With respect when you say "a candidate who seems to have alliances with only the few who seem to be doing well". You are using the old leftist he is rich, therefore he is bad cliche.
I am sure you remember when parents used to point out successful people to their children and say " if you work really hard you can make it too".
It's sad is it not that those times seem to be gone? A reflection on what ails the World maybe.
I don't think so, Pete...we Americans aren't any different from the rest of the world, we admire hard work and we aspire to affluence. We have had a bit of bitter fruit forced down our throats by the rich now and then with their bad behavior, but that is just another form of excess...there are some very good, very rich people. One of my heroes is Bill Gates, he and his wife are donating huge percentages of their considerable fortune to charities that will benefit all of us. Before those of you who disagree will bust a gut trying to be the first to point out that the Romneys donated significantly to charity, that was a religious tithe "requirement" for their religion, not an act of generosity, so it doesn't count for me.
As for Mrs Romney's Frivolous dancing horse, it is an Olympic medal contender
Calling it frivolous is indicative of how little you know of the time, hard work and money involved in getting a horse to Olympic standard.
I understand the Romney's have a large amount invested in the animal and the tax deduction is legitimate, if indeed they got one.
The point isn't that it takes a lot of hard work and money to get a horse to Olympic standard, nor that the tax deduction was legitimate. Pete, when you make so little that you have trouble putting food on the table for your children, you'd rather eat that damned horse than watch it prancing on the parade grounds...and to know that the man who wants to represent you to the rest of the world is so heartless that he puts his priorities into that endeavor doesn't endear him to those voters...and we here in the U.S. have WAAAAY too many as the schism between the haves and the have nots gets wider and wider...another form of polarization.
I come from a background of horses...my father worked at Churchill Downs, our family was from Louisville, KY. I worked my way through high school and college on a cattle ranch, rode a horse so much the insides of my thighs were raw. I think of them as very spiritual animals, love them....but they are expensive toys and they did little to gain respect for the Romneys during a time when the largest part of our population was practically destitute.
In the end, BO made that connection with the majority of the voters and the "conservative agenda" was refuted by the vote...I know that's a bitter pill to swallow for our conservative majority around here, but if anyone believes the membership on this forum is representative of the general population in the U.S.A., you're a little more than half a bubble off :furious: !
As for BO and the current brouhaha...I'm in the same boat with Jim...not enough information to make a firm decision yet...ready to fall on either side of the fence, just need the RELIABLE, INDEPENDENT research to push me to one side or the other.
Cheers!
Doug