frank5959 : How has Obama been President for a long time? He has been President for only 1 term. Not counting the ones who died, only 10 Presidents have ever failed to win the votes for a second term. The others served as President for 8 years, whereas Obama has only for 4.

Oldschool41 : i actualy dismiss things like that as publicity gimicks.
Divert help and resources sure, but photo'd visiting? I just think, what an ass

I do have to say that Chris Christie is one of the few Republicans that I have ever respected, and I am glad to see he dropped the political showboating to do his job. It is what an elected official is supposed to do in a time of crisis. People are making a big deal about him and the President working together, but that is what is supposed to happen! During a time of natural disaster, the President and Governors are supposed to work together because they are our leaders, not because of what party they belong to! It is why this whole political party system crap is tearing this country apart. He is getting ripped to shreds by Fox News because he praised the President for doing his job right. Was he supposed to lie?

thenumberone : There is a person that follows officials like the President and Governor wherever they go, taking pictures and documenting their term(s) in office. It is why you see shots like the one on Marine One, or of Bush in the classroom on 9/11, or any other big moment in history. I am sure that there is one that follows the Prime Minister around as well. It is part of the job at this point, even if they don't like it.

Elara :
There is, and every time i see those pictures i think what a c...
At the end of the day theyre leader and make the calls, if they disaproved theyd get rid of them.
I remember the last memorial day before the uk elections, the current pm and the pm hopefull were deliberately trying to get photos, it was a pretty big scandal.
Run the country.
I saw the same thing at a memorial service in Belgium, i wont say what i wanted to do to those gits. Laughing and telling jokes, and getting photos. Respect costs nothing.
Oh, and your previous comment, agrred. I get annoyed even with the uk, the opposition partys object and attack to things we all know theyd be doing if in power. Once the election is over, do what the people showed, by vote, to want, dont act like little kids in gangs.

thenumberone : I think you are confusing normal photo ops with the actual documentary role of people like the President's photographer. Perhaps it is because I come from a historian's perspective, but those photographs are vital bits of historical evidence to moments of a President's term. They are the photographs that end up in archives, libraries, and history books. Most of those pictures are not posed for, the photographer just snaps the shutter and keeps the pictures that turned out well. The pictures of the Kennedy assassination, for example... do you think they asked Jackie Kennedy to start climbing onto the trunk of the car because it would look good for the camera? No, that was an actual moment of tragedy caught on film. Historians analyze those pictures, reading into gestures, placement of images, facial expression, etc.

Just saying.

Elara :
Im not saying that them being in photos is wrong.
Im just stating i think they try to hard to be in them.

I am in favor of Obama because I don't believe a person should be denied healthcare because they don't make 6 figures. The entire US medical system the way it is currently is a complete joke.

?v=1

This picture may have been intended as a joke by it's creator, but it's the cold hard truth. No money, no health care.

Also, I simply cannot vote for someone that is against video games. Mitt Romney may be a wonderful person otherwise, I'll never know. But as he's against video games, I could no sooner vote for him than turn the sky green. Games just mean too much to mean.

Oldschool41 : Yeah, and I find it funny that a lot of people don't get that. I mean, on the surface, yes Obama has been very helpful with this disaster... far more than any other President has been in the past... and that is hard to ignore when you are benefitting the most from it... but on top of that, there is the politics. How does it look when you are the Governor of a state and you refuse to work with the guy that is sending in forces to repair the damage? New Jersey is a blue state, so Christie has to walk the moderate line... and he is up for reelection soon so pissing off your citizens is not the best way to stay in office.

Only thing Romney is good for is maybe some savings at gas pump and possibly a stronger economy as he knows how to use a calculator unlike Obama. The 12 million new jobs he is talking about is for the military killing innocent babies in iran. He did own Obama with the China cheating the market though I highly doubt anyone is going to be fixing that.

Obama has the advantage as he offers benefits to the needy however that is the only good thing about him. His socialist big business ways will bring us closer and faster to a chinese slave state then anyone other candidate. The future looks darker under Obama then Romney (ops was that racist), getting a college degree seems worthless when he wants to "create the next apple" so you can go work in a cheap labor factory. His fuel plan is not economically viable as no one is rich enough to buy new fuel efficient cars to save money at the pump.

But then again, the future looks dark under Romney too. More wars, poor people denied medical treatment, slashed benefits for all.

There is no lesser of two evils here both have equally crappy plans to fixing america.

Seems to me their job is to just create messes so the next guy elected can get a job and create a bigger mess, wash, rinse and repeat.

Also, it does not help when you run 5 political ads in a row on tv, way to confuse old timers.

And please take it easy on the spam mail. They shove in like five Obama and Romney brochures in my mailbox daily.

Campaigning is only good for wasting money and giving people headaches. Do your job and fix something is that to much to ask for LOL!

JigSaw :
Romney certainly knew how to use a calculator when he defrauded his company.
If you think china is socialist thats pretty funny. They are a farce, a secret capatalism.
Elara :
I thought this would interest you
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20185565
romneys latest line is telling cuban exiles that cuba supports obama.
Does he have a guy that writes these?

thenumberone : He does. But then again, if Romney was to speak his mind without a paper in front of him; it would have been worse.



Elara : Valid point also. However Romney is also from a Blue state (one could argue that Massachuetts is more "left" then New Jersey). So Christie knows that he has to be careful of what he says to earn votes from the "moderate", "slightly right of center" and "slightly left of center"

                                                                                     Political Spectrum (United States version)
              -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              I                               I                                     I                                I                                 I                                I                             I
              I                               I                                     I                                I                                 I                                I                             I
             A                              B                                    C                              D                                E                              F                            G


A. Far-Left Liberals- People who believe that Government has all the answers. Massachuetts would be an example.

B. Center Liberals- Where most Democrats tend to fall under or appear during the Democractic Primary. New York would be an example.

C. Slightly-Left Liberals- People who believe that a small amount of Government can provide answers. Wisconsin would be an example.

D. Center- Most independents tend to reside. Also where people who are undecided tend to be. Battleground states (Ohio, Florida) are examples.

E. Slightly-Right Conservatives- People who believe that sa small amount of Government should be outlawed. Kentucky would be an example.

F. Center Conservatives- Where most Republicans are or appear during the Republican Primary. Nebraska would be an example

G. Far-Right Convservatives- People who believe that Government has no right to make answers. Texas would be an example

I should point out that the graph is just a "simplified" version of a Political Spectrum Graph as most of them tend to go more "indepth". Now lets rank some people by where they fall on the Political Spectrum...

President Obama- He would be at the "B", "C", or between "B-C" position since he's nowhere near what a person who is an "A". (An A would be a supporter of Communistism).

Mitt Romney (Governeror version)- He would be an "E" or somewhere between "E-F". Romney is clearly not a person on the "G", but hes also not a clear "F" also. Since he is from a Blue state, he has to appear "close to liberal" as best he can without completely sheading his "red" colors.

Mitt Romney (Presidency version)- He would be about between "E-F", a "F", or "F-G". Again like before Romney has to appear Conservative while trying to earn the votes from people in the "D" and also "E" since people from the "E" side if the candidate is bad, are more likely to vote for the other side since they are closer to the Moderate point of view.

Chris Christie- He would be about similar to the Presidency version of Mitt Romney (E-F, F or F-G). But what Romney lacks in ability to convince people; Christie has the abilty to.

Rick Santorum- He is between a "F-G". I figure that I post what a person who is actually an "F-G" would be like. We tend to classify people who are true "G"s as being Facists.

God that took a long time to type. I should mention that this is just my point of view.

I chose Obama for this poll, and tomorrow morning, I'll be voting for him at the poll booth. The economy is, historically speaking, generally better under democratic presidency. In regards to social issues, I definitely have to side with Obama. Mitt Romney is completely unempathetic to the struggles of people whom are different than himself. Definitely not a quality I'd like to see in a potential president.

Fortunately, all of this political nonsense will be over soon!

Regardless of where you stand, tomorrow is election day and if you live in the United States you should get up early and go vote! Young people don't vote nearly as much as they should, and that needs to change. It is our future in the balance, so start caring, get off your butt, and vote!

I'm going to be up at 7am when the polls open in 30-something degree weather to cast my vote. Where will you be?

Elara : Well I'm going to vote early (got to find out where I have to go too cast my ballot). Then I'm going to decide wheather to watch the election process playout till 5:00 pm when I have to go too work. I should be done hopefully at 9:00 pm EST since I'm only doing Online training; just in time when the polls for Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan should close (I believe). Then I'm not missing 1 minutes until a winner is declared (and maybe a couple of minutes afterward for the reaction on the losing parties face). I expect that the winner will be decided before the polls on the West coast close (pending what happens).

Oldschool41 : It was largely decided like that last time... I think as soon as 8pm rolled around on the West Coast and the polls closed, all those states turned blue and the election was called... they didn't even need to wait for all the votes to be counted, just exit polls alone were obvious. I am hoping that that again.

I think we are taking time out to go to dinner for other reasons tomorrow, but that is at 4pm so I can miss an hour or so.

And as vested as I am in this election, I look forward to Wednesday for no other reason than all the campaign ads and phone calls with be done.

Elara : Yeah that is because California, Washington, and Oregon tend to vote Democratic. But I think since Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona close at 10 pm EST (I think); the election pending what happens in the Midwest could be decided by those 4 states.

Woop woop. Obama was just projected to win re-election.