So who do you like for President? (Obviously, a political thread!)

[tracy]

Indy: I've got a question for you about Perry. I'm surprised you would support him after what he's done to education funding in Texas. As an educator, what is his appeal to you? I personally could not support him whatever his stance on other issues might be just based on his devaluing of education in a state that so desperately needs reform in that area.

I personally kind of like Cain, but I'm still undecided.

As a fellow Texan,I have to agree with you on Perry. I've never voted for him and never will. I have yet to really settle on a particular candidate....as a Moderate I will vote for the one I choose and do not rule out someone just because of their party affiliations.

[Flick James]

Indy: I've got a question for you about Perry. I'm surprised you would support him after what he's done to education funding in Texas. As an educator, what is his appeal to you? I personally could not support him whatever his stance on other issues might be just based on his devaluing of education in a state that so desperately needs reform in that area.

I personally kind of like Cain, but I'm still undecided.

As a fellow Texan,I have to agree with you on Perry. I've never voted for him and never will. I have yet to really settle on a particular candidate....as a Moderate I will vote for the one I choose and do not rule out someone just because of their party affiliations.

Education is a subject I find to be of great importance. Partisan politics are disgusting to me, but I do identify myself as a fiscal conservative. I look at the decision to spend much like how a business does. Is it an investment or an expense? Businesses can't throw money away. So, does the expenditure translate to making the country more competitive or stronger? If the answer is yes, then I'm in favor of it. Education and infrastructure are investments. They make us more competitive. They enrich the workforce, which will in turn enrich the GDP. That's the thing that bugs me the most. Neither side seems to really get this. The deficit can be fixed, but failures in education and infrastructure will absolutely destroy us in the longrun. But we as a nation have forgotten about being forward-thinking. The only thing anybody cares about are the next four years.

[HappyGilmore]

I'm a big supporter of Ron Paul. But who knows what'll happen there.

[Leah]

I think almost all of the candidates are dumbass cretins, but that's just me.

Well, you got a point there. I hate it when we go through this time because of every friggen political commercial is about pointing the finger at each other and praising themselves when they don't show the bad part of their lives. Me, I vote for no one.

[Psycho Circus]

Ron Paul. I doubt he will emerge victorious in his attempt to gain office, that's if the globalists and Bilderberg group don't have a hand in picking the Prez like some people believe. He seems to be a pretty genuine, straight-talking down to earth guy for a politician. I mean, let's face it, they're all crooked one way or another but I'll go with Ron Paul.

[indianasmith]

Thanks for all the responses!
And I will respond to what Derf and Flick commented about education:
Perry has been governor for 10 years here in Texas.  By and large, he has been good for the state overall, and he is especially good at job creation.  This last time around,  education funding was a huge issue, and the teacher's unions wouldn't compromise.  Three were things that could have been done that weren't, and the blame was on both sides.  Perry didn't handle it as well as he could have, but to lay all the blame on him is to ignore the facts.
I teach in a private school.  As I look at our public schools, I see a host of problems and a lot of corruption; things that Teacher's Unions have steadfastly opposed reforming because they would demand greater accountability from educators.  So I can at least understand why many conservatives, Perry included, get very frustrated in dealing with the educational system - especially when the NEA has become such a HUGE cash cow for the opposition.

Overall, however, Perry has been a positive force for Texas, in my opinion, and his greatest strengths lie in areas where the country could use some better leadership right now.  Again, all that being said, at the moment I am sure impressed with Herman Cain.  He seems genuine and refreshing in his approach.

Keep on voting, guys!

[dean]

I think almost all of the candidates are dumbass cretins, but that's just me. I voted Obama, mainly because I liked a lot of things he SAID he wanted to do four years ago, but really didn't. Rethinking it, "NONE OF THEM" would have been a more true option for me (so ignore one Obama vote). I like some of the ideas Ron Paul has, but I wouldn't vote for anyone who's not for the seperation of church and state, this simply ignores what Thomas Jefferson said. Then again, I live in Europe so what I think doesn't really matter at all.

To be fair, if you don't have a lot of power in parliament, it makes things much harder to get done.  Not sure how it works exactly in the US but we had a hung parliament last election [it was essentially a draw] and with a minority government you get everyone scrapping to get points even over little things, since every vote counts.  It just seems like battle lines get drawn much harder in the sand and politicians refuse to work towards actually improving things because their careers are on such a knife-edge they can't be seen to show weakness [or make concessions]. 

That's what it seems like here in Down Under Land, but I get the impression its at least similar in the US.

[Hammock Rider]

  It just seems like battle lines get drawn much harder in the sand and politicians refuse to work towards actually improving things because their careers are on such a knife-edge they can't be seen to show weakness [or make concessions]. 

  I think this is a big part of the problem right here. Career politicians. To them politics is a job and they want to hold onto that job as long as they can. Since they make a career out of politics they see their job as getting re-elected, not necessarily running the country( or state, town etc.) That's what they care about most. So until we get term limits for Congress,( LOL) I'm voting for this guy.

[Flick James]

Thanks for all the responses!
And I will respond to what Derf and Flick commented about education:
Perry has been governor for 10 years here in Texas.  By and large, he has been good for the state overall, and he is especially good at job creation.  This last time around,  education funding was a huge issue, and the teacher's unions wouldn't compromise.  Three were things that could have been done that weren't, and the blame was on both sides.  Perry didn't handle it as well as he could have, but to lay all the blame on him is to ignore the facts.
I teach in a private school.  As I look at our public schools, I see a host of problems and a lot of corruption; things that Teacher's Unions have steadfastly opposed reforming because they would demand greater accountability from educators.  So I can at least understand why many conservatives, Perry included, get very frustrated in dealing with the educational system - especially when the NEA has become such a HUGE cash cow for the opposition.

Overall, however, Perry has been a positive force for Texas, in my opinion, and his greatest strengths lie in areas where the country could use some better leadership right now.  Again, all that being said, at the moment I am sure impressed with Herman Cain.  He seems genuine and refreshing in his approach.

Keep on voting, guys!

I've never understood what one means when they say that a politician "created" jobs. The only way government can create jobs is by expanding the public sector, by expanding the size of government. I am immediately suspect when a politician talks about creating jobs. Just focus on education and infrastructure, and let the businesses create the jobs. It's like Obama, who sounds soooooo convincing and passionate when he says "pass this jobs bill now!" Yeah? What's in it? How does is "create" jobs, might I ask? And honestly, I'm almost in favor of people voting LESS. I respect the voting process, but very few others do. 90% of voters vote with their "feelings," how well they speak, and of course, what the mass media tells them they should feel about the candidate. If that wasn't the case, politics wouldn't such a dirty, negative-campaigning, image game.

If you don't know why you're voting, then DON'T VOTE!

[Rev. Powell]

Thanks for all the responses!
And I will respond to what Derf and Flick commented about education:
Perry has been governor for 10 years here in Texas.  By and large, he has been good for the state overall, and he is especially good at job creation.  This last time around,  education funding was a huge issue, and the teacher's unions wouldn't compromise.  Three were things that could have been done that weren't, and the blame was on both sides.  Perry didn't handle it as well as he could have, but to lay all the blame on him is to ignore the facts.
I teach in a private school.  As I look at our public schools, I see a host of problems and a lot of corruption; things that Teacher's Unions have steadfastly opposed reforming because they would demand greater accountability from educators.  So I can at least understand why many conservatives, Perry included, get very frustrated in dealing with the educational system - especially when the NEA has become such a HUGE cash cow for the opposition.

Overall, however, Perry has been a positive force for Texas, in my opinion, and his greatest strengths lie in areas where the country could use some better leadership right now.  Again, all that being said, at the moment I am sure impressed with Herman Cain.  He seems genuine and refreshing in his approach.

Keep on voting, guys!

I've never understood what one means when they say that a politician "created" jobs. The only way government can create jobs is by expanding the public sector, by expanding the size of government.

They can indirectly create jobs by cutting taxes on business. 

[Flick James]

Thanks for all the responses!
And I will respond to what Derf and Flick commented about education:
Perry has been governor for 10 years here in Texas.  By and large, he has been good for the state overall, and he is especially good at job creation.  This last time around,  education funding was a huge issue, and the teacher's unions wouldn't compromise.  Three were things that could have been done that weren't, and the blame was on both sides.  Perry didn't handle it as well as he could have, but to lay all the blame on him is to ignore the facts.
I teach in a private school.  As I look at our public schools, I see a host of problems and a lot of corruption; things that Teacher's Unions have steadfastly opposed reforming because they would demand greater accountability from educators.  So I can at least understand why many conservatives, Perry included, get very frustrated in dealing with the educational system - especially when the NEA has become such a HUGE cash cow for the opposition.

Overall, however, Perry has been a positive force for Texas, in my opinion, and his greatest strengths lie in areas where the country could use some better leadership right now.  Again, all that being said, at the moment I am sure impressed with Herman Cain.  He seems genuine and refreshing in his approach.

Keep on voting, guys!

I've never understood what one means when they say that a politician "created" jobs. The only way government can create jobs is by expanding the public sector, by expanding the size of government.

They can indirectly create jobs by cutting taxes on business. 

Well, fine, then they should say that. It just kind of gets under my skin when politicians talk about creating jobs. It is no accident that they use those words. They want to feel like if we elect them THEY will CREATE jobs and solve all of our problems. In reality I'm pretty confident that "creating" jobs tends to translate to spending more money.

I'm all for cutting taxes, but the tax bill has to be reduced. I already know that the Democrats don't want to do that, but I also don't believe the Republicans really mean it when they say they want to. They talk about cutting taxes, which is great, but we can't pay for everything as it is. Cutting taxes MIGHT stimulate jobs, but there are deeper problems going on that merely cutting taxes won't solve, and may make the deficit worse. If the country is hemorrhaging money, then they have to stop the bleeding first, which the deadlocked bulls**t two-party system won't do. Fingerpointing is the only thing they're really, truly good at. All sympomatic of what the political system has become.

It's exactly why Ron Paul won't get elected. He doesn't do that.

[indianasmith]

I guess I just can't help that good old American optimism that, if the right guy gets elected, he just might set things to rights . . .

Presidents can still make a difference.  Sometimes that difference is positive, sometimes negative.  None of them are perfect, but some of them were truly good guys who did their best at a very difficult job.

BTW, I just got done watching the latest Republican debate.  Perry is just not an inspiring candidate, but Cain looked and sounded pretty sharp. Gingrich can say some truly impressive things, but he carries some personal baggage that makes me distrust him.  I'm leaning more and more towards Cain.

[Jim H]

Huntsman seems smart and has a GREAT record and far less of the usual crazy in a republican.  Naturally he has no chance.

[Flick James]

I guess I just can't help that good old American optimism that, if the right guy gets elected, he just might set things to rights . . .

Presidents can still make a difference.  Sometimes that difference is positive, sometimes negative.  None of them are perfect, but some of them were truly good guys who did their best at a very difficult job.

BTW, I just got done watching the latest Republican debate.  Perry is just not an inspiring candidate, but Cain looked and sounded pretty sharp. Gingrich can say some truly impressive things, but he carries some personal baggage that makes me distrust him.  I'm leaning more and more towards Cain.

Well, that's how people get elected, by how the look and sound. That's how Obama got elected. He sounds amazing.

[Leah]

Well, according to The Rolling Stones Magazine, the GOP tried to rig the Electoral College in Pennsylvania, so they don't get my vote for being wusses. Sorry, but that's just childish.