Obama as the next US President

[Olrane]

How do you feel about this, as an American?

How do you feel about this if you live overseas?

I am generally content and I think it will open many doors for diplomacy. I'm not one to make predictions, so I'll stop there.

[isengoo]

Stoked.

[gojin]

Hoping for the best, expecting the worst.

[tessa]

I'm quite pleased with the results. Props to McCain for bowing out gracefully and not trying to make last-minute jabs at Obama like some of his supporters.

[Grindel]

Glad the election campaign is over. It dominated the European news far too long...

[Olrane]

Glad the election campaign is over. It dominated the European news far too long...

Americans almost never know or care about foreign elections or officials except when it's of dire importance to the War on Terror. It's shameful to admit how ignorant most of our population is about the world abroad.

[Naga]

At least he isn't a monkey in a suit like Chimpy. Oh wait...

[stilgar]

Hmm.. who is Obama, the US is that small place between Albania and Kosovo?

[luminier]

Im Canadian.

[Olrane]

Yeah, Luminier. You don't count. Hence "overseas". Canadians never count.

[sun]

How do you feel about this if you live overseas?

The seas make up a nice distance in general.

[vurdijak]

I am hoping for a change to the energy policy of our country, not so much in production but in consumption. I think that right now, with the major car manufacturers begging for wall street bail out money, the time is ripe to convert our factories. It is almost but not quite too late for the U.S. to jumpstart this failing industry. These car companies (execs) must be convinced to build small (strange looking to us) cars that are built to run as hybrid electrics or just get incredible gas milage, or both. The American people will not want to buy or drive them, unless a figurehead such as the new president can convince us to TAKE THE RISKS associated with driving a smaller car. Sadly some people will be hurt and killed during this transition when big and small cars are on the road together, but its a societal must in my opinion. Stubbornly refusing to drive anything but big, inefficient cars is a trend that can be countered with some difficulty by the new administration. Strict mileage performance measures must be levied against the car companies, by the government, in a powerful show of tough love.
Mass transit is also needed in the urban areas where it is currently lacking. Mass transit is messy, and has a host of its own problems, but the reality will always be that it takes less energy to move a single big car with a hundred people on a rail rather than 100 individual cars with 100 people on a road.

[isengoo]

Vurdijak, it's easy to say that but without massive capital pumped into those companies, the shift would never happen.

[vurdijak]

Would some of the 700 billion bailout count as massive capital (not being sarastic)? If so, then I might support using some of it for this purpose, of course with lots of strings attached. For instance, we will give you 100 billion dollars if 3 of every 4 cars you produce gets 35 mpg or more.

If not money from this plan, money redirected from the war in Iraq as it hopefully winds down?

If they don't change, do you agree they will eventually cease to exist?

[isengoo]

Well, the banking bailout isn't directly tied to the auto industry, so I don't know why you are referring to them like that. Also, the auto industry in America isn't failing directly due to them not producing cars that 'are big' or whatever, it has more to do with other countries getting away with basically no regulation of things like air pollution and water pollution, so their overhead is insanely low. Not to mention the fact that that industry in those countries is propped up by their governments, something that is scorned here in the US, but people just go on and buy their cars anyway.

[Delmon]

Obama is:

Tax the rich, give to the poor
corporation regulation
socialized health care supporter
big government, "lets create more gov. organizations!"
Im african american! (even though he's half african american, if that)
A president with the most liberal voting history.

Oh well, he only has max 8 years. 8 years for republicans to regroup...

[luminier]

u left out the pulling our of ira.... oh wait im Canadian.

[Delmon]

oh thank you luminier. cutting military spending by 25%, pulling out of iraq and watching it turn into more of a rat hole. Will be interesting to see who takes control of Iraq, and watching our nation turn militarily weaker.

[luminier]

iunno the whole iraq thing is kind of a double edged sword. if the us stays there they take a hit, if they leave they take a hit. But if they left well at least they are out of there. it's gonna turn into a rat hole, but it was bound to happen anyways. it's sad to say, but we can't enforce our way of life on others, we have to let them learn. as cruel as that sounds.

[Olrane]

Amen. If you believe in the great jihadist conspiracy, then the worst thing to do is to continue to give them fuel.