While reading and posting in the "that is offensive to women" thread, I realized there are quite a few things I'm really tired of hearing about in the media this election cycle. Here's my top ten, please feel free to add yours, or change my mind on the importance of one of my choices.

1. McCain was a POW. Yes, I get that it was a formative experience for him. I get that it's important to his character. I understand that he maybe did some things that were heroic then. But that was a long time ago, and he's done a lot of things since then that have a lot more bearing on his character as a politician and potential president. If anything, I'd count this item as negative, because something that dramatic has to have psychological effects, such as PTSD and flashbacks, that perhaps could be dangerous in a president.

2. Hillary Clinton. I'm tired of hearing her name. I know she got a lot of support, I know there are people that need to be won over, because apparently they can't decide to think for themselves now that Hillary's not in the running.. Please media, let her campaign die already.

3. Sarah Palin is female. Yes. We know. Unlike you, the media, we can actually get past this fact and want to know what kind of person she is.

4. Likewise, Obama is black. Again, this we know. We know it's historic and stuff, but the people this fact matters to have already made up their minds one way or the other. The rest of us don't care about his race, and want to vote based upon actual character and potential.

5. Sarah Palin's impending grandchild. Don't care. Don't care what it says about her abstinence policies, except that she probably feels pretty dumb right about now, but it's just not important in the grand scheme of VP-ness.

6. The War on Terror. The most overused phrase in the history of the world since 2001. Security policy is about more than taking the last guy's bizarre ideology and phraseology and running with it. I'd like to vote for cancelling the war on terror and replacing it with the war on idiocy in government. At least then we'd actually be able to find the bad guys

7. Experience v. none. I think this topic has been done to death, though it's slightly relevant, I think actual positions on issues of importance clearly far outweighs the nebulous "Well they've done this so they might be better at this completely different job". Nobody has experience of being president before their first term, and more is not necessarily better.

8. Iraq. The American people don't want to be in Iraq any more and made that quite clear in 2006. The failure of anyone in government to do anything about it means that this is a dead issue. We can't control what the government does, and clearly they don't want to do what the majority of us want, so voting on this issue would be a waste of time, likewise, talking about it.

9. Strategy. I don't want to hear about what each candidate is doing and saying in terms of political strategy in order to win the election. I want to hear what they're going to do after the election is over. Being able to spin things enough to win an election does not automatically qualify you to be a president. Integrity, intelligence, leadership, education, ideas. Those things are what I want to hear about. Show me how much integrity each candidate has or does not have, based upon their lives so far. Talk to the candidates and ask them what they think about the things we actually care about - like energy policy, economy, security, constitutional rights - and don't let them extemporize, force them to tell us their actual beliefs, thoughts and ideas.

10. God. In a country as diverse as this one, whether or not our leaders go to church or not, believe in god, or some great purple alien in the sky, does not and should not matter. I'd like to see a leader that is able to make decisions based upon a strong sense of fairness, equality and ethics that has nothing to do with god. For example, the abortion debates, gay marriage, these things become far simpler when you take god out of the equation. I can't imagine a god that creates all people, and then doesn't allow them the freedom to love as they are made. Ethically, constitutionally, the pursuit of happiness should allow homosexuals to marry as freely as heterosexuals. If god and state truly are separate, this becomes clear. One religious segment should not dominate over all the others in a truly free country.

I share a few with you.

1. McCain was a POW. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

2. Sarah Palin. Yes, I'm already sick of hearing about her. Her baby, her politics, her daughter, her family values, her supposed vetting, everything. She's being used and not very effectively.

3. Experience. Everyone on both tickets meets the requirements for the positions according to the Constitution. It makes NO difference who has more experience. Let the voters decide.

4. "Country First". If only it were true!

5. "Hillary Voters". She lost. Hillary voters are now just people. She's not running, so she has no voters. That's like saying there's a group of "Romney voters" out there.

6. Abortion. The Republican Convention is making this an election issue. Again.

7. Barack Obama's past. Yes, it's relevant, but how many times must we go over it? There's nothing that would prevent him from running for president. Again, let the people decide.

That's all I have for now.

Ooh yeah, I can't believe I missed out Maverick

Benevolent Heretic - About abortion, I agree to an extent. What worries me most about the strategy of making things like abortion and gay marriage an election issue is the whole reason for doing so is to get people who don't really care about voting a whole lot, to go out to the polls solely to vote on these very limited issues which don't actually really affect them at all. I'm fine with people voting on issues like security, and economy, but unless you're actually gay, you shouldn't be voting on issues that don't actually have anything to do with you personally.

Eg, if you're against abortion, don't do it. And adopt every kid you can fit into your house, because there are far too many children out there in foster care, various homes, or in really bad situations. Until we can care for every child under the age of 18 in a way that they deserve, abortion should still be an option for every woman, in my humble opinion. At the very least, YOUR beliefs should not force a child to be born into the equivalent of hell.

I forgot about Maverick, too!

Originally posted by Inannamute
I'm fine with people voting on issues like security, and economy, but unless you're actually gay, you shouldn't be voting on issues that don't actually have anything to do with you personally.

Inannamute, just a couple thoughts about what you said. I am tired of candidates (and Obama does it, too) bringing these issues into the forefront for the purpose of tapping people's emotions and getting them to vote on issues that have no chance of changing. Like gun control, abortion, gay rights.

I disagree that people shouldn't vote on issues that don't affect us personally. If I only vote on issues that I'm personally involved in, I'm not standing up for my fellow American who might need my help. If only gay people voted on gay issues, they'd never get anywhere because they're a minority.

I agree with you that if someone doesn't want an abortion, they shouldn't get one. If they don't like gay marriage, then don't marry a gay person. But women and gay people need people (like me) to vote to protect their rights. Whether it be the right to choose or the right to own firearms or the right to marry whomever they want.

I'm going to choose to vote for the protection of rights of all people.

You're right, I wasn't really thinking clearly when I said that. I guess what I really mean is that we shouldn't be voting against things that don't affect us. I applaud your desire to stand up for your fellow man.

The List:

Flip Flop

This one is way overused.

Sorry for the short post but I'm sure everyone agrees on this one. I enjoyed reading the others

11. Lipstick on a pig.

My new favorite idiot quote ever:

Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilot was a governor.

My ten:

10. "Barack Obama stands for change" - His running mate has been in the Senate longer than McCain. How is that change?
9. McCain is too old - didn't they say this about Reagan when he ran?
8. The experience issue - both sides need to get over it already!
7. "Bush single handedly wrecked the U.S. economy" - and no one in Congress was to blame at all, right? None of these financial institutions had a greedy bone in their bodies, right?
6. "Bush is the cause of the high gas prices" - already proven that this isn't the case, though I still hear this ignorant statement coming from people even today. These same people have no idea who Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi (the real suspects) are, when questioned. 'Nuff said.
5. Electing Obama will cause gas prices to drop immediately - still being said on AM radio from liberal callers, believe it or not
4. "Lipstick on a pig" - the media took that one and ran with it; fanned a small spark into a huge blaze
3. "There is no liberal bias in the mainstream media" or "The mainstream media is conservatively biased" - speaks for itself
2. Anyone not voting for Obama must be a racist - still hear these comments almost every week!
1. Bush is going to get himself appointed to a third term - no he won't, quit being dramatic.

[edit on 20-9-2008 by sos37]

1. "The candidates": First of all they are NOT the candidates, they are TWO of the candidates. Technically every constitutionally eligible citizen is a potential 'candidate.' Furthermore, the meme is NOT the 'candidate' its THE PARTY. Each was picked by the party, based on game theory and public relations. The two are identified as a 'choice' when other choices abound - they just don't see efficiency in covering them all.

2. "My plan": These people couldn't plan anything. In fact, they sum knowledge about anything other than the socialite political corporate arena is virtually incompatible with being a public servant. These folks mumble the things they have been TOLD to say. That which is most palatable to the audience, which is conditioned to 'compete' as if the presidency were a prize instead of the profound responsibility it should be.

3. "Character": How can anyone who is remotely sentient look at these people and honestly suspend their disbelief enough to embrace the notion that we know anything about them at all? They are 'products' for the masses consumption, packaged and marketed to us like toilet paper. A persons' character can't be 'presented' on a media production. An illusion can however, and rather than reinforce that fact, we revel in it like spectators at a pro-wrestling match. What a person does in their life is the measure in their character - not what happens to them, but what they actually, purposefully, do. We equate what they claim to have seen, or been 'part of' as some reflection of who they are.

4. "...to protect the people/for the people...": They don't live with the people, they don't associate with the people, they are in a bubble of comfort that protects them from virtually ever hazard that the people face every day, and yet we believe they know who and what the people are. Their notion of the people hasn't caused them one in a hundred years to confront, question, or resist the abusive practices of their sponsors. Which people do you think they mean when they promise 'improvement?'

5. "The Constitution": Do I need to point out how it has been destroyed little by little by these very people? Must I really expound upon the silent complicity of all three branches of the federal construct in the erosion of the ability for the common person to confront them and have access to the 'redress' allegedly guaranteed by this so-called Constitution. They ARE effectively above the constitution and most people won't see it.

Ugh! I could go on, but..., this is a depressing and frustrating exercise for me...

Ive got a few

1) "I will not support special interest groups."

Oh pahleeze, pull the other leg here, both sides spout this garbage and BOTH sides pander to special interests.

2) "I'm an Outsider/Maverick"

Nope sorry guys, you both have spent your carriers in politics, therefore your both insiders, and to be a maverick, ya got to actually show up for votes, AND go against your party more than 5% of the time.

Heck, if I ran for president in 2012, I would be a Washington outsider. Why? I for one have never EVER been in a political office in my entire life! Thats a Washington outsider!

3) My opponent said (insert daily garbagefest here)

I don't care what your opponent said, what do you say? If I wanted to hear what your opponent said, I would listen to your opponent and make up my own mind!

4) My plan to fix the economy!

Holy heck, does anyone really buy this garbage? The president really doesn't have that much authority, the president cannot create new jobs out of a hat. It is funny that we blame the President for things well beyond his control. Yes the president can make policy that in turn will lead to new jobs created by businesses, but a president cannot create new jobs himself. If they could unemployment would be unheard of.

5) News Media (no bias, no bull, no spin, no WHATEVER)

It's obvious when you watch the news which side the news organization is pandering for. It doesn't matter if it's CNN or Fox, they have their guy picked and are plugging for him. This "Unbiased" bull dunk is just a load of horse manure that they are trying to sell as gold.

6) This historic. (blah blah blah)

We have had how many presidents now? How historic do you want to get? seriously as some other posters have already pointed out. HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REAL ISSUES!

7) (early on in the campaign) I will run a clean campaign!

Funny how that NEVER works out does it?

8) Introducing the candidate as "Your Next President of the United States..."

Hold up! This guy hasn't won anything, you can't say that till after the election before January 20. Before the election he doesn't have anything to go on. After the election it would be proper to introduce them as the next president of the United States because that is what they are. Until then they are just some guy vying for a job.

9) You the American people are smart (or whatever)

Have you talked to the average American? Not really that smart, or hard working, or whatever the candidate tells the people to kiss buttocks.

10) I will work for YOU the American Citizen

Oooh Really? Then can I come to your office and give you a performance review every six months? Heck if you work for me then I'm not asking, I'm telling you im coming to the oval office every six months of your term and giving you a performance review.

12. Wall St.- Main St.

Seriously, come up with a new way to say this. Stop using the other guy's soundbites.

Better to be quotable, than to quote and paraphrase.

Inspired by another thread:

"Hockey Mom". Makes me want to "hock", as in the sound a dog makes when it has something caught in its throat...

"Joe the plumber". 'nough said...

I wanted to resurrect this thread, since I feel like this is going to be relevant again pretty soon.

Current things I am tired of hearing about in the media? Top 10?

Anthony Wiener.