Obama said "He'll restore america's standing in the world"

[The Buddha]

OK I saw it on Bill Bennet saturday night. And He said had america lost their standing in the world ... and this lady who was a guest (dunno her name but she was black and fairly young) said ... she disagrees that america has lost it standing and she went on to cite how she saw a bunch of people take a citizenship oath and how they were all so proud etc etc ...

OK total BS and completely facetious reasoning ... why to become a citizen ... it takes 10 years at a minimum more like 15 ... I could ahve in 2006, I got here in 92. May be I could have got my green card a shade sooner ... so I'd say 10 years at the earliest. So these people who are becoming citizens now, have been in the US for atleast 10 years if not more.

So if they had a chance to get out it came over 10 years ago. Most people by the time they get here they are out of options. I cannot now move to say australia or england ... I am 40 and have a kid, family, career and bikes ... I cannot even go back to India. So If I go for a citizenship now, I am doing so because of lack of choice not due to choice.

In the 80's-90's to study or to work, america was the holy grail ... to study especially it was really far far far and away the #1. Medicine, computer science, most forms of engineering especially aerospace and transportation and industrial engineering, and to work in software, or medicine or most other engineering fields. Recent times america has lost the #1 in everything ... in some cases to the most unexpected of countries. India has taken the software and medicine as well as some other engineering fields like nuclear science and what not to a higher level. Some of europe also has taken the lead in other fields. So ... my prediction is, in 10-15 years there will be many fewer as well as lower quality of people taking that citizenship test.

Now the biggie - will Obama restore the #1 standing.
In medicine if he is backed by 8-12 years of similar policy (stem cell and other cutting edge research) I'd say yes.
In engineering - We need a depression for this, and no one wants to allow it to happen. A depression is going to destroy china and china will in effect realise the folly of selling things to the US under their cost just to cripple the US manufacturing base. When we go, we'll take 1/2 the world with us. A bail out effectively gives china time to un link from the US and insulate themselves as well as have the bail out money go to them directly by way of our debt service.

The US is still english speaking (and its fast changing and will be temporarily reversed by a depression) and hence education wise attractive to the students in most of the world. Obama will not do anythign about either ... and that is just fine.

So - Obama can but needs will and support.

However ... and this may be how he can ... biggest way to accomplish the goal of the #1 ...

He can stop the current tradition of electing the stupidest person in the room cos he appeals to "Joe Six-pack".

Its going to take a lot of very educated and smart people all working toward a common goal ... and we cannot elect who we think is the best person to have a drink with ... we may be Joe Six-pack but I prefer a president who is a little elite.

Cool.
Buddha.

[Revere2]

Obama, himself, is not "elite" by any means (he "acts" elitist). He is however, a puppet of those who are truly elitists. Moreover,
soccer moms and morons that have been spoonfed guilt (and with whom it has taken effect) along with star-struck Hollywood buffoons, Marxists, Socialists, Feminists, habitual parasites, and men who have been psychologically castrated cry out for his guidance and wisdom to wrest these terrible United States from the evil demonic "white men" that have had it for so long. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa OBAMA...................."he'll know what to do".......
He's nothing BUT a skinny ass effeminate snakeoil salesman with a degree in public speaking.

[The Buddha]

Bush was ... "He's nothing BUT a skinny ass effeminate snakeoil salesman with a degree in public speaking" and a complete idiot who thinks in 1's and 0's.
--------------------------
McBain is all of the above + really really really old.
Palin is all of the above to the ----- + conniving, conceited and a religious nut.

Ron Paul was our only hope, else anarchy is the next best option.
How did he endorse the constitution party guy

Why did he not go back to the libertarian line of thinking.

Cool.
Buddha.

[Revere2]

Ron Paul was my pick. But I don't want this tinhorn (Obama) as Commander in Chief of our armed forces protecting the United States!

You can NOT have this kitty cat defending the UNITED STATES of AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why don't you "get it"?

[The Buddha]

Ehhhhh ... defending what ... oh, like attacking another defenseless country under false pretenses and not going to the defense of a true democratic ally (georgia) because the enemy in this case is actually ... like got some teeth (russia) ... that sorta defense ... oh yea ... we wouldn't want that at all ... no way ... no how ... we may get beaten ... I mean not insurgents blowing up with IED's, I mean well and truly beaten, war ships sunk, aircraft hit and blown up, and many people captured ... like a real war ... not one where we try to beat up on a defenseless little country and all they have is insurgents ...
First step to solving any problem ... acknowledging there is one.
Obama has taken that first step in several fronts. 1 - Lack of experience in foreign policy and he picked the best option that was in front of him. 2 - The loss of standing in the world. Atleast he has mentioned it. If he does somehting about it, remains to be seen. McBain is oblivious to it. Obama may use diplomacy where he should have used force, however we used force unneccesarily and under false pretenses so far, so its time to err on the other side, besides we dont have any army left ... we're already stretched too thin. So its either diplomacy or nothing till we get all the troop strength back.

We go up against a real threat at this point ... we'll get our asses handed to us. That's why even bush isn't doing anything ... not that he doesn't want to ... and bush isn't capable of diplomacy ...

We dont want this tinhorn as commander in chief of our armed forces - however we dont have to worry about it for a few more years, we have no armed forces.

Ron Paul will have effected a faster withdrawal than either of these 2. Only complaint you can have against Obama in that case is ... he's not fast enough in with drawing.

Cool.
Buddha.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Obama says hell doit, yet i feel as though he has no idea how

[The Buddha]

Obama says hell doit, yet i feel as though he has no idea how

You talking about withdrawing from Iraq ? Iraqis are begining to want us out. Now While evereyone is patting themselves on the back with how succesful the surge has been and this and that ... we need to get out of there and see what it looks like in 6 months to a year before the all around congradulations.

The Iraq area for 1000's of years have had, sheites, sunni's, arabs, persians, turks, ottomans, Kurds, and assyrians (who are christians) all fighting with each other or forming alliances with each other to fight the others etc etc etc ... 1 year of a troop surge isn't going to do squat. We get out, and 6-12 months later that whole area is going to drop into civil war ... not just Iraq, most of the middle east.
Anyway, we have to wait and see ... Ron Paul was for immediate withdrawl, Obama is for a withdrawl that is a bit more phased.

Now restoring the standing of the US in the world. Much more subjective. Unneccesary war on false pretenses against really weak enemies etc etc can help, as will actually knowing and treating foreign policy like its one of the significant aspects of policy and some real progress in medicine and other fields will start the ball rolling. We'll need 8-10 years of that to get the #1 spot back.

Cool.
Buddha.

[jserio]

we shoulda let Patton drive accross russia and plant our flag when he wanted to.     

[The Buddha]

There is a new world order comming ... and it will start when oil is no longer the defacto fuel.
I am betting on solar.
In 1 hour enough of it hits your house to cover your energy needs to a whole year. You need to tap it, trap it and keep it. That is the whole game.
We do that, and oil will drop to 10c a barrel, and most countries that depend on it for their $$ will starve to death.
Cool.
Buddha.

[pkhoff]

Well, they'll starve after we get back the money we gave them for oil, by selling them grain.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Hey buddha. i know you know this cause you know it all , but pretty much it was voted into being by much of congress, liberals included. BUT based on info which was not complete. essentially was true, ( recent discovery of "yellow cake" which could be interpreted as an ingredient of a WMD), but im not referring to iraq. im more referring to the economy or other issues involving money and such, ( excluding war aforementioned) f%$k id like us to get out of iraq, im getting really depressed escorting people whom i consider heroes to their final resting place. ( see avatar) BUT its somethign i consider my stateside service. id liek to see or read obamas plan on doing what he says. taxing corporations wont do it. corps dont pay taxes. hell have to figure out how to raise the fundage  to put into place his ideas. a novel idea is this. EWliminate  UNNECCESSARY pork barrel spending/earmarks. that for the most part would pay for his plans

[trumpetguy]

But earmarks are small change in the budget. SMALL change.  One percent of the budget.  We have to reform our government entirely. 

Go here and watch the Oreo story:
http://www.truemajority.org/fun/

We can spend a LOT less on defense if we truly use our defense department on defense of our country, not on pointless invasions to make obscene profits for the war machine.  We need to get out of occupying Iraq AND Afghanistan, take out Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Forgotten with special services and black ops --  Get back to truly defending our country.  My $0.02.   

[spc]

We would never ever ever do such a thing as that would be a blatant disregard of EO12333 and its' subsequent amendments.

[yamahonkawazuki]

We would never ever ever do such a thing as that would be a blatant disregard of EO12333 and its' subsequent amendments.

DWTF is that?
and we were offered bin forgotten in the mid 90's several times but we declined. i wonder why?

[spc]

Executive Order 12333, among other things declared that assassination under basically ALL circumstances is illegal and would not be practiced by the US...........but you could have found that out by googling just as you could have found out by googling that the reason we didn't move on OBL in the early 90's is that we didn't perceive a threat............most circles thought of him as an under the table ally seeing as we supplied nearly all of the Talibans' weapons to them.

[yamahonkawazuki]

Executive Order 12333, among other things declared that assassination under basically ALL circumstances is illegal and would not be practiced by the US...........but you could have found that out by googling just as you could have found out by googling that the reason we didn't move on OBL in the early 90's is that we didn't perceive a threat............most circles thought of him as an under the table ally seeing as we supplied nearly all of the Talibans' weapons to them.

iddnt say assassinate him, assuming again terry , chill with teh fuckin attitude. he was a wanted man at that point, we could have had him, we declined

[Cal Price]

I won't get involved in US politics 'cos that is the business of US voters but the premis in the origional question used the phrase "standing in the world"

The world is changing all the time and i think the day of a dominant country being the object of envy and generaly imposing it's will, rightly or wrongly, on other countries is a fading concept. It is true and will probably remain true for a while that the dominant trading and manufacturing country or block invariably becomes the foremost military power. This does not seem to have changed through time since the Roman empire and was true when the British stopped being the global policeman and that "priveledge" fell on the U.S.

Life is now rather more complex, China is the manufacturer to the globe and rising fast in other areas, the US and EU are still giant economies with huge potential, India has become a telecoms and IT powerhouse. The oil producers and regions rich in minerals and other recources like minerals, Africa and South America have the potential to get rich if only they could sort themselves out politically and financially. Some people say that the oil producers are holding our nuts but ultimatly those with the grain, meat and freshwater might be holding theirs.

My point is that the day of any one country be pre-eminent in all areas, art, sport, science and industry are probably over for ever with those things being spread around.
As to America's standing in the world, despite what some say i think the world has an affection and RESPECT for the U.S. and it's many great acheivements. In general this is about your people not individual politians. I have to say that generally the world is mystified by your almost constant state of electoral campaigning and some of it does no credit at all to the participants but we love you, warts'n'all. - Whoever you elect!

Lastly remember to vote early and vote often - and if you don't vote don't Buddha Loves You about what you get.

[trumpetguy]

We would never ever ever do such a thing as that would be a blatant disregard of EO12333 and its' subsequent amendments.

I just heard on NPR yesterday that exceptions are regularly made by Presidents, and would be easy in this case due to the "WAR ON TERROR" (add spooky reverb here).  We have done it forever.  It cannot be any MORE illegal than half the stuff we have done in Iraq, starting with the invasion and culminating in Abu Graib and other torture.

Besides the legality, it is TONS more ethical and moral than occupying another country.

[Revere2]

Bush was a damn puppet...........hell they're all puppets.

[The Buddha]

Who was he a puppet of
Cheney ? religious right ? GOP politburo ?
Sorry, If we had one puppet from 1 side, its time to get a puppet from the other side.
Though I think the labor and unions will destroy us ... true free market should be allowed to take hold. Unions ahouls only enforce contracts and fair labor laws.
Heck, government's main task should be to enforce contracts and not much else.
Cool.
Buddha.