Comments on: Will Obama be a friend to the poor once in office? Would you? http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/10/25/will-obama-be-a-friend-to-the-poor-once-in-office-would-you/ A posting every day; an interesting idea every three months... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:40:58 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: philg http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/10/25/will-obama-be-a-friend-to-the-poor-once-in-office-would-you/comment-page-1/#comment-90369 philg Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:16:53 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/?p=1093#comment-90369 Jeff: My vote, like that of any other Massachusetts resident, is irrelevant. I'm not even sure that I will be in town on Election Day (though it would be nice to be able to vote against Kerry). If the Democrats win undisputed control of Congress, the result will be more like a parliamentary system. If the voters don't like where they've gotten to in 2016 they will at least know which party to blame and can vote in a different party (maybe a generation of Republicans will have died off by then and they can nominate someone younger than standard retirement age). Jeff: My vote, like that of any other Massachusetts resident, is irrelevant. I’m not even sure that I will be in town on Election Day (though it would be nice to be able to vote against Kerry). If the Democrats win undisputed control of Congress, the result will be more like a parliamentary system. If the voters don’t like where they’ve gotten to in 2016 they will at least know which party to blame and can vote in a different party (maybe a generation of Republicans will have died off by then and they can nominate someone younger than standard retirement age).

]]> By: philg http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/10/25/will-obama-be-a-friend-to-the-poor-once-in-office-would-you/comment-page-1/#comment-90334 philg Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:16:06 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/?p=1093#comment-90334 Steve: Talk is cheap and easily forgiven. There are a lot of things that politicians say in order to get elected that are quickly forgotten once in office. If you were making $50 million per year as a CEO you could probably handle some harsh words from Candidate Obama. If President Obama were to advocate legislation to prevent you from nominating your golfing buddies to the Board, re-pricing your stock options, etc., you might have a tougher time forgiving that. Steve: Talk is cheap and easily forgiven. There are a lot of things that politicians say in order to get elected that are quickly forgotten once in office. If you were making $50 million per year as a CEO you could probably handle some harsh words from Candidate Obama. If President Obama were to advocate legislation to prevent you from nominating your golfing buddies to the Board, re-pricing your stock options, etc., you might have a tougher time forgiving that.

]]> By: Jeff http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/10/25/will-obama-be-a-friend-to-the-poor-once-in-office-would-you/comment-page-1/#comment-90333 Jeff Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:15:42 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/?p=1093#comment-90333 So you predict that Obama wins. Is he who you will be voting for? More importantly, do you think that the Democrats will get 60 seats in the Senate? I hope they don't. Not because I'm a Republicrat or Demopublican, but because I fear a supermajority and the attendant excesses from being drunk with power. Checks and balances are a good thing. So you predict that Obama wins. Is he who you will be voting for?

More importantly, do you think that the Democrats will get 60 seats in the Senate? I hope they don’t. Not because I’m a Republicrat or Demopublican, but because I fear a supermajority and the attendant excesses from being drunk with power. Checks and balances are a good thing.

]]> By: Steve http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/10/25/will-obama-be-a-friend-to-the-poor-once-in-office-would-you/comment-page-1/#comment-90314 Steve Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:28:39 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/?p=1093#comment-90314 Phil: If I understood you correctly, you just suggested that Obama never had interest in his former constituents, and is now simply intersted in utilizing the presidency to befriend wealthy CEOs and get richer. Yet he disparages CEOs almost on a regular basis as overpaid and a focal point of his class warfare philosophy. Under those circumstances I find it hard to believe he will make friends with the rich and powerful, in the very general sense you may be suggesting, unless you define that group to be, e.g., the hollywood elite. Phil: If I understood you correctly, you just suggested that Obama never had interest in his former constituents, and is now simply intersted in utilizing the presidency to befriend wealthy CEOs and get richer. Yet he disparages CEOs almost on a regular basis as overpaid and a focal point of his class warfare philosophy. Under those circumstances I find it hard to believe he will make friends with the rich and powerful, in the very general sense you may be suggesting, unless you define that group to be, e.g., the hollywood elite.

]]> By: philg http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/10/25/will-obama-be-a-friend-to-the-poor-once-in-office-would-you/comment-page-1/#comment-90306 philg Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:30:02 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/?p=1093#comment-90306 Joe: Just as most Americans think that a 72-year-old is too old to be working hard, people worldwide think that a 45-year-old is too old to be talking about romance. I'm at the stage of life where people would expect to hear about my grandchildren. Joe: Just as most Americans think that a 72-year-old is too old to be working hard, people worldwide think that a 45-year-old is too old to be talking about romance. I’m at the stage of life where people would expect to hear about my grandchildren.

]]> By: Joe Shipman http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2008/10/25/will-obama-be-a-friend-to-the-poor-once-in-office-would-you/comment-page-1/#comment-90290 Joe Shipman Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:41:01 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/?p=1093#comment-90290 I make McCain the favorite, based on a state-by-state analysis. He has a good chance to win Pennsylvania which Obama must hold in any winning scenario. Obama must also switch Colorado into the D column. If Obama gets "Gore states plus Colorado" it is a 269-269 tie which allows him to win in the House of Representatives, but McCain is likely to win Maine's northern Congressional District and pick up the extra EV he needs. Therefore Obama needs one additional state that Gore didn't get and not many are apparent -- NH went for Kerry but McCain is strong there. Nevada may be the best chance for Obama to get to 269. (The other red states MO OH FL VA NC IN are not really in play despite current polls, they will break Republican at the end as they always do, barring a major McCain gaffe.) Good luck in suburbia. Who is this female housemate you have alluded to? I make McCain the favorite, based on a state-by-state analysis. He has a good chance to win Pennsylvania which Obama must hold in any winning scenario. Obama must also switch Colorado into the D column. If Obama gets “Gore states plus Colorado” it is a 269-269 tie which allows him to win in the House of Representatives, but McCain is likely to win Maine’s northern Congressional District and pick up the extra EV he needs. Therefore Obama needs one additional state that Gore didn’t get and not many are apparent — NH went for Kerry but McCain is strong there. Nevada may be the best chance for Obama to get to 269. (The other red states MO OH FL VA NC IN are not really in play despite current polls, they will break Republican at the end as they always do, barring a major McCain gaffe.)

Good luck in suburbia. Who is this female housemate you have alluded to?

]]>