JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Full-time English Teacher - Osaka
- Epion English Language Schools, Osaka
- Salary: ¥200,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month Depending on your ability and experience
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- Part-time English Teacher - Osaka
- Epion English Language Schools, Osaka
- Salary: ¥10,000 ~ ¥15,000 / Day Depending on how many days a week are worked
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- Core Developer - コアディベロッパー
- Midokura Japan K.K. - ミドクラジャパン株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M ~ ¥10.0M / Year Negotiable
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Simon_Foston
May I say, that's an excellent question. Funny how we haven't had an answer for it yet, though.
Posted in: Palin sorts clothes to see what belongs to Republican Party
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Simon_Foston
I'm not so sure that focusing on whatever the Democrats did in the past would really have helped him build a much stronger case against Obama.
In other words, "if you think our campaign was negative, just look at theirs." Sorry, that wouldn't get me out to vote for someone. I expect candidates to be tough on each other, and I expect negativity. When it overshadows their policy manifestos then I think it's a problem. But for the record, I know the Democrats managed to come out with some pretty offensive stuff. John Kerry's comment about McCain needing incontinence pants, for instance.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
You know, I think I can see what the broad overall plan was in Iraq: secure the oil and gain an ally in the Middle East that isn't Saudi or Israeli, thus lessening American dependence on difficult alliances with two nations diametrically oppposed to each other (or am I wrong about this? I'm speculating that the House of Saud isn't especially fond of Israel). I think it makes sense, but they had to go and dress it up as something else - first it was a war to get rid of WMDs that weren't there anyway, and then it was to spread freedom and democracy. Moreover, whilst they were lying about the reasons for the war they were also completely bungling the way it was being conducted. It was only when Gen. Petraeus got involved that the situation began to turn around a bit.
As for Afghanistan, that's where Al Qaeda and their Taliban allies were all based. Now of course a lot of them are in Pakistan, including Bin Laden himself, probably. Wasn't the whole war on terror thing about dealing with them in the first place?
All in all, it's another issue that the 2012 Republican candidate will need coherent and sensible views on that are very different from those of Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld. Unconditionally stating that Bush did the right thing might not go down very well with the voters.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Palin's introduction to the campaign did indeed have a noticeable effect, and I agree that it looked as if she'd swing things round in McCain's favour. Even then, though, it was fairly clear that she was firmly in the social conservative camp. The Katie Couric interview followed, and Tina Fey wouldn't have had nearly as much to parody if it hadn't been for that. As for the shopping bills, I kind of get the feeling that McCain's advisers had already seen the way the wind was blowing and were setting Palin up to take the fall even then.
If only they'd been more negative, eh? I think they were quite negative enough, and that when they saw that it wasn't achieving they realised piling on more was not going to help. I've heard the argument that McCain should have laid into Obama with the Jeremiah Wright connection, but I personally believe it was tactically right not to do so. We heard plenty about it during the Democratic Primaries, and Obama still secured the nomination.
In 2012 a successful Republican candidate will need to move beyond Karl Rove's tactics and clearly indicate how he or she can govern the country better. This time round the swiftboating just didn't work.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Um, sorry to be picky, but do you think you could spell my last name properly? It is written down. Anyway. By taking out everyone else that I mentioned you make it look as if I'm implying something that I certainly did not intend to, i.e. that Republicans ought to be courting the radical left. Just to clarify my point, I do not think this is even remotely feasible but they do need to win over the independents and centrists in order to be electible.
I was implying nothing of the sort. You could well be right, but I strongly contend that the party has consistently given the impression of pandering to its most right-wing and social conservative elements. For instance, what sort of message does it send when someone like Sarah Palin can get a VP nomination? All she seemed to be there to do was mobilise the right-wing base. My point being that while they may not all be self-righteous, patronising, knee-jerk reactionaries the Republicans have pretty much allowed themselves to be painted that way. Just another ingredient in a recipe for electoral disaster.
As for the Obama thing, I really did think I'd heard just about everything the Republicans could throw at him - elitism, socialism, lack of executive experience, not wearing a flag pin, Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, elitism, the comment about bitter people clinging to guns and religion, etc. You can't say it wasn't reported, even if the media did decide they liked Obama better. I have actually found one reference to the 57 states gaffe but I don't think anyone made a big issue out of it, not even the McCain campaign. They might have been anticipating getting some of McCain and Bush's verbal slips thrown back in their faces if they'd tried.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Now that's the kind of thing you'd expect at least some conservative pundits to snap up and publicise, and yet no one anywhere has said anything about it except you. Odd, that.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Incidentally, I notice you left out everyone else that I mentioned when you quoted me, i.e. the bit about the liberals, moderates, centre-rightists and undecideds (hrm. Is that a word?). Was that deliberate, by any chance?
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Probably not very many. My point being that there are other people in the electorate besides hard-core social conservatives, and that the Republican Party needs to win their votes as well.
That's not actually what I said at all.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Just how many times did you post on this site confidently predicting a 2008 McCain-Palin victory? I think I'll take your predictions with a pinch of salt, thanks. Anyway, all she managed to do was fire up the social conservative, "God, guns, war and babies" crowd that made up just one part of the Republican base. Once everyone else got over the Stacey's Mom thing she had going on, she was a bit of a joke candidate. You really think the Republicans are going to run with a failed VP candidate in 2012? Get real.
Posted in: Palin denounces her critics as cowardly
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Simon_Foston
An interesting conversation reported at www.time.com:
That was Ken Duberstein, Ronald Reagan's last chief of staff at the White House, discussing a conversation he had with John McCain in 2007.
The hard-core right wing of the Republican voters, exemplified by Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, make up just one part of the electorate. There are radical left-wingers, social democrats, liberals, moderates, centre-rightists and undecideds out there too. If the Republican party is going to recover, it can still advocate its core philosophy of small government, low taxes and free enterprise tempered by fiscal responsibility. However it also needs to demonstrate that it is not dominated by narrow-minded, self-righteous jerks.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Well, if the Republicans want to regroup they should consider doing what losing parties in the UK and Japan do after general elections. They don't hang about waiting for Primaries three years or so down the line, they usually get new leaders immediately, they keep those leaders in the public eye and they make sure that the voters really know what the alternatives to the incumbent are. In November 2012 the USA will have had a President it's been familiar with for about six years, whereas the Republican leader of the opposition will probably only get a year or less to prove that he or she can do a better job. That makes little sense to me.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Good for you. Forcefully oppose all you like, if you're not planning on running for office any time soon it won't make any difference whatsover. If you are, judging by the election results you might have a hard time getting elected just now on a policy platform like that.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
Let's see... as various people have mentioned, they need 24 hour ATMs, more information available in different languages, cheaper domestic transport and a drastically upgraded local train network. A lot of the local lines just have single tracks and the trains tend to look as if JR got them cheap from Bulgaria in 1981. Clearing away 90% of the horrible pre-fab buildings and all that hideous concrete that covers the hillsides, coastlines and river banks would be nice as well.
Posted in: What does Japan need to do in order to attract more tourists?
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Simon_Foston
You go right ahead. Everyone else is going to ignore you. Karl Rove said something much more rational on FOX News, that the Republicans would work with Obama when they could, persuade him when he's open to persuasion and challenge him over issues they completely disagreed with him. Or words to that effect. Sounds like the right attitude to opposition to me.
Posted in: Republicans in tatters, look to regroup
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Simon_Foston
It's not looking quite so possible any more.
Posted in: Fast transition of power seen after Tuesday's U.S. election
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Simon_Foston
The Republicans kept kind of quiet about all that stuff in 2000 and 2004 as it worked out okay for them. If there's any messing around this time, I'm guessing Obama can probably afford better lawyers than McCain. Also, if there is any doubt as to the outcome, doesn't the 12th Amendment state that the House of Representatives chooses the President? Can't see a Democratic majority going for McCain, somehow.
Posted in: Fast transition of power seen after Tuesday's U.S. election
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Simon_Foston
Sounds like quite a good description of the last eight years.
Posted in: Fast transition of power seen after Tuesday's U.S. election
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Simon_Foston
No, but neither did he endorse McCain.
Posted in: Obama's grandmother dies as presidential race nears end
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Simon_Foston
Ah, but read the second bit.
i.e. We'll get 2000 in Florida-style shenanigans as the Republicans cry foul in any State that Obama wins by a narrow margin. But the latest pundit to predict victory for Obama? Karl Rove. See http://www.rove.com/election. Personally, if I were a McCain supporter I wouldn't be too happy to see that kind of thing.
Posted in: Fast transition of power seen after Tuesday's U.S. election
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Simon_Foston
Sounds like you're envisaging another fast transition of power. You don't expect Mr. McCain to be able to stand for re-election in 2012, then?
Posted in: Fast transition of power seen after Tuesday's U.S. election