The politics of fear vs. The politics of hope.

Hopefully by tomorrow night we will know the outcome of this election cycle, it has seemed to go on forever. By Wednesday morning we will/should know what side has won and what formula that was used to bring themselves victory.

I asked my 11 year old who she wanted to win, she hesitated at first but I pushed and she told me she wanted Obama to win even though there were many in her class that hated her for it. I then asked her why she wanted Obama to win, and she responded that McCain and Palin seemed angry when she heard them speak, and Obama seemed more professional and just presented himself better than his opponents.

This got me thinking, why would they hate her for wanting the other guy to win? It seems to me the reason they feel this way is fear, McCain and really most of the Republican Party platforms are all fear based, Fear Obama because he is a socialist, Fear Obama because he hangs out with terrorists, Fear Obama because he will raise your taxes, Fear Obama because he is a liberal, and so the story goes on, and it reminds me of GWB speeches about the terrorists are out to get you, and so on and so on.

This tactic did seem to serve GWB and IMHO some voting irregularities, but what about tomorrow? Will this tactic work? Have the American people grown beyond ignoring issues by its candidates or do they hear the beat of a new drum?

One of the most impressive things I have seen from Obama is he just doesn’t preach unity; he has shown it by not attacking conservatives. He seems to realize we are so much more when we are united, as he has stated, we are not a liberal America, we are not conservative America, we are the United States of America it’s this mans message that has inspired a nation, and having hope is a great thing, and I think it will bring him victory tomorrow night. This victory will not be just his; it will be ours as it should be. Hopefully soon politicians labeling a certain part of a state as un-American will be a thing of the past. Hopefully the politics of fear will also be a thing of the past.

What say you?

I agree with you. Obama's campaign has been about what he's going to do and McCains' campaign has been about what Obama's going to do.

And Obama said in an interview (was it Rachel Maddow? I don't remember) that he is not running against Republicans or Conservatives. He doesn't have a problem with people having different opinions and he knows we have to work together in government to get things done. He's running against George Bush and what he's done to our country and in the world for the last 8 years.

I don't think politics of fear will be a thing of the past, but I (along with millions of Americans) have never felt more hopeful. And that's a Good Thing.

The question is whether or not the fears are justified or not. If the fear is baseless, then that's one thing. If they are not, then it's prudent to be afraid. If you're fundementally opposed to the direction that Obama wants to take the country, it would be irresponsible of you to not fear his plans. As for unity- look at Obama's voting record vs. McCain. McCain has a long history of bipartisanship. Obama has quite possibly the most liberal voting record of any Senator, with less than 10% bipartisanship.
Additionally, it comes down to whether

-you trust the government for solutions to problems vs. individuals/private sector.

-support redistribution of wealth/class warfare

-constructionist views of the Constitution vs. activist judges making law

etc....

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Obama's campaign has been about what he's going to do.

What exactly is he going to change so much? I doubt the war will end like he said he would do it, other than that, he hasn't said much except "change the world". I wonder what he really has up his sleeve...

Hey LDragonFire - it's been ages since I've seen you around the boards.

I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by your post. I'm glad you are the type of Dad who can see the world through your daughter's eyes. She's very lucky.

I think your OP is absolutely accurate. Obama is about the future, not the past. Hope, not fear. Change, not the status quo.

Really, a vote for Obama is a vote for our children.

I have a four year old, so I tend to frequently see a lot of children around his age.

My household is also split on the candidates.

When my child first started expressing that one candidate was "bad" over another, my wife and I immediately corrected him and explained that neither candidate was a 'bad person'. Each had good ideas and that support for one person over another was not a negative judgment about the other. In other words, it simply didn't make the other candidate a bad person.

Unfortunately, it became quite clear to me that other parents were not so careful in their political instructions to their children.

How unfortunate.

[edit on 3-11-2008 by loam]

It seems that hope has prevailed in this election, hope not just for our nation but hope for the entire world. The American Dream was realized last night in a huge public display by the people in electing a person that claims to be for all the people and not just some of the people.

I have to admit, I am hopeful about the future. We do live in exciting times with many challenges ahead, personally I'm waiting to be laid off, but still I'm hopeful of what is to come.

oh and right now I'm very proud to call myself a American.

But it wasn't just Obama. John McCain's story is incredible. He was a POW, being tortured, starved, beaten. He was locked in cages by the enemy. But yesterday he sat down with a ballot, looked at the list of names for President, and saw his name. Could ANYONE believe that when locked in a cage being tortured that you would one day look at your name on the ballot for President? He was probably begging for one more day, maybe tomorrow it will end. And yet one day far in the future, a future he couldn't have imagined, he was able to look at the ballot and see his name. And for Obama, well, there is the American Dream. Hard times, prejudice, racism, thrown off and forgotten. The stains on our history have been washed off by over 62 million people. More people voted for Obama then any other President. McCain got the second most. People went out and had a choice between a black man and a POW who nearly died for this country. 30 years ago, heck even 20 years ago we wouldn't have seen this.