It’s funny, owens, because you do not actually debate or refute any of the issues that we voted for. I hold strong opinions on the environment, health care, foreign policy, internet access, immigration, and the list goes on. I could argue my opinion on each of these, and no matter what any conservative says, still come away feeling I am right and correct because these opinions have been changing and molding themselves in my brain into what they are today. They are the result of discourses, debates, and arguments with conservatives and liberals alike, and thanks to them I know exactly what I believe and where I stand on these issues. You, on the other hand, have some nebulous comment about what? A nebula? I know my beliefs and voted accordingly. Debate something real for once.

Jim, I agree that those who resort to name-calling do so because they aren’t confident enough in their positions to debate the issues. However, I resent the fact that you seem to think that all students who voted for Obama were swindled by a message of change with no substance. I’ll admit that I know of some who voted for Obama simply because they were so disatisfied with President Bush. But I challenge you to say there aren’t similar voters on the right, who would never even consider a candidate like Obama simply because of the (D) by his name on the ballot. Contrary to your conclusion, I know many people who carefully considered both candidates. Many chose Obama, and some chose McCain. That is to be expected; it is very common for the younger generation to be more liberal, but it’s not because we’re naive. I wouldn’t have chosen W&M if the students weren’t smart and well-reasoned, and I suspect you’d say the same. Is it so hard to believe that we value issues differently? I can’t understand how you criticize posters here who speak as though the leftist approach is the only correct path to success, when your original post seems to suggest that yours is the only correct one. I personally don’t share your view on tax policy, and I think many conservatives are misrepresenting Obama’s tax plan to make it sound more widespread than it really is, which is disingenuous. I support a progressive tax policy that raises the cap on income tax. I like Obama’s plan that raises taxes on those who make more than $250K. The rich can afford to pay a little more and still live very comfortably. And this additional tax revenue will be used to create valuable programs and to pay down our tremendous national debt, which I might add exists primarily thanks to GWB.

In short, Jim, I appreciate your civil discourse in a forum that quite often devolves into chaos. But while we’re cutting out the name calling, let’s quit using “liberal” like it’s a dirty word. I and many others may not be as “experienced” in this world as you, but it doesn’t mean we’re not capable of making informed decisions. I certainly encourage you to work toward what you think is best for our country, whether it be in support or opposition of our President-elect. But the first step in that is acknowledging that voters have spoken and, this time, not in a voice that supports conservatives.

Read Ubu Roi and have a conversation with Professor Begley.

Dear Jim Jones,

WM has taught me that words can have a great power, especially words like “nasty-ass,” fuck, shit, and cunt. Obscenity shocks the bourgeoisie, and ,if only momentarily, takes away their power, which is necessary in the last remaining months of the Bush presidency (talk about dictators—George W. Bush gave himself more power than any other President). Plus, obscenities are super fun to say!

Also, how would you know what Nichol’s leadership style was, or even what influence he had over his students? You were not a student during his presidency. In fact, you have not been a student at the College for some time. It’s been 28 years since you graduated. I understand that you care about your college, but seriously dude, move on. You were not at the College to experience Nichol’s Presidency, therefore you cannot comment on any influence he had on the students.

Uh oh! The Gene Nichol influence is starting to flare up again! I might perform a sex show of fucking myself up the ass with the Wren Cross!

Jim Jones = nasty-ass.

This is a compliment.

jim jones doesn’t like how wm students respond to his stupid ass comments? probably because he went to “i’m a whiny bitch who can’t admit that republicans have never done anything good for the country ever…ever” university.

If people aren’t buying my poorly-reasoned bullshit, it is obviously Gene Nichol’s fault. Nichol is calling up every student, from Chapel Hill, and whispering socialist talking points in their ears. This is the only possible explanation for everyone laughing at my internet memos. It has nothing to do with me being a middle aged dude posting book-length nonsense on the comments board for a small college newspaper. Nope. All Nichol.

Thanks for all the compliments. I see the influence of Nichol’s leadership style here on campus still remains.

As far as Obama not being far-left, you can say what you like, but that’s his history, both in terms of his voting record and in the company he has chosen to keep over the years. Whether this leopard governs effectively depends on whether he can actually change his spots.

The problem with people who have opinions like yours is that you really DO believe this country sucks — that we’re a dumb-ass or “nasty-ass” country too collectively stupid to let people like you do “what needs to be done.” We the people are not worthy to be in the same country with you. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before! What this country really does need is for people like you to determine “what needs to be done” and be free to do it, especially with all the experience and wisdom that your teenage years have gifted you with. Maybe some of the readers here aren’t so sure that I am the one who’s the dumb-ass. I think the last hundred times people who thought like you were in power, they did in fact choose who was fit to live in their country. Too bad for the rest of the people, eh?

Those people — we called them dictators — know what is best for everyone else and are prepared to do “what is best” regardless of what dumb-asses like me think of it. You seem perfectly suited for a career in higher education, as a tenured professor imparting your wisdom to your students.

This country is going bankrupt, red and blue states alike, but the bluer the state, or so recent numbers indicate, the more financially strapped it is from years of increased social spending and high taxes. Soaking people who actually have disposable incomes, which they actually spend on goods and services, in order to take their money and give it to the government, is just plain stupid, though I see you are all for it. Maybe if you actually PAID income taxes at the level the “rich” pay (give me half your money, now) you’d have a different opinion about who’s the best person to decide how to spend the money you earn. If people with money have less of it to spend, then they will spend less. We are already seeing it; as disposable incomes dry up or decrease, the economy tanks. The economic policies you seem to be espousing have NEVER worked.

Calling someone names doesn’t say much for you or for the education you’ve gotten at W&M. Smart people engage in debate, which is what a liberal arts education is supposed to be about, where there is real argument and opposing points of view are presented. Either you are so brilliant and I am so dumb that you don’t want to waste your time on me, or you are unable to respond with any sort of cogent argument except to say that Obama will just make it all happen, if the Republicans would just get out of the way.

As I said in my first posting, students had a big part in electing Obama. If millions of students voted for him without knowing what you were voting for (except “change”), and you really don’t know what Obama is going to do (except you want to know how he can “help” you) then you are a proud member of the Dumb-Asses of America.

As if the millions of Republicans in this country sit around scheming about how to keep the oil companies in control. And that we enjoy being held hostage to the energy companies, enjoy paying high gas and energy prices, polluting the environment, and being dependent on foreign oil, just so we can keep the status quo like it is and prevent alternative fuels. Uh-huh. Just don’t be sure that Obama can fiat it all into existence and make it work quickly so that we can break our dependence on foreign oil.

If Obama is able to solve ANY of our problems as a country, show some bipartisanship on the issues we face, and does more than spout leftist drivel about the Republicans being the problem, he gets my vote in 2012. I hope he does abandon the loony left and move to the center, but he sure does owe the left a lot of favors, so don’t hold your breath…

i’m not going to sugar-coat this, jim jones you are a dumb-fuck

there is a simple solution to all this: tax the rich, tax the shit out of them

Brittany says “Obama has promised change, but we do not know what implications such change will have for us.” Does this mean that students voted for “change” without knowing what change they were voting for? Brittany calls for students to “pay close attention to what Obama’s plans are for us in the future.” In the euphoria of the outpouring of love for Obama, did no one pay any attention to what Obama’s plans actually are?

The time to pay attention to Obama’s plans has now passed. Obama, Reid, and Pelosi now have virtually unlimited power, and all indications are that they will use it. As to what they will do, it is clear in general that they will increase the size of government and government programs, and they will either increase the deficit to a trillion dollars or raise taxes to pay for it. The Republicans are so destroyed that they cannot offer much resistance.

One thing you will NOT see, I predict, is any drilling whatsoever for American oil and gas supplies. Since Obama can’t wave his “I’ll fix everything” magic wand and charm alternative energy sources into reality they way he charmed the electorate and the media, the transition to alternative energy may not be easy or rapid. Until alternative energy sources are both available and economically affordable to the average American rather than just the wealthy, how, for example, will the average working people “go green?” Most of us are not Hollywood stars, and to drive a “green” car, one has to be able to afford to buy one. To have a “green” home, one has to have the money to retrofit an existing home or build a green one. In the meantime, America must have energy, and the shift away from a petroleum-based economy will not be rapid.

Obama promised to bankrupt anyone who builds a new coal-powered power plant (he says that was taken out of context, but didn’t explain what the proper context of “we’ll just bankrupt them” was), and Democrats are almost as likely to build nuclear plants and drill for oil and gas in America as my cat is to go for a swim in the river. Not likely. We already saw Pelosi’s oil drilling plan — drill where the oil isn’t, so unless something really magical happens and we get affordable alternatives soon, and we the people can afford to get rid of our gas-burning cars and buy new ones, and afford to junk our archaic houses and build new ones, we are stuck in a petroleum-based economy for now. That was McCain’s point — energy is a national, non-political issue that is in everyone’s interest to solve, but we needed a short-term energy strategy that stops the flow of billions upon billions to our enemies and is crushing our economy.

Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, deeply indebted to the far left of which they are a part, will likely do little or nothing to leverage the oil and gas that we know exists on American soil. Such drilling would put Americans to work, allow purchase of the required materials from American companies, and keep some of the $70 billion a year in America instead of going to our “friends” overseas like Vladimir, Mahmood, and Hugo. Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are highly unlikely to do anything to stem that outflow except to the extent that alternative energy does come on-line and is affordable. So one plan Obama has for you is to put energy alternatives in place. But as Obama now says, as he reduces expectations, it “might take a long time, more than a year and maybe more than a Presidency” In short, Obama’s energy plan relies on alternatives being in place and affordable quickly, and he has no short-term stop-gap measure such as nuclear plants (France and other parts of Europe rely almost exclusively on nuclear power for electricity) or drilling for gas and oil on our own soil. As far as I can see, the Obama plan means we keep sending billions abroad for the foreseeable future.

Another plan Obama has for you, or for your parents or your future employers if they are “wealthy,” is to raise taxes. Experience has shown that raising taxes always stimulates a problem economy, so that should work well.

Obama has promised to make College more affordable for you students also, and I guess he can do that if he finds the money somewhere to pay for it. Easy to give money away.

Another plan Obama has is to provide medical coverage to all, which again has to be done either on the backs of the taxpayers or business, since it has to be paid for. 70% of medical costs in this country are due to chronic illnesses brought on by obesity and inactivity, and only individual Americans can do anything about that. The government cannot make you thin. No country can afford to cover all the expenses associated with chronic illnesses, but Obama seems to plan on doing so. I can only hope that enough of the medical system remains intact so that doctors are still incentivized to become doctors and can make some money at it, and so that I can still choose my own doctor. Notice that there is no plank in Obama’s plan for limiting frivolous lawsuits. He is, after all, a lawyer.

It will be interesting to see what Obama does with Medicare and Social Security, those government Ponzi schemes. Whatever he does, it will cost us plenty of mazumas. Obama and the Democrats managed to crucify the right over “privatizing Social Security” (the proposal was to allow Americans the choice of investing up to 5% of their Social Security payments in the private sector — horrors!)

Obama also plans to fix all the problems “W” has caused. The French always loved us, for example, until “W” ruined everything, so we’ll get that love back from them and from the Germans. He plans to talk Ahmadinejad into giving up Iran’s nuclear program and ask nicely if Mahmoud will please stop talking about blowing Israel off the face of the earth. He’ll end the war in Iraq but not give up the fight in Afghanistan, which is, you’ll note, where he will have to send any troops he can manage to extract from Iraq. He also hopes to engage Europe’s support in Afghanistan, even though Europe has demilitarized its military and has proven they have no stomach for combat missions.

According to his supporters, Obama will reject the fringe left and govern in the middle. His years of pure partisanship will fade away as he reaches out to the other side. Personally, given the pent-up anger of the left after eight years of “W” and the clear agenda of the far left on any number of issues, I have my doubts.

However, Obama will be my President too. His election represents a major step forward in many ways and, I hope, will be the beginning of the end of the assumption that racism is everywhere; if it were, Obama would not have been elected. I thought Obama needed to get a lot more experience before running, but he’ll get that experience where Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, among many others, said he should NOT get it: on the job.

So, yes, students, pay close attention to Obama’s plans for you in the future, but realize that you have already given Obama and the Democrats, unquestioningly, the absolute power to do as they please. Now that you’re wondering what it is he’ll do (vote first, ask later), you had best hope that he does the right thing for all of us. Because that hope is now all we have.

I actually believe Obama will do his best to help the country, and for all of our sakes, I hope he succeeds.

It is very much doubtful that Emperor Obama will do anything besides making Americans rely on the federal government and not work for themselves. He has convinced people to lie down and give up and let Big Brother handle everything for them. If you do dare to work for yourself, you will be punished. So to answer the question about college affordability: your parents will not have to save anymore! You will get in for free! Of course, to do that, EVERYONE’S quality of education will have to be lower, but it is OK! We can all go to college and learn nothing! As long as we go, right?