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Obama is too much of a pep-rally candidate. He's like the... blonde cheerleader captain of the presidential candidates and we all know how much I can't stand blondes. mad As for McCain... he's an idiot and I know everyone rags on hillary for her pantsuits and lack of fashion, but I was listening to one of her speeches the other day and she actually sounded intelligent. (I know it's probably all lies, but every word out of Obama's mouth makes me want to projectile vomit. I can at least listen to clinton for more than five seconds without changing the channel)

Still... as Dante has said, it doesn't matter!! I can't vote!! mrgreen Woo HOO!!! No pressure for me! If your country goes downhill... I shall just go home. 3nodding That's my oppinion... unless of course... you all wanted to vote Sarai the new presidential dictator. 3nodding

oh heck no to what? scream

Yeah... it sucks... I'd be such a wonderful dictator. sad

i'm not ragging on hillary for... whatever you said people rag on her for. i'm ragging on her because i didn't want us to go to war in the first place, and she's one of the people who voted for it. that "no child left behind" policy? that's her too. and now it looks like she might screw up north american trade relations... with the country at the brink of recession! i could talk about her unrelenting smear campaign on obama and how much of her cash she's spending to make someone else look bad. i'm a tax payer and i'm not sure i want someone that PETTY spending my money. but it comes down to policies and principles and it seems like she's falling short on both.

as for obama being too rah-rah, i guess that's relative. i think he's inspiring. the country is so disillusioned with the leadership right now that maybe we DO need a rah-rah guy in the white house. i think his speeches are good. they don't compare to Aragorn's in "Return of The King" or William Wallace's in "Braveheart", but hey, it's illegal to carry swords around on the street and it's so much easier to sound convincing when you talk while wielding a sharp object. i know this for a fact, because sometimes i carry around a screwdriver at work. when i wave that thing around while i'm talking, boy do people listen! imagine if i had a broadsword.... oh but a man can dream. *sigh* hahaha.

anyway, it's all jibber jabber because the cynic in me has been wary of presidents ever since i found out how much money they make. why spend millions of dollars in campaign money to get a highly stressful job that pays $400,000 a year? even if you do two terms, you won't recoup half of what you paid to get the job (plus, you still have to campaign for that second term). i guess the perks are THAT good... right. stare

I was put off Obama the minute the race card was played.

as i recall, hillary's won a few primaries using the gender card. i don't think people should ignore the race OR gender card anymore than the candidates should refrain from using them. there's tremendous pressure on obama and clinton because they'll be the first black and female president, respectively, if they win. as a minority, i want the first minority president to do well just as much as women would want hillary to do well as the first female US president. to ignore the race card and gender card is to ignore a part of who these people are. are they taking advantage of it? in some situations, yes. and they should, because they are being judged by it as well.

i saw a miss america pageant where the judge asked the contestant if she's ever used her beauty to gain certain advantages in life. of course, she gave the politically correct, BS answer that she's never done that and that she believes the strength of her character and values have gotten her to where she is. it's a positive message regardless of how naive it is. if i end up having a daughter, i'll raise her the same way i've taught my sister. don't deny your weaknesses as a woman but at the same time, don't be crippled by it. on the flip side, don't rely on your strengths as a woman but don't be afraid to use it to accomplish what you want to accomplish. it's the same for minorities. we face tremendous pressure to conform growing up, and having a different skin color just makes that all the more difficult. i'm not raised by someone who is white, nor am i white. so why should i live like i am? obama is an example of someone who has faced certain prejudice throughout his life that certain ethnic groups can relate to. is it wrong to appeal to those ethnic groups because you've shared certain experiences? racism still exists in america in varying degrees. am i going to support obama because he's a minority? no. but if he's willing to listen and say, "hey, i have an idea of what you've gone through and i've come this far. i've been able to succeed despite the prejudice that exists because of the color of my skin and i'm an example of one's potential in the face of discrimination." then yeah, by all means, use the race card.

no, seperate is NOT equal. but equality doesn't necessarily mean we can't appreciate what a minority or what a woman brings to the table. what bothers me is when someone uses these qualities as an excuse for not getting anywhere in life. yes, the race card has come into play. whether he wins or loses, the race card will be debated. "he lost because he's black." or "he won because he's black.". s**t like that is bound to arise. i'm not saying a black president will do better than a white president or a female president. the minority population in the united states continues to grow and maybe, at this juncture in our country's history, it might be a positive to have a black president. ultimately, it comes down to character and policies. that's beyond skin-deep and i pray that ultimately, the election will be decided by the candidate with the best qualities to lead this nation. regardless of gender or ethnicity.

with that being said, who are you? no offense or anything, just wanted to know if we have a new member or if there's someone out there who's showing interest in this little guild of ours.

See... I was all up with voting for Mike Huckabee!! Not only did he have actual experience in running a governmental office (anyone else here notice that this is one of the few elections where none the candidates have held an executive branch office? Am I the only one missing that?) Huckabee was a governor! He had experience and people totally looked over him!! It makes me so mad because he was also the only candidate with a sense of freakin' humor!! Did anyone see his Chuck Norris commercial? He was backed by CHUCK!! Guess that shows you the true power of Chuck Norris right there... NEVER LISTEN TO THE CHUCK JOKES EVER AGAIN!! THEY ARE LIES!!! (just for fun... There isn't a chin under Chuck Norris' beard! It's another fist!)

All kidding aside, I was really hoping for Huckabee, but now that he's out of the race. I'm not voting. stare There is no one I believe that can do the job. They haven't shown me that they have the experience. They can talk a good talk but until they've weathered the actual strain... STRAIN of a public office, not the posh and lavish life of a Senator, I'll contemplate one of them. I don't care if they are black (though he's border line... dude is way on the pale side of milk chocolate), female (thought with the pants suits and the attitude I swear she's got balls under there somewhere), or war hero (though we saw what happened to Kerry and his three purple hearts) none of it compares to actual experience. 3nodding

I've added my two cents, which was probably wrong but I liked adding it anyway!