Democratic Nominee in 2020

Quote: kenarman

Mike you are moving away from one of the fundamental rights and tenets of Western democracies. You are assuming guilt and asking your presidential candidate to prove innocence. Rules like this are just one more nail in the coffin of freedom. Maybe we can just burn him at the stake to see if he survives to proof his innocence. That was once an accepted method.

In a court of law the defendant is presumed innocent, and the prosecution has the burden of proving otherwise.

But in the court of public opinion? Nope, there are no such rules. Did OJ Simpson kill Nicole? Did Bill Cosby assault 50 women? Did Bill Clinton rape Juanita Broaddrick? Did Ted Cruz' dad help murder JFK? I have my opinions, you have yours.

Quote: reno

In a court of law the defendant is presumed innocent, and the prosecution has the burden of proving otherwise.

But in the court of public opinion? Nope, there are no such rules. Did OJ Simpson kill Nicole? Did Bill Cosby assault 50 women? Did Bill Clinton rape Juanita Broaddrick? Did Ted Cruz' dad help murder JFK? I have my opinions, you have yours.

Yes you and I both have a right to our own opinion. We should not, however, have the ability to force people do something that is clearly against the law. "Fishing" exhibitions are not allowed in a court of law and should not have the power of law outside of court.

Quote: kenarman

This relentless pressure on anybody that wants to serve the public in some capacity is why we get such nuts now.

What about just a top secret security clearance? It doesn't ruin your life unless you're stupid enough to okay an investigation when you know you committed frauds and crime.

Plenty of people are not ruined.

What adult mentors normally tell young people who want to go into certain careers, is what they need to do or avoid in order to be successful.

Why is it we don't tell young people you need to live an honest life and keep it clean to become a politician when they're still young, instead of putting the bar so damn low? Makes no sense, and that's why we get what we get.

Quote: kenarman

Who in their right mind would want to run for public office and deal with a magnifying glass on their lives and family.

Six to seven figure yearly salary, full health and dental, 2 or more armed guards, able to tweak laws to your advantage, power, answer to no one except for pretending to for a few months a year. The downside is strangers will say mean things to you.

Yeah. I'd take that deal.

Quote: kenarman

I expect that nobody on this forum from either side would pass such scrutiny.

I'd pass Fred Roger's bar. Passing the bar set by presidents in my lifetime would be about as difficult as passing over the pipes in my floor.

I think I side with Wiz on this one. For sure it shouldn't be attempted to be made law; I do feel it's personal info and no one's business. But, you're trying to convince me you're "on my side". Failing to show is a missed opportunity to convince me.

Quote: reno

Obama released his birth certificate on June 13, 2008.
.

So what was all the BC nonsense about, then.
I never followed any of that. If he released it,
what was the problem. I voted for Obama
in 08, I ignored all the negative stuff about
him till he proved he was an asshat, which
was about a year later.

Quote: Face

But, you're trying to convince me you're "on my side".

I think that statement Face is where politics has gone astray. In an ideal world you would vote for the president who is going to do the best for your country, not the one that promises you the most goodies. Looking for mud on every candidate is out of control. We are looking at the sexual morals of people when they were young.

Quote: kenarman

I think that statement Face is where politics has gone astray. In an ideal world you would vote for the president who is going to do the best for your country, not the one that promises you the most goodies. Looking for mud on every candidate is out of control. We are looking at the sexual morals of people when they were young.

I guess I have enough ego to believe that what I want personally is what's best for the country. /shrug

And I do get what you're saying, and I do agree with that part of it. Today's climate is volatile, dark, and does about as much harm as it does good, or at least it appears to so far. But... I dunno. On one hand you absolutely must allow people to grow. Lord knows 20yr old Face has said and done some f#$%ed up things that 38yr old Face would never say or do, but on the other hand, wouldn't it be the height of stupidity to not take past performance into account? I mean, if you're just looking for a roughneck, alls you care is that he doesn't work f#$%ed up, isn't a disaster with equipment, and shows up everyday. But if you're in the market for a driller, you probably want to make sure he's more of a tight-ship type, as his failures are measured in the GDP of small countries.

We're hiring a guy responsible for near 400 million lives, a couple million pounds of explosive weapons, and a trillion of dollars of commerce. Kiiiind of seems a vetting is in order. Only thing is we should strive to vet professionally, instead of, ya know, throwing the task to the lowest denominator of tabloids and mouth breathers, like we do now.

Quote: kenarman

We are looking at the sexual morals of people when they were young.

That's what keeps me from running.

Quote: Face

We're hiring a guy responsible for near 400 million lives, a couple million pounds of explosive weapons, and a trillion of dollars of commerce. Kiiiind of seems a vetting is in order. .

Maybe, kinda sort of. There is also
hundreds of people in Congress,
Supreme Court, and a military hierarchy
to keep the president in check. He
just can't throw any strange order out
there and make it come true. He's not
a dictator.