2012 US Presidential Election discussion.

I voted for Obama back in '08 and I think I might have made a mistake... But then again, his opponents did not look that good either. Palin was and still is a joke. It was a huge mistake for McCain to choose Palin. And Romney doesn't look too sharp in this election either. I hate negative campaigning and Romney is doing a lot of that. So my view on him is getting worse by the day. As Popeye has indicated, Romney hasn't outlined his foreign policies, which actually could impact domestic economy in a big way. At this point, neither candidate look strong to me. Like one of my colleagues said, we may have to choose the lesser evil, instead of a stronger candidate...

BTW, what do you guys think of block vote. I know not many think too highly of it. However, block vote may be the only thing that can get politicians and interest groups to look at minorities. Otherwise, the benefits and the rights of the minorities would be ignored. Asian Americans are most definitely among this group and our interests have been long ignored in Washington.

Block vote?..I'm Black and I can tell you most Blacks vote for the democrat no matter what their policies. I feel you should vote for the person and not for the party.

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Here's a video of Paul Ryan at the Iowa State fair yesterday giving a 12 minute speech. Some hecklers tried to disrupt him but they were unsuccessful.

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Originally Posted by vesicles

I voted for Obama back in '08 and I think I might have made a mistake... But then again, his opponents did not look that good either. Palin was and still is a joke. It was a huge mistake for McCain to choose Palin. And Romney doesn't look too sharp in this election either. I hate negative campaigning and Romney is doing a lot of that. So my view on him is getting worse by the day. As Popeye has indicated, Romney hasn't outlined his foreign policies, which actually could impact domestic economy in a big way. At this point, neither candidate look strong to me. Like one of my colleagues said, we may have to choose the lesser evil, instead of a stronger candidate...

BTW, what do you guys think of block vote. I know not many think too highly of it. However, block vote may be the only thing that can get politicians and interest groups to look at minorities. Otherwise, the benefits and the rights of the minorities would be ignored. Asian Americans are most definitely among this group and our interests have been long ignored in Washington.

You're not doing a typo right? "Block vote" meaning voting in blocks and not as individuals, right?

If so, it's only a problem for the side not getting your vote. Here in California I can cite two incidents where the Democrats who rely on block voting had a problem when Asians exercise it. The first was when Republican Matt Fong was against Democrat Barbara Boxer for Caliofrnia's US Senate seat. The Democrats were afraid Asians were going to vote for Matt Fong simply because because he's Asian. You would hear Democrats on talk radio calling anyone voting for someone simply on race as un-American. One even said Asian-Americans should have their citizenship taken away if they vote for simple because he's Asian. Like no one else votes to see their own race who's under-represented get into office? They even had a problem with March Fong Eu, a big Democrat who held state office and Matt Fong's mother, supporting her own son and not Barbara Boxer. Maria Shriver didn't get that kind of criticism supporting her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger up against the Democrat Gray Davis for Governor of California. Whites even democrat ones don't automatically vote for the white name on the ballot up against a foreign name? The fact that Asians voted majority for Boxer in the end shows their fears were based on racism. The second incident was with recently elected Mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee. They used the same tactic because they wanted to divide the Asian voters of San Francisco so that Ed Lee wouldn't get the crucial majority of Asians votes to win because they are the number one minority in San Francisco. Democrats in San Francisco don't like it when Asians come out and vote because they don't want to have to appease to what Asians want and they can have whoever they want in office. Everyone knows everyone else votes as a block for their candidate including other races. The people who have a problem with voting as a block don't believe in democratic rights. Ever watch Gangs of New York? That's the kind of voting they want for Asians where they force you to the voting booth and tell you who to vote for. If someone chooses to vote in a block, that's called the right to choose. Maybe someone is going to complain that's only for abortion rights.

Paul Ryan might end up being a game changer... the guy literally came out of no where. Still wish that more people would take Ron Paul seriously though.

I wouldn't put that much weight on Ryan. His only claim to fame besides being the Republican VP nominee is his economic plan, the one much lauded with it's numerous colors and graphs. The problem is that, assuming Romney picked Ryan for his economic know-how, than he'd be implying that his economic know-how is less than substantial; which would negate any references to his personal success as a citizen. There's also the fact that McCain essentially had picked Palin in '08 to boost his figures, despite the fact that she was a terrible candidate anyways. The same could happen with Ryan, picked for his popularity and not his know-how. For example, Obama could have picked Hilary in '08 and that would have secured him more than likely, even a bigger lead during the election, but instead he opted for Biden who had little press coverage beforehand and was picked more than likely for his foreign policy know-how. Practicality in VPs seem to be superior to Popularity.

Do you guys mean Straight-ticket voting or straight-party voting is the practice of voting for candidates of the same party for multiple positions? That's what I did on the last Presidential election, (Democrat in case you're curious what I voted for). Makes it easier and quicker.

Originally Posted by bd popeye

This thread will be about the 2012 US Presidential and general election of 2012. Thread will allow of course allow politics. Do not open any other political discussions in SDF!

All rules of the forum shall apply to this thread. Particularly this one..

http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/anno...e-read-20.html



No bigoted remarks about Pres. Obama's race or Gov. Romney religion or any other candidates will be tolerated. Be respectful to both and all candidates.

I did not vote for Pres. Obama in 2008. I did and still do not agree with most of his policies and I did not feel he was qualified to be President. 'nuff said.

I'll kick things off.. I've heard Gov Romney speak very little about US Foreign policy. He spend most of his appearances lambasting Pres Obama & speaking about his plans for the US and how to pull the US out of it's economic doldrums.

I know he's for a strong military. Will he reverse the trend of downsizing the US military? Pres. Obama never served in the military and neither has Gov. Romney. That, I do not care for.

I'm of the opinion that VP's figure more in the day to day running of the governmentnow. How prominent was Truman, Nixon, Johnson in their respective administrations when they were VP. Cheney seemed very prominent in Bush jun.Adm.

Obama is a much better choice. Give him another term, he may be able to pull the US out of recession. Romney, I don't see anything good of him. The US and China should cooperate and become an ally, but to do that both sides would need to compromise some. I think it is the only way we can save the world. The US and China actually compliment each other .. of course they are different, but again what's wrong with that ?. Obama understands it .... just he hasn't found a way to do that

Recently I read that Obama had sent an envoy to China that the Chinese respected. He never did that before? Obama was doing what Donald Trump said he would do if he were President and have negotiators that aren't diplomats and play hardball with China. What was the result? Some say the worst Sino/US relations in a long time. I more and more believe Obama just became President so he can put President of the United States on his resume. He wasted the first two years of his term where the Democrats were in control of Congress thinking he was going to win points for being bi-partisan. So now he can't get anything done. When it comes to foreign policy, he's outsourcing it to countries like China where he expects them to carry out his policies like sanctioning Iran. And why did he send an envoy the Chinese respected? Apparently it was to tell the Chinese not be alarmed and interpret upcoming Presidentail campaign rhetoric as a drastic deterioration in relations. Meaning he's going to use China to bash Romney and just in case he wins a second, he didn't want China to misinterpret his anti-China tactics during the campaign. You even see Romney veering away from the anti-China rhetoric because you know he's not going to carry his threats to China he said he was going to implement the first day he's President especially since he's made a lot of money taking advantage of the very things he accuses of China.

Whats Obama's "Pointman" in China ambassador Gary Locke achieved?

Originally Posted by bladerunner

Whats Obama's "Pointman" in China ambassador Gary Locke achieved?

His biography from several sources.:

Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and the current United States Ambassador to China.

Locke was the 21st Governor of Washington, serving from 1997 to 2005. He was the first governor of a state in the Continental United States of Asian descent, and is the only Chinese American ever to serve as a governor.He was then appointed by President Barack Obama as United States Secretary of Commerce which he served as until August 1, 2011, when President Obama appointed Locke Ambassador to China.

Experience: King County deputy prosecutor, 1976-80; Washington state lawmaker, 1982-93; King County executive, 1994-97; Washington state governor, 1997-2005; partner, Davis Wright Tremaine law firm, 2005-2009; secretary of commerce, 2009-present

Education: Bachelor's degree, Yale University, 1972; law degree, Boston University, 1975

Family: Wife, Mona Lee Locke; three children

Timeline

1982: Elected to state House from Seattle's 37th District; for five years, chaired appropriations committee, a job that involves writing and negotiating state budget

1993: Elected King County executive, defeating incumbent Tim Hill; cut budget, expanded transit services, developed nationally acclaimed growth-management plan

1996: Elected governor, defeating Republican Ellen Craswell and becoming nation's first Chinese-American governor

1998: Leads opposition to voter-approved Initiative 200, which prohibited race-based preferences in state hiring, contracting and college admissions; opposes voter-approved Referendum 49, which cut vehicle taxes and pumped $2.4 billion into road construction by shifting money out of general fund

2000: Voters approve two ballot initiatives, to boost teacher salaries and reduce class sizes by hiring more teachers; pushes through Legislature an economic-development package for rural communities; re-elected to second term by defeating Republican John Carlson

2001: Legislature and Locke fail to pass transportation plan; Boeing announces headquarters will move to Chicago, prompting criticism that the governor failed to heed business concerns; creates Washington Competitiveness Council to keep companies

2002: Voters reject Referendum 51, a $7.8 billion roads package, prompting criticism that Locke showed no leadership by pushing for referendum to be placed on ballot.

2003: Delivers Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address; favors cuts over tax increases to deal with projected $2.6 billion budget deficit; proposes $3 billion incentive package to Boeing for 7E7 Dreamliner program

2005: Becomes partner in Davis Wright Tremaine law firm in Seattle

2006: Works to bring Chinese President Hu Jintao to Seattle to meet with state and business leaders

2008: Runs leg of Olympic torch relay in China before Beijing Olympics

2009: Nominated by President Obama to lead Commerce Department (sworn in March 26)

2011: Nominated by Obama for ambassadorship to China

On February 25, 2009, Locke was announced as President Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of Commerce. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on March 24, 2009. Locke was sworn in March 26, 2009, by District judge Richard A. Jones. He was sworn in by President Obama on May 1, 2009. He is the first Chinese American appointed as Secretary of Commerce, and one of three Asian Americans in Obama's cabinet, joining Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the most of any administration. Politico has reported Locke has been a popular cabinet member among both businesses and the executive branch. A declaration of assets made in March 2011 showed Locke to be the sixth-richest official in the US executive branch.

Following the resignation of Jon Huntsman, Jr., Locke was nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. The Senate confirmed him by unanimous consent on July 27, 2011. On August 1, 2011, Locke resigned as Commerce Secretary and took up his new post. A photo of Locke carrying his own backpack and ordering his own coffee at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport went viral on the Sina Weibo social network.

At his first news conference after arrival in Beijing, Locke pledged to promote bilateral cooperation and understanding between the two countries.

Early in Locke's ambassadorship, Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng escaped from house arrest and sought refuge in the US Embassy in Beijing in April 2012. On May 2, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded an apology from the US for its role in the Chen incident. In an editorial on May 4, Beijing Daily questioned Locke's motives by taking in Chen, and described Chen as "a tool and a pawn for American politicians to blacken China

Originally Posted by vesicles

I hate negative campaigning and Romney is doing a lot of that. So my view on him is getting worse by the day.

Uh...I do not believe in the Presidential portion of this race so far that Romney has held a candle to the negativity coming from the Obama camp. It's like that is all they have...and in many ways, due to the failed policies of Obama with respect to the economy...it is.

The Obama campaign has either itself done the following, or condoned its surrogated who have:

- Called Romeny a Tax evading Felon. (Come on, had he done this, the IRS would have been all over him long ago, he's far too high profile)
- Insinuated that Romney was directly responsible for a steel worker's wife's death when Romney left Bain Capitol 2 years before the comany failed, and the woman died four years after that...and when she had her own insurance after the man lost his. Even the Washington Post called the ad a completely fabricate story.
- Said that the Romney camp is for dirty air and dirty water for America.
- Said that the Romney camp wants children with Down's Syndrome to suffer.
- Put out ads showing Ryan wheeling an elderly lady off a cliff in a wheel chair.
- Said that the Romney/Ryan economic plan (which is a plan that will stop deficit spending and balance the budget) will deny current elderly people their medicare when in fact the plan specifically does not do anything to the current plans for anyone 55 or over, but only begins (in a staged fashion) altering and fixing the plan for those under age 55 in a fashion where it is economically sustainable.

When ROmney and Ryan correctly point out that Obama himself took 7 billion out of Medicare two years ago to help fund ObamaCare...they say he is fabricating that, when in fact there is video of Obama admitting it himself.

Anyhow, I think at this Presidential level the clear negative campaign is being run by Obama. Go after a man's record and stance on the issues factually...that's okay and not a dirty campaign. If the person's record and stance is bad, then that is what it is and it is not negative to point that out...but to call a man a felonious tax evader when he is not, to say he was directly responsible for the death of that woman, to say he is going to ignore and hurt the Elderly when his plan does no such thing, and to make statements like Romney/Ryan being in favor of dirty air and water, or for having down's syndrom children suffer is just about as far in the dirt as you can get...and, IMHO, it is the indication of how desperate Obama is.

Romney has some pretty specific plans and stances on the issues on his web site for anyone to see:

Mitt Romney on the Issues

Anyhow...you kind of hit on one of my hot buttons...I'll step back from the keyboard now.

Here in Europe the majority of the people will love the US president if he's a Democrat and they will hate the US president if he's a Republican. Personally i don't see much difference between the policies of Barack Obama and George W. Bush. And i somehow doubt the Mitt Romney will be any different.

And as for Gary Locke is being the ambassador to China a step up for him than being the commerce secretary ? And he's predecessor Jon Huntsman was the governor of Utah is it a step up for him to be the ambassador to China than being a governor ?

And as for Gary Locke is being the ambassador to China a step up for him than being the commerce secretary ?

Yes it was a step up for him. Remember he resigned as Secretary of Commerce to be the US Ambassador to China.