tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post2241665161430737808..comments2024-03-27T07:18:39.229-05:00Comments on In Medias Res: Help Me Like the Man who Will Probably be Our Next President, EverybodyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-84234474803308741162012-02-05T18:56:04.152-06:002012-02-05T18:56:04.152-06:00I nearly voted for Obama back in 2008. Not that I ...I nearly voted for Obama back in 2008. Not that I "liked" him much, but he just seemed the lesser of two evils. McCain made me feel uneasy because he seemed prone to violence and war. I was afraid he might want to exact vengeance on somebody for the wrongs that were done to him as a prisoner of war. Besides, he comes from a multi-generational military family, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but like the old saying goes, "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."<br /><br />So anyhow, I was about to vote for Obama, because I figured he'd be more likely to prolong peace. However, when the time came to vote, I didn't because by the time voting began I could just sense Obama was going win no matter which way I voted. It turns out I was right. Anyhow, Obama has done as I expected. He has kept us out of a world war so far. The next president probably won't be so lucky. So is this presidency going to be "a particularly baleful time for the country?" I would answer, "Yes." Also, I don't think it will make any difference who the next president is, although I agree with your assessment; Romney most likely will win both the Republican nomination and ultimately defeat Obama for the Presidency.John Petersonhttp://noblenarcissist.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-25631660133815681462011-10-26T12:06:03.231-05:002011-10-26T12:06:03.231-05:00I don't think the fact that Romney adapts his ...I don't think the fact that Romney adapts his message to his audience is a knock. I think that makes him an effective politician. In order to stay in the game, you need to be a decent decision-maker so that you have a good track record, you need to present views and a public self that are consistent with what the majority of the voting public (be they Massachusetts constituents or all registered US citizens) thinks or wants, and you need to have those two selves - the governing self and the campaigning self - not be so different from one another as to seem like a flip-flopping phony. <br /><br />Romney seems to have never presented himself as anything other than what he is: a moderate Republican. I think he also has a pretty good track record of keeping businesses and state governments afloat and/or growing them, and of not zealously destroying social programs or persecuting minorities and the poor in the way that many pro-business Republicans sadly do. He'd definitely convey to the global markets a much-needed sense of stability. So, from what I can gather so far, he seems as likely as anyone to help get the economy back on track without slashing social programs. <br /><br />First time reading your blog. Very interesting and informative!Elliotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-35710240534463295022011-10-19T01:19:06.451-05:002011-10-19T01:19:06.451-05:00Come on Russ! He's the King of the Olympics an...Come on Russ! He's the King of the Olympics and he has the perfect smile. You're gonna love this guy as president:)Badenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11971386762291001799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-44699272734704641252011-10-13T11:01:52.227-05:002011-10-13T11:01:52.227-05:00Why is it necessary that you like Romnney?
One ne...Why is it necessary that you like Romnney?<br /><br />One needn't like a man to pray that he be blessed in his role as chief magistrate of your people, which is all that Christian duty requires of you.<br /><br />-Adam G.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-46062477776280650952011-10-13T06:05:46.628-05:002011-10-13T06:05:46.628-05:00I could possibly have hoped for Mitt Romney, the g...I could possibly have hoped for Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts, to become president, but his adapting his views to fit his audience, as you so kindly put it, doesn't let me hope for him. <br /><br />For me though, there is one potentially bright spot related to your last paragraph. Having a Mormon as the President of the United States would make a difference in the church's image worldwide. I think that could be a good thing, especially in countries where the Church is almost unknown or thought of as really weird. I'm not talking about people joining the Church because of him or anything silly like that, but simply that it might become a little easier for the Church to move forward in some countries.<br /><br />Too bad Huntsman won't be the Mormon doing that. I'd prefer him out of the Mormon candidates.Amirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15927123661243654972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-15613092423436270682011-10-13T03:10:03.608-05:002011-10-13T03:10:03.608-05:00Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A ma...Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.<br />How I also wish you could link us up to better jobs sites<br />allot are really in pains, modern day slavery for a job<br />Great Opportunity to get international Jobs specially Nigerian citizens must check this site <a href="http://www.oil-offshore-marine.com/why-register-on-our-oil-careers-website.php" rel="nofollow">Offshore Industry Job</a> opportunityAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-68525456381930563922011-10-12T21:52:50.642-05:002011-10-12T21:52:50.642-05:00I don't think he, or any other GOP nominee, wi...I don't think he, or any other GOP nominee, will beat Obama. And I don't much like Obama politically. In any event, I don't think there's anything to "like" about a hypocritical, out-of-touch billionaire who believes that the "business model" is the best paradigm for operating a democratic government. Sorry I couldn't be more help.Matt J Stannardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16236787482565862733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-83656803032321265592011-10-12T16:49:02.034-05:002011-10-12T16:49:02.034-05:00I find it easy to find something positive to say a...I find it easy to find something positive to say about our leaders. I have children and I dislike the idea of only criticizing the President of the United States and then hoping that my children have any respect for authority.<br />When Obama won, I had a lot of good things to say like:<br />1. I think he will do his best to be the best President he can be. I think he cares about our country.<br />2. This is a great day. We have an African American president of the United States. This will mean a lot to generations of black children who need role models.<br />When Obama gave a back to school speech on education, I told my children that I was glad that the President of the United States wanted to encourage children to learn and work hard in school.<br />It takes practice, but I guess I'm a glass half full kind of person. I think it makes the world a better place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-27792790306036786822011-10-12T11:46:51.165-05:002011-10-12T11:46:51.165-05:00Baleful times you will always have with you. But ...Baleful times you will always have with you. But it's wildly unlikely that a Romney presidency would be the catastrophe that the W presidency was; and probably eventually the US will return to economic growth, which suggests that 2013-17 won't be as bad in human welfare terms as 2009-13 will have been.<br /><br />Feel better? Just keep saying "regression to the mean, not path dependence" to yourself over and over.Jacob T. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02575549001627195334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-66879359106150331522011-10-12T11:37:03.264-05:002011-10-12T11:37:03.264-05:00Jacob and Law,
You're both thinking I'm a...Jacob and Law,<br /><br />You're both thinking I'm asking about personal affection. I suppose that's part of it, but mostly it isn't, or at least I hope it isn't. I don't think I'm looking for "liking the president of the United States" in that sense; how could I justify any kind of personal identification with a politician so distant and removed from, and so thoroughly mediated in the way he or she is presented to, my life? (Not that it doesn't happen anyway, as Jacob notes; advertising exists because it works.) But more generally, it's along the lines of, I "want some sort of assurance" that I needn't presume that his presidency is going to be a particularly baleful time for the country. Can you help me out with that?Russell Arben Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03366800726360134194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-8305138140523696382011-10-12T11:20:20.013-05:002011-10-12T11:20:20.013-05:00What exactly do you mean by "like"? Do ...What exactly do you mean by "like"? Do you want to like him personally? Do you want to be persuaded that he is going to be a beneficent influence? Are you feeling apocalyptic about the prospect of a Republican president and want some sort of assurance that the world won't end? I'm not sure what you are longing for.Law Talkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06361704477074285477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7907752.post-9918983568812749402011-10-12T10:57:15.720-05:002011-10-12T10:57:15.720-05:00What's so great about liking one's rulers?...What's so great about liking one's rulers? <br /><br />Of all the presidents in my lifetime, Obama has been the only one I "liked"-- the only one whose appearance on my TV screen inspires a positive affective response rather than a negative one. (I warmed to Reagan over time, and warmed to Clinton basically after he was out of office, but over their terms basically disliked each more than I liked each.) But I don't think anything in my life goes better for liking the president of the United States, and I don't really have a second-order preference that I find the next one likable.<br /><br />Liking the powerful doesn't do you any good. The president isn't your friend, and your ability to impartially evaluate the content of what the president does isn't helped by emotionally mixing up your relationship to him. The only real effect of liking in this context is sour-grapes adaptive preferences: you learn to falsely identify the president's choices with your own.<br /><br />Retain your oppositional critical distance! Refuse to give in to your tribal genetic code that tells you the person with power over you is somehow your kin! Sapere aude!Jacob T. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02575549001627195334noreply@blogger.com