The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

Jet Gorgon

Aww. I think you're just jealous you picked the wrong industry to work in.

Hootad Binky

If you have any spare licenses to steal, pm me I could use one (or two)...

Norton

And 78% think neither should drop out. Wonder how many Dems think McCain should drop out?

Jet Gorgon

You pass Series 7 and Series 16, honey, and I'll find one for ya.

chinthee

Obama, Clinton offer economic plans

Obama, Clinton offer economic plans - Yahoo! News

This is the classic Democrat vs. Republican debate. Hands-off Republicanism vs. increased regulation and government interference. Good governing to handle this economic crisis requires a delicate balance of both.

I generally agree with Obama that increased regulatory attention is needed, but am always concerned of it going too far.

chinthee

Clinton Struggling With Her Likability Problem

Clinton Struggling With Her Likability Problem - Yahoo! News

Boon Mee

It's Panic Time for the Dems...heh

Party Fears Tight Obama-Clinton Finish

chinthee

Obama says Clinton should keep running

Obama says Clinton should keep running - Yahoo! News

This democratic primary is the best comedy I've seen in years. First Clinton says to Obama "I'll let you be my VP if you relinquish." Then, Obama starts kicking her ass and looks like the clear winner; lots of people are telling her to call it quits, and Obama takes the high road and tells her not to quit. Class act and he wins the brinksmanship.

Next thing, Clinton starts calling foul based on sexism. The only way this can get better is if Clinton fights this all the way to the convention and the Dems completely self-destruct and McCain just cruises to victory. The democrats deserve it if they let that happen.

sabang

Agreed- he's a clever Politician, for sure.

Interesting article from Paul Krugman in the NY Times:-

Loans and Leadership

When George W. Bush first ran for the White House, political reporters assured us that he came across as a reasonable, moderate guy.

Yet those of us who looked at his policy proposals — big tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization — had a very different impression. And we were right.

The moral is that it’s important to take a hard look at what candidates say about policy.....

Which brings me to the latest big debate: how should we respond to the mortgage crisis? In the last few days John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have all weighed in. And their proposals arguably say a lot about the kind of president each would be.

Mr. McCain is often referred to as a “maverick” and a “moderate,” assessments based mainly on his engaging manner. But his speech on the economy was that of an orthodox, hard-line right-winger.

But I was even more struck by Mr. McCain’s declaration that “our financial market approach should include encouraging increased capital in financial institutions by removing regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital.”

These days, even free-market enthusiasts are talking about increased regulation of securities firms now that the Fed has shown that it will rush to their rescue if they get into trouble. But Mr. McCain is selling the same old snake oil, claiming that deregulation and tax cuts cure all ills.

Hillary Clinton’s speech could not have been more different.

True, Mrs. Clinton’s suggestion that she might convene a high-level commission, including Alan Greenspan — who bears a lot of responsibility for this crisis — had echoes of the excessively comfortable relationship her husband’s administration developed with the investment industry. But the substance of her policy proposals on mortgages, like that of her health care plan, suggests a strong progressive sensibility.

Maybe the most notable contrast between Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton involves the problem of restructuring mortgages. Mr. McCain called for voluntary action on the part of lenders — that is, he proposed doing nothing. Mrs. Clinton wants a modern version of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, the New Deal institution that acquired the mortgages of people whose homes were worth less than their debts, then reduced payments to a level the homeowners could afford.

Finally, Barack Obama’s speech on the economy on Thursday followed the cautious pattern of his earlier statements on economic issues.

I was pleased that Mr. Obama came out strongly for broader financial regulation, which might help avert future crises. But his proposals for aid to the victims of the current crisis, though significant, are less sweeping than Mrs. Clinton’s: he wants to nudge private lenders into restructuring mortgages rather than having the government simply step in and get the job done.

Mr. Obama also continues to make permanent tax cuts — middle-class tax cuts, to be sure — a centerpiece of his economic plan. It’s not clear how he would pay both for these tax cuts and for initiatives like health care reform, so his tax-cut promises raise questions about how determined he really is to pursue a strongly progressive agenda.

Mr. McCain, we’re told, is a straight-talking maverick. But on domestic policy, he offers neither straight talk nor originality; instead, he panders shamelessly to right-wing ideologues.

Mrs. Clinton, we’re assured by sources right and left, tortures puppies and eats babies. But her policy proposals continue to be surprisingly bold and progressive.
Finally, Mr. Obama is widely portrayed, not least by himself, as a transformational figure who will usher in a new era. But his actual policy proposals, though liberal, tend to be cautious and relatively orthodox.

Do these policy comparisons really tell us what each candidate would be like as president? Not necessarily — but they’re the best guide we have.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/op...html?th&emc=th

__________________
To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.

Boon Mee

Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills

Looks like it's over for her...'bout time

Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills - Kenneth P. Vogel - Politico.com

raycarey

agreed. let's start focusing on obama and mccain.

which will also give time to the media to start focusing on the 70 + year old cancer patient with a junkie wife (also a homewrecker btw) who thinks he deserves to be president even though his only claim to fame is that his plane got shot down (for at least the third time) and he betrayed his country.

Milkman

^ and ^^

Obama is also 10 points higher in the Democratic polls.

No link for this, but it's on several sites. Polls can change but it's more strength for Obama who's in the delegate lead.

Obama vs. McCain would be good, for my bias.

I am for Obama.

Hootad Binky

I don't think McCain has really benefited all that much from all the fur flying with the Dems because the focus has been overwhelmingly on them and Obama's likely coronation will be the icing on the cake. Not only that but McCain's platform is not that exciting because it's not that different from Bush's.

As Wilde said, "There's only one thing worse than being talked about..."

When's Pennsylvania again?

__________________
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone elses opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. -Oscar Wilde

KID

KETTLE AND POT ?????

__________________
Grandpappy told my pappy, back in my day, son
A man had to answer for the wicked that he done
Take all the rope in Texas
Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys
Hang them high in the street for all the people to see

raycarey

^ i've (yet) to sign any documents renouncing my country.

and mccain?

Bugs

Indeed - the blue party is singing the blues -
They don't know if they should vote for the "Nut" with two boobs, or the "Boob" with two nuts.

Boon Mee

Best campaign poster yet. We got one commie, one socialist and one hand who's strong on national defense running and they basically all suck...

blackgang

I like that idea, only thing is, what ya gonna train em for??
NAFTA done gave all the jobs away and what didn't go south was shipped away on outsourcing so there is nothing left to retrain em to do except live under a bridge and wipe car windows at stop lights and maybe the driver will toss em a dime..

Milkman

I think all three are Neo-Liberals.

All 3 cater to the:

Military-Industrial Complex (MIC)

Big Pharma

AIPAC

Any other lobbyist groups/association groups with money

Big Business


But I do agree with...."who cares 08."

Milkman

Now Hillary is comparing herself to Rocky Balboa. I'm tuning out for a while. It's too stupid.

Clinton likens herself to 'Rocky' - Yahoo! News