I have to admit , I am lost .

[blues90]

I read all about and the posts here on these elections and peoples opinions and picks .

I try to figure out where I fit into this all or if it even matters anymore .

I get the impression there are those who don't trust or like any of the hopefuls and others who put all faith in these people .

Will whom ever it is that wins effect change , will it be soon enough , is it already to late . These are a few questions I ask myself as I sit here jobless and broke without a hope of real change for my wife and I .

Perhaps the people who are excited about the elections have things to hold onto , perhaps it's for their children and their future they keep hope alive . Perhaps it's the youth with a mix of older people .

I really don't know where I fit in anylonger without purpose in some crap job where that seems to all that is left .

After all these years I have been on this ball I have seen it all , election and promise after promise with grand plans of hope mixed in yet what have we changed , we still have racial issues and gay issues and the masses of poor who mount up by the day in numbers no one has any count of . We still kill in the name of religion or profit and greed and resource all in the name of money .

As far as I can see we have not learned one damn thing , we continue down the road of fake impressions all players of a part on the stage , all not true to who we realy are .

There are people on the top and those on the bottom and this is they way it will always be except it's gotten so much worse when instead we should by this point in time have advanced and the world should have been a place for all to be able to have a fair life at least with a roof and basics , this is all many hope for and they can't even have that , and that is the shame , that is the real truth of shame .

[patrice]

1. Our problem is the process.

We need:
Public campaign finance;
Paper ballots, marked by hand, and counted in public on a national voting holiday (or holidays if you make it a weekend);
Fair political use of public broadcast resources and the internet.

Check out Thom Hartmann on http://www.airamerica.com/

[blues90]

9. We need alot of things

I have come to fully realize and accept the fact that if people cannot treat others as humans all with the same desires to just be able to live a basic life and have human contact and family and friends then we are doomed , it's only a matter of time as we can see by now .

There is no government or president that can give this to the people , this is something people through the years have lost sight of more and more as time presses on .

Now there are so many more ways to break the community down than ever existed before .

we bombed Japan and this was called progress and instead of fully realizing the horror of this what we do instead is continue buildiing more powerful weapons and more ways to kill .

It's always about death through advancement . Sure we have done some good things with these advancements but when you weigh the price payed and balance this out the worst always out weighs the benefits . To save a few millions are killed and for what .

If the world must have these weapons to have security then we have no security , we have only threat and killing .

People claim this has always been in one form or another however we should never feel for an instant this is acceptable or desired yet people do .

[patrice]

11. We play a big part in making reality what it is.

People think they are only reacting to "the way things are" but believing that it has always been ____________, and thus must always be _____________________ shapes how we act and how we act shapes the way things are, making it consistent with ____________________. Google "Self Fulfilling Prophecy". Predictions shape behavior, which shapes events to be consistent with predictions.

Iraq is a perfect example: We said they are terrorists. Our behavior toward them was behavior appropriate to terrorists. And how many terrorists do you suppose have been created by the fact that about a million Iraqis have died as a result of our Invasion and Occupation of their sovereign nation? It only takes about 20 to do some significant damage.

[Xipe Totec]

2. I want a candidate with Hillary's brains

Edward's heart, and Obama's eloquence.

[stray cat]

3. I agree - that would definitely work for me!

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

4. That post puts a smile on my face. Thank You.

[napi21]

7. Sorry, unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Tere is NO perfect

candidate, and never will be. I would say this...The US cannot survive with another Pub President and retain ANY of it's pat identity. It's impossible to really know what any o the front runner ems would really be able to accomplish, but they all have much bette intentionsthan any of the Pubs...even Huck. Although my fvorit candidate is gone (Biden), I prefer Edwards now, but I will completely support he Dem nominee.

[Xipe Totec]

8. That is my point precisely

I'm glad you picked up on that.

There is no perfect candidate; they all have their strong points, and all have their foibles.

I will be happy to support any one of them after the nomination.

:dem:

[Radio_Lady]

14. Re-read Xipe Totec's fine post above. I second that opinion.

[kimmerspixelated]

10. Tis' nothing wrong with Edward's brain.

Ya wouldn't want to use Hill's brain. It is too drenched in corporate favors. I agree Obama is quite eloquent.

[Xipe Totec]

12. Don't be hatin' (nt)

[kimmerspixelated]

21. Hate is too strong a word.

I don't hate anyone-I just don't want Hillary as prez.

[Xipe Totec]

22. We all have our favorite

and only one of them is going to win.

Let's not forget there's still a general election after the primaries, and we don't want to hurt our chances of having a Democratic president in 2009.

:hi:

[eridani]

19. And the Kucinich platform n/t

[Xipe Totec]

20. You're right!

no disrespect intended :hi:

[demnan]

5. Me too

I worked for Kucinich. I actually was part of the effort to get him on the ballot in Virginia, which he is. I know he doesn't have a chance, but I wonder why?

With the main people running, they all say one thing but their votes in the Senate show something else.

A politician will say anything to get elected. The do factor is very lacking in our front line, I must say.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Politicians are notorious for relying on Pie in the Sky rhetoric.

Which they haul out and slather on the forgotten public every election season. Then it's back to pleasing the lobbyists.

[smoogatz]

13. Symbolism almost always beats specifics.

Look what happened to poor Al Gore when he ran on Social Security in 2000. If there's no grand theme, there's no real campaign. I actually took the time to visit all three of the front-runners' websites to read up on their policy positions a while back, which helped some. I think I've got it narrowed down to two, either of which would be fine.

Sorry your situation's looking so bleak. Best of luck to you and your wife. Sounds like you could use some help getting un-stuck.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

15. Politics, kid, it'll break yer heart, tear it all apart.

:-(

[Yuugal]

16. Get out while you can!

That is what my family is going to do if we get Hillary or a republican.(same thing) We are going to sell everything we own and move to another country that respects its people more. There is no shame in seeing the US for what it has become, a haven for rich scumbags who wish all of us little people would just die.

If you can't get a job because rich corporates sent all the factories away and Hillary decided to hand every last job that was left to someone from India: then its time to realize people like you and me are being left to die and we need to leave.

If you can't pay the rent, are struggling between paying for food or energy, and have no health care: then its time to realize people like you and me are being left to die and we need to leave.

If the govt spying on its own people, making 90 yr old ladies get strip-searched at the airport, and directing you and your protest sign to a "free speech" zone 4 miles from major political events bothers you: then its time to realize people like you and me are being left to die and we need to leave.

If the endless wars and torture foisted on us by the US military industrial complex have you realizing the only chances for employment you and your kids will ever have is Burger King or toting a rifle for Uncle Sam/Mobil/GE/KBR/Boeing: then its time to realize people like you and me are being left to die and we need to leave.

My grandparents never felt any shame for leaving their shithole country and coming here to make a better life, in fact they were always proud of themselves for having the guts to get out. They got their dream and had a good life but everything good must end eventually and the dream is dead in America. Now its up to my generation to decide whether the shithole we live in now is even worth fighting for or if we should just leave.

I should have moved my family after the stolen election of 2000. I knew it would lead to wars and the working class getting alot poorer, but I was stubborn and wanted to stay and fight. Now its 2008 and since 2006, the Dems who control of both houses of congress are no better than the sold out corporates on the other side. 2008 is my last hope. If we get Edwards or Obama I'll stay a little longer and keep on hoping someone in power will finally give a shit about us. If its anyone else then I'm leaving and so should you because people like us are only beginning to drink the cup of woe given us by our corporate masters.

Things can and will get even worse as these ass-clowns loot our treasury and destroy the last pitiful remnants of our manufacturing base. They should be lined up against a wall and shot for treason, but you and I both know they will get more medals of freedom.

If there is anything I can do to help you get info on how to get out, let me know. There are alot of better countries to live in that actually want you to go there.

[blues90]

18. I am begining to think I should have moved to Canada in 1967

When I was 1A waiting for the greetings letter to blow in .

My wife wanted to move out of southern calif in the 90's but I had a good job but looking back I should have listened to her .

Now I have no idea where to move to . We don't really have much other than our 4 cats and a little box each worth worrying about the rest of the stuff could burst into flames and would not be missed .

Money is the problem and age as well I'm 59 and she is 62 so we are not as energized as we would like to be , a good part is mental stress .

[hfojvt]

17. almost all of us want more than the basics

We all also decide what matters to us, although pain receptors take some of the volition away. I think a non-Republican President matters as does a non-Republican Congress and fewer judges like Scalia, Thomas, and Roberts. Does it really impact my life personally? Or is it similar to my desire to see the Dallas Cowboys not win the NFC championship? Hard to say.

Personally, I have done better in the Bush economy than I did under Clinton. However, most of that seems to have been the luck of getting a decent job. I can look out and see that the job market still sucks and failed repeatedly in attempts to get a different or better job, so I cling to my lifeboat and give thanks that I don't have to swim with the sharks.

Still, the Bush Presidency seems to have been a huge step back for our society and our species, and a more progressive Democratic party would be a step forward.