I thought it would be interesting to start out the new year with some questions for you. Here are a few polls with questions that I am very interested in getting your opinions on. As you can see, they are somewhat political in nature. Please feel free to elaborate on your choices by entering a comment. — Bob
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I’m not quite sure why you are asking these questions. Hopefully you will ask them again…it would be interesting to see how the responses change over time.
Hello Dr. Beyster,
I think the Democrat will win in this coming election.
I hope we have seen the worst of the housing and subprime bubble. Otherwise, there will be recession and unemployment.
I hope SAIC stock value will increase this year.
Julius Tumolva
Bob,
I’m a contrarian according to the votes so far! I actually think Billary will probably be the nominee, but I’m hoping it’ll be Obama , for we really need change and Billary don’t have a principled bone in their collective bodies! Those who worry about Obama’s lack of experience might remember that one of my heroes, Abraham Lincoln, only served one term in the House of Repreentatives before becoming the 16th President!
Nightmare scenario: Billary for the Dems and Huckabee for the Reps–we’d have to choose between a combination of 3 slick talking candidates from Arkansas!
Worse, our primary system is so broken that the nominees may be known before some of us get the chance to vote.
BTW, some probably think my politics are those of a dogmatic fascist, but I do sometimes vote for Dems (e.g. both women senators in my home state of Washington), and I voted for and went to work for arguably the most intellectually smart and upright President we’ve ever had, named Jimmy Carter. But he turned out to be arguably the worst President in recent history, so smarts isn’t always a good indicator of performance.
The economy has been strong for 7 years now, but you’d never know it from the media coverage. And the specter of a recession is being raised by them as the election season comes upon us–guess why?! Oh, and why has Iraq suddenly disappeared from media coverage or candidates speeches?
Happy New Year to you & Betty!
Hugh
Donna: I don’t talk to as many people as I used to, so I’m not sure anymore what the opinions are of people I value. It was my feeling that many of the people I know read the blog and that, if they would take time to respond, I would have a better understanding of their current thinking. Based on the results, with 55 people voting so far, we’re beginning to accomplish that goal. We’ll keep the polls open, and add additional questions to our list. We will also re-set the questions from time to time to see how the opinions change. Perhaps we’ll plot the results on a graph to show how the changes. — Bob
Julius: We didn’t ask that question, but that is one we will add in the near future as well as the outcomes of the races for the Senate and the House. So far, as you can see from our results, the blog readers expect the subprime mortgage problem to get worse and recession to grip our economy. — Bob
Hugh: Thank you for your note. The voters are starting to respond and it looks like Barack Obama is more popular than Hillary (Billary). And on the Republican side, McCain seems to be showing signs of new life as Giuliani and Thompson fade away. I beg to differ with you on the prognosis for the economy. Triggered by the subprime mortgage problem, it looks like the economy is taking a turn for the worse, with no end in sight. Perhaps Iraq has fallen off the media’s radar screen for now, but it seems that Pakistan has taken its place. Happy new year — Bob
Note sure if it was me or the voting buttons that weren’t clicking, so here’s my feedback:
Social Networking – I receive emails weekly from folks who want to be added to my Linked In list, so I say yes, but have actually never used it myself, so this answer is probably not helpful.
I believe Obama will be the Democratic candidate
I believe McCain will be the Republican candidate
I hope the sub-prime fiasco has done its worst, but I fear there will be more ramifications to come
I think there is a likelihood of mild recession that will continue til after the presidential election
I wish every day there will be a resolution in Iraq so our troops can be deployed somewhere meaningful, but I have no faith that Bush even wants a resolution in the Mideast, despite Iraq not making any political progress at great cost to our national psyche, men and women in combat, and financial resources
Social Networking Sites: Other – which means I don’t find any of them really valuable.
Who do I think will be the Democratic Nominee: Clinton
Who do I think will be the Republican Nominee: McCain
Mortgage Fiasco Impact: More bad news
Potential Recession: Yes
Favorable Settlement of the Iraq War: I don’t anticipate one, unfortunately.
Hi Bob,
I believe that the subprime mortgage fiasco will become broader and deeper, and that a recession is most likely. The most significant and related questions are duration of the recession, how deeply it will cut into middle-class employment and corporate earnings, and how infective it is to the global economy.
LinkedIn appears to me to be a professional networking site, enabling business networks and employment opportunities to be cultivated, while maintaining or reestablishing working relationships.
I think that the battle for the nominees will render down to Hillary for the democrats, while for the republicans it’s a toss-up between Romney and McCain.
I do not see the war in Iraq being satisfactorily settled any time soon, to the benefit of the U.S. What more greatly concerns me, that is related to the war, is the physical depletion of our war material, ability to protect our borders and port, and the erosion of the strength of our fighting men and women. The readiness of our military forces, in the context of the buildup and modernization of China’s and Russia’s forces, should greatly concern us.
Best Regards,
Dan