Results tagged “election outcome” from The Morning After

By Angela Kirkland

Let's get this straight first: Yes, I'm a self-described liberal. Yes, I did my research regarding both leading candidates and I decided to vote for Obama because I agree with most of his policies, and yes, I am happy he won. I respect McCain for gracefully and elegantly conceding the election to Obama.

However, I do not respect McCain for loosing a severe blight of frightening stupidity in the form of Sarah Palin onto the national stage. McCain won 46 percent of the popular vote. Forty-six percent. That's almost half of the electorate. And these people voted for McCain despite, or, more frighteningly, because of, the fact that he had picked a vice-presidential nominee who has, among liberals and conservatives alike, gone down in the record books as the worst choice for a vice president in the history of the US government.

I will say this for Sarah Palin--she sticks to her guns, and no matter how many of us, including myself, disagree with her views, we must at least show her respect for not wavering on (most of) them. But we've seen and heard the countless stories in the news:

She was never properly vetted; McCain had met her once before he had decided to put her on the ticket. Her televised interviews, clips of which were broadcast on all major networks and have been widely seen on YouTube and other sites, were excruciatingly painful to watch. They are perfect examples of her lack of what should be required knowledge for the vice presidency, and this despite her having been a town mayor and, subsequently, state governor!

She admitted to not knowing what the Bush doctrine is, but then put the blame on Bush for the Republicans' loss. Although the legal investigation ruled that she was not guilty, the nonbinding probe in the Troopergate scandal found her behavior to be unethical, and she blatantly denied it to reporters. She incited frightening amounts of hate-filled rhetoric from participants in her rallies, which have also been well-documented by the mainstream media and YouTube.

I suppose the "real Americans" in the "pro-American parts of America" did not see the recklessness in McCain's decision. The results of the election, with so many people having voiced their support of Palin, even as far as to suggest a 2012 presidential campaign, still chills me down to my bones. It is proof positive that ignorance is still seen as a virtue rather than an embarrassment; that even after the past eight years, an even more uneducated and inarticulate person can still come so close to being in the nation's highest office.

By Larissa Lichty

I think that some days we put a great deal of emphasis on sore losers. However, there is unsportsmanlike conduct on the winners' side as well. Politics can emphasize this.

I am a registered Republican. I hold conservative values. I currently hold a 3.3 GPA and was accepted into college with a 3.7 high school GPA and an SAT score of 1330. I've got a knack for argument and a fairly reasonable knowledge of the world. I've got basic German, Irish and Russian language skills. Let's put it this way: I'm no genius, but I'm not stupid either.
Had I voted, I would have voted for John McCain. Many of my friends supported Barack Obama. I have listened to their arguments critically for months on end, without being rude or disparaging towards them or their views.

So I listened to a friend denounce all Republicans as delusional. I listened to him denounce McCain supporters that were disrespectful at Obama's victory speech and talk up the Obama supporters that exhibited only classiness at McCain's concession speech. I mentioned that I was a Republican, and he told me that I was delusional for supporting John McCain. I said nothing more.

Let's have something out on the table right now. This kind of behavior and these kind of comments are absolutely UNACCEPTABLE. I have never been the victim of this kind of behavior before. It's no wonder people get killed over politics. This is a democracy in which you are free to choose who you vote for without fear of discrimination.

I suppose, now that Barack Obama has won the election, all of his supporters are free to attack the character, intelligence, and freedom of anyone who did not support him throughout his campaign. How's that for a generalization, folks? Can the liberals say anything they please now that their side has won?This kind of behavior can ruin the perception of a leader. It certainly has shaken all of the positive things that Obama had going for him.

Here is an analogy that may assist in your understanding. Penn State just beat their opponent in a double-overtime high-stakes football game. A PSU fan then beats up a fan of the opposing team after the stadium has emptied out into the parking lots. No one would stand for that, I hope. Let's not stand for the winners attacking the losers after the game is won. There's no reason (irrational or rational) for it.

I am not a backwater hick who barely graduated and runs to the grocery on an International with four kids at home. And I am sick of being shut up because I am a conservative. I'm sick of being considered a backward, racist, fundamentalist Christian who hates on everybody for voting Republican.

I am in college with an eye toward government employment and graduate school (a Ph.D. program in European history and military history). I grew up in the country, but that does not make me stupid. I graduated from high school. I'm in college.

I wouldn't be caught dead driving an International if there was a John Deere available. I didn't get pregnant in high school. I never made fun of the three black kids in my high school, in fact they were usually friendly towards me and I to them. I am a Christian who believes that God loves all--the ultimate equal opportunity.

I believe in freedom and the right to shoot trespassers. I'm not delusional because I believe differently than you. In fact, anyone who has the nerve to say such a thing is perhaps the one who is delusional, stupid, and mean.

I have no respect for winners that have no respect for the other players. People that behave in such a manner should consider the meaning of civilized behavior.

By Heather Smith

We have chosen our next president. Some of you are happy, and some of you are not happy. But no matter how you feel, I would like to ask you for one thing: Respect.

I fully support the First Amendment, but I was disappointed during Bush's term at how literally people took their freedom of speech. Shows like Lil' Bush popped up, along with impersonations of Bush on shows like SNL and MadTV. Did I see some of these? Yes. Did I laugh? Yes.

However, George W. Bush, whether we like it or not, was the President of the United States. He was one person, chosen by our friends, neighbors and relatives (if not by us) to lead our country. And that in itself demands respect. By ridiculing him, judging him and showing him anything but support, we lose support as a country. If we can't respect our own leader, how can we expect other countries to respect him? We can't.

So while our new leader is preparing to move into the Oval Office, please keep in mind that he is not a scapegoat. He is not perfect, and he is not a superhero. He is the President of the United States of America, chosen by the people to lead this country, and he deserves our support, our allegiance and, at the very least, our respect.

"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright.

Despite the decisiveness of the final polls, there were still some surprises in Barack Obama's electoral sweep Tuesday. Even as an African American, he won key red states: Indiana, Virginia and Iowa. He picked up all three states of the ever-powerful trifecta FLOHPA. He comfortably surpassed the 50 percent mark nationwide, and his win may rightly be called a mandate. How did he do it?

Voters didn't pick him because of his experience, nor did they pick him based on a long record from which they could anticipate his presidential decisions. He has neither. They didn't pick him for his steadfast principles or his bipartisanship. A flip-flopping, party-line legislator, he has neither of those.

It's about the handouts, the government cheese, the free lunch. According to his own proposals, Obama will be serving up stimulus checks, tax cuts for people who don't even pay taxes (more accurately termed welfare), universal health care, minimum wage increases, more federal aid for college students, universal pre-K education and other unnecessary and/or harmful programs.

Peggy Joseph, an Obama supporter and rally attendee, made some telling comments to an NBC affiliate reporter October 31:

"I won't have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage. If I help him, he's going to help me." 

Obama's real genius in his tax plan is the 95 percent figure. He has said, and you can bet your life savings and then some, that he will raise taxes on the remaining 5 percent. With the money of 5 percent, he effectively tried to buy the votes of the remaining 95 percent.

In the final stretch, the McCain-Palin ticket tried to fight Shaw's assessment above. With help from Joe the Plumber, they tried to convince Americans that they can be Peter, that robbing Peter is just plain wrong, that robbing Peter punishes success. Joe the Plumber proved to the nation what was really on Obama's hook, and the public bit anyway. Apparently, the more than 63 million Americans who voted for Obama are perfectly content being Paul.

Congratulations, President Government.