# Convince an independent. What is the best thing about your candidate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 6, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270 "2008-09-06T01:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/21 "2008-09-06T15:02:28Z")
1. The Supreme Court is one seat away from a Conservative majority. 2. Our guy doesn’t want to ban books from libraries and teach creationism in schools. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/22 "2008-09-06T15:13:44Z")
Obama is honestly inspired and motivated to bring out the best in people, which is what he has tried to do in his professional career all his life. I have nothing good to say about Biden, and I’m disappointed that he is on the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/23 "2008-09-06T15:23:25Z")
1. Obama is young and healthy enough to serve an 8 years term without leaving the job for his VP to finish. 2. Biden isn’t as pretty as Palin, but Biden has a brain. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/24 "2008-09-06T15:26:49Z")
1. There is a good chance he will implement rational policies in a competent fashion. 2. He will provide a steady hand to inform and augment the president’s decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/25 "2008-09-06T15:43:45Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > **LOUNE** , I think you missed one point. **Thorium Indium Potassium** would like to know what issue is most important to you in picking your candidate. Possibly I did. In that case: 1. Personal responsibility. 2. Foreign policy. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/26 "2008-09-06T15:52:26Z")
I want a small-government, fiscal conservative, pro-life president who is likewise strong on defense; a proven record of working across the aisle is also a plus (though not a necessity for me); and perhaps most important of all, I want someone committed to strict constructionist judges on the Supreme Court: John McCain. (There you have it: the clumsiest sentence in the history of the board, but nonetheless a single sentence. Special thanks to my friends, the semi-colon and colon.) Governor Palin is fine with me, but honestly I don’t worry much about the VPs–she is neither Obama or Biden, so she’s A-OK with me and preferable as president should circumstances demand it, given the choices on the table. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/27 "2008-09-06T16:07:23Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > 1. There is a good chance he will implement rational policies in a competent fashion. > 2. He will provide a steady hand to inform and augment the president’s decisions. > [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Possibly I did. > > In that case: > > 1. Personal responsibility. > 2. Foreign policy. You both forgot to mention which candidates you were supporting. At least Squink said he for the VP, so it is easy to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/28 "2008-09-06T16:09:45Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > You both forgot to mention which candidates you were supporting. At least Squink said he for the VP, so it is easy to figure out. I forget that we have a crop of newbies. I support Senator Obama. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/29 "2008-09-06T16:23:09Z")
The repubs are in charge of an economy that is shedding jobs, has an enormous national debt, has had 11 bank failures ,has Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac in bad, trouble and is running a war the American people do not support, while Obama has not. One sentence is tough. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/30 "2008-09-06T16:27:24Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I forget that we have a crop of newbies. I support Senator Obama. Your choice was obvious to me (a noob) when you said; _2) Foreign policy._ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/31 "2008-09-06T22:34:15Z")
1. Barack Obama can be a little left-of-center, but he’s not a fanatic about it; he’ll help correct for the extreme authoritarian right of Bush. 2. Joe Biden is a seriously smart foreign-policy guy, & if the neo-Nazis succeed in killing Obama, he’s better qualified to step in than almost anyone. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/32 "2008-09-06T23:06:17Z")
1. Since Obama is thoughtful and serious, he is capable of dealing with the long-term implications of subtle and complicated problems. 2. Capable of stepping into the Presidency at a moment’s notice, Biden needs no crash course in how government operates. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/33 "2008-09-07T05:02:20Z")
1. He is part black, which is great because you can tell people you are not a racist because you voted for a black guy. (Be sure to leave out the part about him being partially white) 2. He is white, which is great because all the best movies pair a hip, urban ethnic guy with a stuck up old white dude who doesn’t “get” the culture, but after spending time together and overcoming challenges, you know he has experienced personal growth because he will start using catchphrases and slang learned from the other guy and maybe perform a rap song in front of his stodgy former peers. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/34 "2008-09-07T05:06:38Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > 1. He is part black, which is great because you can tell people you are not a racist because you voted for a black guy. (Be sure to leave out the part about him being partially white) > > 2. He is white, which is great because all the best movies pair a hip, urban ethnic guy with a stuck up old white dude who doesn’t “get” the culture, but after spending time together and overcoming challenges, you know he has experienced personal growth because he will start using catchphrases and slang learned from the other guy and maybe perform a rap song in front of his stodgy former peers. But the young, hip black guy will also gain some wisdom and maturity from the old white guy, stop partying so much and get serious about one girl. ETA, now that I think about it, though. I see Biden as the guy who’d want to party the first night in the white house and fill the joint with chicks, while Obama would be the one who quietly leaves the party to go work in his office. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/35 "2008-09-07T15:18:14Z")
Channelling Morgan from _Good Will Hunting_: 1. “_My boy’s wicked smart._” 2. He’s Obama’s running mate. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270/36 "2008-09-08T01:02:18Z")
1. It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing about Obama, but one of my favorites is that he intends to do away with lobbyist influence; big money currently has way too much power in Washington. 2. He seems like an intelligent, respectable guy who balances out some of Obama’s weak points. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convince-an-independent-what-is-the-best-thing-about-your-candidate/462270.md?page=1)