Has this country really been reduced to rhetoric that includes idiotic references to "Joe the plumber" and "Joe Sixpack"? The fact that this horseshit was being blathered by a man that was obviously and undeniably on an emotional edge, and by a woman that has such disregard for the American public that she will lie unabashedly to them, makes the whole despicable charade more loathsome.

The rest of the world must be shaking their heads in amazement as they watch this embarrassing display of our so called "democratic process" play out. I invite you, if only for a moment, to set aside all the extraneous excuses, rationales, partisan biases, and unfounded trusts for this process, and REALLY see it for what it is. Did you ever think our nation would come to this? That such obviously and undeniably unqualified and unsuited people would take the world stage and make such an ass of the United States? Sarah Palin??? Are you fuckin' kidding me? McCain??? He showed the emotional maturity of a five year old last night.

I never thought I'd endorse Obama. I see him as little more than a media construct, and I distrust the motive behind his manufacture. But John McCain and Sarah Palin must be kept out of the White House. It truly is a matter of national security.

POA:
"Has this country really been reduced to rhetoric that includes idiotic references to 'Joe the plumber' and 'Joe Sixpack'?"

This is a rhetorical question, right?

By "this country," you mean our self-appointed Great Communicators, meaning politicos such as David Frum or Steve Schmidt, and pundits of every stripe.

Joe is an archetype for trying to reverse the class warfare mantra.

It was a rather clumsy attempt to do so.

Hiding tax cuts for billionaires behind a traditional job.

What about Palin's payback from oil to people in her state, a cost that ended up being passed down as a tax to the lower 48 states in the form of higher gas prices?

Why is the only deep red area on the map Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta)? I suspect that most people who are aware of the election there support Barack Obama for a variety of reasons.

With Sarah Palin as his VP candidate, why not ask Joe the
Plumber to become McCain`s Secretary of the Treasury?
Wouldn`t you feel even more "energized" by that, Tahoe? Joe`s
a star now. And if Jill Boxed White Wine could accept a request
to become the new Sec. of State, they may indeed bring the
winds of change to Washington.

After all, who can claim that the latte-drinking Obama has more
"executive experience" than Sarah, Joe & Jill?

What a circus in a time of crisis. The main stream media (I just
watched CNN now) did today EXACTLY what McCain and his
team yesterday calculated that they would do: they made Joe the
Plumber the celebrity of the day, and let him air his views
against Obama, in support of McCain, and on any big issue that
might pop up in the plumbers stream of consciousness while
the cameras were on. A dangerous gamble, because who could
know what would pop up in Joe`s head? He was just as
unprepared as Sarah Palin. But when you`re desperate, you
gamble.

And no, this is not a repetition of the Weimar epoch, but the
spirit of Joseph Goebbels is certainly alive: a fusion of populist
demagoguery and elitism done "the American way".

A precondition for populism and control is that SOME people
read books, while the majority don`t. Goebbels read a lot of
books; he even got a Ph.D. on 18th century romantic drama.
The neocon advisors and strategists behind McCain/Palin are
very well read as well. The precondition for their game is that
wealth, knowledge and power is kept in few hands. This is
elitism in its most dangerous form: disguised as a movement
on behalf of Joe and Jill, defending their ignorance, and
attacking the "elitism" of their opponents.

The rest of the world doesn't get a vote in our political process.
That's sort of the point. As is the inverse.

This sort of map gets picked up by folks who then use it to suggest
that there's a big world government constituency who wants to
turn the country over to the UN, or the Bilderburgs. This is
counterproductive.

There is value in paying attention to the rest of the world. And this
map essentially confirms my experience. And there is value in
maintaining good relations with other nations.

But the map is only useful as information, and not as
determination.

That I would say is a very true picture of what the rest of the world want to see....and that is a change in this administration.
The world has been and still is watching this election very carefully and they see that Sen Obama is the man who can change this country for the better.
I'm sure a lot of Republicans will say..."who cares what the rest of the think"....they must remember that America needs the rest of the world and their opinion does matter.
We need someone who can lead this country with a thoughtful, cool manner and bring America's standing in the world back to where it used to be.
So, yes that is what the map is telling us....we need Sen Obama to change this country.

I thought we were the "mind your own business" country. I thought we were supposed to leave Iraq alone, and not interfere with women's right to choose, and not question others' sexual identity, and so on.

Yet, we're supposed to take what the world wants into consideration of whom we vote for president of our country?

Carol, I'm that person, I suppose, that you refer to. And I'm even more confident that people outside this country no even less about Barack Obama than we do.

But he DOES give good speeches and look awfully pensive, so we'll have that going for us.

Hi, just wanted to post this site we launched recently that shows a
more animated and dynamic version of the world vote in the US
election and a look into national views on global issues:

http://www.theworldfor.com