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Just spoke with my Fedex driver a little bit. he's a Swedish national here on a work visa while his girlfriend goes to school. He said he just returned from Sweden for spring break and couldn't believe how hilarious people think our current presidential race is. It got me thinking about you fellas in the great white north.

Do you care who wins this ridiculous race?
If so, are you rooting for one person or another?
Are you worried about what could potentially happen?
Do you prefer honey nut or plain cheerios?

I remember a few years ago when the Rob Ford thing happened, it was in the news for a couple weeks and then basically disappeared until his death a few weeks ago.

Just curious!

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Tucker

Personalities aside, Canadians are in a funny spot. Politically we are closer to the Democrats (notwithstanding Stephen Harper's efforts towards a more libertarian society), but pragmatically, Republican administrations tend to be more outward looking, and in doing so are more supportive of trading relations. Putting that in context, Canada is much more dependent on foreign trade than is the US, and most of that foreign trade is with the US, so Republican administrations are often 'better' for us, on a purely commercial basis.

Happily, with parliamentary government rather than your presidential/congressional system we don't suffer the pain of your primaries. At times I wonder if the 'founding fathers' did you any favours with their concern over separation of powers, but at other times, I am a little bit wistful, when a parliamentary majority and a strong party whip gives our Prime Minister sovereign-like powers. I am a proponent of minority governments (but that is another discussion) to strengthen the 'responsible' in responsible (parliamentary) government.

But going back to personalities .... No, can't go there.

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601

From this side of the pond it looks like a circus act, how on earth can this mind numbing and laughable fiasco produce a credible president ?

Bob

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Mancave http://s1116.photobucket.com/user/mypic ... ow/mancave

Nothing surprises me in politics, no matter what country, it will be what it will be....until the next one.
All politicians are like icebergs, 10 % integrity and honor showing on the top with 90% of the ineptitude lying just out of sight.

Al

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Super Seven 3.4

...Except those "icebergs" that have no integrity or honor in the first place, so the 10% you see is merely a frightening glimpse into the sheer magnitude of their ineptitude.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

It has been amusing watching The Donald during the primaries but the thought of either him or Hilary in the office is truly frightening. It's also sad that your country is so strongly, and evenly, politically divided at the moment as it looks like it'll be impossible for whoever wins to accomplish much.

Having said that, though, have you folks in the USA been hearing about our new "rock star" Prime Minister, Justin? Since he was elected, 4 months ago, he's taken our balanced budget to a $30B annual deficient in order to stimulate a domestic economy that the statistics show is doing fine on its own. He does do great handstands though....gotta give him that. That's him in the white shirt.

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Bill H
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

I live in the U.S. and see both sides of it.

Many (most?) people have become so sick and tired of Washington that they're voting for Trump as a way to say "FU" to all politicians. I get that. Yet at the same time he scares the crap out of me - a recent fact-check found that 74 out of 75 of his statements were either a little, somewhat, or completely wrong. Is that who we want running the country? Can anyone tell the rest of us exactly what Trump's position is on any issue? How sure are you that what he's thinking right now is what he said yesterday? I'm not at all.

I watched a documentary on US involvement in Vietnam and it included comments from the North Vietnamese. They said that they were too afraid to invade South Vietnam because they genuinely thought that then-President Nixon was insane - they didn't know what he would do. After he stepped down and Ford took over, the VC took one look at him and said "Phffft, time to invade." So there is something to having a leader who's a bit unpredictable, such that your enemies don't push their luck. OTOH, if he does win, it terrifies me to think what he might say or do to China, Russia, or North Korea, possibly starting WW3 - and be all for it because it gives him a chance to show how tough he thinks he is.

At the same time I find it amazing how Trump's own party is trying to sabotage his chances at winning, effectively shooting off their leg to save themselves, so they think. If a GOP candidate doesn't have a majority of delegates before July, this country's going to provide the rest of the world with a daytime soap opera the likes of which no one's seen before. The GOP force-feeding the nation a candidate that it didn't vote for will truly be TV worth watching, and brings to mind the phrase "Martha, bar the door and get my rifle."

I heard something memorable that a European once said about US politics: "Americans get exactly the president they deserve." I worry that we may be so pissed at Washington that we vote in a dangerous moron just to teach them a lesson, at great expense to us as a nation...

That said, the alternative candidates are just about as bad, just in different ways. Contradictory thoughts? You bet.

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We are currently kind of in the same boat with our newest Prime Minister. Bit of a jack-ass in my opinion, and bent on spending all our money. Seems like most people in BC didn't vote for him or the Liberals, they just wanted Harper out.
Basically we flip-flop between people who burn our money, and people who cut benefits..... is that balance? Averages work maybe?

In reality, I've not heard too many people talking about the US election here. Looks like a bad joke though. I do question just how much control the US president actually has. Yes, it's his name on the orders..... but how much room can he move domestically when he is dealing with the big corporations/people (and also the people who invested large amounts of $$$ to get him to the top).

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"It's also sad that your country is so strongly, and evenly, politically divided at the moment as it looks like it'll be impossible for whoever wins to accomplish much."


Very true, very sad and very dangerous. Nothing is done, the rancor on both sides increases. Where does it end? Scary.

Bill

It's nice to see third parties finally catching wind. I think after this election they'll be a more viable option.. one we desperately need.
We also need an absolute gutting of Congress and the senate..

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Tucker

Well, despite Trump's boorishness, I think he genuinely thinks the US is "broken" and needs fixing. If he was more statesmanlike, I suspect his popularity would be much higher. Hillary, on the other hand, scares the crap out of me.

Here, we're seeing a ratcheting leftward slide toward full-on socialism that, despite the short reign of our recent "conservative" government, seems to be continuing unabated. Political correctness now rules our lives in every way imaginable, and the idea that the pool of money available from taxing the middle class is endless is referred to in the quote: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” (Margaret Thatcher). Our new Prime Minister (when he's not engaged in taking selfies and playing the class clown) seems intent on seeing how much of our money he can spend, in an effort to make himself look like a "humanitarian".

I fear that, in the US, if Hillary gets in, the sudden shock of socialism on the people may result in unpleasant consequences, for both our countries. I hope I'm wrong, but...

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

I'm personally terrified as to what happens if Hillary (or Bernie) gets in. I don't believe this country could handle full blown socialism - and I'm scared of what happens when Hillary starts coming for guns.

I like the idea of trump more than trump himself. I was hoping that Rand Paul (crazy abortion views aside) Would have stuck around.

So, For the second election in a row - I'll be voting for Gary Johnson. There's something to be said about a man that's hiked the tallest peak on every continent.

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Tucker

I understand that Shannon Whisnant ("The Foot Man") is running for president, how about him? If he or his nickname don't sound familiar, check out the documentary "Finders Keepers", currently on Netflix streaming.

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

I thought it was funny that Clinton made her gun comments right before the Montana vote - must not have given much thought about how that would work out.

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

I am afraid of Bernie, Hillary and The Donald as president. But so far, I am leaning toward The Donald. Not because I think he'll make a good POTUS (I'm sure he won't). But because of my conviction for term limits. At some point, all politicians should go back to working for a living. That leaves me with Trump by default. Not a great choice. But maybe it is good that other countries will see him as an unpredictable loose cannon. Any way I go in November, am I ever going to be sorry for voting this time around!

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

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