I missed this one before, heretic - lol!!!!
The Next US President
- Thread starter BlueDragon1981
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BlueDragon1981
Brown Belt
- Thread Starter
- #102
Okay debate away...I only wanted names but I see that is not going to happen...but please keep it cool and don't attack anyone. People can still get along and share totally different political views. That is one reason America has lived so long as a country. So please keep personal attacks on character out of this.
OP
BlueDragon1981
Brown Belt
- Thread Starter
- #103
Flatlander,
Whats your opinion on the US canidates. From recent items I have read Canada has been fed up with some US items and hasn't really supported the US to much in the War in Iraq, (which I'm not yelling because I myself don't think we should be over there, but I do like to know that our allies stand behind us)
Oh and what is a great place to visit tourism wise in Canada...I want to go up someday. Not to far away already....Pennsylvania.
Whats your opinion on the US canidates. From recent items I have read Canada has been fed up with some US items and hasn't really supported the US to much in the War in Iraq, (which I'm not yelling because I myself don't think we should be over there, but I do like to know that our allies stand behind us)
Oh and what is a great place to visit tourism wise in Canada...I want to go up someday. Not to far away already....Pennsylvania.
Flatlander
Grandmaster
First of all, please bear in mind that Canada-US relationships are strictly governmental, and in no way reflect the 'will' of the people.BlueDragon1981 said:
Regarding the election, I'm not informed enough to 'know' whether Kerry is a better choice than Bush, or vice versa. That's why I was interested to continue to read debate on the topic here. Nonetheless, from a Canadian perspective, it seems to me that it is very rare that Canada - US relations aren't good. They were fantastic in the Mulroney - Reagan years. Cretien wasn't very friendly with the Bush Administration, but him and Clinton got along pretty good.
I would like to be able to see things go well for you guys. I'm alittle concerned about the US economy, I read all kinds of scary stuff regarding possible fallout from that.
Some Canadians support the war on terror, some do not. I would have preferred that the whole deal been done through the UN, but it wasn't to be. I think the ends justified the means in this one, but realistically, we haven't seen the ends yet, so we'll have to hurry up and wait for that one.
Either way, I'm interested to see what goes down.
michaeledward
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Hey Flatlander .. I really love Canada and Canadians. And I find the juxtaposition of our two contries interesting.
What percentage of Canadian citizens do you think can name the leader of the United States?
What percentage of United States citizens do you think can name the leader of Canada?
Honesty ... I can't recall the new Prime Minister's name right now .... although I do try and pay a bit attention to what is happening North of the Border.
Cheers - Mike
Oh, yeah .. for a name ... Sterling David Allan .... He gets my vote !
What percentage of Canadian citizens do you think can name the leader of the United States?
What percentage of United States citizens do you think can name the leader of Canada?
Honesty ... I can't recall the new Prime Minister's name right now .... although I do try and pay a bit attention to what is happening North of the Border.
Cheers - Mike
Oh, yeah .. for a name ... Sterling David Allan .... He gets my vote !
Flatlander
Grandmaster
Ha! Good question. In terms of actual numbers, I couldn't tell you, but I'm sure that as a percentage, a greater percentage of Canadians could tell you the name of the President than Americans the Prime Minister. In fact, It may even be likely that a greater percentage of Canadians know the President's name than the Prime Minister's! (Paul Martin, by the way).
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
I thought the Prime Minister of Canada's name was "Jean Poutin".
Regards,
Steve
Regards,
Steve
Flatlander
Grandmaster
Either that was a poor attempt at a joke, or you are misinformed. Jean Cretien has retired from politics and is now an advisor to Petrokazakstan.
BlueDragon1981 said:
There is a vast difference between being allies and blindly going to war. Canada was (and still is) right there in Afghanistan. It comes down to a sovereign nation deciding on it's own whether to commit their troops to a conflict. If the proof of WMD, terrorism and imminent therat to the security of the US would have been there, Canada would have sent troops to Iraq. We did send an additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan to make 1,000 US troops available to get shipped to Iraq.
P
PeachMonkey
Guest
I have heard people refer to the "President of Canada" depressingly often.
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
flatlander said:
Flatlander,
It was indeed a joke, but not an original one.
During the 2000 election, a comedian approached then candidate George W. Bush and asked him what he thought of Canada's Prime Minister Jean Poutine's recent endorsement.
"I appreciate his strong statement. He understands I believe in free trade," Bush replied. "He understands I want to make sure our relations with our most important neighbour to the north of us, the Canadians, is strong and we'll work closely together."
This was met with some hilarity north of the border, as poutin (or is it 'poutine'?) is an artery-clogging breakfast dish made with fries, curds, and gravy...as you no doubt know. The Prime Minister of Canada at the time was Jean Chretien.
This came at a time when Bush has made several foreign policy gaffes by not knowing various foreign heads of state.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/506298.stm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e599.htm
It also makes one wonder who our OTHER neighbors to the north of us are...given that Bush thinks that the Canadians are the most important of them. In any case, in Bush's eyes, "our relations is strong."
Regards,
Steve
michaeledward
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Steve, Thanks for reposting that ... while I remember the good chuckle I had when this event occurred (my company was having a meeting in Whistler, BC, at the time, I think). I had forgot the 'most important neighbor to the North' part.
Mike
Mike
Flatlander
Grandmaster
Right! I remember that! It was Rick Mercer - the show was This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Sorry about the defensive tone, I didn't catch the reference at all. Steve, that was a while ago. You've got a pretty impressive memory.
The 'other neighbor to the North' reference? Quebec! They already don't think of themselves in a provincial context, so maybe the President was simply mistaken, assuming that they had already gained their independence!
Anyhoo, Back to the topic at hand - The Next US President.
From the feeling that I'm getting on this particular forum, Bush is OUT. Do you think this is representative of the American voting population? Any polls down there yet? If so, what are they saying?
The 'other neighbor to the North' reference? Quebec! They already don't think of themselves in a provincial context, so maybe the President was simply mistaken, assuming that they had already gained their independence!
Anyhoo, Back to the topic at hand - The Next US President.
From the feeling that I'm getting on this particular forum, Bush is OUT. Do you think this is representative of the American voting population? Any polls down there yet? If so, what are they saying?
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
flatlander said:
Nah...I didn't take it as defensive. I threw that out there hoping to see if anyone would remember it. And my memory is awful...at best it is oddly selective. But thanks for the compliment.
I don't think the President knows where Quebec is, Flatlander. If he were to learn they speak French, he'd likely think Canada's PM is now Jacques Chirac, instead of Jean Poutine.
Dubya confuses easily.
Regards,
Steve
P
PeachMonkey
Guest
I definitely don't feel like we provide a statistically significant sample. Besides, I think those of us who are pro-Bush tend not to engage in these discussionsflatlander said:
I just spent dinner seated near a table of pro-Bush young adults. It was interesting listening to their conversation... they spent the first part of the evening trying to piece together the Pledge of Allegiance (badly), engaging in some delightful historical revisionism (like "we've never fought China in a war" and "John Hinkle Booth killed JFK"... no, I'm not kidding, that's what she said), then talking about how ignorant people who saw Fahrenheit 9/11 are...
But I digress.
The latest Gallup poll puts Kerry ahead of GW by 4%:Flatlander said:
http://www.gallup.com/election2004/
This is within the margin of error.
The only major poll that I saw today that put Bush ahead, at the moment, was Fox News (unsurprisingly).
Ah, dang. You know, political discussion is more interesting when both sides are pretty knowledgeable. Hope you enjoyed your dinner anyhow, PeachMonkey.
As is evident in my past posts, I am a Kerry supporter. But although some of these polls sound promising, I am very concerned. The American public seems to respond to smear campaigns, and that's what Bush is mounting. Kerry's messages seem to ll be pretty positive. It's not that I want him starting a smear campaign - I'm glad he's not - but I worry about Bush's tactics.
As is evident in my past posts, I am a Kerry supporter. But although some of these polls sound promising, I am very concerned. The American public seems to respond to smear campaigns, and that's what Bush is mounting. Kerry's messages seem to ll be pretty positive. It's not that I want him starting a smear campaign - I'm glad he's not - but I worry about Bush's tactics.
P
PeachMonkey
Guest
Thanks, Mouse. My dinner was fine anyway, since my company was so delightful (as I'm sure you can imagine). The conversation I refer to was at the next table over.
I hope you get feeling better. I'm starting to feel like I'm coming down with something.
As for Kerry, I think of myself less as a "Kerry supporter" (since he represents so much of the kind of centrist 'New Democrat' that I loathe) than a "Conservative opposer".
I hope you get feeling better. I'm starting to feel like I'm coming down with something.
As for Kerry, I think of myself less as a "Kerry supporter" (since he represents so much of the kind of centrist 'New Democrat' that I loathe) than a "Conservative opposer".
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
PeachMonkey said:
Frustrating, isn't it? I bet they were undergraduates, too. Even bright youngsters can be ignorant as all get out.
I quizzed a young lady (21 years old) about the looming war in Iraq (just prior to the invasion). She was outspoken in her opposition to it. I asked her if she knew who the president of Iraq was...she couldn't name him.
She also couldn't name the ethnic groups in Iraq, any bordering nations, or name the two major rivers flowing through it. She got one of fifty questions right by saying that the major religion was "Muslim" (sic), but couldn't name the two conflicting sects of the religion. She also couldn't name the Sec of State of the U.S. or the Sec Def.
I wager a youngster favoring the war would have failed as miserably. So much for the notion of an informed electorate, eh?
Regards,
Steve
