If dates matter, this was published Dec 3, 2008, almost a month after the election:

About 130 million Americans voted, up from 122 million four years ago. Still, turnout fell short of the 140 million voters many experts had forecast. With a little more than 61 percent of eligible voters casting ballots, the 2008 results also didn’t match the record 63.8 percent turnout rate that helped propel President John F. Kennedy to victory in 1960.


from the Atlantic.

Wikipedia has it at 129.3 million. Regardless, it's the most ever in US history. It was NOT a close race, which is one reason the numbers are not as high as predicted (140 million) and the Republican candidate was not universally popular among his party, which is another reason the numbers aren't as high as once predicted.

Again, still, the most voters EVER. The most people at the inauguration EVER. Enthusiasm and expectations are high, but so is the mood.

zionist fraud...

MMM, this isn't a dig at you or anything, I simply just want to understand. Why are numbers like this so important to you when the population in America has increased so much and so much money has been spent this time etc? Don't you think percentages would be better? Or at least comparitive stats?

sort of more accurate
 

The difference btwn 2004' and 2008 voter turnout is now an increase of 2.4%
Dec 17-2008 American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE) The Durability of the 2004 and 2008 High General Election Turnout:
There is nothing in either the 2004 or 2008 election that indicates a durable return to high levels of engagement on a sustaining basis.
The 2004 election was an election polarized by President Bush and the war in Iraq and drew people to the polls on those issues.
The depth of feeling in this general election was even deeper. But in
type they are like the election of 1982 (a recession year) and 1992 (the three R election—recession, “Read My Lips,” and Ross Perot).
Each produced a surge in turnout neither was durable.
In this year when the nation had the second highest voter turnout ever in the presidential primaries and the third highest turnout since 1920 in the general election,it also had the lowest turnout ever in the gubernatorial
and U.S. Senate primaries held on days other than when the Presidential primary was being held.

ah the intelligence:rolleyes: at least state your opinion behind your statement and oh read my first post i stated what this thread was all about this is not a POLITICAL PLATFORM thread there are other threads dedicated to that.

Can you picture Barrack boppin' to Ludcaris's P***y Poppin' video?

I am with you Sinestra. Others can argue how insignificant January 20 was, but I will surely remember it for the rest of my life.

Ya know im really not trying to bash anyone. Every person is entitled to their own opinion and i respect that but only if you post WHY you have such feelings and actually generate a discussion instead of petty one lined ignorance. Im usually the quiet one and just dont involved the usual crap around here, but some comments just irritate me.

MMM is right weather you like Obama or not the crowed was full hope the air was positive i know I WAS THERE from 6am to 7pm i talked with people i felt their excitement and when i see non citizens flying thousands of miles to see a man sworn into the highest office of a country they don't even reside in that tells me something. You don't have to believe me if you don't want too, but speak with anyone who spent their time in the freezing cold just to see this man speak. You think people would brave 18-20 degree weather just to see anyone speak HELL TO THE NO. Its was a part of history and many of us will remember it for the rest of our lives and i know i will. If you chose not to acknowledge it so be it but do not BASH people who after 8 long years of misery want to start being optimistic and hope that the country will get better. I for one (forgive my language) would rather think the country is going to get back on track then to sit around like a whiny bitch and complain about this and that. (by the way if you didn't vote you don't even get that privilege)

Once again we can have constructive debates without resorting to childlike name calling we all differ on opinion its how you voice that opinion that will make other see you as an uneducated fool or someone with an actual IQ.

Well put, Sinestra, and I am already excited by some of the changes he is starting to put in. The moves toward transparency and anti-torture, to name two, are long overdue.

I saw today that he jumped right into the fray especially with Gitmo which i agree on wholeheartedly. Day 2 was to focus on Foreign Policy so i was anxious to see what he put forth. In the past 2 days numerous leaders have called Obama asking for cooperation even Iran has some positive words.

MMM did you see Fidel Castro comments to Obama?

sort not feelings
 

Sinestra not to pick a bone with your post but on the 20th Jan the Dow Jones Industrial dropped 332 pts with the major indexs down roughly 4 % according to the Assoc. Press Jan 21-09' On top of that US Bureau of Labor for unemployment figures for just the months of Oct.08' and Dec.08' were roughly 1.5 million US workers who had lost their jobs. A look at Dec.08 Broadcast of CSPAN with Dept. of Labor officials show that the current employment picture for the US economy outlook into 2012 is a 50/50 chance of either going positive or negitive with or without the 'TARP'. Translation the number of people present at the Obama InAug on Jan. 20 are significant but just as true the number of people when adjusted for 20 plus days of Jan. mean more US citizens lost their jobs than your numbers present at the Wash. mall -Btwn the months of Oct.08' Jan16-09'. By the time you read this post according to the US Dept of Labor Website the- insured unemployment claims for week ending Jan 16 will have increased from the previous week by 62,000 claims. This figure does not deal with people without unemployment insurance or those whose unemployment insurance has expired. Above fig. supplied US Dept. Labor Website on Labor Statistics posted Jan22-09'.

I did. I thought Castro might be dead.


I am trying to figure out what your point is, Fluffy. Are you saying people shouldn't have hope?

Maybe he's saying people shouldn't be unrealistic! This is just what I've noticed myself, but it seems Obama supporters think Obama is some sort of Messiah that will perform miracles! Hope is good, but it kinda has to be S.M.A.R.T

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time Constraint

I think people hope for too much and believe that Obama will resolve every issue there is. Let us not forget he is only human and it's impossible to please everyone!

sorta what
 

My post contains original sources MMM. You've confused the message with the messenger. I do'nt think the Dept. of Labor Statistics thinks when it posts unemployment insurance claims it just processes the numbers. Have you visited the unemployment office lately?

This is what all the parade pissers keep saying. Not once have I, Sinestra, or any of the other Obama supporters spouted anything like what you are saying.
I am old enough to have seen many men come and go and understand what one man can achieve. Yes, Obama is a man, not a god. Please stop acting like we are children who can't see beyond the tips of our fingers.

The question was 'what is your point'?

You should stop taking things so personally! Wow, I've never seen you so sensitive. You really ought to prepare yourself for a lot of criticism about Obama, which unfortunately, and this comment is directed at you unlike my previous, Obama WILL screw up on certain things like everyone else, and if you're as sensitive as you've shown yourself to be, then you're gonna have a hard time dealing with things.

To have hope is a valid thing, now the word I think everyone else might be saying is Idealistic, I have no Idealistic views about Obama, I just hope he can change things for the better and pick U.S.A. back up. He actually does have plans I watch the news everyday and Im excited that he's working immediately trying to fix the mess the previous president got us into, now it won't be easy, but I think he's capable. and I havnt seen anyone call him "Messiah" thats a ridiculous word to call him or even imagine him. I don't get why everyone puts him down before he's even started??? that's what I wanna know.

I appreciate your concern for my mental health. I am sure I will be as critical of Obama as anyone else when mistakes are made.

Gee, why would I think any of these comments are directed at me personally?
I realize you didn't say that Noodle, but my point is the image of hopeful president supporter = naive is played out and simply wrong.

sort of not about points
 

This is a forum MMM not a sport with a scoreboard. The friendly exchange of ideas and observations with no score or points. If you prefer scores or points you might want to include ESPN sports package with your cable TV provider.

I don't critisize Obama, I don't know his policies and I'm not directly affected by his actions, so I don't like or dislike him! All I've done is state what I've seen. I walk into a bar with a couple of friends and see FRENCH people cheering and shouting things along the lines of "Finally, we have someone that will change the world for us and make it a better place". I saw, okay, whatever, they're excited and they're proud to be part of something big and are cheering it on! Then I go home, watch the news, and I see people all over the world do these things. You get People in Japan wearing Obama T-shirts and cheering him on, and you get people in Thailand doing the same etc when they don't seem to celebrate nearly as much, or be concerned nearly as much with their own issues!

As for Messiah, I didn't say anyone used that word. I described how many people I've seen and spoken to have regarded him as!

I also hope Obama does a good Job! I hope every leader in the world does a good job for their country and people. I would hope nothing less for anyone. We are all humans and we all deserve stability and food on the table at the end of hard days work! I hope Obama does that for America. BUT I will not go ape over him simply because he's supposidly different to Bush!

You have me completely at a loss. I simply asked what your point was. I asked because I don't know.

Well well I see your point there, they do love Obama, Im not in love with Obama, but I sure as hell hope he keeps some of the promises he made, I know its not possible to keep all that you make during a campaign. I can understand the annoyance about that but I guess he fuels the hope train and people hope that he can help out in other places too and maybe he can, by fixing the U.S. relationship with other countries which was tarnished.

And I understand not everyone is enthusiastic about a new leader when he first joined the race for president I wasnt for him I thought "Waaaay to Idealistic" but then I heard policies and I said, he's actually better than most of the choices up there :D

I do respect your opinions though ^_^ as everyone says: "Opinions are like @ssholes, everyones got them" so I always listen.

P.S. At first I was too annoyed by the "Obama Love" then I said "whatever makes you happy" :P

I cant believe with as many intelligent people who are posting in here. What i was trying to say was completely and utterly missed i actually face palmed.

Sighsome of you people are the ones i cant stand to talk to in real life. All i ever freakin hear is negativity always negativity its like some people want the hard times to continue so they have bitch about.

Obama is a man he is mortal he is not a god and yes he will make mistakes will i be as hard on him as i was on Bush yes i will. WHY because as a voter, as a tax payer and citizen on this country it is my right to.

MY POINT once again is constructive criticisms is great, conversation with some debating is great. There is nothing wrong with having HOPE if you want to be depressed and bitch and moan about how nothing will change thats your right but don't drag others who might want to think optimistically into your depression.

Fluffy what in the HELL did your post have to do with anything i stated in my previous post?

Btw because of my job i basically work in DC and see many figures and numbers from unemployment to how much damn water is being used in the district.

Dude I think you need to relax a little... Maybe you can take your advice as well, just because you want to have HOPE it doesn't mean you have to drag other people along with you!

People stating they're "unhopefulness", isn't them trying to drag you down!

Personally, I think it's okay to have some hope things will get better or work out for the best I can see why so many are down at this moment, but isnt it okay to look forward and try be happy for what you got....not to sound to cliche :D Having alittle hope Obama can fix things in the US and other places is nice. Being Idealistic is what worries me, or being too Idealistic rather. Having alittle hope is okay.

Im actually very relaxed it takes more than this stuff to get me going, Trying lunch with lobbyist's that will get you going.

I see a trend everyday that disturbs me and has me worried about the future of this country in general. That trend is well nothing will change and you are a food if you think something will just because the white house has a new chief, or one person cant make difference. These are the sort of people who in real life have no hope in anything. You could win the lottery they would still find a way to make you feel bad You could get married they would tell you constantly it would end in divorce ect ect.

Once again everyone has the right to feel anyway they want, but all it takes is for one person to have a little hope to ignite a spark. If any one of you want to tell the 85 year old women i met on Tues she is a fool for having hope then more power to you.

Now i respect everyone here for their opinion and stating them instead of one line BS. Im not picking on anyone nor am i upset with anyone I would just rather focus on being positive than negative it takes a lot of energy to be negative 24/7.

haha he's a great guy!
i babysitted his kids once.

haha

i do hope he makes good changes to America, even though i dont live over there
i ddint watch the speech but i heard about it and i think that teh future is bright!

not negative but grounded
 

Sorry Sinestra like the financial meltdown the 'free marketeers' like CitiGroup, Morgan Stanley and BofA and the likes of Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin relied on the 'fundamentals of the market' these free marketeers did not bother with the 'negative'. The 'Storm of the Century'the ending of the artificial housing bubble that caused the financial market meltdown simply did not figure into their 'risk model' WSJ Sept08 NYTOct08' NPR08'. Having Obama surrounded by 'epic fail' Cabinet choices like Robert Gates Sec. Dept Defense and Timothy Geithner Treasury Nominee and Lawrence Summers Director of National Economic Council and Admiral Dennis Blair Director Nat. Intelligence is not about change it's about doing business as usuall.
The above choices include 'free marketeers' and the present
semi opaque 'TARP' and a admiral with his hands deep into the 1999 East Timor Invasion and counter insurgency which included massacre of civilians etc. If this is too negative for you your moral compass needs replacing.
Before hope there needs to be accountabilty.
If it makes you feel any better 'I' voted Dem.

Oh my theres so much debate and long pages of replies to go over I'm just going to skip it and say something small and basic and say I wish I could've gone to the inauguration. Was really historic :vsign:

Colin, you have your 25 posts now. You no longer need to respond to every thread.

And just out of curiosity what problem do you have with me trying to get active?

I was enjoying myself trying to get active in the forum but I didn't really feel the forum love with your comment :/

There is nothing wrong with being active if you are contributing.

Post like:

make me think you are just burning to get to 25. If I was wrong then I apologize.

I had nothing to contribute to your debate. Not the topic as a whole.

I probably should've used the word "debate" en lieu of the word "discussion" in my original post.

Fluffy it does not matter who you voted for as long as you voted (I thank you for that btw) because that in its self shows some hope. Accountablity, I have been screaming about that for years which mainly falls on deaf ears with people staring blankly at me and saying it Al Queda fault right. I thank you for your opinion and i do vaule it. But for a long while i was negaitive about things in this country. Hell i got up and left and went to europe for a while just for a change of scenery. Like i stated i am not bashing anyone for their views i welcome healthy debates because in essence its because of this country that we allowed to have this type of discussion. It was just moving at least (not all will feel the same way) for me to see so many people have hope in their eyes that things will get better and be amoung them. We have a long way to go and and one person alone will not fix the problems in this country so we can move forward.

One thing i want to see is more benefits for our soliders. Our soldiers should never have to return home after fighting and worry about weather or not they will have health care or have a job.

I agree with every word you said about the free marketeers i am was and still am very disgusted with them and just Wallstreet in general. The surge in Iraq cost me an uncle and cousin and civilians like you and i. Beleive me i know but i dont want to get into that its another topic for another time.

Are you under the impression im blinded by the light? forgive the corny refrence.:D

sort good Sinestra
 

I'm presently using my G.I. Bill for continuing my education and I have hope
that I will spend this summer sailing and being a bum off the coast of Mexico in the Sea of Cortez near Punta Baja on my piece off *hit 33ft Hans Christian
with a limp rubberband motor. I hoist a cerveza too u dude!
peace out!

the more things change the more they stay the same

Where did that come from?