Do you see this as the most important election of your lifetime? (vote, middle east)

[tc14]

Every election is always hyped up about being the most important election ever. This will get the same hype. Is it true though? To me Romney and Obama are too similar to each other for me to buy that rhetoric.

You have essentially two moderates facing off.

[Kashta]

If they were the only possibilities, then I wouldn't even bother voting. Luckily, they aren't, and the other Republican candidate DOES make this the most important election of my lifetime...so far, anyway.

Romney's worried, as evidenced by the shady tactics being employed by his campaign in the various state delegate selection processes. That alone is enough to give me confidence that it's not a done deal.

[Hueffenhardt]

No, I don't see this as the most important election of my lifetime. I think that is something that can only be evaluated in retrospect. I think the most important election in my lifetime was when Reagan beat Carter in 1980.

[wutitiz]

I do think this is a critical point because of the debt, and the fact that Pres. Obama shows not the slightest inclination to back off of the spending throttle. At this rate we'll have another 6 trillion in debt by 2016, which would mean a more than 1.5 debt to gdp ratio. And about a 7.7 to 1 ratio of debt to annual federal revenue.

[banjomike]

I don't think this election is th emost important in my lifetime, but I think it is important for several reasons:
- the economy and it's recovery
- the split in the Republican party
- the war in Afghanistan
- developments in Europe, Africa and the Middle East

All of the above have unpredictable outcomes. Many are beyond any President's control, and all will impact Americans in unforeseen ways to unforeseen degrees.

Some of them are going to be long term; the condition of the Euro as a currency and the European Union's solidity will have a huge impact on America. If the Euro starts to fail steadily, the US dollar will certainly rise to become the de-facto currency standard, and this may be very good or bad for us, depending on how our industry rises to meet the challenge. At the same time, if the dollar becomes over-valued, it could drop us into another recession that our banking and monetary system might not be able to control. The same goes for everything on the list. Each item has it's own complications, and all intertwine with each other.

America has been in worse trouble before, but not in a long time. So far, we have managed to escape the worst of what happens when truly hard times hit this country, and I hope we won't ever go through the worst that has happened in the past.

But, like Huffenhardt, I think this election's importance will only be evaluated by the historians of the future. As with them all, the election will play out as it will, and consequences, good or bad or indifferent, will come along afterward as they always do.

[LordSquidworth]

The most important election of my lifetime is still a ways off.

The only importance I see in this election is that the Republicans will lose and they'll hopefully recognize that the far right stance isn't working, and shift the whole party back towards the center. Democracy doesn't work with one side this far off in its corner.

Of course they hopefully pick better candidates next time. Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum was... well... interesting.

[wutitiz]

Originally Posted by banjomike

like Huffenhardt, I think this election's importance will only be evaluated by the historians of the future.

I agree with that, the real evaluation of importance will come only years down the road. I recall a local GOP guy trying to tell me that the election of 1996 (Dole vs. Clinton) was the most important of our lifetime. That now looks laughable. Dole was a moderate, and Clinton swerved right in his 2nd term, so that election was about as meaningless as it gets.

[case44]

No election that has taken place in my lifetime (45 years) has ever been near as crucial as the one we're about to experience. The most radical, left-wing president this country has ever seen is up against Mitt Romney. You've got a guy that's never been in business versus one who has. It's jobs, the economy, and, most of all, our personal freedoms which are hanging in the balance, threatened by big government and leftist socialism which will cripple this nation if such things are not voted out in November. The American people are not fools and are not dumb. We can see what is going on and we will fight to fix it. If leftist extremists are voted out of the Senate and out of the House, that's only a start, but it all rests with what happens in November. A vote for Romney will save America, but there will be much to clean up. Conservatives are realizing that now is the time to bond together.

You really could not have a better-crafted script (as it were) than this scenario, admittedly, but our nation is in trouble. It's that serious, folks. Everything rests with this election.

[Dale Cooper]

Yes, it's the most important in my lifetime (I'm 67). Carter/Reagan held that honor until now.

It's true that Obama has swung toward the middle, and Romney is as middle as they come, but based only on business experience, Romney is the only viable choice. Obama is like a ghetto escapee with a stolen blank check.

[LordSquidworth]

Originally Posted by case44

The most radical, left-wing president this country has ever seen is up against Mitt Romney.

He's actually not. He's pretty similar to Mr. Bush Jr.

Originally Posted by case44

You've got a guy that's never been in business versus one who has.

I hate to break it to you, but running a business has nothing to do with being president. If you're sill like the people who relates balancing governments checkbook just like individuals balance theirs, well you're just silly.

Originally Posted by case44

It's jobs, the economy, and, most of all, our personal freedoms which are hanging in the balance, threatened by big government and leftist socialism which will cripple this nation if such things are not voted out in November.

So please tell why its members of the Right, so claimed defenders of our freedoms, that keep writing these bills that impede upon them? Great disappointment McCain has turned into.

Originally Posted by case44

The American people are not fools and are not dumb. We can see what is going on and we will fight to fix it.

Yet a decade later we're still occupying countries that we could never win in the first place. We're really smart... We let those who caused the financial mess of '08 walk... must have gotten distracted by Jersey Shore...

Originally Posted by case44

If leftist extremists are voted out of the Senate and out of the House, that's only a start, but it all rests with what happens in November.

Like the teaparty people that bring the government to an almost complete halt because they forgot that in a democracy you... um... have to compromise.

Originally Posted by case44

A vote for Romney will save America, but there will be much to clean up. Conservatives are realizing that now is the time to bond together.

They honestly would have had a better chance if their candidate was the ginger bread man. Romney is... Romney.

Originally Posted by case44

You really could not have a better-crafted script (as it were) than this scenario, admittedly, but our nation is in trouble. It's that serious, folks. Everything rests with this election.

The script hopefully ends with the Right pulling its head out of its rear and returning to a more moderate area of the political spectrum. Until they do, nothings going to change.

Other than that, the elections been over for months. I'm already looking forward to the future.