I support the Democratic Nominee

Five words. Only five words. No more and no less.

I support the Democratic Nominee. Not blue sky support; not fair weather support; not fairy tale support; not unthinking support; not easy support; not feint support; not feel good or feel bitter support; not hold my nose nor hold my cock support; not poll driven support; not pundit support: only my support.

Looking back over the last ten years, as an Australian Citizen married to an American woman, it seems incredible, while outside the United States, that President Clinton was impeached, that GWB was elected*, that Iraq was invaded, that the Democrats lost in 2004, that Katrina, and the sub prime meltdown, a new cold war, or any of the other train wrecks that could be seen coming from so many miles away, happened.

When I am in the United States, it seems only too believable. I think about Eisenhower's speech, given six months after I was born and try to keep in mind in the midst of on going corporate takeover that the 24/7 news cycle isn't real. I think about each American presidential election since I was born, the candidates, the outcomes. I remember that I don't have a vote and the United States is the country I will be living in through 2009.

I support the Democratic Nominee. Nothing else makes sense. Inside or outside the United States.

That's Five words.

Good words. But more than four.

:hide:

I do think of the "Democratic Nominee" as one word.

For supporting the Democratic Nominee.

:thumbsup:

And have bounced in and out of the US throughout the Clinton and Bush years . . . and it still seems absolutely surreal to me. I understand 2000 -- Gore ran a weak enough campaign and the media cut him dead, making it possible for Republican operatives to steal the election and the bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court to hand the keys to the White House to Bush.

2004 was mind-bending. Kerry (not the strongest candidate ever) was still clearly superior as a person and a leader in every imaginable way. And yet the election was close enough to steal again. Amazingly, Kerry didn't fight back -- which was when I realized he wasn't the leader I'd thought he was.

The maladministration of the Bushies was shocking as they careened from disaster to disaster -- shocking but hardly surprising, given the fact that their manifest unfitness was writ in letters 10 miles high.

One thing I didn't expect was, following the wins of 2006, that the Democrats would prove to still be without backbone, still terrified of an effectively toothless Bush and ready to do the bidding of an increasingly enfeebled and irrelevant administration. That kinda broke my heart.

I find Barack Obama to be one of the most inspiring politicians in many a year. But still a trimmer in a sort of backdoor Clintonian fashion. The fates preserve us if he manages to lose to McCain.

In any case, I'm not coming back to the US until the Republicans are banished from power. I won't even breathe the same air.

They were stunned in the end. I told them to keep their change. We had all lost a lot more than 25c.

Not that being an American was ever all it was cracked up to be (by, Americans! Talk about a bias, eh?) as our nation has always been a bit duplicitous and quite a bit arrogant to boot. But, hey, what the hell do I know, I'm just a latte sipping leberal elitist surrender monkey or whatever we are called these days.

I'm pretty much done too. I'm going to go full out one last time and if Obama wins, as by all rights he should, great, I'll take a deep breath, a two week vacation and get right back on the wagon, fighting for this arrogant, Jesusfreak provincial country of mine. If McCain wins, I'm emigrating. It turns out I'm quite wanted in Canada and likewise, I'm finding Canada quite attractive.

We've got another DUer who has said that the fight needs a long view, that we won't win our country back this election or the next or the next after but with persistence, it will turn around. But when I take that long view and apply it to our history, I'm becoming less and less sure that this country really is worth fighting for.

And at this point, I'm more concerned with the battle for the planet than the battle for America. If the American people want to be governed by crazy criminals, it's not in my power to convince 'em otherwise.

Don't ever try to do it around me, please.

I have been known to do very mean things to USAsians who attempt to do this abroad.

I got into a sticky wicket about it in Dresden once, but otherwise, when people have started in on anti-American (meaning anti-Bush) sentiment I remind them that we are a democracy and that my family most assuredly did NOT vote for GWB.

From there, the conversation has nearly always turned positive (as I see it) as a general bitch and moan fest about Bush.

This year, all the talk was Obama, Obama, Obama. We were in Malaysia and Singapore this summer and they LOVE Obama, from th taxi-drivers, wait staff, and hotel clerks right up to the professionals my husband does business with. It seems the most positive thing we can do to bolster our stature abroad is to elect this brilliant man who brings hope not just to us, but to the world.

No matter who's in charge, I feel that American citizens should be proud but NOT arrogant. I simply can't be ashamed of my country though.

and I know about their politics. I doubt (with the correct accent on the "ou") you could find me out.

I have.

You would be very surprised at the general good opinion of USAsians in places like Cuba, Venezuela and some parts of Central America...Not at all what you might expect.

They don't like your government much, of course, but they really seem to like the USAsian PEOPLE.

And yes, they do seem to have a reasonable affection for run-of-the-mill Americans in those places. They still think we're fools for having elected Bush twice.

"A Republic, if you can keep it". The challenge is the same. If the ideals of the United States were not so high, the failures would be not so obvious. IMHO.

when traveling.

I'm anything but arrogant, but I've nothing to be ashamed of, either.

The School of the Americas is enough for me to be ashamed and that isn't all.

(I'm collating experiences from the UK, Romania, Australia, Kuwait, UAE, and Iraq) can't believe that "we Americans" reelected Bush. They ask, "after the first four years, how could we have put him back in power?" While there's still affection for what America is supposed to represent, many of the people I've spoken to think a majority of Americans (i.e., voters) are fools or knaves or both.

Dean and Clark had my attention.

Iraq = going badly - was an issue that would be had to be tackled . In 2003, I thought, America does not want to relive Vietnam in Iraq. In 2004 I saw it this way: Clark had the easiest subtext - 'I can deal with it', Dean the second 'I was right, the war was wrong'; Kerry the worst : 'I supported the IWR' - 'Iraq is not going well' - 'Now let's talk about Vietnam'.

And I do hope our nominee stresses the point about possible Supreme Court appointments in the next 4 years.

You are a winner......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6675325

I didn't get my "first" choice, but that's beside the point. This is a democracy. More people thought that Obama would make a better leader than 'my' guy. Obama is closer in policy and belief to 'my' guy than McCain is. That makes it easy. I support Barack Obama for President.