EspadaIII
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Post by EspadaIII on Nov 5, 2020 20:56:48 GMT
He has managed to scare the political elite that their standard way of running things doesn't wash with large numbers of electorate who feel alienated. He gave voice (inarticulate) to those who felt disenfranchised by modern political thinking.
He also persuaded countries that having a rational relationship with Israel was in their interests. It may be this is the start of a real peace process when the Palestinians have to realise that they have to think logically; the Jews are not leaving, will not be pushed into the sea, will not go home because they are home but that they will share the area nicely if they are not attacked simply for being Jewish.
So yes he has been good in parts. His behaviour to women, the hint of approval of the Far Right, the whipping up of an overly pro-American, the world is against us, atmosphere is not good. Neither is his dismissal of climate change. It is embarrassing and I don't know how his immediate family cope with it (well I do and it's called money).
But I'll tell you, I'd rather Trump than Corbyn. Corbyn will stab you in the back. At least with Trump you'll see him coming because it will have been announced on Twitter three weeks earlier.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Nov 5, 2020 22:35:42 GMT
So, tearing up all respect for political and constitutional due process — normalising armed thuggery in the process — and a one-eyed favouritism for a particular bully-boy state in a volatile region that could once again ignite the world into war? And not even because he honestly believes these will do good, but because they win him the adulation that is all he really cares about.
You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t consider any of that good. And nobody is offering Corbyn as an alternative, so that’s irrelevant whataboutery.
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Post by Alanović on Nov 6, 2020 9:06:27 GMT
So wise to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. So great. Everybody says so.
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Nov 6, 2020 9:31:25 GMT
"Kamala Harris would/could be an interesting President if Biden has a successul term and does not stand again. But the American system does not seem to permit people to work their way up to the possibility of standing. When was the last Secretary of State who went on to become President?"
I can't rememeber a Secretary of State going on to be President; but several VPs have. Martin van Buren was the first, George Bush senior the most recent.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Nov 6, 2020 10:23:56 GMT
...and Al Gore (VP) and Hillary Clinton (S of S) each won the most votes in their respective years.
20 years ago this week (Election Day was the 7th that year) I was in Vienna, reading the Austrian papers in a Kaffeehaus on the Wednesday morning and blaming my poor German for my failure to understand who had won. It wasn’t till we got home on the Friday that I realised nobody else understood either.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Nov 7, 2020 21:07:47 GMT
Good, right result today. Biden may not be the most exciting but, as the much-missed Jeremy Hardy might have said, better for the satirists to have to work harder for their material and for the world to step back towards normality and civilized behaviour. Time to Make America Housetrained Again!
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EspadaIII
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Post by EspadaIII on Nov 7, 2020 21:36:33 GMT
It's very curious that America, despite or perhaps because of being a new nation, seems to be unable to shake off some of the customs that came into being as it was formed. Many of them are quaint, but others so backward and a real detriment to the progress of the nation as the melting pot it aimed to become. A great place to visit, not sure I would want to live there.
Whatever the politics though, with Biden we can be sure of less policy made on the hoof. My main worry is how he deals with Iran, China and Russia. I never quite understood Trump's policy on Russia, which seemed too friendly. He was sound on China and Iran though and I hope Biden keeps that up. China in particular is flexing its muscles and has the financial clout that Putin can only dream of.
The big issue of course will be to change the attitude of the nation (and most importantly the police) regarding Black people. Obama did little to assist that, he was more interested in a nice sound bite and cosying up the Iranians just to spite the Israelis. He achieved less in eight years than Trump did in four.
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