U.S. Presidential race - Democrat Discussion

[ptwonline]

The whole damn world runs on computers. I have a hard time believing you'd be ok with a president who has no ability to operate one.

Not being able to operate a computer doesn't mean you can't have valid opinions and solid judgement.

Nominating someone like Sarah Palin shows pretty clearly that you don't though.

[Wells]

Not being able to operate a computer doesn't mean you can't have valid opinions and solid judgement.

Well yeah but you still have to be able to do the bloody job. I'd imagine not being able to use e-mail would be kind of a big deal.

[Grizzly Willy]

I dunno I think Obama being so lame he can't use an Iphone is pretty bad.

I just want to point out the irony of this statement coming from a man who supports Mittens.

[belfpala]

I'd imagine not being able to use e-mail would be kind of a big deal.

That's what I don't get about the criticisms of Obama going golfing (or Bush hanging out on his ranch, for that matter). This is the 21st Century. They're in contact with the entire world at all times.

[ptwonline]

Well yeah but you still have to be able to do the bloody job. I'd imagine not being able to use e-mail would be kind of a big deal.

Just hire someone to read your e-mail and write up summaries for you to read! Kind of embarassing when the wife sends a racy note though.

[Fuzzzie]

Guys. I'm not trying to stifle discussion, but the personal attacks and snipes need to go. You guys should be better than this. If you want to discuss politics then you need to be very strict about conforming to the rules. Deviation, especially this close to election is going to be looked at and dealt with more harshly.

[Naxere]

McCain doesn't use a computer because of his time spent as a POW.


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics...y-doesnt-mcca/

[Spectral]

Not being able to operate a computer doesn't mean you can't have valid opinions and solid judgement.

I find it very hard to believe that there's a single American that I'd consider to have valid opinions and solid judgment regarding issues that would be important for an office holder that doesn't know how to operate a computer.

[Sunseeker]

McCain doesn't use a computer because of his time spent as a POW.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics...y-doesnt-mcca/

While that is sad, we really are living in a digital age, and there's more ways to use a computer than simply typing, though it is the most common. A few button clicks on a handheld device need not require raising his arms, and most devices have talk-to-text.

[Wells]

While that is sad, we really are living in a digital age, and there's more ways to use a computer than simply typing, though it is the most common. A few button clicks on a handheld device need not require raising his arms, and most devices have talk-to-text.

That and computer illiteracy is different than physical handicaps.

[Spectral]

That and computer illiteracy is different than physical handicaps.

Indeed, there's a vast difference between "I don't know how to use a computer" and "I'm a disabled vet and find typing physically uncomfortable".

[Sunseeker]

That and computer illiteracy is different than physical handicaps.

Indeed, even if he has everything done for him, his e-mails dictated, websites searched, that doesn't mean one must be ignorant of it. I may not be able to fix an engine, but that doesn't stop me from understanding how it works. There are lots of people who live in great pain every day, even in our country alone, and there are lots of ways that technology allows people to access things without more....physical...methods.

[starlord]

And really, who doesn't know how to flip a burger? They might not cook it WELL, but even I can flip a burger and I neeeeeever grill.

no flipping neede these days, just slap it on the clamshell grill & press a button.

---------- Post added 2012-09-10 at 05:25 PM ----------

which incidentally has a computer in it.

[belfpala]

no flipping neede these days, just slap it on the clamshell grill & press a button.

---------- Post added 2012-09-10 at 05:25 PM ----------

which incidentally has a computer in it.

lol.

someone still has to do the slapping part. :P

[Siraeyou]

So when someone links a statistic that's actually obtained through experimentation and research, it's on the same level of reliability as someone who tosses a number out that's based on nothing more than a random guess?

You're not very smart, are you?

Clearly you don't understand a joke when it is so blatantly obvious. Also do you not understand that you can twist "experimented and researched" statistics towards any direction you want. All it takes is the correct sampling of people, which is why we have "legitimate" statistics that could show either candidate in the lead of for polls, in the same manner you can prove people prefer Coke over Pepsi or vice versa. Also the fact that you would take a little joke and try to use it as a challenge of my intellectual capabilities, is not only immature of you, but also shows you as a very ignorant and close minded individual.

Edit: But to amuse you some more because you choose to fall back on your statistics, let's take a look at the statistics and foresight of a source that has been correct in every presidential election since 1980: http://www.colorado.edu/news/release...ado-study-says

[Spectral]

Edit: But to amuse you some more because you choose to fall back on your statistics, let's take a look at the statistics and foresight of a source that has been correct in every presidential election since 1980: http://www.colorado.edu/news/release...ado-study-says

Economic data is an excellent proxy in many elections, and it's even better when considering the history of elections. An individual election, however, has other factors than just the overarching economic indices that are used by the linked analysis. Let's take a chunk from that particular work:

And though they chiefly focus on the Electoral College, the political scientists predict Romney will win 52.9 percent of the popular vote to Obama’s 47.1 percent, when considering only the two major political parties.

I'd be perfectly happy to bet $50,000 on Obama if someone wanted to give me a 5.8 point spread.

If we're looking for a projection system, I'd suggest using Silver's work instead.

[Wells]

Silver's work is superior because it looks at a much much larger data set.

---------- Post added 2012-09-11 at 02:41 AM ----------

And if you want to talk about reliability in the past you can't really beat Nate Silver

[belfpala]

[/COLOR]And if you want to talk about reliability in the past you can't really beat Nate Silver

Nothing against his work... but I pretty much only know him because of baseball.

[Spectral]

Nothing against his work... but I pretty much only know him because of baseball.

PECOTA!

That's where I knew him from too. I was (and am) a huge baseball stat nerd. It's actually why I thought highly of his political work even before he had success.

[Felya]

Indeed, there's a vast difference between "I don't know how to use a computer" and "I'm a disabled vet and find typing physically uncomfortable".

There is also a difference between a president not using an iPhone and the chair of United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation saying this:


"Ten movies streaming across that, that Internet, and what happens to your own personal Internet? I just the other day got… an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday. I got it yesterday [Tuesday]. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially.
[…] They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material."

This was Ted Stevens, the longest serving republican senator in history.