The Dems have a bad habit of painting anyone who isn't solidly in the liberal gutter as mean-spirited and evil. As if, because people disagree on the tax increases that the Dems want, that means they must hate poor people. Its pathetic. For the GOP, the above post is a perfect picture of it - play ignorant to any sort of small differences and go to the extreme. For example, the MSM doesn't have some issues of bias - it is a giant bastion of ultra-liberal granola eaters. Obama isn't just a worse choice of the two - he's an unpatriotic, dangerous man who wants to make the U.S. a socialist country. This tactic also has a favorite follow-on, too - if your candidate does something wrong, say "THEY ALL DO IT!", as if its so black and white. Again, dismissing the fact that one candidate may be better, though not perfect.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 03:23 PM) http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics...ended_by_i.html Not sure what to say about this? Pretty much the equivalent of a Paris Hilton endorsement.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 02:06 PM) I would answer the bold the same way I answered it in 2004 at about this time (although it was 4 years of Bush then, not 8 obviously). The opponent the democrats have fired back with is very weak, which has caused the election to become very close and a virtual toss up. Neither party has many answers right now, regardless of what they tell you. I don't really trust EITHER candidate in regards to foreign policy actually. As you can see, I'm slightly negative about this race though. I have been much more anti-Obama than anything, and even that is mostly caused by the asinine way he is perceived by the media and his supporters. I really don't like either candidate much. I have a different response... McCain is NOT Bush (despite the fact that they are trying to paint it that way). They are both GOP, but they are very different leaders.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 02:58 PM) Verbal fumblings?! Obama lied to people for over a month of campaigning by saying McCain wanted to be in Iraq for 100 years, even though that's not at all what McCain said or what McCain meant. I consider that the same - blatantly misquoting/misrepresentuing the situation for political gain. Seriously, even though I support Obama, I am SURE he must have actually lied at some point in his campaign. Someone has to know of one. And to be clear on something else, McCain's camp wasn't doing this dishonest crap originally. Its a recent phenomenon. I had in fact commended both campaigns a while back for avoiding that s***. McCain decided to go over the line (between stretching/contextually dissonant and just plain lying) recently, and multiple times.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 02:58 PM) Verbal fumblings?! Obama lied to people for over a month of campaigning by saying McCain wanted to be in Iraq for 100 years, even though that's not at all what McCain said or what McCain meant. I consider that the same - blatantly misquoting/misrepresentuing the situation for political gain. Obama using that line was classless IMO, though typical for a campaign. And it wasn't a lie, because it was in fact the manifest truth - he said that. It was out of context to be certain, but not outright false.

Minny just lost to KC. So, as of this moment... 81-64, +1.5 over MIN Sox could be up 2 if they can win tonight.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 02:32 PM) Maybe that's because he hasn't been doing his JOB all damn year? Showing up to cherry-pick which votes you take, and even then only taking ones that can't come back to bite you in the ass isn't representing Illinois, or doing his job. On this particular topic, I agree. Both candidates are doing that, though.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 02:24 PM) You guys are cracking me up over this political speech. Every candidate does it, even Obama Christ himself. Remember when he kept saying that McCain wanted to wage war for another 100 years? What a liar he was! :rollseyes: If you want to roll up verbal fumblings - like McCain's 100 year line or Obama saying we had 57 states - in with actual lies like Palin stopping the bridge (out and out lie), then I guess that might make you feel better about the person lying. Feel free. But to me and most others, there is a difference there. All campaigns exaggerate and push the envelope, no doubt. But one of the reasons I prefer Obama is that I have yet to see him be outright false about something. IF someone can show me an example of him doing that, please provide it. I'd like to see it. He probably has, but I haven't seen it.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 12:49 PM) Claimed by San Diego. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20...11padnotes.html Mentioned in the Booz-Wah / Haeger thread.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 12:18 PM) LINK That is appalling. Seriously. Forget about whether or not you approve of hunting, which I have no problem with at all. But that is just disgusting, and I don't see how any "hunter" with any kind of self respect could do that and call themselves sportsmen. Not to mention that the idiotic idea that we should offer bounties to kill natural predators, so more people can kill more hooved animals, is disturbing. This pisses me off.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 12:31 PM) Broadway has never started a major league game against a team not in last place. He's only started 2 or 3 games in his career. I think that's a lot more relevant, for good and bad reasons.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 12:01 PM) A woman who shoots wolves out of an airplane and doesn't believe in evolution is normal ? Shoots wolves out of an airplane? I must have missed that one. Is that even legal, for anyone other than FWS or other gov't personnel?

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Sep 11, 2008 -> 12:04 PM) Okay did the Dems ask for prosecutions like they did with Enron? Rhetorical I know. Don't answer. I honestly don't know, and honestly don't care, in terms of party. This is not a party issue, IMO. You are trying to make it one.