If American voters are really this vacuous, we're in big trouble.

[Atman]

Joe Scab has been reading his mom's e-mail over and over again this morning; the one in which she tells Joe that she decided to vote for Hillary Clinton just because everyone was being so mean to her and because she cried on tv, and that made her look human.

Is that what we've come to in this country? We're choosing our leaders based on their ability to CRY ON CUE, and because we don't like seeing someone get picked on?

Oy.

.

[SteelPenguin]

1. Rule 1 - Never Underestimate People's Stupidity

I'm not saying that voting for Clinton is stupid (I know some will), but withholding judgement on the various candidates for their actual merits, voting for someone because they cried, or that they seem like they'd be nice to have a beer with is pretty dumb.

It's not what we've come to though, this is pretty much the way it's always been. I'm sure our presidential scholars could dredge up tons of different things like this from nearly every election in American history.

It's not just America either. Other nations might not like to admit it, but the majority of the voters in say, the U.K., don't exactly read the Financial Times and/or Guardian every day. The read the Sun so they can check out the page 3 girl.

Oy is right.

[vi5]

2. "Hi, I'm reality....have we met?"

Seriously, how anyone who has not lived in a cave for the past 8 years could wonder whether the american people are vacuous idiots is beyond me.

In fact it's probably pretty obvious to the people living in caves as well.

[pampango]

29. Democracy anyone? "...people are ... idiiots".

Perhaps a form of government which doesn't allow input from average citizens (idiots) would be better for us all. :shrug: Should we have use "wiser" heads (Party members?) to make policy decisions.

[vi5]

33. It's not democracy that's flawed it's american culture and media...

Democracy works just fine, only it is as flawed as the electorate. Not ALL people are idiots but there are a sizable enough chunk of idiots in this country to keep electing republicans despite at this point hard, factual evidence that republican policies destroy lives, don't make us safe, and Don't make life better for anyone other than the super rich.

[JackRiddler]

37. Eight?

[IndianaJones]

3. Yeah...or voting for an African American to soothe racist guilt.

Bunch of idiots.

[Virginia Dare]

9. Many more people will vote for a white guy out of racist/sexist indoctrination..

much worse IMO.

[IndianaJones]

10. Oh sure...look at Iowa. nt.

[Virginia Dare]

15. Iowa caucuses are a poor gauge for how the country will vote in the GE..

it's mostly the party faithful voting.

[IndianaJones]

16. I'm commenting on the racial disconnect displayed by the 5th whitest state in the U.S. nt.

[Virginia Dare]

17. So I guess Iowans have racist guilt..

and New Hampshirites have sexist guilt?

[IndianaJones]

20. If women can be sexist. They swung NH for Clinton.

I will be interested to see if this polling trend continues for Obama. A real test for the Bradley/Wilder effect.

Iowans have something...a largely racist population? I would say so.

[Virginia Dare]

23. Obama was polling very well in Virginia last I saw..

among independents too. Like you say, it will be interesting.

[IndianaJones]

25. I was there when Wilder barely won after polling ahead double digits. nt.

[Virginia Dare]

28. I'm not so sure Wilder's support is such a good thing for Obama..

right now. That man is definitely a piece of work. He's a great politician though, so like I said, it should be interesting.

[Benhurst]

4. Probably.

Or because we go for messages of hope which have the substance of cotton candy.

[Richard Steele]

5. We've been in big trouble for some time now. nm

[Echo In Light]

6. Travesty as usual ...when is American Gladiator on?!

[Virginia Dare]

7. We are that vacuous..

and that is why we are in the current situation that we find ourselves in.

Remember "beer buddy" Bush?

My friend's mother wouldn't vote for Kerry because she didn't like his wife. These are things that people base their votes on. Sad but true.

[Vinca]

8. Let's see - they voted for Bush because they wanted to have a beer with him.

Now they feel sorry for Hillary and her crocodile tears. If Mitt decides to tear up tomorrow, I suppose the vote will switch to him. It makes me want to cry.

[mondo joe]

11. And how many won't vote for Hillary because she's a woman? Equally vacuous shit abounds

and always has.

[iamahaingttta]

12. American voters have ALWAYS been this vacuous!

Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always ....

From Day One!

"Is that what we've come to in this country?"

This is what we've ALWAYS been in this country!

Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always Always ....

From DAY ONE!!!

This is the nature of Democracy and the nature of Humanity! There was NEVER a Golden Age when everybody was smart and voted purely on the issues. It has ALWAYS been like this!


Sheesh!!!

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. I don't think it's stupid at all

The candidates are essentially the same on policy. They just are, despite all the noise on these boards. People who aren't so close to the thing SEE that. They may be smarter than all the so-called political experts on DU.

So, if the candidates are so close on policy, why not strike for the woman? Why not give someone else a chance? Why not pay back the male culture for not only still rampant patriarchy, but particularly vicious misogyny directed at Ms. Clinton, misogyny that left all its usual coded hiding places and came out into the light of day this past weekend for all to see.

Hillary supporters who pretend that sticking it to the patriarchy was not part of this victory are deluded. It was the essence of this victory. Obama supporters who think that that kind of thing is illegitimate politics are similarly deluded. It is the essence of politics, and maybe one of the great triumphs of feminist politics that people finally stood up and said "NO FUCKING MORE!!!!" when the misogynists came out of their dark corners to kick the woman for being a woman this past weekend.

No fucking more.

As many of you know, I lean Obama. But I'm actually glad this happened. The display of raw misogyny this weekend was atrocious. Simply awful. And whatever the specifics of Hillary's politics may be (and I disagree vociferously with her, and unlike many on these boards, I ALWAYS disliked Bill Clinton, and protested his Iraq policies in 1998), Hillary took on something larger this weekend. If Obama was an "ideal of hope" (however vague), Hillary was another ideal that lurks somewhere in the American spirit: the idea of fundamental fairness. The gang up debate. The sneering, joyful press. The guffawing over an instant of emotion. NO FUCKING MORE!!! Hillary was (and has been most of her life, like most women in America) getting a raw deal. And voters said NO FUCKING MORE OF THIS, at least not tonight.

It's a good thing...

[lukasahero]

30. Great post!

I work in NH and live in MA. Everyone I talk to (on the Dem side of course) says that we have a great field of candidates and they would be happy with any one of them. It's been difficult to decide who to vote for - I am as yet undecided between Obama and Hillary. I like them both for different reasons that I'm not going to go into here.

But I think what happened in NH this past weekend was two-fold: the misogyny and the press (heck, in some cases the misogyny OF the press). People in NH don't much like people telling them what to do so when the press said it's all Obama now, they balked. I think the insinuation of the OP that people voted for her because she cried is BS (mostly since, uh, she didn't freakin' cry already! and - why is it so horrible if she did?).

People voted for her for many reasons - each person probably has a dozen different reasons and I'm offended for the people of NH that the implication is they couldn't possibly have made the decision rationally. Oh wait, maybe that is what people are suggesting since Hillary took the "women" and we know how women are... Damn the more I think about this OP the more pissed off I get.

So thank you alcibiades_mystery, thanks for standing up and saying NO MORE. I'm glad this happened as well because I think we now can have a longer discussion (not here on DU of course since actual discussion is a thing of the past). More people need to vote and have their voices heard. The press has been trying to dictate this election all along and we've lost some good candidates because of it. We shouldn't let them, or the misogynist pigs that showed up in NH over the weekend, end this debate before the rest of us have a chance to weigh in.

[sinkingfeeling]

14. Yes, as proof just look at 2004. Americans turned up their nose at a real war hero for a fake one,

dripping the blood of innocent people all over the place and telling us how 'heart-broken' he was about it.

[robbedvoter]

35. No, they didn't. Kerry won. Ask Edwards - he almost "fought" for us then.

Well, he wanted to, but...

[sinkingfeeling]

42. You're kind of right. But about 50 million more should have voted for the hero and then it wouldn't

have been possible for them to have stolen it.

[robbedvoter]

45. You don't know how many, and the hero, the ticket was pro-war, so they got

undeserved support as it was - from people who just wanted Bush out.

[IsItJustMe]

18. My mother-in-law use to vote on the best looking candidate. It use to burn me to no ends, but I

never called her an idiot, although I felt like it. She had a good heart. This all just seems to be a part of the human condition.

And I am absolutely sure that if you look deep enough and are honest enough about it, you will find that you also make other important decisions on superficial bull shit.

Sad, but it is what it is.

[MuseRider]

19. Yes.

It is much easier than actually paying attention to what is being said.

[KharmaTrain]

21. Your First Problem...Watching Joey

The corporate media is 0-2 in the primary season. They're doing about as well as Dukin' Hunter. :rofl:

First, they underestimated Obama in Iowa...THEY were the ones with the "Hillary is inevitable" meme...then the folks in Iowa looked at the issues and told the corporate media to shove it up their Situation Room. The corporate media then took the Iowa results and built it into New Hampshire...not paying any attention to what was really going on there. They had a narrative to sell...to them the election was a popularity contest. For the voters in New Hampshire it was based on issues and organization. Again the corporate media got caught with its Hardballs down. Now its onto South Carolina and Nevada and the village idiots will repeat this same game again.

I give people a lot of credit...especially those involved in the Democratic primaries. Many are cynical of the corporate media and aren't falling for the talking points and narratives. If anything, they're being rejected.

Now the corporate media will attempt to spin itself out of it's latest embarassment by deflecting the blame on the candidates or the voters. Now ya think Joey would read an email from someone asking him about his wrong predictions? Or about interns for that matter? If there's a problem with AAD in our public discourse, it's with the corporate media.

[SammyWinstonJack]

22. I really don't know what too say.

:banghead: :argh: Well maybe I do at that. Looks like Hillary has hit on a winning strategy that works for her. :shrug:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

24. Well, in 1948, a Democrat in Florida lost an election

because his Republican candidate told folks his brother was a homo sapian and his sister was a practicing heterosexual. I don't think things have improved a lot since then.

[izzybeans]

26. Our attention to personality quirks is horribly vacuous.

"I don't know, like (s)he doesn't seem very presidential. You know what I mean? I don't even know but..."

[mcscajun]

27. There are as many reasons for voting for someone as there are people.

OTOH: In a country where more people you encounter at work or in the marketplace can name all the contestants in American Idol and Dancing with the Stars than can name all the Presidential candidates, Vacuous is a given.

[Evoman]

31. People have always been stupid and easily manipulated.

Human kind is largely changed my extraordinary individuals (good or evil).

Remember when Bush went on Oprah, cried, and their was a huge change in the polls after that. Then Gore had to go on Oprah to counter Bush.

It's sad but true...we are all a bunch of fucking idiots.

[spanone]

32. voting for a candidate because they 'look human'...gee, most of the look human to me except giuliani

[robbedvoter]

34. Them stupit wimen - ya know - what do we know? Hormons and emotions

We're weak and easily manipulated - Coulter was right - we should't be allowed to vote!
I was hoping some would buy a clue - but it only shows how naive I am.
Same patronizing BS that fueled NH is raging on ...on a "progressive" website...
If you guys would only be able to keep it on the issues and stop patronizing over half of the electorate...but NOOOOO!
I was thinking last night - the race is wide open - that's good.
But with you guys compounding your mistakes - it may be sealed. Up to you.

[VelmaD]

46. some people just don't seem to get it...

The more they pull the same old sexist bullshit in regards to Clinton, the more they will piss off some women voters (and some men too) and increase the likelihood that they will vote for her. Part of me doesn't even want to point it out to them because it's working so well. *snort*

[Atman]

48. Huh? Who is "you guys" and wtf are you talking about?

:shrug:

.

[kath]

36. or based on whom you'd rather have a beer with. ACK. Murkan voters are stoopid to the max.

So freakin' frustrating. Virtually NO attention is paid to issues -- the populace is stoopid, so we end up with the govt we deserve, I guess (only I'm not stoopid, nor are most DUers, but we get pulled down by the mass vacuity and stoopidity.)

OY, indeed.
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[truebrit71]

38. Yes they are that stupid, and yes, we are in trouble...

...but this isn't exactly breaking news...the dumbing down of 'Murrka has been going on for quite some time now...

Bill Hicks nailed it many years ago..."Go to sleep America, shut up, we're in control, just shut up and go to sleep, here, here's American Gladiators to watch, shut up and go to sleep...."

We are surrounded by greedy, self-centred, vacuous, vain, STUPID people....I honestly wonder whether it already isn't too late for this country...

[Clark2008]

39. It's so prevalent, there's even a song about it.

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mindfuck America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well that's enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along in the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well that's enough to argue.

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information nation of hysteria.
It's going out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.

[tom_paine]

40. And a movie or two, including the Matrix.

Ultimately, something like The Matrix couldn't have popped out of the ideosphere, as it were, unless collectively, the reality of being ignorant "rats in a maze" of mirror, a hologram of comforting lies had not been growing and growing as the REALITY of modern life in our Empire, even inthe alte 90s, although before the Bushies Radical Restructuring of Language and Reality only the subconcsious could see it.

"I wish I had never taken that Red Pill."

[Javaman]

41. Even worse...

"because she looked human", to me that statement is really a sad testament on our political system. Where everyone of the front runners basically is a carbon cut out of the next (regardless of race or gender).

That when one shows even the slightest bit of emotion, whether it's real or fake, it's looked upon by the general public, who so badly wants something real, something genuine (even if it's staged), that they are willing to change their vote based upon that minute morsel of perceived reality.

We live in very sad times.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

43. yeah or believing that change occurs, because you use the word 1000000 times

:eyes:

[havocmom]

44. Well, America seems to love actors more than reality

[MyNameGoesHere]

47. yes we should have a rule that only intelligent, educated, and reasonable

people should be allowed to vote. Then we could rename democracy to something else. We are not in big trouble, the masses that vote are from all walks of life and vote for whatever reason they want to. This is how it works. if someone wants to chose a candidate on crying ability that is their choice. To even entertain that it is wrong or not reasonable is anti-American. NO TESTS period. that is America.