I'm starting to feel pity for McCain.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut


You act as though Obama and McCain started the campaign with an equal likelihood of victory. They didn't, as the fundamentals are all in Obama's favor. You're criticizing McCain for risk-taking when he had to engage in such risk-taking if he wanted to have any chance of actually winning the election.

I think it was excessive, and was narrowly focused on winning the day instead of winning the war. I agree that a degree of risk-seeking was necessary, but I think he went far, far overboard.

Maybe he was put in an untenable position, but he did not handle it well. He also tacked toward Republican orthodoxy instead of to the middle, which was a poor strategic decision as well as one which pre-committed him (slightly) toward some very poor policy decisions.

[Q Classic]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
I know nothing about fruit fly research. Doesn't strike me as important.

And what if, I don't know, scientists explained it to you? Or other people? Articles linked here explain why such research is important.

And yet you'd rather continue to be a know-nothing?

I don't give a **** about whether the President knows about fruit fly research or not.

I do care if the President gets proper advice about the matter. Palin seems to be the type to choose party orthodoxy over facts and reason; her "leadership" would no doubt have opportunistic nitwits lead us down a path akin to modern-day Lysenkoism.

You have no idea whether this is true or not, unless you can discern a person's level of curiosity through the TV.

Given her speeches and how she's handled herself, while I can't actually say with 100% certainty that she is depressingly incurious and far too self-certain, nothing in her behavior, action, or comments have suggested that she seeks to alternative viewpoints or would give them a fair hearing.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
Obama had an advantage in the general election campaign, you moron. Any Democrat would've had an advantage over any Republican.

Obama and McCain are not "generic repulican" and "generic democrat" last time I looked. Also, way to totally ignore the point:

When this began, McCain was an already well known media darling and seen as a viable and strong candidate. Obama was seen as a long shot facing far more powerful challengers for the same spot.

Obama had done far more in this campaign than McCain. He has dispatched stronger opponents, build up a far more powerful ground campaign, and raised immense amounts of money. He has shown a competence and leadership that McCain hasn't.

[Darius871]

Originally posted by GePap


Sorry, but Bush has shown himself quite incapable of understanding the possibility of several equally valid points of view.

Fine, I'll leave that quip out. Con law is still an absolute joke regardless. It doesn't say anything more about ability to be president than a Ph.D. in Philosophy or Women's Studies.

[Naked Gents Rut]

I think it was excessive, and was narrowly focused on winning the day instead of winning the war. I agree that a degree of risk-seeking was necessary, but I think he went far, far overboard.

I agree to a certain extent. They certainly did have a very narrow focus on winning the news cycle instead of thinking more long-term, but that's Schmidt's MO. Looks like a mistake in retrospect, but it worked for Bush and might have worked this time if the financial crisis hadn't hit until November.

He also tacked toward Republican orthodoxy instead of to the middle, which was a poor strategic decision as well as one which pre-committed him (slightly) toward some very poor policy decisions.

I don't agree with this. McCain has sounded more like a Populist than a Republican since the financial crisis broke out. He's also gone back to supporting comprehensive immigration reform and other things that the Republican base really hate him for.

If that's a criterion what we really need is a quantum physicist as president

I'd vote for KH if he were running.

[Darius871]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
I'd vote for KH if he were running.

KH/Wiglaf 2012

[Naked Gents Rut]

And yet you'd rather continue to be a know-nothing?

Yes. There are hundreds of more important things I could be learning about right now rather than fruit fly research.

KH/Wiglaf 2012

That's my dream ticket.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
I don't agree with this. McCain has sounded more like a Populist than a Republican since the financial crisis broke out.

"since" is the operative word here.

Running as a Bush Republican prior to that positioned him very poorly to deal with the financial crisis as a populist.

And the positions which have changed since then (as opposed to the ones which were simply repackaged, such as the opposition to a capital gains tax increase) were for the worse. Such as the wacky "we'll buy the houses at face value" giveaway to banks.

[Thue]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut

I mind a lot more that she isn't curious to find out.

You have no idea whether this is true or not, unless you can discern a person's level of curiosity through the TV.

She argues about whether it should be funded. She would know more about what fruit fly research was it she was actually curious.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Running as a Bush Republican prior to that positioned him very poorly to deal with the financial crisis as a populist.

He started his move to the center right after he picked Palin and shored up the Republican base, though. His populist rhetoric on the economy started after the crisis, but his return to supporting comprehensive immigration reform and a cap and trade system on carbon emission (among other things) came before that.

Such as the wacky "we'll buy the houses at face value" giveaway to banks.

Yeah, that was retarded.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut


He started his move to the center right after he picked Palin and shored up the Republican base, though. His populist rhetoric on the economy started after the crisis, but his return to supporting comprehensive immigration reform and a cap and trade system on carbon emission (among other things) came before that.

I honestly did not hear anything about this.

[Ramo]

Probably because he opposed the Lieberman-Warner cap and trade legislation when it was going through Congress. I don't think it's hyperbole to say that his withdrawal of support (his name used to be attached to the bill) significantly hurt its prospects in this Congress. Not that I'm complaining, since it's too conservative a piece of legislation; its targets are not very aggressive, and the EPA would hand out, instead of auction, the credits.

[Q Classic]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
Yes. There are hundreds of more important things I could be learning about right now rather than fruit fly research.

Nobody's asking you to learn the details.

They're asking you to understand why it's being done.

A top-line summary that explains what it is, why they do it, and what it's for should convince anyone that researching the genetics of drosophila melanogaster aids in finding treatments and cures for things like...

Down's Syndrome. Autism. Cancer. HIV. SARS.

Of course, for a party of Know-Nothings, all of these are probably the wages of sin, no? Especially that penultimate disease listed, which God sent to kill fags, and the final one, which God sent to kill Asians.

(Okay, not really about God and SARS, but I found the article hilarious.)

It's the same with the planetarium: it's used for science education for schools and the public; the current building is using unsupported, outdated equipment in a theatre that has water damage and is in need of a refurb. Refurbishing it will have the chance of inspiring students for science, something which our country is in dire need of.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Mrs Snuggles

Down's Syndrome. Autism. Cancer. HIV. SARS.

I don't think Gents knows that science is important in combatting diseases.

[Q Classic]

Originally posted by MrFun


I don't think Gents knows that science is important in combatting diseases.

True, it's not.

You can just pray the sickness away, and if it don't heal itself, then **** you, you didn't have strong enough faith.