Thread: Obamas' Night Out

just because I like y'all so much, I'm gonna divulge a little secret:

Obama is an elitist, self-serving douche. GW Bush was an elitist, self-serving douche.

EVERY POLITICIAN, with depressingly few exceptions, is an elitist, self-serving douche. They are not there to look out for you. They are not there to make the country a better place. They are there to get re-elected. That's it. They will lie, cheat and steal to do it. They will behave selfishly and short-sightedly if there is some benefit to it. Left and Right have nothing to do with it.

Truth is stranger than fiction; Jockeys and I share the exact same sentiment save for the douche part. I leave the actions of those in power to reveal their true nature as human beings.

Chris L

My challenge to that opinion is always 'so why don't -you- try to do it better'.
Realistically, you won't have a shot at the presidency, but anyone willing to do grunt work can achieve something in local government. And if you're good / savvy enough, you will get some amount of power to use or abuse.

I don't think most politicians are evil. I think most of them just try to do their job, just like most systems administrators They have their vision of how things should be run, and then use whatever means possible to change things to fit that vision.

To be fair: I do the same. When I took co-control over the production network, there were dozens of domain admins, and many people had far reaching permissions. Fast forward 2 years later, and there are only 2 domain admins left, noone with local admin passwords, and noone with more permissions than they should have to do their actual job.

It didn't make me very popular with some people, but now things are starting to run the way I think they should be run.
There are not just needs of the individuals, but also needs of the system and the collective. In my case, my objective is surviving an FDA audit and making sure that people don't smurf up the network.

Originally Posted by jockeys

Obama is an elitist, self-serving douche. GW Bush was an elitist, self-serving douche..

You know what jockeys, we frequently disagree, but of all the things I've ever seen you post, I think that is the one I agree with more than anything else, and one of the most "on point" comments I've seen. I'm serious about that, no sarcasm involved.


Now, I didn't vote for the man, but it was a very close decision for me. So close in fact, that I really wasn't concerned who won. (not because I liked both candidates so much, but because I disliked them both so much)

I think that what has a lot of people upset, about this and a lot of his other actions, is that he campaigned on a platform of change; and he's been a typical party-line, completely partisan, completely out of touch with regular people, president. Just like Bush, and Clinton, and Bush Sr., and Reagan, and Carter, and almost every other president we've ever had.

People wanted different, and they're not getting it.

When I voted for Bush for his second term, I knew EXACTLY what I was voting for (a mediocre to terrible president who would do slightly less damage than I believed his opponent would) and I got it. In fact, he did accomplish a few good things in between all the damage, so he exceeded my expectations

A lot of people who voted for Obama, are NOT getting what they voted for.

I agree with you, Bruno. For me it's truly a dilemma. It's true, you'll never know until you try and you'll never contribute to honest change unless you try.

I try very hard to be an optimist rather than a pessimist. To be truthful, I would probably have to admit that on many things I do tend to be a pessimistic person.

The dilemma lies in the blend of real and perceived adversity for an honest person looking out for the citizens of this country rather than special interests using our system as a means to exploit and profit from at the expense and on the dime of taxpayers. Is the "establishment" large, but innocuous? Meaning, is the current system and its backers behind the scenes successful and in power only because the right individual hasn't put themselves out there? If that "right person" did put themselves out there and won the support of the populace, would the establishment and those in power give him/her a hearty collective handshake, pat him/her on the back with admiration, readily step aside, go away and let that person start repairing what is broken in this country and even bring predecessors to task in instances that may warrant such correction or even punishment?

I'd like to think it would work that way. I really would.

Chris L

I share Jockeys' and ChrisL's thoughts, and think Bruno's got an interesting point. However, being convinced that every politician is a lying two-timing scumbag, doesn't that make me one too if I'd go into local politics?

Well, maybe I already am one, but I just need to make that final step and go into politics.

Originally Posted by jockeys

just because I like y'all so much, I'm gonna divulge a little secret:

Obama is an elitist, self-serving douche. GW Bush was an elitist, self-serving douche.

EVERY POLITICIAN, with depressingly few exceptions, is an elitist, self-serving douche. They are not there to look out for you. They are not there to make the country a better place. They are there to get re-elected. That's it. They will lie, cheat and steal to do it. They will behave selfishly and short-sightedly if there is some benefit to it. Left and Right have nothing to do with it.

So you're one of dem dere op-to-mists, are ya?

Originally Posted by billyjeff2

So you're one of dem dere op-to-mists, are ya?

I'm a realist, for better or for worse. I expect politicians to be greedy pandering jackasses because they usually are. One rare occasions, I'm pleasantly surprised by one that isn't, but that sure hasn't happened recently.

Originally Posted by joesixpack

Maybe he should have taken her on that date in Detroit. $30 grand would have been a nice injection into the local economy. I don't think DC would have missed that money, as most of it probably came from lobbyists

We will take every penny we can get.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I don't see the problem.
Ok, the guy has money. So what if he spends 30K in one go? McCain has oodles and oodles of money more than him, and probably spends some chunks of it at one time or another. It's their money. Since when is someone not allowed anymore to spend his money accodring to his own wishes because someone else has less? That almost sounds like commie talk
Any money he spends goes into the economy. Spending it is more useful than keeping it stuffed in a mattress.

How about the RADicts here showing off their Livis? The only razors I can afford are those I restore or make myself. Should the RADdicts feel bad for showing off stuff that -I- cannot possibly afford?

I don't think so.

And seeing as the economy was already tanking during his campaign, I don't think it's his fault that the detroit auto workers are out of a job. That blame lies somewhere else entirely.

I am really sick of hearing how the GM workers got screwed...which ones - the fork-lift driver with a High School education who is making $80K a year becasue he is in the Union? Hummer was just sold to the Chinese - that vehicle is the poster child for what is wrong with Detroit. I had a Cadillac as a loaner car once - great engine, but the fit and finish was nothing to rave about - so why the extra $$$?

Also, it should be noted that the President cannot refuse Secret Service protection...if his life is in danger and he refuses to move, the Secret Service will forcibly move him. If Obama had flown to Detroit, very little of the $$$ spent would have gone into the local economy...

I marvel at the Conservatives condemning a wealthy man for spending money...why, it smacks of "socialism"!!! Gasp!

When was the last time we elected a "common man" to the White House, someone who was not from the elite?

The only two of any merit I can recall are Lincoln and Truman.

The current crisis is the result of greed - pure and simple - greed on the part of people who couldn't give a rat's a$$ about this country as a nation or its citizens. They wanted to line their pockets and their buddies in DC helped them. How else would someone be rewarded for driving companies into the ground? If any of us "common folk" performed the same way at work, we'd be out on our ears.

These people make me understand the French and their use of the guillotine in the 1790's.