NationStates Jolt Archive

I have a perfect TV add campaign if Obama wins selection.

You have a picture of the twin towers. You then have a picture of ground zero (I choose not to use the impact picture, as that will turn some viewers off.). You then have a picture of Osama Bin Laden. You then have a quote from Obama (there'll be a good one to use) saying the troops should be taken from Iraq. Then the finish. A vote for Obama, is a vote for Osama.

Now, be honest. How much of the fact that Obama sounds like Osama, and his bad second name, will impact in an election? i think, enough. He is a bad candidate, purely due to his name. Silly? yes. Relevant. Sadly yes.

I actually hate the Republicans, and think the Democrats are too right wing and only look left wing in comparison with the Republicans. Thus the above add idea was written, just to start people thinking about the issue of his name.

i dont think his name would really effect the american views
but his colour age and ideas surely and sadly will have a major effect

Thus the above add idea was written, just to start people thinking about the issue of his name.
If the people choose not to vote for someone because they have a silly name then I will have no sympathy for them if/when they wind up with a government that does not have their interests at heart.

You'd have a stronger case capitalizing on his middle name.

I think the entire american political system is messed up. Full of corruption and crazy people from the southern states.

I have a perfect TV add campaign if Obama wins selection.

You have a picture of the twin towers. You then have a picture of ground zero (I choose not to use the impact picture, as that will turn some viewers off.). You then have a picture of Osama Bin Laden. You then have a quote from Obama (there'll be a good one to use) saying the troops should be taken from Iraq. Then the finish. A vote for Obama, is a vote for Osama.

Now, be honest. How much of the fact that Obama sounds like Osama, and his bad second name, will impact in an election? i think, enough. He is a bad candidate, purely due to his name. Silly? yes. Relevant. Sadly yes.

I actually hate the Republicans, and think the Democrats are too right wing and only look left wing in comparison with the Republicans. Thus the above add idea was written, just to start people thinking about the issue of his name.
Isn't that kind of negative campaigning bad enough to backfire, even in America?

Does anyone else think it is really really depressing that people are honestly objecting to him because his surname rhymes with another guys first name?

i dont think his name would really effect the american views
If the people choose not to vote for someone because they have a silly name then I will have no sympathy for them if/when they wind up with a government that does not have their interests at heart.
Funny, I'm usual of the more naive variety when it comes to people's behaviour, but I'm definitely not sharing your optimisim regarding this issue.
People will *definitely* vote against him on basis of his name(s). In a nation that is still so paranoid that anybody outside the mainstream - especially if outside means "something vaguely seeming like being a Muslim" - is a potential terrorist suspect, there is simply no question in my mind that people will hold his name (not to mention that evil Muslim school he was in) against him. The middle name being especially damning here, and the phonetic similarity of Obama and Osama surely isn't helping at all.

Just a couple days ago someone posted here, articulate enough to make a correctly spelled, gunsmiley-free post, and said they wouldn't vote for Obama because they didn't think it was right for the US to have a Muslim president at this point in time.

...


Isn't that kind of negative campaigning bad enough to backfire, even in America? Again, maybe I've gotten terribly jaded, but I didn't even think the OP's hypothetical ad was so shocking at all. I think it's way inside the limits of acceptable campaign ads (acceptable not to me personally, but acceptable in the world of campaign ads).
It doesn't say "Obama is Osama", it just says that with his proposed pull-out of troops from Iraq a vote for him would be practically voting for Bin Laden (aka "The Terrorists") to gain more power. Considering the ad didn't even show the burning towers it might even be said to be halfway tasteful. :rolleyes:


Great, now I'm late. :p Gotta run.

Isn't that kind of negative campaigning bad enough to backfire, even in America?

I think so. I can imagine the reply ad, the message of which is basically "Is that all they've got?"

Isn't that kind of negative campaigning bad enough to backfire, even in America?

I wish...

Anyone who votes on names, rather than policies, is sad and deluded, and I pity them. However, the fact his middle name is "Hussein" could strike more of a chord.

Isn't that kind of negative campaigning bad enough to backfire, even in America?
Not really, they've done worse.

On the other han, if Cheney is still in government at the time then you could easily go for "A vote for the Republicans is a vote for friendly fire" and you could easily put up statistics on how many deaths have been caused by it.

"200 British and Commonwealth troops... and one of Cheney's friends, too".

i dont think his name would really effect the american views


You mean "affect". And yes, unfortunately, it will. Very recently, someone here in NSG said they would not vote for him, simply because they felt uncomfortable about his middle name being Hussein.

I think the entire american political system is messed up. Full of corruption and crazy people from the southern states.

And I'm one of the sane people in the South.... :(

You mean "affect". And yes, unfortunately, it will. Very recently, someone here in NSG said they would not vote for him, simply because they felt uncomfortable about his middle name being Hussein.

Yes, though the same idiot would probably vote for me (note: I'm not running any tiem soon) because my middle name is Elizabeth. :rolleyes:

Actually, no he wouldn't, since he appears to be very nationalistic and wouldn't vote for a woman whose name is basically Ireland. (http://www.behindthename.com/php/search.php?nmd=n&terms=erin&submit=Go)

And I'm one of the sane people in the South.... :(

I don't mean EVERYONE. But you have to admit there are some BAD places in the south.

I don't mean EVERYONE. But you have to admit there are some BAD places in the south.

Yes, amazingly, you're right. My county is one of the more "sane" places :(

Yes, amazingly, you're right. My county is one of the more "sane" places :(

Out of curiosity, which state are you in?

Out of curiosity, which state are you in?

North Carolina.

North Carolina.

Ya see? You're much better than Alabama.

You'd have a stronger case capitalizing on his middle name.

Hussein is a very common arabic/african name. Anyway, hes a good guy. I'm from Illinois and almost everyone i know voted for him

i dont think his name would really effect the american views
but his colour age and ideas surely and sadly will have a major effect

i strongly agree

Funny, I'm usual of the more naive variety when it comes to people's behaviour, but I'm definitely not sharing your optimisim regarding this issue...
Who said anything about optimism? Maybe they will vote like that, but they'll have to accept the consequences of letting something so trivial as the guy's name decide their voting habits; one of which shall probably be yet more ridicule and scorn from the rest of the world.

I have a perfect TV add campaign if Obama wins selection.

You have a picture of the twin towers. You then have a picture of ground zero (I choose not to use the impact picture, as that will turn some viewers off.). You then have a picture of Osama Bin Laden. You then have a quote from Obama (there'll be a good one to use) saying the troops should be taken from Iraq. Then the finish. A vote for Obama, is a vote for Osama.

Now, be honest. How much of the fact that Obama sounds like Osama, and his bad second name, will impact in an election? i think, enough. He is a bad candidate, purely due to his name. Silly? yes. Relevant. Sadly yes.

I actually hate the Republicans, and think the Democrats are too right wing and only look left wing in comparison with the Republicans. Thus the above add idea was written, just to start people thinking about the issue of his name.

He should change his name to Joe Smith (or Johnny Smith). That way he'll win for sure.

Isn't that kind of negative campaigning bad enough to backfire, even in America?

Negative campaigning only backfires when the people you're going after have a conscience. Conservatives lost that crowd years ago.

I always forget the Obama/Osama "connection" some fucking conservatives try to make and only remember when someone else brings it up.

And I'm one of the sane people in the South.... :(
We should form a club...

Ya see? You're much better than Alabama.
:(

We should get to vote on Obama's new name. Like when we all voted for the new M&M color. I vote for Ralph Everyman.

We should get to vote on Obama's new name. Like when we all voted for the new M&M color. I vote for Ralph Everyman.
I vote for Dino Ironbody.

Or MAX POWER!

I vote for Dino Ironbody.

Or MAX POWER!

How about Debra Winger?

Hussein is a very common arabic/african name. Anyway, hes a good guy. I'm from Illinois and almost everyone i know voted for him

Gee, that's not surprizing, considering his opponent was worse(far worse) then Dick Cheny.

Negative campaigning only backfires when the people you're going after have a conscience. Conservatives lost that crowd years ago.

As opposed to leftie liberals, who never have, and never would, go negative. And let's not forget, leftie libs have that monopoly on having consciences, so of course they are competent to point out those who don't. :rolleyes:

And libs wonder why so many conservatives despise them.

Hussein is a very common arabic/african name. Anyway, hes a good guy. I'm from Illinois and almost everyone i know voted for him

Sounds like you might have a future in the DLM. You remind me of the story of the journalist who couldn't believe the Republican (Reagan IIRC, but might have been Nixon) won the election, because "nobody I know voted for him."

You might do well to break out of that comfy little lib world of yours and meet some red-county types.

Sounds like you might have a future in the DLM. You remind me of the story of the journalist who couldn't believe the Republican (Reagan IIRC, but might have been Nixon) won the election, because "nobody I know voted for him."

You might do well to break out of that comfy little lib world of yours and meet some red-county types.

Hey, New Mitanni--Obama won 70% of the vote in his Senate race. It's likely that the poster you quoted didn't know anyone who didn't vote for him, considering the major opposition was Alan Effing Keyes. Maybe you ought to crawl out of that comfy little con-cave you live in once in a while and enjoy the sunlight of reality.

I vote for Dino Ironbody.

Or MAX POWER!

I say this calls for a new thread complete with poll.

Nazz: Now, don't be mean to him, Nazz. You might antagonize him. Neocons are notorious for being easily antagonized, and the last thing we need is another one running around shouting "me want make war on ebil liberals!"

I say this calls for a new thread complete with poll.
Just as long as it includes the color, size, and font changes. That's half the fun. :D

Just as long as it includes the color, size, and font changes. That's half the fun. :D

Well that's up to you, because I'm not making it.

I think it needs to be remembered that in particular reference to the 'war on terrorism' if such a ludicrous term can be applied, that Neoconservatism, or even broad base Conservatism itself, like Radical Islam or Nazism, is not an ideology that applies itself to logic, reason or any kind of rationality. I think this is most evident in it's 'We will never negotiate with our enemies!' approach it tried to taken during the Cold War and now. It rarely if ever offers it's own view point, except for an opposition to everything they define as 'liberal'.

And I'm one of the sane people in the South.... :(

Me too.
Maybe we can wait until the Revolution and make a state of sanity consisting of KSC and Southern Coastal Florida.

We should get to vote on Obama's new name. Like when we all voted for the new M&M color. I vote for Ralph Everyman.

Big McLargehuge!

Me too.
Maybe we can wait until the Revolution and make a state of sanity consisting of KSC and Southern Coastal Florida.

Yay!

I for one think it's stupid that anyone would base their vote on the similarity between Obama and Osama in the first place. Are people really that pathetic that they would let a name influence their choice like that?

I for one think it's stupid that anyone would base their vote on the similarity between Obama and Osama in the first place. Are people really that pathetic that they would let a name influence their choice like that?
Some people are, but I'd have to think that they're in the huge minority. I could be wrong, though. A poll came out just the other day that said over half of Americans wouldn't vote for an atheist to be president under any circumstances.

The badmouthing has already begun by Rush Limbaugh:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200507120008

It is terribly frustrating that people would judge such an amazing candidate based on just the sound similarities between the names Obama and Osama. In my opinion, that just screams ignorance. "I'm sorry, I can't vote for this person because he SOUNDS like a terrorist." For heaven's sake, if you can't make a distinction, stay home for the primaries.

Let's face it, anyone who isn't voting for Obama because of his name probably wouldn't vote for him if his name was Joe Smith. He's black, after all, and people who dislike someone for stupid reasons tend to have lots of stupid reasons.

And yes, some people probably would vote against him because of his name even if he was white, and not because it sounds like "Osama", but because it doesn't "sound American". By this, they usually mean that a name isn't of English, Scottish or Irish origin ("Obama" being no less American than "Bush", an English name.) All but five Presidents have had names that originated in the British isles. Of the five who didn't, three had Dutch names (Van Buren and the Roosevelts) and two had German names (Hoover and Eisenhower). We haven't even elected a Swedish-American yet, never mind an Italian-American (though Giuliani could change that) or a Polish-American. Given that, what chance does a Kenyan-American have, even if his mother was named Ann Dunham?

As for me, I like him well enough and don't give a damn about his name - I just like Edwards better, because I like what he says and I think he'll make an excellent candidate.

Let's face it, anyone who isn't voting for Obama because of his name probably wouldn't vote for him if his name was Joe Smith. He's black, after all, and people who dislike someone for stupid reasons tend to have lots of stupid reasons.

It's far worse. Anyone who doesn't vote for him because of his name probably assumes he's a Muslim. And of course they all know every single Muslim in the world has Osama bin Ladin's number on their phones. And for anyone who thinks this is too far fetched and ridiculous, look at 8 years of The Shrubbery and let the reality check bitchslap you.

And the Bushevik Party will exploit today's fashionable Islamaphobia to smear Obama. No doubts.

It's far worse. Anyone who doesn't vote for him because of his name probably assumes he's a Muslim. And of course they all know every single Muslim in the world has Osama bin Ladin's number on their phones. And for anyone who thinks this is too far fetched and ridiculous, look at 8 years of The Shrubbery and let the reality check bitchslap you.

And the Bushevik Party will exploit today's fashionable Islamaphobia to smear Obama. No doubts.

It just gets too depressing when you realize the stupidity of the voters. It seems that now people have finally realized that Bush was a mistake. Too late for it to matter of course. But now people listen to the conservatives who smear Obama and you know what some will remember in the months to come is that his name sounds like "Osama". Among other various lies that have already been told about the man . If this doesn't tell us about the character of people in this country I don't know what will.

Loads of people in England refused to adopt a kid named Osama bin Laden after the 11/9 stuff (I'm puttin the date the right way round - 11th of September) and judging from the kinds of laws I've seen talked about on here and the kinds of crap I've seen from US people, US people are even more daft.

Loads of people in England refused to adopt a kid named Osama bin Laden after the 11/9 stuff (I'm puttin the date the right way round - 11th of September) and judging from the kinds of laws I've seen talked about on here and the kinds of crap I've seen from US people, US people are even more daft.

Of course, if they had adopted the kid, one of the things they could have done as part of the adoption process was to change his name. At least, that's possible in the US, and I'd expect it to be possible in the UK also.

And I don't know that we're more daft here in the US, just daft in different ways. Stupidity is universal, after all.

I wouldn't refuse a vote for Obama based on his name, his race, or his inexperience...I've been wary of voting for him for a far more inane reason: the guy smokes. If a candidate smokes and doesn't let it become public knowledge, fine. If he lets everyone know he smokes, it's stupid. As much as the tide has turned against smokers, is it really a good idea to elect a smoker President? And yes, I know FDR and several others smoked, but many of them smoked before anyone knew it was bad for them. And give FDR some slack; the guy was in a fucking wheelchair. That guy could have done crack for all I care.

No. Instead of Barack Hussein Obama, I'll be voting for his opponent, John Hitler Caliban.

I wouldn't refuse a vote for Obama based on his name, his race, or his inexperience...I've been wary of voting for him for a far more inane reason: the guy smokes. If a candidate smokes and doesn't let it become public knowledge, fine. If he lets everyone know he smokes, it's stupid. As much as the tide has turned against smokers, is it really a good idea to elect a smoker President? And yes, I know FDR and several others smoked, but many of them smoked before anyone knew it was bad for them. And give FDR some slack; the guy was in a fucking wheelchair. That guy could have done crack for all I care.

No. Instead of Barack Hussein Obama, I'll be voting for his opponent, John Hitler Caliban.

Obama's actually trying to quit for the campaign.

Obama's actually trying to quit for the campaign.

If he is, I suggest peppermint and aversion therapy. And if he does, maybe I would vote for him...after all, an ex-smoker is better than a pro-war, pro-censorship, uber-divisive former First Lady.

And if he fails at quitting, J.H. Caliban still gets my vote.