Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mccain

Why is it "Great news! For John McCain" ?

0xFCAF — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:49:03 -0800

What's the origin of "[Some really bad event for McCain is] Great news! For John McCain!" ? I thought I was following the last election pretty closely, but I guess I missed some great meme. It seems to be only used in ironic contexts (i.e. Obama winning the election is great news! For John McCain!!!). Someone on 538 claims it's from people blogging unjustifiably exuberantly about Clinton during the primaries, but "Great news for [Hillary] Clinton" only turns up about 1,000 Google results (including an undated LOLIraqiInformationMinister) compared to 6,000 for "Great news for [John] McCain". Truth or fiction?

Who gave the best McCain endorsement speech?

josh — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:15:53 -0800

Who gave the most powerful, most persuasive, and most memorable endorsement of John McCain in this election? I'm going to be giving a series of talks in the spring about political argument, and I'd like to organize one of the talks around political endorsements. I'd like to watch or read, with the audience, one endorsement for Barack Obama and another for John McCain, and explore what makes the endorsements powerful, persuasive, and memorable.

Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama is the obvious choice on that side. On the McCain side - what was the single most persuasive and interesting endorsement you read or heard? Who made the equivalent of the Powell endorsement for McCain? Bonus points for YouTube video!

Mccain soundtrack

exhilaration — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:37:30 -0800

What was the music that McCain had playing as he walked off the stage after his concession speech on Tuesday night? It sounded like it came from the soundtrack of an action movie. I must know what it is.

What did Giuliani say last night?

orangemiles — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:57:01 -0800

What was the exact quote from Giuliani on NBC news last night with Brian Williams? Giuliani had a great response to Brian Williams' question, "What happens tomorrow morning?" G said something like, "We all go back to being Americans and supporting our president, because if he fails, we all fail." Google, nbc.com, and youtube are failing me.

Is the world watching the US elections?

nikkorizz — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:33:07 -0800

Is the world watching the United States 2008 presidential elections? Who are they routing for? I've heard that, for example, people in Kenya are paying close attention to the elections simply because of Obama's ancestral heritage, but I'm wondering if other countries are interested in the US elections for something other than curiosity, candidate heritage, or just wanting to see George W. Bush out of office.

I'd like to know of some examples of non-Americans living outside the U.S. routing for one presidential candidate over the other.

Personal stories are great, but links to articles are preferred.

Americans Abroad?

Doublewhiskeycokenoice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:50:15 -0800

Where can my sister watch the election returns in Dublin? She's doing a year abroad over there and would love to watch the results trickle in. Is there any sort of place that's doing this? No cover would be preferable I am told.

Feed my information addiction while I'm offline on November 4

Mavri — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:03:19 -0800

I will not have internet access on election night, but really want to be able to follow along--has anyone seen a good cheat sheet? Many of the sites I've been reading have had a lot of prognostication along the following lines, "If Obama wins states x and y when the first polls close, then McCain needs states a and b. But if McCain gets state x, then the states to watch when the second bunch of polls close are states c and d." Or, "If Obama wins the Kerry states + states x, y, and z, he's in, and McCain needs to win the Bush states plus states a, b, and c." Etc.

I'm looking for something I can print out or download to a non-internet capable laptop that will help me gauge how things are going on Tuesday night.

I'll be glued to the TV, but don't trust them to give me what I need. I'm desperately addicted to 538 and Pollster and the rest, and I need to cope on Tuesday w/o them as best I can.

The best political coverage available (via internet) on Election Night.

chrisinseoul — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:19:53 -0800

The best political coverage available (via internet) on Election Night. The best political coverage available (via internet) on Election Night. It's as simple as that - I live in Seoul, South Korea, yet as an American, I feel compelled to watch the Election 'Night' counts come in. I won't specify my candidate of choice, but I would like to see the results and watch each state called for one person or the other. What's the best online coverage for that?

Does Obama / McCain slash fiction exist?

abirae — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:31:04 -0800

Does Obama / McCain slash fiction exist? If so, where can I find it and what are the major themes in the genre? I know it must be out there - Obama McCain real person fiction. I imagine something like a rehash of the Kirk/Spock genre, where the maverick is tamed, or the soft spoken rational guy learns to cut loose. I know real people fiction is sometimes considered taboo in the slash fiction world, but surely I'm not the first person to wonder about this unlikely pairing.

Is it bad that I said that? It isn't good.

cashman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:08:24 -0800

How to handle the varieties of coming-out-of-the-closet bigotry that is resulting from the current U.S. presidential election? The increasing likelihood of having a nonwhite president seems to have brought out some people's worst selves. Even guessing it was coming, I still was unprepared when recently someone close to me made it clear that they had issues with, to put it vaguely, the progress that has been made with civil rights in the U.S. Others around Mefi are having similar issues with friends, neighbors and coworkers revealing their bigoted feelings.

Any general tips on how to handle people in this situation? I suspect the tips would be different depending on the race of the person who says something bigoted and what race you consider yourself to be, but in general what would you advise?

Though I'm somewhat informed about these matters I still felt disarmed when the person did it because they are otherwise wonderful. It was and is hard to think through the feelings of betrayal and sadness and come up with any kind of meaningful way of handling it. Right now, in my case, I want to talk to the person. But I'm wary about what I might hear next that will, to put it simply, result in (job) drama. Or perhaps confrontation is counterproductive and these people should just be left alone in hopes that they'll revert to their typical behavior and perhaps admit they were scared and wrong?

I'm asking now because I doubt I'll be lucky enough to have it only be this one person that does this. I don't know whether to confront them with facts and information, have some historically relevant excerpt to call on, just ignore it (while clearly not condoning it) and let them grapple with themselves, or what. And even then, if someone who is really close to me reveals themselves as a bigot, I don't know if I can look past the anger and hurt to process how best to handle things. Should I try to cut off any emotion, remove myself from the situation mentally and proceed as if I am talking to a stranger?

If you had this happen to you recently, how have you handled it?

Money to burn?

gregoryc — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:50:09 -0800

Why is Obama advertising in Oklahoma? From what I can tell, McCain will win OK. Thirty points is thirty points, not matter how good the momentum is right now. So why spend money in Oklahoma at all?

Whats the likelihood of a Palin "nu-cu-lar" Presidency?

hal_c_on — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:56:15 -0800

"Resolve an argument" filter: What to use to calculate the life expectancy of a 72yr old male? Yes, we are talking about John McCain. So my brother (currently an associate, but almost a "fellowshipped" actuary by exams) and I (last took calc as a college frosh, and stats as a jr) have been having an argument regarding calculating life expectancies.

When I asked him how I could calculate the life expectancy, or the likelihood of death in 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years...from today, he came back with a life table from the SSA site (duh), He told me that there's about a 14.4% chance of death within 4 years.

Yeah, I can do the same thing. I also know that life tables are awesome when looking at the aggregate, but horrible when looking at individuals. If I wanted to know how many 24 year olds out of 10,000 would die this year, that life table would be spot on. It won't really tell how likely one 24 year old is likely to die accurately.

He told me that the SSA table is the tool actuaries use. Ummm no. I don't buy it. Sure it may be an initial reference point, but there is no way that one studies math for decades only to rely on a chart to make all the decisions. To be fair, he doesn't do THIS kind of actuarial work.

I KNOW that I won't understand the *why* of how the math was arrived at, but how is life expectancy arrived at? What is the likelihood of death for John McCain while in office for the first term.

Although life insurance applications may seem HUGE, they don't ask that many questions (to get the variables that need to be plugged into a formula). They take a simple medical exam (I just went through one: questions, height/weight, blood pressure, and some blood).

Without having ALL the specifics of McCain's medical records, but being able to google a good portion of it, can someone calculate the likelihood of a Palin presidency contingent upon the Republicans winning the 2008 Presidential election?

I've seen some articles all over the place using basic math to arrive at a number (some as high as 40%[1 out of 2.5], and some as low as 0.3%[1 out of 333]), and I don't trust the math behind it. Sure this question has some political implications, but it is a STRICT MATHEMATICAL and SCIENTIFIC question. I don't want Obama supporters telling me that their pappy died at 71, so there's a 95% chance that he will die within the first year, and I don't want McCain supporters telling me that "71 is the new 30". I just want a straight answer.

What can I do to win the election for my candidate?

davebug — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:52:22 -0800

To the undecideds, or those who believe they can put themselves in the undecided's shoes: What might persuade you towards a particular candidate, particularly in the form of anything a volunteer might be able to do? Would someone coming to your door help, or hurt? Phone calls? Voter registration campaigns, or offers of rides to the polls? Signs in yards and clever bumper stickers? Blog posts? Emailing everyone I know with video clips and transcripts? What can be done to positively affect your decision in the presidential election? In short, how might I, as a volunteer, most effectively turn you into decided for my candidate. (Note, if there's no way at all anyone or anything can change your mind, you're not undecided, but it is valid to say no volunteer could do anything to possibly affect your decision in any positive way.)

Obama/McCain on 60 Minutes. Screen captures available?

jaimev — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:33:11 -0800

Last Sunday, CBS showed 60 Minutes in HD for the first time for their Obama & McCain interviews. Are there any screen captures of what Obama and McCain looked like on that show? One podcast I listened to this week commented on how poor McCain looked.

Talking points for BBC TV interview on role of Internet in U.S. politics

camworld — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:11:11 -0800

I've just been asked to be interviewed for a popular show on BBC TV to talk about the role of the Internet in U.S. politics for this campaign cycle. What are some succinct and intelligent talking points I can follow without sounding like I'm talking out my arse. My role in the 2004 campaign cycle is fairly well-known. I was heavily involved in the Wesley Clark campaign during the primaries and built the first campaign web site for Clark04 and then proceeded to build the innovative (at the time) Clark Community Network that allowed every campaign supporter to be a blogger for Clark and have a voice in the campaign.

After the Clark campaign I proceeded to consult for the Kerry campaign but left after 6 weeks because I refused to play the backstabbery game that most campaigns are chock full of. Side note: It's kind of ironic that political campaigns have some of the most screwed up office politics I have ever witnessed.

I also wrote some proposals for the DNCC, proposing they build an online community that allowed the delegates, remote bloggers, the political activists and journalists to communicate with one another -- basically break down the barriers that have been in place at every political convention for the past 100 years.

This cycle, I am mostly uninvolved with politics but am paying close attention to the polls and the proposed policies of each candidate. I'm impressed with the online efforts of the Obama campaign and know a few of the people who helped put that together.

So, if you were in my shoes, what talking points would you stick to? Should I take the opportunity to throw in a few digs at the McCain/Palin campaign? I'm obviously a strong Obama supporter, if only because I think McCain is walking death and Palin is the most unqualified person to ever be this close to the White House (even trumping George W. Bush's ignorance and mismanagement).

Debate party ideas?

Lizc — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:00:16 -0800

Need help/ideas on politically inspired appetizers for the upcoming 2008 Presidential Debates. Like the previous two threads (which were great!) - I'm looking for themed easy appetizers/finger foods for the Obama/Mccain & Biden/Palin debates. No special dietary requirements either, just tasty and funny.

Thanks!

Beer & Debates

Sreiny — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:12:35 -0800

Bars that will be showing the Presidential Debate next Friday in Chicago. I'd like to have some friends out for my birthday next Friday, which happens to be the first presidential debate. I don't want to miss them, and I don't want to make people choose, does anyone know where we can drink and watch the debate? Thanks!

Find the original obama education bill

mtstover — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:36:04 -0800

Ok, so my googlefu is gone. I just watched Newshour and McCain and Obama had their surrogates hashing out their education polices. McCain's person said Obama sponsored a bill that would teach sex to 5 year olds, Obama's person said the bill was about teaching how to prevent sexual predators. Where can I find said bill to find the truth? Oh, and by the way, why didn' t the newshour reporter hold their feet to the fire to clear it up by having the actual bill? One of them was lying...

How to support McCain-Palin in NYC?

BobbyVan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:11:59 -0800

I'm a recent transplant to NYC, and a Republican. I need to find the best ways to support McCain-Palin in what can be a somewhat inhospitable environment. Yes, it's pretty clear that New York's electoral votes will go for Obama this time around. But NYC is also a place from which one can be influential in terms of influencing the national debate.

I don't want to be unnecessarily provocative (as in, I'm not trying to stir up the opposition or make people angry), but I would like to raise the profile and be effective in supporting my ticket.

This would include rebutting smears against McCain and Palin in a civil way, making convincing arguments against Obama-Biden, and at least getting people to have an open mind about my side.

Any clever ideas?

Thanks to all.

MCredibility of McCain's POW experience

NorthCoastCafe — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:40:09 -0800

Where can I find well-researched accounts of McCain's POW experience in order to judge the credibility of his and his supporters claims?

Polling procedure question

josher71 — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:00:46 -0800

I was talking about the polls in the presidential election yesterday and someone mentioned that the polls are skewed towards McCain because the polling companies only call people who still have landlines, or generally older people (I guess). She claimed this was for geographic demographic reasons. Is it true that polling companies do this and don't call cell phones?

McCain vs Obama website

paulinsanjuan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:27:08 -0800

Website that compares McCain and Obama's policies in a non-biased way with references/sources?

Wow, did he really say that?

klarck — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:40:16 -0800

I need transcripts of all speeches, remarks or otherwise public statements made by Obama and McCain for this year's campaign. There's one in particular that I just can't find right now. After receiving a particularly infuriating Mallard Filmore cartoon from a friend, I wanted to respond with a full transcript of Obama's Powder Springs, GA remarks. (You know, the one where he says he hates English speakers and all children will be forced to learn Spanish and speak French like his fellow elitists.) I checked the Obama website, googled several different keyword sets and just couldn't find the full transcript.

You tube links are pretty easy to find, but my friend's connection is way, way too slow for YouTube links. I'm looking for text.

Robbing the Rich?

Mr. Anthropomorphism — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:31:46 -0800

Will Obama's windfall profits tax destroy the American economy? These days, just about every trip to my folks' house includes at least one (good) spirited Obama-McCain debate. I can almost always defend Obama, and sometimes can even evoke concessions.

However, my old man's concerns about the WPT plan don't immediately come across as unfounded. In fact, most of the informed opinon I've found runs contrary to Obama's claims (which he himself admits here).

Although I think the oil companies can and will abide a tax, my father's concern seems to be that the tax may befall other industries, who even now don't have much reason not to pull up stakes and move off-shore (e.g. automobile manufacturers). After seeing the current administration initiate domino-effect invasions and demands on our privacy, I am hesitant to discount this slippery slope logic.

I feel a little like I'm cheating by crowdsourcing this question, but the resources I've been able to turn up have been a little thin, and intelligent insight on the issue is even scarcer.

What software makes McCain interesting?

bingo — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:14:40 -0800

What software are people (most likely) using to create custom videos for Colbert's McCain green screen project?