You know, tonight the second debate we have just witnessed the death of the conservatives in the republican party. Those that believe that hard work pays off. That youngsters who go to college & work their behinds off to get a better education, then go to work are supposed to get ahead in this country, & not be punished for it. That those of us who pay our mortgages on time, & whom are responsible enough to know when they can't afford something, not buy it. Those of us that live pay check to pay check in hopes of saving some day so we can retire. Those of us who do not expect others to pay for our health care, or our home mortages. Those of us that believe in this country--& who believe that America is still the best country on earth. Those of us who believe that if you cut loose the American population there is no stopping us on anything we want to do.

The republican party--had Mitt Romney, Rudi Gulliani & a few more that represented the above ideas. Instead we got a very weak 72 year old John McCain--whose only hope was Sarah Palin--who is the female version of Ronald Reagan.

McCain--what in the hell--who supported this 700 Billion dollar bail out--who supported the pork within this bail-out bill & who tonight agreed that we should bail out the loosers who knew dam good & well that they were taking a risk when buying a home that they could not afford.

This is the first time in my life (55 years) that I cannot vote for either candidate.

Sarah--coodo's to you. You still represent the majority of this population--for Gods Sake do not let John McCain take you down with him. Go back to Alaska, run your state & God Bless you for who you are & what you represent.

WHERE IN THE HELL IS RONALD REAGAN!

he is in the grave, along with a coherent conservative message.

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Still dead, I hope.

Great speaker, no doubt, but rhetoric just as confused as McCain's.

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All things serve The Beam

Reagan? You mean the guy who funded mujahideen?

There wasn't a conservative argument to be found, for sure.

Gov.Palin does not represent the majority of the population. She is a variation of the George W. Bush kind of modern Republican.

I think Ron Paul would have been on fire this fall had he been the Republican candidate. He only now stands above everyone with his monetary policy talk.

Presidential campaigns are much about tone, and about one's ability to read the country's mood. These are very uncertain times, and offering reassurance to people is key. Ronald Reagan knew how to do that. John McCain doesn't seem to have that quality. He looks kind of angry, and he seems very disconnected from the economic problems that people are having.

I think Fred Thompson was a bust, so he'd be doing even worse than McCain. Thompson seemed clueless, whereas McCain just seems out of touch.

I think Mitt Romney could have made things closer, because he would have been the Republican "change" candidate.

I think what's most apparent after tonight's debate is that McCain should have carved out his campaign's narrative long ago and stuck to it. "Experience Matters" and a reassuring and calm tone this fall would have served McCain much better than the dramatic turns he's taken over the last 5 weeks.

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“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."-Sarah Palin, not having a clue once again about what she is talking about.

Reagan was actually worse than McCain without a teleprompter, but that may be because he was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers while he was president. He was great at delivering a speech.

What you have to remember about conservatism is that it isn't defined by a fixed set of policies. Conservatism is a reverence for tradition and a skepticism towards change. The purpose of conservatives in the political dialog is to force progressive ideas to prove themselves against criticism, rather than being implemented without testing. Conservatism isn't supposed to win and govern. It's supposed to slow liberalism/progressivism down and keep it from flying off the handle and doing stupid things. It's supposed to lose, but not too easily or quickly. And that means conservative ideas, like progressive ones, change over time, as progressive ideas become accepted and part of the mainstream, and hence cease to be progressive and become conservative.

When I was a kid, racism was a conservative idea, and so was the notion that women were only supposed to be homemakers. When my grandfather was a kid, conservatives opposed the eight-hour day and labor unions. When my great-great-grandfather was a kid, conservatives championed slavery. And when his great-grandfather was a kid, the conservatives were believers in the divine right of kings.

Today's conservatism is yesterday's liberalism, and today's liberalism will be the conservatism of tomorrow. Live long enough, and you see that happen.

Well put.

I loved the way you just wrapped all that history together like that.

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“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."-Sarah Palin, not having a clue once again about what she is talking about.

that dude is pretty perceptive, no doubt.

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You younsters on this board have no idea at what's coming. Believe me, your vote this year, you're going to regret within 2 years. I remember Jimmy Carter. I had to provide & survive during his time. However, I'll give you this one this term. Sometimes experience is the best education.

Believe me, after BO--guaranteed you'll switch party affiliation for the rest of your life! I did.

ahhh, the ole fear card. Since when is the president the end all be all of how easy your life is going to be in a financial sense?

Did it ever occur to you that there were outside factors involved in the economy during the administration of carter?

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I remember Carter, too. He didn't cause me to switch parties.

(Thanks for the compliments, guys.)

Puh-leez. I'm 41. I lived through his admin as a kid and somehow, magically, I still have all my arms and legs.

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All things serve The Beam

And after living through the Bush administration, everyone is switching back.

You're right about experience sometimes being the best education, especially when it is applicable. No one has a hell of a lot of experience for how to manage an economic mess like we have now. Given that, I'm going to go for the smart one.

They were certainly earned. That was about the most cogent post I've seen on this site.

So you were about 9 when Carter became Pres. I'm sure you weren't paying to much attention at that age.

I was 15 and the Carter years were horrible. Thank God for Ronald Reagan.

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Andy
Cynical Optimist