ralper

Deb

I am the initiator of this thread and I am torn. I am very disappointed in this thread, and I don't like some of the things that I am seeing, but on the other hand, I don't believe in closing threads when there is a discussion going on. It is my opinion that there is still more to be said, but unfortunately, it will be said in a distasteful way.

You have always been fair in your approach and considerate of the discussion. You make the decision. However you decide is fine with me.

I am disappointed in this thread. I am very disappointed.

MsPerky

Hmmmm...I really need to go back and read the whole thing before I can make a decision. My approach has always been not to close a thread unless absolutely necessary to preserve the spirit of the Vintage forum - one of civility and respect. If we've lost that here, I don't have a choice.

drewchie

If I offended anyone with my earlier comments, I do apologize. When I said that voting for Bush was stupid, I didn't mean to say that YOU were stupid. I'm not stupid and yet I do stupid things all the time. Take some of my more memorable posts...

In all seriousness...

Julie: I genuinely don't think anyone was trying to insult you personally. I certainly wasn't. If anything I wrote felt like a personal attack, I sincerely apologize. It was absolutely not my intention. While the opinions you and Bill express are frequently contrary to my own, they're well explained and deeply founded. I and I'm sure 99% of my fellow "liberals" respect that as well as your absolute right to hold those opinions. Not all who voted Republican (nor all those who voted Democrat) based their decisions on facts and reason.

I think you're right about this country... we survived Clinton, so I guess we'll survive Bush.

Hillary in '08!

RedY2KS2k

I've been an "anyone but Bush" for several years. I am disappointed that I'll have to listen to sound bites on the 6 o'clock news for 4 more years from a man who can't pronounce "nuclear." (Although I understand that his handlers got him to say it right a few times during the debates.)

But guess what. The sun came up this morning; the day's work went just like any other; my tennis game went just like most of them over the last couple of years: I had fun even though I played badly. The net effect of the election on my life was roughly equivalent to a mosquito bite: a minor irritation, but nothing to worry about.

paS2K

Rob, I think this thread re-affirms that there is a deep divide within the country. Remember that the Vintage Poll was (much to my surprise) 50/50 when I closed it?

Without putting additional labels on folks, I think it's fair to say that each side thinks the other is waaaaaay off base.....and ain't about to yield any position. I know that's how I feel....that the other side was just more clever in their 'spin' and used 'hot buttons' to great advantage.

I would also recommend that you close the thread. It's an honorable thing to do. Everyone (who is interested) has had a chance to voice their opinion several times.

valentine

Excerpt from President George Washington's Farewell address: [regarding political parties]

"All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and Associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the Constituted authorities are destructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to Organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force--to put in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party; often a small but artful and enterprizing minority of the Community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public Administration the Mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the Organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or Associations of the above description may now & then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People, & to usurp for themselves the reins of Government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

ralper

A final thought, from this mornings NY Times editorial,


"Mr. Bush could be that leader. He could be the uniter he promised to be, then failed to become, four years ago. He could put an end to a period in national history when too many people go to the polls on Election Day convinced that victory for the other side would mean disaster for the nation. A lot of voters felt that way on Tuesday, and now Mr. Bush has the chance to show them they were wrong."

MsPerky

^ On that note by the originator of this thread, I am closing it. Several members ask that it be closed, and I think it's pretty much run its course. Please remember, when posting in Vintage, to criticize the message, not the messenger. Thanks...