2012 Presidential Debate - Thoughts and Opinions?

[shyguysteve]

Who do you think will help America return to financial stability?

What are your thoughts and opinions of the two candidates?

President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

On the issues Obama: ajherrma.hubpages.com/hub/obamapositions

On the issues Romney: ajherrma.hubpages.com/hub/mittromney

This is just to give you an idea of what type of activity they have done in the past and to give you an idea of their ideals and goals. I'll post my opinion later.

[Neolux]

Oh boy... I know this thread will escalate quickly.

To be honest, I don't think either of them will bring America back to economic stability, neither do I like either candidate.

However, Obama agrees with me on more social issues (Gay Marriage, ect.), than Romney and while this alone shouldn't determine whether a candidate should be voted for or not, it certainly counts.

Also, Romney's tax plan will bring us into even more economic ruin as he wants to spend $2 trillion more dollars on the military and get us involved in Syria.

[† poetictragedy]

To be honest, I don't think either of them will bring America back to economic stability, neither do I like either candidate.

However, Obama agrees with me on more social issues (Gay Marriage, ect.), than Romney and while this alone shouldn't determine whether a candidate should be voted for or not, it certainly counts.

I agree with this; Obama shares my opinions on various social issues as well. This is the first presidential election I've been old enough to vote in. And while I don't really want four more years of the same thing under Obama, I don't want Romney as President either. So it's like voting for the lesser of two evils, if you will.

[† Emotional Outlet]

Frankly, I wish more attention would be given to people running for the House and Senate--I know very little about the candidates and it always seems to come back to the Presidential candidates, which, while an important position, doesn't hold all of the power.

For the big two, I'd sooner vote Obama than Romney. Social issues are important to me and making sure people are treated like human beings should be a priority. I don't think Romney is necessarily the demon people make him out to be, but I don't like him and definitely don't want him in office.

Ever since high school, I've found I generally agreed with the Green party and this election isn't much different (I'm a registered Democrat--I had a moment when I considered registering as a Green Party member). I share a lot of Stein's views--which are apparently fairly similar to Obama's, but not wholly so--but I sincerely doubt any of the third party candidates are going to win. It's horrible and goes against the point of voting, but I don't want to feel like I'm wasting my vote by selecting her.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Emotional Outlet

[zx0]

You would not be wasting your vote in voting for Stein, you would be voting for a change to the status quo two party bull shit. If everyone voted for the person who they actually would prefer as president, instead of just picking republican or democrat then maybe the greens or libertarians would get a lot more votes.

EO, you can't be the only one out there thinking, "well I would vote for x but it would be a waste". The more people who vote green this time means more will be encouraged to support green next time, and the time after that.

Having said that I think people who would vote for Stein would switch to Obama rather than Romney. And I too would rather see Obama win over Romney, haha.

[† Emotional Outlet]

No, I can't be the only one thinking it, but it seems to be embedded into us to have a nagging feeling that we're doing something wrong if we aren't picking either Democrat or Republican--considering the controversy over Stein and her runnning mate getting arrested for trying to participate in the Presidential debates, or even just the fact that the debates were primarily about Romney and Obama, leaving all the other candidates like Stein and Johnson out in the dust. I think if I was less worried about Romney winning, I would be more comfortable with voting for Stein.

And voting statistics aren't exactly comforting. I hear too many people go on about how they're "not gonna vote because everyone sucks" or "I don't need to vote because my candidate will win since the other one is so terrible". I don't feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders or anything and my one vote is going to save the country from utter destruction, but it makes me anxious.

I got a sample ballot in the mail the other day, so this weekend I'm probably going to be eye-deep in boring stuff (I don't even know who any of the people are running for the Board of Education). I hate that some of this stuff is written so densely and muddily--it's no wonder people hate voting and just give up. All the media attention is on the President and not on anything else--voting for the House and Senate, voting for judges in the circuit court, all these referred laws and charter amendments.

[Neolux]

Frankly, I wish more attention would be given to people running for the House and Senate--I know very little about the candidates and it always seems to come back to the Presidential candidates, which, while an important position, doesn't hold all of the power.

For the big two, I'd sooner vote Obama than Romney. Social issues are important to me and making sure people are treated like human beings should be a priority. I don't think Romney is necessarily the demon people make him out to be, but I don't like him and definitely don't want him in office.

Ever since high school, I've found I generally agreed with the Green party and this election isn't much different (I'm a registered Democrat--I had a moment when I considered registering as a Green Party member). I share a lot of Stein's views--which are apparently fairly similar to Obama's, but not wholly so--but I sincerely doubt any of the third party candidates are going to win. It's horrible and goes against the point of voting, but I don't want to feel like I'm wasting my vote by selecting her.

I agree with this; people tend to blame the entire country's problems on the president, when in fact, most of the power is held by congress. I think it is this attention the president receives that allows congress to get away with many of the things it does.

I am not yet old enough to vote, but when I am, I will most likely register as a Libertarian. I am a firm believer in individualism; the belief that as long as something does not negatively effect anyone else, it should be tolerated.

For example, it is my personal belief that abortion is wrong, but I can respect the right of others to have their personal choice, and the government should not intervene.

This is also the reason why I think marijuana should be legalized, though I would never, ever think of doing it.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Neolux

[Koby]

I voted Obama in 2008 and it looks like I'll be voting for him again in 2012. I haven't really had any complaints about it to be honest. The president doesn't hold the power that people make them out to have. They blame the president for pretty much everything when it's really congress with the power and the problems lie with them. The only way to get out of debt is to make more money than you spend. Romney wants to give even more money to the military than they already get. What we need to do is cut government officials pay down rather than tax the shit out of small businesses and people. Bring our troops home, stop wasting money on inventing new ways of warfare that aren't needed, and stop trying to fix other countries when our own country is broken. It's not our responsibility to "fix" other countries when we're unable to fix our own.