Posted by pythrr on 2016-10-10 04:54:42

what? I thought this was a new surrealist comedy show!

Posted by Wreckage on 2016-10-10 06:39:31

I'm not sure I can watch through the whole thing. There is just a super intense guilt trip atmosphere in the room that is a little hard to take in. Can you tell around what minute it gets really funny?

Posted by fidius on 2016-10-10 07:31:05

I cannot watch politicians speak, it's too irritating. And when those politicians happen to be two of the most despicable people on earth...

Go Jays!

Posted by Wreckage on 2016-10-10 07:47:20

Wow, the superlatives... republican propaganda must be working.

Posted by Roland on 2016-10-10 07:50:13

It will be fun to watch the US collapse.

Posted by Meanandugl on 2016-10-10 08:44:10

I don't think so, Roland, quite the contrary.

Posted by Cloggy on 2016-10-10 09:03:14

Hardly any need to apologise. Our politicians are not that much better to be honest.

Posted by Mr_Foulscumm on 2016-10-10 09:26:16

It could be worse.

Posted by Mr_Foulscumm on 2016-10-10 09:31:09

Hillary is Merkel.us

Sadly that makes the choice painfully easy, yet repulsive at the same time. Have fun with that :D

Posted by ImpactedAnimal on 2016-10-10 09:42:51

Heh - apathy is a powerful weapon of control in my mind and thus the concept that all politicians are the same is dangerous. I feel as though this attitude will prevent us from voting in politicians that truly want to make the world a better place as how will we be able to tell they have arrived if we never pay attention to them?

Equally I don't particularly like Hilary but I think calling her one of the most despicable people on earth is a massive overstatement - it is a competitive field and I am afraid she hasn't done enough to earn the title yet

The stuff she said about lie detectors etc... is pretty standard lawyer fare... its grim but not that shocking

Posted by ianuk77 on 2016-10-10 11:18:02

Political debates should be settled with fisticuffs. Like we have resorted to in Britain.

Can't you all vote for none of the above

Posted by Cloggy on 2016-10-10 11:18:53

Having an election is supposed to be about voting for people who have a vision and plans for the future that fit with your ideological stance in life. In this case and I'm afraid also in many European elections the candidates are not even telling us what they see as the best way forward, instead only telling us why the other person should not be trusted. Politics done in the Twitter way, YAY! There is no bigger failure for a democracy than having an election between two people that nobody truly supports.

Posted by LucaAnt on 2016-10-10 12:05:02

Don't be man, we had Berlusconi hanging around for a very long time :D

And trust me.. The situation now is so much worse!

Posted by koadah on 2016-10-10 12:05:44

"There is no bigger failure for a democracy than having an election between two people that nobody truly supports."

A lot of people do support Hilary. A lot of people do support Trump. The issue is that a lot of people have no one that they support who has any chance of winning. That is down to the system.

Britain had to chance to move to a system where more candidates would have a better chance of at least some power. The people voted against it. That is democracy for ya.

Posted by mekutata on 2016-10-10 12:25:50

President Hofer waving. Austria was in TIME magazine on the cover!
Also, Philippino president mad as hell. Slaughters people. In Aleppo kids buried in dust and blood happy to finally get a free bottle of water. England becoming North Corea. Polarbears hunting penguins.
Let's face it. Chaos wins. The end of Warhammer Fantasy was just a well thought out parable to warn us about what goes on in real life.

Posted by mekutata on 2016-10-10 12:27:14

Alternativ: Vermin Supreme.

Posted by Wreckage on 2016-10-10 12:55:07

We could also say media have a neck for overdramatization. And things aren't as bleak just because somebody screams hysterically.

But at the same time... when you know a little bit of history you should be cautious to think that things will be as peaceful forever as they are now. There have been centuries of peace in this world before. And all it takes is one ruler of a powerful nation to turn things on its head.

Posted by Strider84 on 2016-10-10 13:20:04

Defenately the Pie option is missing.
Dont know the American system that well but it seems to me the president has too much power for a democracy...

Posted by Wotfudboy on 2016-10-10 14:49:57

A choice between the Devil and ...er... the Devil.

All that money spent on promoting these two... someone somewhere is laughing.

Posted by Uedder on 2016-10-10 16:05:02

I think all this is just dust in the eyes. The true issues aren't being discussed at all.

To me - as a european - the only thing i hope for is that the US stop this cold war-like agenda, start having peaceful relations with Russia once again and stop supporting islamist fighters.

That's what matters most for world peace. Look at what happened in Libia and it's easy to understand the dangers in the present foreign policy of US.

But I guess it doesn't really matter at all to the US voters, because that's barely being discussed...

Posted by Jedi_Knight_Amoeba on 2016-10-10 17:13:45

I can't handle the debates because the moderators ask a question and the candidate ignores the question and goes off on a tangent. I just want the moderators to jump up and scream "answer the fraking question and then shut the frak up"

Posted by fidius on 2016-10-10 18:54:27

@Wreckage gj detecting my hyperbole.
@IA Here is some Googling for you to do:
Benghazi (4 high-level diplomats dead after repeated requests for backup, then lies to widows at funeral)
Russian Reset policy (Russia takes Crimea and parts of Ukraine, beginning of new Cold War)
Bombing of Libya without Congressional approval (now an Islamic mess)
Iraq withdrawal (helped birth ISIS)
"Landing under sniper fire"; "broke when Bill left office"
Defense of husband vs alleged rape victims
Email scandal
Clinton Foundation corruption and pay-to-play (2016 book "Clinton Cash")
Corporate speaking fees
Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, cattle futures, defiance of subpoenas for Rose Law Firm billing records, presidential pardon of terrorist during her New York Senate campaign...

Posted by Bloodfeast on 2016-10-10 19:07:07

Smear Campaign FTW :)

Posted by Mr_Foulscumm on 2016-10-10 19:32:33

Smear campaign? I thought these candidates came pre-smeared.

Posted by pythrr on 2016-10-10 20:06:13

It's typical semi-corrupt oligarch 1, vs. raving looney asshat 2.

1 is a bitter pill, but at least it's not as terrifying as having 2 with fat fingers on the big red button.

Posted by arw on 2016-10-10 20:40:19

Honestly: the whole world is confused. Who can tell what kind of world we live in in ten years? Antibiotic immune bacteria killing off half the world? Flying cars and a trip to mars over the weekend? The Matrix? World war three? A merry utopia where nobody needs to do anything anymore so we'll have fun being useless together, saluting HAL? In a way politics take a backseat compared to the world navigating power of google & co. No wonder people want strong men and easy solutions. The more simplistic the better - at least the feeling of having some sort of orientation is a definite gain, even if you know it's a lie.

Posted by Dalfort on 2016-10-11 01:13:29

shit I rolled a 1...

Posted by CW on 2016-10-11 03:59:11

I really wish we could have a do-over on the primaries. We might very well have different options. I am a little surprised one of the primary losers isn't making an independent run at it.

Posted by mrt1212 on 2016-10-11 05:10:32

and yet Fidius she's still preferable to the guy who gets talking points from Russia and White Supremacist Twitter accounts and boasts about sexually assaulting women. And the lesson the right will learn is that they need to simply get more Breitbart readers to inform everyone of how the world works. No concessions, no compromise, no self admonishment. It's amazing that the RW media has spent 20 years trying to debase Hillary Clinton and yet here she is, about to walk into the White House. Trump is the cherry on the sundae of doing anything and everything to win while shedding every principle you claim to stand for.

Hillary Clinton is not flawless but she's clearly better suited to be president by the manifest unfitness of Donald Trump. Hillary is least bad of two options, but there it is and especially because both Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are no better.

But hey, if you want to defend the guy who engages in banana republic rhetoric vis a vis throwing Hillary in jail, be my guest. Shows who you are.

Posted by licker on 2016-10-11 06:17:52

Gary Johnson.

Jes' saying...

I'm voting for him anyway, Trump is utterly repugnant and Clinton is just more of the same crap.

Posted by mrt1212 on 2016-10-11 06:33:32

I wish Gary Johnson knew more than a 5th grader about world affairs.

Posted by Mr_Foulscumm on 2016-10-11 06:51:39

Hillary wants to follow Europe (Germany/Sweden) on it's immigration policies, that would honestly be enough for me to vote for anyone else. Even the orange dumpster fire.

Posted by koadah on 2016-10-11 07:11:26

"I wish Gary Johnson knew more than a 5th grader about world affairs."

Does he know more than Palin?

Trump seems pretty keen on Russia & North Korea. Are those nations that need more golf courses?

Posted by fidius on 2016-10-11 08:05:36

@mrt1212 Both are manifestly unsuited and not worthy of anyone's vote. Clinton is the dictionary definition of corrupt autocrat and if not for the fact that 98% of journalists vote Democrat we'd all know it by now. You're right it's amazing. And I would never defend Trump except to say that people hear what they want to hear.

These days I think primary voters tend to choose the candidates the media serves up. McCain was ubiquitous on mainstream TV because he was willing to call out conservatives. Romney was the focus early because it was his 2nd try, and he was an easy target who didn't hit back. Trump stood out early from a field of 20 virtual unknowns (apart from Christie the YouTube sensation who was damaged goods). And all these Trump people seem to think his persona from reality TV is the real man. It's a freaking brand, people -- he's a loudmouth scumbag in a suit and a bad haircut.

It's really a complete disaster all round. If Trump's temperament disqualifies him (true), then Hillary's record as Secretary of State disqualifies her. In this respect Hillary is the known quantity; at least Trump is a roll of the dice. But I still wouldn't vote for him.

Posted by Cloggy on 2016-10-11 08:09:18

"Clinton is the dictionary definition of corrupt autocrat and if not for the fact that 98% of journalists vote Democrat we'd all know it by now."

YES!

ConSpir0cy!

Posted by Uedder on 2016-10-11 15:06:55

Mrt all you say is true. But what hillary did in Libia and middle east as secretary of state really disqualifies her more than anything else. It's a freaking disaster and she was the one making the calls for us there.

But i guess it's not really important what happens accross the ocean?

Posted by mrt1212 on 2016-10-11 19:14:09

In a binary outcome election, I'll take the person who doesn't engage in outright fascist rhetoric to appease a base of authoritarian worshipping lunatics. Like Trump does.

It's that simple. Hillary has a lot to atone for but honestly, you're never going to dislodge all the domestic good that has happened vis a vis gay rights, marriage rights, voter rights, in spite of Republican's hamfisted attempts to walk those rights back to the 1950s. If Hillary was running for President of the World, I'd get your apprehension but domestic issues weigh just as heavily as foreign ones. And Hillary is clearly on the side of liberty and humanity domestically.

Posted by mrt1212 on 2016-10-11 20:56:17

Maybe a German poster can tell us how effective fence sitters were against Hitler.

Posted by mrt1212 on 2016-10-12 19:48:59

"Trump just said 'I want veto power'--over the *media.*"

https://twitter.com/anamariecox/status/786259670780346368

Tell me again how these two are equivalently bad.