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Why are Americans so gullible?

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The_Q
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19 Mar 2008, 7:15 am

Othila wrote:
I always say that libertarians and socialists have the most in common.


Why? There are libertarian Socialists out there, but many are about as far from libertarian as you can get.


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Psychlone
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19 Mar 2008, 7:52 am

Libertarian basically means you are for very small government, and Socialist basically means you are for very large government. So with that being the case, isn't the term "Libertarian-Socialist" an oxymoron? :?



The_Q
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19 Mar 2008, 9:13 am

Psychlone wrote:
Libertarian basically means you are for very small government, and Socialist basically means you are for very large government. So with that being the case, isn't the term "Libertarian-Socialist" an oxymoron? :?


Not necessarily. There are many brands of Socialism. Some are supportive of big government while others aren't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism


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19 Mar 2008, 12:37 pm

The_Q wrote:
Why? There are libertarian Socialists out there, but many are about as far from libertarian as you can get.

Probably that they both have a dislike of the current way things work and the corruption in our political processes. I will agree with you though that their diagnoses of the system and their ethical frameworks will push them very very far apart.



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19 Mar 2008, 12:56 pm

I don't think Americans are anymore gullible then any other country, people are dumb asses where ever you go, it knows no political boundary.



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19 Mar 2008, 12:58 pm

Othila wrote:
Hillary is a socialist because she quoted an African proverb in one of her many badly written books.

Obama is a Muslim because his middle name is Hussein along with a supposely questionable upbringing in Indonesia. I guess if you spend to much time outside of the US you can get Muslim fever or something.

Hillary is going to lose to McCain because they have all this dirt they can throw at her.

Obama is going to lose to McCain because he only has 2 years experience in the Senate.

McCain is going to win because he is a maverick.


Wow, you sound ignorant! :lol: Not one of those statements reflects American thinking, however, so I'm afraid the above quote will remain my impression of you alone.


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19 Mar 2008, 2:39 pm

Just for clarification, Obama himself is a Christian not a Muslim. That's all I have to say.



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19 Mar 2008, 5:24 pm

Ragtime wrote:
Othila wrote:
Hillary is a socialist because she quoted an African proverb in one of her many badly written books.

Obama is a Muslim because his middle name is Hussein along with a supposely questionable upbringing in Indonesia. I guess if you spend to much time outside of the US you can get Muslim fever or something.

Hillary is going to lose to McCain because they have all this dirt they can throw at her.

Obama is going to lose to McCain because he only has 2 years experience in the Senate.

McCain is going to win because he is a maverick.


Wow, you sound ignorant! :lol: Not one of those statements reflects American thinking, however, so I'm afraid the above quote will remain my impression of you alone.


The last polls I heard say that Obama would beat McCain head to head, while Hillary would lose to him. And most democrats seem to agree with that. But republicans are and always have been more afraid of Hillary, and I'd have to agree with them. They don't have all this dirt they can throw at her, they've already thrown most of it, and she's still in the race. Obama, on the other hand, is just recently starting to come under scrutiny. And if the republicans aren't worried about him, I trust that they know they can deal with him easily because they're awesome at winning elections. Now if only they had a clue how to run a country...



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19 Mar 2008, 6:49 pm

spudnik wrote:
I don't think Americans are anymore gullible then any other country, people are dumb asses where ever you go, it knows no political boundary.


Ricky is actually pretty smart spudnik. He even got his grade 10! ;)



Othila
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19 Mar 2008, 7:57 pm

Quote:
Wow, you sound ignorant! :lol: Not one of those statements reflects American thinking, however, so I'm afraid the above quote will remain my impression of you alone.

Well you sound like a jerk but I already figured that out a long time ago. :lol:



Othila
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19 Mar 2008, 8:11 pm

Quote:
.And if the republicans aren't worried about him, I trust that they know they can deal with him easily because they're awesome at winning elections. Now if only they had a clue how to run a country...


That's what keeps me up at night. Are the republicans bluffing by assuming they can beat Obama; or do they just naturally assume that Hill is a better smooozer and will get the nomination regardless of Obama's popularity? Turning the election into a race war could have a damaging effect on Obama's chances. I'am curious as to how the pastor scandal is going to effect his winning the remaining primaries. The major problem with the democrats is that unlike the republicans they don't seem to have a large loyal voting majority. Thats what I was trying to get around to saying about McCain. Is that he may be the least likely repub nominee out there but repubs will stand by their man just to maintain control over the whitehouse. The dems have to rely on the flighty undecided vote which hasnt been strong for them the last two elections.



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19 Mar 2008, 9:42 pm

I think Hillary, Obama, and McCain all suck (but for different reasons). Looks like I'm going to either be voting 3rd party or not at all (again). :x



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19 Mar 2008, 11:48 pm

Psychlone wrote:
I think Hillary, Obama, and McCain all suck (but for different reasons). Looks like I'm going to either be voting 3rd party or not at all (again). :x


Sucking is relative. I already consider this election a victory and I think you can figure out why



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19 Mar 2008, 11:55 pm

Othila wrote:
Quote:
.And if the republicans aren't worried about him, I trust that they know they can deal with him easily because they're awesome at winning elections. Now if only they had a clue how to run a country...


That's what keeps me up at night. Are the republicans bluffing by assuming they can beat Obama; or do they just naturally assume that Hill is a better smooozer and will get the nomination regardless of Obama's popularity? Turning the election into a race war could have a damaging effect on Obama's chances. I'am curious as to how the pastor scandal is going to effect his winning the remaining primaries. The major problem with the democrats is that unlike the republicans they don't seem to have a large loyal voting majority. Thats what I was trying to get around to saying about McCain. Is that he may be the least likely repub nominee out there but repubs will stand by their man just to maintain control over the whitehouse. The dems have to rely on the flighty undecided vote which hasnt been strong for them the last two elections.


The problem with Obama is that I don't see him getting a lot of undecided voters. I think he's already peaked, and that if you don't love Obama by now you're probably not gonna vote for him. All I hear is people who are crazy about Obama, and I hardly hear about anything saying they're for Hillary, and yet Hillary's still in the race. So who's voting for her? I think she's an easy target to mouth off at, but in the end she's a steady candidate. On the other hand, I think Obama is very polarizing, and nobody ever talks about it.



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20 Mar 2008, 2:16 am

Quote:
The problem with Obama is that I don't see him getting a lot of undecided voters. I think he's already peaked, and that if you don't love Obama by now you're probably not gonna vote for him. All I hear is people who are crazy about Obama, and I hardly hear about anything saying they're for Hillary, and yet Hillary's still in the race. So who's voting for her? I think she's an easy target to mouth off at, but in the end she's a steady candidate. On the other hand, I think Obama is very polarizing, and nobody ever talks about it.
[/quote]

Obama's got a lot of politios and media behind him. True I don't see his likeability growing but if he keeps steady and doesn't lose his teflon image it is possible for him to get the dem nom footnote of approval. Than Hill supporters will have to change horses. I wonder myself who exactly is voting for hillary. Her supporters on tv always sound so impassive but maybe that is a plus for her in the polls. Obama is def walking a tightrope. I don't see the polarization is completly his fault. Too bad it wasn't it like the old days where you could just kill off your hanger ons. Oh well, maybe his Reaganesqueness will help him win the nomination. If not the public will forget about it in a couple of weeks.



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20 Mar 2008, 2:43 am

Why are Americans so Gullible?

Because we're as sweet as apple pie, darlin'. We want everyone to have a fair chance these days even if they are liars and have a thirst for power. :twisted: