1. Democrats' response, when Ralph Nader is compared to their Presidential candidate: "The perfect should not be the enemy of the good."
2. Democrats' response, when reminded of the similarities between the two candidates of the two major parties: "Well, I'm voting for lesser of the two evils."
In the mind of Democrats, their candidate is simultaneously "good" as well as "the lesser evil." It must take an extraordinary feat of mental gymnastics to accommodate these two positions at the same time.
Holy Batman!! I just figured out who the Democratic candidate is.
If you still haven't registered to vote in Massachusetts, today is the last day if you want to vote on November 4. More information at the Elections Division.
-
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Shifting Goalposts
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
That's nothing! You should see how people rationalize their mating decisions... :)
Yo Amit,
i haven't thought much about the election, since i don't have the vote anyways, but just read this good essay for BO. If you read his blog, you'll see Ran is not your garden variety "democrat" by any means ..
http://ranprieur.com/essays/obama.html
my fav -- "Why does a vote for the American president have to be deep statement of your personal values? It's not a fucking tattoo". :) .
Chaitanya
Der: Ha ha ha. That was a good one.
Chaitanya: Thanks, it was an interesting read, but nothing that I haven't heard before and I remain unconvinced by his arguments. Ironically enough, the line you found favorite could easily be applied to Ran's essay and his arguments to vote for Obama too - it cuts both ways. :)
Besides, isn't voting the best opportunity to make a statement of one's personal values? If it's not, then maybe Ran should consider voting for McCain or Barr. I just don't like this bordering-on-fundamentalist, almost monotheistic tone taken by some progressive Democrats - let people vote for whoever they want to. In the grand scheme of things, possibly the "fringe" has a role to play too.
What he forgets is that the US does not decide Presidential elections based on popular vote, but on electoral college. As a result, voting for Obama or McCain in any slam-dunk state other than the 8-12 swing/close states is wasting one's vote. I'd rather my vote helped a third party whose platform I believe in, build up its base and reach the 5% votes to get public funds next time around.
Amit, thanks. Interesting angle about voting in a slam dunk state. you got a point there. although, if too many people vote on that argument, you might just turn yours into a swing state :).
..although, if too many people vote on that argument, you might just turn yours into a swing state
Chaitanya: My decision is based on the analysis that as of today, Obama has a 20 point lead over McCain in Massachusetts. So I'll need some data to corroborate your hypothesis above, otherwise we can keep on doing such recursive analysis, like the elephant holding up the earth, and the tortoise holding up the elephant and so on. :)
As for other slam-dunk states, it's for the residents of those states to decide. I can only speak for myself and Massachusetts where I vote.
Post a Comment
This is a personal blog, and I will likely delete any comments that I find discourteous, inappropriate or off-topic.
Instead of posting anonymously, please consider using a handle or pseudonym, as that makes it easier to respond. Thanks.