Disqus - Latest Comments for ted_in_pdx

Re: Florida GOP governor Charlie Crist says McCain's "socialist" comments are BS

ted_in_pdx — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:25:47 -0000

I'm a Republican, and I've been e-stumping for Obama since May. I'm tired of listening to "Big Lies" from my party's nominee, like the latest one trying to pin the 'Socialist' label on Obama. The lie is that people who don't pay income taxes are deadbeats, and that Barack Obama wants to send them a check. The fact is, those deadbeats pay a little over 1/3rd of all the tax revenue the federal government receives each year (34% in 2007), and that's before they pay their income tax, if they've made enough money to owe any. For a details on my blog, Joe the Plumber, Meet Cindy the Nurse:http://my.barackobama.com/p...

Re: What We Learned Last Thursday

ted_in_pdx — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:13:45 -0000

Tim, I just read this quote from Obama in concert with his expanded detail on economic plans:

"CEOs got greedy. Politicians spent money they didn't have. Lenders tricked people into buying homes they couldn't afford -- and some folks knew they couldn't afford them and bought them anyway," Obama said, as the crowd applauded. "We've lived through an era of easy money, in which we were allowed and even encouraged to spend without limits, to borrow instead of save."

He conceded: "For many folks this was not a choice but a necessity. People have been forced to turn to credit cards and home equity loans to keep up, just like our government has borrowed from China and other creditors to help pay its bills. But we now know how dangerous that can be. Once we get past the present emergency, which requires immediate new investments, we have to break that cycle of debt."

This is very encouraging!

Re: What We Learned Last Thursday

ted_in_pdx — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:44:18 -0000

Tim, if you're behind the Keating video, great job. I've been a Republican voter since July 1, 1971, and I voted for W in 2000 (only). I've been writing one or two blogs a day for the my.obama website (http://my.barackobama.com/p... since about last May, and I've received probably less than ten replies (not that I'm surprised by this fact).

I believe Senator Obama could still lose this election, and speaking from the perspective of a Republican/Independent, the openings he has left for McCain are glaring at him, and he seems not to notice them. The most obvious one has to do with which candidate is decisively better equipped to lead this country out of the "Little Big-Horn by the Tigris" before we find ourselves facing a nuclear-equipped terrorist state in Pakistan. (If I could afford to pay Senator Obama to simply read this post: http://my.barackobama.com/p... I would, but I wouldn't even know who to ask in any case.)

Hopefully, "the melt-down thing" will distract voters long enough that the unfinished business of disposing of the foreign policy/Commander in Chief issue won't matter. However, Senator Obama doesn't seem to notice that the failure of the markets to respond to a series of fairly dramatic moves by the "finance ministers" of the key western economic powers has meaning, and may precipitate what I would call "yet another crisis point" before November 4th, one which could erase his fragile lead overnight.

I'm a systems analyst, not a financial analyst, so I'll stipulate that my views might be considered sophomoric by those of you who actually do have expertise in these areas. Nonetheless, the more I see of Senator McCain (who I supported for many years BTW), the more I worry about the possibility that he might be elected. I see some serious psychological issues, as well as what I consider obvious early signs of something very common in his age group: dementia.

Had he selected Elizabeth Dole as his running mate (why didn't he? I guess we can all hazard a guess...), I wouldn't be so worried. But I worry greatly about having a President who is subtly impaired, or a successor who seems so out of touch with her own limitations. If you care to check out the above mentioned link ("Land Mines Between Here and Nov. 4th"), I'd feel better. Either you will conclude it's worthless, or you'll pass it along to someone else who might benefit from the perspective at least. Either way, I'd feel better knowing someone more connected than I gave it a read.

Thanks,
Ted in Portland, Oregon