Second Presidential Debate

[agzg]

I do have to say, Obama did a really good job at not showing any emotion while McCain was talking.

However, that may have cut some of the passion out when he was answering.

Boyfriend asked me "WTH, so they're not doing podiums anymore?" I explained to him that that was what McCain wanted - he said "Why? McCain looks OLDER when he's not behind a podium."

Has anyone else noticed that Obama seems to have aged a little bit through this campaign? If he's elected, his hair is going to be completely white after his first term.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

I do have to say, Obama did a really good job at not showing any emotion while McCain was talking.

However, that may have cut some of the passion out when he was answering.

Boyfriend asked me "WTH, so they're not doing podiums anymore?" I explained to him that that was what McCain wanted - he said "Why? McCain looks OLDER when he's not behind a podium."

Has anyone else noticed that Obama seems to have aged a little bit through this campaign? If he's elected, his hair is going to be completely white after his first term.

have you seen clinton and bush?


LOL

[BetteDavisEyes]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

Has anyone else noticed that Obama seems to have aged a little bit through this campaign? If he's elected, his hair is going to be completely white after his first term.

I discussed this with a friend who teaches Political Science at the local Community College and it was his theory that this was likely done on purpose by his "people" because an older man (though not as old as McCain) projects confidence, experience, and it's harder for some voters to vote for someone that looks as young as they do. He insists that Clinton did the same thing when he was first running for office b/c of his age.

Me personally? I think my friend has a valid point but I also think that the stress of taking on such a massive job like running for office takes its toll.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by BetteDavisEyes

Me personally? I think my friend has a valid point but I also think that the stress of taking on such a massive job like running for office takes its toll.

I'd agree. I don't think there's ever been a President (in recent history - obviously I can't vouch for Washington et al because they wore wigs) who has not aged significantly during his Presidency, be it four years or eight.

[AGDee]

They do always age a lot. Except for Reagan (who was clearly dyeing his hair), they all leave office gray.

Is a right only a right if it's in the Constitution? Hmmm. After all, the Equal Rights Amendment was never passed, but I think most agree that women have rights equal to men.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by AGDee

They do always age a lot. Except for Reagan (who was clearly dyeing his hair), they all leave office gray.

Yep - and Reagan left with freaking Alzheimer's, so I think he supports the general rule too.

Is a right only a right if it's in the Constitution? Hmmm. After all, the Equal Rights Amendment was never passed, but I think most agree that women have rights equal to men.

Again, this is definitely an issue where we're all using a different definition of "right."

Legally, something is only a "right" if it is protected or guaranteed by government mandate. However, obviously there is a more 'colloquial' sense that is just as (if not more) important to most. Which one do we want the Presidential candidates to deal with? I'm not 100% sure I know how I feel, to be honest.

[AGDee]

I agree Ksig RC. It was primarily a rhetorical question, but we DO have a lot of attorney's and law students here and I do notice that they have a different perspective on many of these issues because of their law oriented mindset. Wikipedia talks about moral rights and legal rights. Both are valid in different situations.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Is a right only a right if it's in the Constitution? Hmmm. After all, the Equal Rights Amendment was never passed, but I think most agree that women have rights equal to men.

I think most agree that women should have equal rights to men. I think many would disagree about whether they in fact do in all situations.

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Again, this is definitely an issue where we're all using a different definition of "right."

Legally, something is only a "right" if it is protected or guaranteed by government mandate. However, obviously there is a more 'colloquial' sense that is just as (if not more) important to most. Which one do we want the Presidential candidates to deal with? I'm not 100% sure I know how I feel, to be honest.

Agreed, and just to get a little more lawyerish about it, what lyrelyre said was:

Originally Posted by lyrelyre

It's worth noting that education is not a fundamental right. It is true that access to existing public education is protected. However, the Supreme Court has specifically stated that there is no fundamental right to education.

"Fundamental right" is a legal term of art; a fundamental right is a right that is derived, explicitly or implicitly, from the fundamental law of the land -- i.e., the federal Constitution or a state constitution.

Lyrelyre is quite correct that no fundamental right to education can be derived from the federal Constitution. My point was simply that such a fundamental right can be derived from some state constitutions.