obama's got it easy right now

[Archaea]

Bush has left some softballs for him, Gitmo and how to deal with Arab nations. He can look like a good guy no matter what. And he'll likely hit things out of the park, because only a blithering idiot could foul up his opportunities.

Point one, I wager most people care about the economy and really don't feel unsafe and don't believe terror is a legitimate concern. So anything he can do to lessen war costs, improve image on such matters will make him a winner in the press. Bush has made it so easy for him to succeed.

Along this lines, I saw briefly one of his appointments, maybe it was to the UN, I didn't pay attention, but he heralded the appointment as the US becoming the "Moral Leader." What the hell is that? Not that I'm against morality, but I'm more in favor of something which can be measured tangibly.

World Economic Leader? Check, measurable.

World Security Leader? Check measurable.

World Religious Leader? Bush, get out of here. This almost sounds like a different version of Bush. WTF. Perhaps he's just using an immeasurable so that he can't be judged.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by Archaea

he heralded the appointment as the US becoming the "Moral Leader."

Funny you bring this up. My nine-year-old, Jeff, comes home from school yesterday:

"Mom, teacher says everybody likes us again!"

<mom, confused> "Who likes what?"

"Teacher says nobody liked America but now everybody likes us again because now we have Obama and we aren't blowing people up anymore."

So there you have it.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

Funny you bring this up. My nine-year-old, Jeff, comes home from school yesterday:

"Mom, teacher says everybody likes us again!"

<mom, confused> "Who likes what?"

"Teacher says nobody liked America but now everybody likes us again because now we have Obama and we aren't blowing people up anymore."

So there you have it.

if it were only so easy, the deluding of America has begun......


God, it's easy to be a Democratic President.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by Archaea

if it were only so easy, the deluding of America has begun...

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that there are going to be some parents who aren't going to take this announcement near as well as I did.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that there are going to be some parents who aren't going to take this announcement near as well as I did.

In a Red State, maybe not.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Bush has left some softballs for him, Gitmo and how to deal with Arab nations. He can look like a good guy no matter what. And he'll likely hit things out of the park, because only a blithering idiot could foul up his opportunities.

Point one, I wager most people care about the economy and really don't feel unsafe and don't believe terror is a legitimate concern. So anything he can do to lessen war costs, improve image on such matters will make him a winner in the press. Bush has made it so easy for him to succeed.

Along this lines, I saw briefly one of his appointments, maybe it was to the UN, I didn't pay attention, but he heralded the appointment as the US becoming the "Moral Leader." What the hell is that? Not that I'm against morality, but I'm more in favor of something which can be measured tangibly.

World Economic Leader? Check, measurable.

World Security Leader? Check measurable.

World Religious Leader? Bush, get out of here. This almost sounds like a different version of Bush. WTF. Perhaps he's just using an immeasurable so that he can't be judged.

See this is the problem. Ask Republicans about America being a moral leader, and they just say, "huh?"

I guess I am finding out, more and more, that although I thought I was a conservative Republican, I guess I am finding out that I am a liberal Democrat. Torture, abrogation of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, unchecked support for Israel, etc.

[NorCal Cat]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

Funny you bring this up. My nine-year-old, Jeff, comes home from school yesterday:

"Mom, teacher says everybody likes us again!"

<mom, confused> "Who likes what?"

"Teacher says nobody liked America but now everybody likes us again because now we have Obama and we aren't blowing people up anymore."

So there you have it.

Oh yeah? The day after Obama was elected, my first grader came home, and said that a boy in his class was excited for Obama and saying "now men can marry men, and everyone can do whatever they want!"

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

See this is the problem. Ask Republicans about America being a moral leader, and they just say, "huh?"

I guess I am finding out, more and more, that although I thought I was a conservative Republican, I guess I am finding out that I am a liberal Democrat. Torture, abrogation of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, unchecked support for Israel, etc.

Democrats won't restore civil liberties, you're deluding yourself if you think so.

But using your standard as a "moral" leader is a non sequitur, it can't be measured. Moral is relative to various value systems. Moral within the radical Islamic world includes many of those things which you just decried.

Do not associate libertarianism, i.e., the protection of civil liberties with liberalism, i.e., the substitution of government for the judgment of individuals and of the market.

I want a measurable metric. Without a measurable metric, there is no accountability.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Democrats won't restore civil liberties, you're deluding yourself if you think so.

But using your standard as a "moral" leader is a non sequitur, it can't be measured. Moral is relative to various value systems. Moral within the radical Islamic world includes many of those things which you just decried.

Do not associate libertarianism, i.e., the protection of civil liberties with liberalism, i.e., the substitution of government for the judgment of individuals and of the market.

I want a measurable metric. Without a measurable metric, there is no accountability.

then toss the Constitution into the toilet. It can't be measured.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

then toss the Constitution into the toilet. It can't be measured.

Don't go Norcal or exUte on me. Argumentum ad absurdum.

The measurement in specific instances against normalized standards of judgments are the things judicial assessments are made of, but they're much more refined than the messy judgments of politics. And the Constitution is not a moral judgment, just a social judgment of social powers balanced against individual rights. It's not a moral judgment per se, but something else.