Let's suppose * is elected and it turns out the majority really wanted him

[Deja Q]

How will the rest of the world react?

They already don't like * to some degree, but admit it's * and his policies.

But if a majority of Americans (via popular vote or other means) choose *, wouldn't the world then put all Americans in the same basket as *?

Or will they withdraw from us totally, assuming they ever supported us? (in solidarity, financially, and/or otherwise?)

Indeed, as I don't know the full scale of it all and I might just be paranoid, how does the majority of the world currently view our country's leaders?

And, worst of all, how do we convince those * voters who vote for him out of pity (some actually do) or blind allegiance that they are making a mistake?

[LoZoccolo]

1. Self-deleted.

Bah this was a stupid joke. Carry on.

[Deja Q]

5. Very stupid indeed.

:hi:

Thank you for deleting it. It was uncalled for AND very much against the rules. And if you've ever looked at my lengthy list of posts, I am hardly the type person you accuse me to be.

Still, I won't hold it against you. I've just realized other DUers get the same treatment too, it's a small world. :-)

[LoZoccolo]

7. Ha well it was just a joke.

But you had to read the last line to know that, and from some of the replies I've gotten on some of my own threads, I've kind-of learned you can't count on DUer's to read the whole thing!

[soothsayer]

2. There's just no way a majority wants him anything but gone

However should he steal the election again, the world (and us) will suffer that fool for 4 more wars, er, years, er mebbe both are right.

Let's make sure congress gets a huge democratic influx and they can squash him like a bug (not that they did it with the cia nominee, grrr)

[napi21]

3. I don't know that you CAN convince the strong supporters.

For whatever their reasons, they will not change their mind for ANY reason! The same as you would never change a SRONG Dem supporter to vote for shrub.

The only hope either side has is for a majority of the "Middle" to sanely consider their current situation, better or worse, and vote accordingly.

[robbedvoter]

4. If my grandma had wheels, she'd be a wagon...

But if W somehow gets elected, it will be the entire world against all of us. We'd be like the Germans after WWII trying to say: but, but, but....

[bpilgrim]

6. thats certainly how the rest of the world will see it, imho

germany wasn't allowed to shield their collective guilt via a cloak of gobbels mastery of propaganda, where they?

and so it goes...


peace

[sushi]

8. As part of the rest of the world

I'm amazed that, with all the information available, there are still American voters who haven't made up their minds! It must be the fear of being attacked again, as if the Democratic candidate would not be just as good or better at defending the US! I also think he would have a much better chance of getting other countries to help in Iraq and fighting terrorism. It looks like some major countries don't want to know while * is in power. They have "switched off," and will come on board when/if Kerry becomes leader.

[robbedvoter]

10. You haven't sampled our media - it just turned another notch

NEW YORK - CBS News has shelved a "60 Minutes" report on the rationale for war in Iraq because it would be "inappropriate" to air it so close to the presidential election, the network said on Saturday.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=762&e=...

[sushi]

12. I read about the "60 Minutes" decision

but hasn't it been more than a year since the invasion of Iraq, and almost four years of *? Surely one would have to be completely ignorant to not know what is going on? How many million Americans have computers and can find a lot of information without having to rely on biased local newspapers and TV?

[Demit]

14. I think the people who tell pollers they haven't made up their minds are

just keeping their thoughts to themselves. It cracks me up that these poll samples are so small--and btw I've never been polled, not once, not ever--yet the pundits & the media all speak with such certainty that the polls reflect what the entire population thinks.

I'd like to see a poll question that asks "Have you actually made up your mind but aren't telling us because you think it's none of our business how you vote?"

I'll bet the "yup, you got it" number would be very close to the present "undecided" one.

[Yavin4]

9. The World Would Perceive A Bush Victory As Weakness

The world knows that Iraq is a quagmire that will bogg America down for decades, and other countries like France, Germany, China, and India will see this as their golden opportunity to become world leaders.

Look for the Euro to grow stronger. Look for Blair to be tossed out on his arse. Look for the European Union to become the world's leader once again.

[sushi]

15. Interesting point!

All the more reason to work hard for Kerry to win! I read the countries to watch (on the rise) are Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC).

[whistle]

11. Majority of who? Anyone care to define the electorate....

...In 2002 here is what the U.S. population looked like and how voter registrations were distributed by age:

(In Thousands)
BOTH SEXES___________Total Pop__Registered__Voted
.Total 18 years and over...210,421 128,154 60.9 88,903 42.3
.....18 to 24 years............27,377 10,470 38.2 4,697 17.2
.....25 to 34 years............38,512 19,339 50.2 10,450 27.1
.....35 to 44 years............43,716 26,214 60.0 17,569 40.2
.....45 to 54 years............40,043 27,006 67.4 20,088 50.2
.....55 to 64 years............26,881 19,424 72.3 15,432 57.4
.....65 to 74 years............17,967 13,681 76.1 11,339 63.1
....75 years and over........15,925 12,020 75.5 9,328 58.6

<link> http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/p20-552/tab01.xls

So, looking at the age demographics, 39.1% of Americans 18+ aren't even registered to cast their vote and by Oct 4th which I think is the deadline this number is not likely to change much. By default these people have little or no interest in the governmental affairs of the country. So they certainly would belong in the "go with the political wind" group. Then there are those who although registered did not vote representing 30.6% of registered voters. They are the "apathetic" voters in some cases, but also the "disenfranchised" who are prevented from voting for one reason or another. Then there is the voting system itself, the electoral college which assures that even if a president fails to receive a majority vote, by getting selected states and winning all the electoral votes that person can be declared the winner. So in George Bush's case in 2000 he actually received a half million fewer votes than Gore, but was still appointed. His share of the total eligible population of voting age voters was actually less that 25%. My numbers are crude, but in the ball-park.

Now can the rest of the world associate the other 75% of American voters as being the same as Shrub*? That would be grossly unfair ands I think the majority of the world would not do that. But Shrub would be in a position of both authority and power to carry out the right-wing neo-conservative agenda which much of the world finds abhorrent. So if it came down to a show down on political principles, the world could unite against the U.S. as it did when Bush unilaterally chose to attack Iraq. I believe that would be even more polarized That is my take on all of this, which is why I believe John Kerry has the more open and realistic perspective on this.

[Zan_of_Texas]

13. Read these two things.

Fear of Death Wins Minds and Votes, Study Finds

July 29, 2004
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040729/pl_nm/campaign_fear_dc&cid=615&ncid=1963&sid=96378800

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush may be tapping into solid human psychology when he invokes the Sept. 11 attacks while campaigning for the next election, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. Talking about death can raise people's need for psychological security, the researchers report in studies to be published in the December issue of the journal Psychological Science and the September issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

"There are people all over who are claiming every time Bush is in trouble he generates fear by declaring an imminent threat," said Sheldon Solomon of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, who worked on the study. "We are saying this is psychologically useful."

Jeff Greenberg, a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona in Tucson, said generating fear was a common tactic.
"A lot of leaders gain their appeal by helping people feel they are heroic, particularly in a fight against evil," Greenberg said in a telephone interview from Hawaii, where he presented the findings to a meeting of the American Psychological Association.

"Sometimes that may be the right thing to do. But it is a psychological approach, particularly when death is close to peoples' consciousness."

<snip>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
35 countries polled....only ONE showed more than 50% support for Bush (Philippines).

Global Poll Shows a Kerry Landslide
Poll finds him preferred around world

by Thomas Crampton
Published on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 by the International Herald
Tribune

<http://www.iht.com/articles/537873.html>
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0908-03.htm

PARIS -- If the world could cast a vote in the United States presidential election, John Kerry would beat George W. Bush by a landslide, according to a poll released on Wednesday that is described as the largest sample of global opinion on the race.
"It is absolutely clear that John Kerry would win handily if the people of the world could vote," said Steve Kull, director of The Program on International Policy Attitudes of the University of Maryland, a co-sponsor of the survey. "It is rather striking that just one in five people surveyed around the world support the re-election of President Bush."

The poll of 34,330 people older than 15 from all regions of the world found that the majority or plurality of people from 32 countries prefer Kerry to Bush. Asia was the region showing the most mixed results, although Kerry still did better than Bush. Kerry won clear majorities in China, Indonesia and Japan, but slipped past Bush by only a slight margin in Thailand and India.

The most negative attitude toward the U.S. came from France, Germany and Mexico, where roughly 80 percent of those surveyed thought that the foreign policies of President Bush had made them feel worse about the United States.

In addition to presidential preferences, the poll also inquired about people's views on U.S. foreign policy. "We found an unusually low level of support for U.S. foreign policy," Kull said. "This runs in line with trends from recent attitude surveys by the Pew Research Center and may have implications when the U.S. wants to move forward on issues with its closest allies."

<snip>

[Kanary]

16. On NOW last night, Peter Peterson talked extensively about

the large debts that the US owes many other countries. AND....... if those countries call in those debts, we're in deep sununu.

I'm thinking that could have been a warning...........

It makes sense, and I WANT the rest of the world to apply pressure..... it's just that those of us who have some awareness, and don't go along with the garbage our nation is doing, will be penalized just the same as those who support this mess.

Kanary