And Bachmann wins the Iowa straw poll - yikes!

[colt13]

Ol' Crazy Eyes doesn't have a shot to win the presidency. Right now, the republican front runners are a guy who threatened to secede Texas from the union, a guy who would reduce the Federal Government to tin cans & string, and this woman. The Democrats had better not fuck this windfall up.

There are 14 trillion reasons why Obama might mess this up. Admittedly, I wish a CEO type like Trump could win(but not him). CEO's aren't out to make friends, but can make tough decisions unlike Obama. Sadly, the things that make them great in business lead them to excess in their personal lives with wives and mistresses, so the type I want can't get elected. So you get stuck with the Bachmann types. I do think the VP slot will energize the Republican ticket, possible Haley or Jindal getting the spot.

[Buzzard]

Jindal would be a VERY interesting choice. I'm hoping that Perry doesnt get the nod but I'll vote for him if that's the case. Romney/Jindal would PISS OFF the fundies though...

[LynnKaboom]

There are 14 trillion reasons why Obama might mess this up. Admittedly, I wish a CEO type like Trump could win(but not him). CEO's aren't out to make friends, but can make tough decisions unlike Obama. Sadly, the things that make them great in business lead them to excess in their personal lives with wives and mistresses, so the type I want can't get elected. So you get stuck with the Bachmann types. I do think the VP slot will energize the Republican ticket, possible Haley or Jindal getting the spot.

I was talking to my friends the other day and we all pretty much agreed that Bill Gates would make an excellent president. Too bad he probably has no interest in the job.

[Guest Anonymous]

I was talking to my friends the other day and we all pretty much agreed that Bill Gates would make an excellent president. Too bad he probably has no interest in the job.

I can think of quite a few people that I believe would do a great job at being president. Unfortunately I'm sure that none of them want to do it!

There's a Douglas Adams quote that goes something like - "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."

Which is funny because it's dark and often kind of true.

[doggie]

Of course the best politician the non politician. Anymore most are corrupt one way or another. Either they are paid for or they are morally corrupt like our current Republican contenders. but they use god to corrupt them.

[Austin]

I would not want a president who displays the compassion, or lack thereof, of the average CEO. CEOs make decisions based upon money only for the most part. While they have every right to make money, they should not do it on the backs of working people. I know that's what republicans want, but that's one of the main reasons I'm not republican any more.

It is a myth that people that are good at business are good at everything. I've seen it happen over and over in education. People say, "what needs to happen is that schools need to be run like businesses!" and so they hire MBAs and retired CEOs and they fall flat on their faces. The Dean of Discipline at my husband's school, a retired CEO, lasted one year and resigned this summer. Schools are not businesses; they are about people and people are messy.

Here is one businessman's epiphany on the subject: http://teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/j ... -a-lesson/

So I don't fall all over myself at the thought of a successful businessman becoming president. Actually, I am much more concerned about who I am sending to congress and the senate to represent me and my state than I am who is president these days.

[dawn9476]

There are 14 trillion reasons why Obama might mess this up. Admittedly, I wish a CEO type like Trump could win(but not him). CEO's aren't out to make friends, but can make tough decisions unlike Obama. Sadly, the things that make them great in business lead them to excess in their personal lives with wives and mistresses, so the type I want can't get elected. So you get stuck with the Bachmann types. I do think the VP slot will energize the Republican ticket, possible Haley or Jindal getting the spot.

Sorry but the last thing this country needs it to be run like a Wal-Mart. To say the country should be run by a CEO is just playing into the GOP's philosophy of government. The GOP wants this country to be run like a company. That's why they are in favor of privatizing everything and having little or no rules for business.

[dawn9476]

I would not want a president who displays the compassion, or lack thereof, of the average CEO. CEOs make decisions based upon money only for the most part. While they have every right to make money, they should not do it on the backs of working people. I know that's what republicans want, but that's one of the main reasons I'm not republican any more.

It is a myth that people that are good at business are good at everything. I've seen it happen over and over in education. People say, "what needs to happen is that schools need to be run like businesses!" and so they hire MBAs and retired CEOs and they fall flat on their faces. The Dean of Discipline at my husband's school, a retired CEO, lasted one year and resigned this summer. Schools are not businesses; they are about people and people are messy.

Here is one businessman's epiphany on the subject: http://teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/j ... -a-lesson/

So I don't fall all over myself at the thought of a successful businessman becoming president. Actually, I am much more concerned about who I am sending to congress and the senate to represent me and my state than I am who is president these days.

Yep. Pretty much most of all Charter schools run by a corporation that really has no business being in education are jokes. They are in it for is to get the tax money for their business and to make kids of the working class suffer.

[Austin]

Yep. Pretty much most of all Charter schools run by a corporation that really has no business being in education are jokes. They are in it for is to get the tax money for their business and to make kids of the working class suffer.

My husband is teaching at a charter school after 35 years in public schools, and the two don't even begin to compare. And he taught at a socioeconomically-challenged public school for almost his entire career. This charter is one of many which are part of the largest charter school corporation in the country. They prey on ESL people. This summer, since numbers were down a bit, they went out into the Hispanic community, attending their cultural events, carnivals and street fairs. They convince parents that the charter school is better and present it as a tuition-free private "academy".

So with a school of 600 students, with approximately 55-60% of them being ESL Hispanic children, guess how many ESL teachers they hired? One. And there is one part-time translator. They do not serve these children, they are simply walking dollar signs. If they score poorly on standardized tests over three years and the state shuts them down, they just buy up another empty storefront and start another. No skin off their noses.

School choice? It makes me sick.

What makes sense on paper does not always serve people well and capitalism and its principles are not a panacea to this country's problems.

[shesinsane]

In the US, black men got the right to vote in 1866. White (and black, brown, etc) women got the right to vote in 1920. I think the country would prefer to follow a black man versus a white woman.

[keeperrox]

I am not an Obama supporter. I did not vote for him in 2008, as I typically vote for a 3rd party candidate, even though I know it really doesn't matter since it's not a major party. I WILL vote for him in 2012 if Bachmann is the Republican running against him.

[daharyn]

Jindal would be a VERY interesting choice. I'm hoping that Perry doesnt get the nod but I'll vote for him if that's the case. Romney/Jindal would PISS OFF the fundies though...

Oooh, I hadn't even thought of Jindal. Fascinating idea. Horrible, but fascinating.

[changemanagement]

A former CEO was elected as governor for the state of Michigan. Business likes him a lot. I haven't been impressed. Cut business taxes. Promotes Emergency Financial Managers, who can discard elected officials. Makes dramatic cuts in social services and environmental protections.

Yep a former CEO as president would be that x 10.

[longskirtlotsakids]

In the US, black men got the right to vote in 1866. White (and black, brown, etc) women got the right to vote in 1920. I think the country would prefer to follow a black man versus a white woman.

I agree. the fact that all the women "hopefuls" paraded by thr right have been sweet little good Christian wives, and theat Hilary was backstabbed by her own party, lead me to agree with this. The US may pretend to want a woman president, but only one that wil what the men will tell her to.

If they DO elect a woman president, will they cut her pay 70% to reflect the current status of US wage discrepancy between men and women workers?

[Petunia117]

Ever heard of the Bradley Effect? White voters that say they're going to vote for a minority, but when they're actually in the voting booth, they just can't bring themselves to do it?

I think the "novelty" of a black President has worn off. But if there's a ticket with a woman as President and an Indian man as VP? I firmly believe there will be a portion of otherwise-conservative voters who think a woman can't handle it and that Jindal may have ties to al Qaeda, and then they'll either vote for Obama (whose race no longer seems all that shocking to them anymore) or a third-party candidate.

[LynnKaboom]

In the US, black men got the right to vote in 1866. White (and black, brown, etc) women got the right to vote in 1920. I think the country would prefer to follow a black man versus a white woman.

I dunno, if the white woman in question is Michelle Bachmann, I'd rather follow just about anyone or anything else.

[dawn9476]

In the US, black men got the right to vote in 1866. White (and black, brown, etc) women got the right to vote in 1920. I think the country would prefer to follow a black man versus a white woman.

Black Men may have gotten the right to vote in 1866 but their vote was suppressed for several decades in a lot of country because of Jim Crow laws that made it harder for them to vote.

[Austin]

I just heard on a re-cast of one of the cable news networks on Jon Stewart that Rick Perry's family is so close and trust one another so much that his father-in-law did his vasectomy :shock:

Wonder how that bit of news will go over with the fundies?. . . surely God will never bless Rick Perry.