Classical Music & Opera Forums

The thought of Palin certainly scared me. Imagine if Clintons' daughter Chelsea had become pregnant at 17 in the WH, do you think the GOP wouldn't have gone after their values for having a teenage pregnant daughter.

And the GOP accused Obama of having little experience. Excuse me! he's been in Congress. Where has Palin been?

And it's a thrill to have a president-elect who can actually string a complete sentence together without mangling a word! The man can think and is not a puppet.

karlhenning wrote:Seems a good point at which to post this:

We need our presidents to succeed, not fail for our satisfaction.

Cheers,
~Karl

Funny, how this sentiment only surfaces when it is a Democratic president being scrutinized. For the last 8 years, Dems have not hewn to this ideal at all. For the record, I do not want Obama to fail for my satisfaction, actually I want our coutnry to succeed, despite who is president - I just outlined my reasons for not voting for him and things which ought to give even his supporters some pause.

If flip-flopping on public financing is the hallmark of Obama's dishonesty, then I think we're going to be just fine. Better that than lying about going to war.

This is truly a great day. Four years ago, I could not have imagined such a hopeful moment.

cliftwood wrote:Fradale..

Are you more upset by Clinton's lying about his sexual transgressions than you are about Bush's lying about his decision to invade Iraq?

Considering the impact on America of these Presidential blemishes, you seem to have a flaw or two in your thinking process.

Try to imagine Sarah Palin in the White House if your man had won and became unable to continue. Does that thought scare you or inspire you?

I did not bring up Clinton's sexual transgressions as evidence of his lying, but to make the point how his supporters, who had supported women victims of abuse, rightfully so, suddenly doing a 180 and ditching that principle in order to excuse his excesses.

I disagree with you about Bush "lying" but I think history will show that securing Iraq in this long war against Islamic extremists will prove to have been the right policy.

Had McCain won, and tragically not been able to finish his term and Sarah Palin become president I would look forward to seeing a strong, creative, leader as president. Someone who took on some very powerful entrenched interests in Alaska. Difficult in its own right, but all the more so for a young woman, and mother, who basically rose out of nowhere to do it. She is a fighter and I would be proud to have her as president. What she has accomplished is not easy and is evidence of the tenacity and inate intelligence she possesses, and shows me that she would be prepared to be president if events were to demand that of her. Of course the elitist media attacked her mercilessly precisely because she represents everything they are not: salt-of-the-earth Americanism.

When someone who voted for Barack Obama for president, someone who has no accomplishments that qualify him for that office, to question Sarah Palin's readiness to be president they are indulging in a double standard.

Calvert

BRAVO for "Obama, the Opera". Quite brilliant. Unfortunately, I don't know enough Italian to follow all the witty stage directions so I'm know I'm missing a lot.

OTA

Bravo for Obama the president! Now, let's have no more dead GI's and marines in Iraq, sent there by a National Guardsman who spent the Vietnam war defending the skies over Alabama from the Viet Cong.

Either get the troops out NOW or bring back the draft to let every family share in this debacle. We have indentured servitude right now with the same troops going back over and over and over again with their terms of service being extended.

Either piss or get off the pot. No politician, not even Obama, has the guts to stand up and say it's time to get out NOW and stop sending our troops over again and again. We are short soldiers to protect this country and overextended abroad. We are losing Afghanistan which might not be happening were it not for Iraq.

As for Clinton's lying. all he had to say was that Starr overstepped his bounds by inquiring into his extracurricular activities. Starr was to inquire into Whitewater and when he found nothing there he just went further. Clinton was not obliged to answer Starr. Too bad his advisors didn't advise him well.

But the Dems and GOP chickened out on impeaching Bush and Cheney and prosecuting the liars and cheats in this government. I hope Obama appoints someone to clean up the corrupt, incompetent Pentagon which is bleeding this country dry.

I'm just sorry that more damned Republicans didn't get their asses kicked out of office.

fradale1 wrote:Had McCain won, and tragically not been able to finish his term and Sarah Palin become president I would look forward to seeing a strong, creative, leader as president.

I was taking your posts seriously until the above, which is clearly designed to be a joke, right? It's almost as funny as Calvert's Obama the Opera.

If I weren't so convinced that you're joking, I'd tell you that people judged Obama and Palin on their words -- no double-standard whatsoever when considering the bizarre things that came out of the Alaskan Governor's mouth. But then again, you're were just joshing, so I'll stop with the redundant reply.

Blumsie: I believe that an immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be disastrous for both Iraq and the U.S. Obama's 18-month plan is a good one. It's true that the war was wrong and American troops should have never been there in the first place but now that the deed has been done, it cannot be undone just like that. I believe that the only responsible solution is a measured, carefully-planned withdrawal.

mogliettina wrote:It pains me to think I need to wait yet another 8 years for another unique gem from the pen of Il Talente Gurusky.Grazie tanto, signor.

Only four years, honey. And the one I write when Sara Palino is Presidente will be a lulu (sorry, Sheila). BTW, I wrote one after the 2004 election, too, but I don't think I finished it.

Obama hit two records.

The second one? He is the first US President with more vowels than consonants in his name.

Peter:

When did the GOP ever reach out to the Democrats (liberals, moderates)??? In fact, only the loyal Republicans were allowed to attend campaign rallies for Bush and Cheney.

The VP was abusive to a respected member of Congress and no one in the GOP objected.

The GOP refused to cooperate on any bill originated with the Democrats. Partisanship was and is a foreign word to the GOP. Why should the crowd applaud McCain when he ran a tawdry campaign??? I would have sat on my hands and remained silent, also.

Obama will give the Republicans more respecct than the GOP ever gave to Democrats. They ignored the electorate except those religious nuts and evangelicals who suppor the GOP; everyone else were not their constituents. When the GOP respects me, I might respect them but until that day .............

Well, Lulu, "bipartisanship" is a two-way street. Off-hand, I can't think of examples of Democrats "reaching out" to Bush, either after the 2000 election or at any other time, except during the "honeymoon" period after 9-11. Perhaps you can enlighten me.

Please don't misunderstand. That doesn't bother me like the reverse situation appears to bother you. I think "bipartisanship" is overrated, and when liberals use the term it usually means conservatives doing what liberals want.

And really, you have GOT to do something about all that anger and bitterness. The cork pops out of the bottle of bile every time you post on matters political. It's not healthy. Laugh, have fun, enjoy the moment.

I am enjoying the moment. I will stop being bitter when our troops come home -- NOW!!! Sending them over and keeping them their over and over again raises my blood pressure.

Yes, politics brings out the rage in me -- especiallly Bush and Cheney and the gang of thugs that ran this country into the ground.

lulu wrote:I will stop being bitter when our troops come home -- NOW!!! Sending them over and keeping them their over and over again raises my blood pressure.

You might want to get some Lisinopril. (That's a blood pressure medication, BTW.) If you think the troops are "coming home" anytime soon, you're in for quite a disappointment. You folks are always assuring the rest of us poor, benighted dolts how "smart" Obama is. Well, he's certainly smart enough not to want Iraq to blow up on his watch and be blamed for it. Most Americans may not like the war, but they like losing even less. Haven't you noticed Obama "crabbing" on the issue of troop withdrawal over the past few months? When was the last time you heard him talk about bringing troops home NOW!!! ? (That was primarily red meat for the gullible Moveon.org crowd in the primaries, anyway.) And I guarantee you, when he starts getting his Iraq briefings, any notions he might still have about the troops coming home NOW!!! are going to fade away. Troops will return slowly and gradually and as Petraeus recommends, probably starting the middle of next year, consistent with maintaining stability in Iraq.

If Obama leans in any direction, I think it will be in the direction of carrying the big stick. He already has the "wimp" label ready to be hung around his neck, and he's going to want to show everyone how tough he is. If he is perceived as weak by the electorate, The Messiah is toast in 2012.

And don't forget that Obama has long been saying that we have been neglecting Afghanistan. Look for more troops sent there in an Obama administration. How are you going to feel about THAT? Bullets and bombs kills soldiers in Afghanistan the same way they do in Iraq. And they do it regardless of which President sends them there. Is your blood pressure and bitterness going to continue while we still have troops in Afghanistan?

Oh, and don't look for any revisions to the "Constitution-Shredding" Patriot Act or for any fall-off in the domestic surveillance program. Once President Obama starts getting the daily threat briefings, he's going to continue doing exactly what the EEEEEVIL George Bush has been doing. Reality has a way of focusing the mind.

You know, I wonder how long it will be before the Left turns on Obama when he doesn't give them everything on their wish list (like Bush and Cheney's heads). People with that kind of rage don't just turn it off like a lightswitch. Anger like that needs an outlet.

Has anybody here posted the contribution of Alex Ross to Obama's election? It it's a duplicate, my apology. Listen to it again anyhow!

http://www.therestisnoise.com/2008/11/t ... ribab.html

lulu wrote:Imagine if Clintons' daughter Chelsea had become pregnant at 17 in the WH, do you think the GOP wouldn't have gone after their values for having a teenage pregnant daughter.

I can tell you for a fact (knowing far more pro-lifers than you do - being one myself - and not subscribing to your rather cartoonish view of persons of faith) that the pro-life community would applaud her loudly and support her enthusiatically if she decided not to kill her child. And if the Clinton's supported that decision, or better yet persuaded her to make it, they would give credit where credit was due and applaud them, too.

Oh, and BTW, I think their views of Bill's "values" would be shaped much more by factors other than what was going on inside Chelsea's womb.

lulu wrote:And it's a thrill to have a president-elect who can actually string a complete sentence together without mangling a word!

Now THAT is a statement with which I would agree wholeheartedly. Bush has shown clearly that an inability to communicate articulately and persuasively can cripple a President's effectiveness. You have to be able to sell your programs (whatever they may be) to the public, and justifying the war in Iraq (to take one notable example) by repeating over and over, like a mantra, "You know, we were attacked!" just won't cut it by the time you get to the 150th repetition. I cringed every time he did one of those robotic interviews. I even saw this when I met him in private in the Oval Office (an incident which I recounted previously). He used the same tired old clichés and went on ad nauseum with his usual stump speech about Iraq. I wanted to shout, "Enough, already!"

I wanted to share something that I read on the Globe and Mail's website. The writer, Marcus Gee, is one of the editors and fairly conservative.

"These are times when you can hear the great wheel of history turning, times when the heart sings with awe at what free people can do, times that make you feel not so foolish after all to believe in the ultimate triumph of justice and the power of the human spirit."

Ali, thank you for sharing! It expresses perfectly the thoughts many of us have!

Did you scroll past the musical contribution to Obama's election by Alex Ross I posted above? There is another dedication, one a bit more difficult to follow, but the writer and poet Wallace Stevens speaks for us also.