Betting on America?

(please forgive and move if this is the wrong forum, I did a search and nothing showed up)

gam·bling  [gam-bling] Show IPA
noun
1.
the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes.
2.
the act or practice of risking the loss of something important by taking a chance or acting recklessly: If you don't back up your data, that's gambling.

I find myself extremely bothered by Obama's campaign slogan. I do not want to GAMBLE on my country. I want to KNOW that it is going to survive and thrive. I feel like his slogan doesn't inspire confidence in his leadership, or in our country at all. It makes me feel like the slogan might as well say: "America is screwed, so take a chance that I may or may not be able to hold it all together, but you're probably f-ed no matter what".

Does anyone else get that vibe from Obama's campaign slogan? I'm not trying to just bash the President, but I am interested in how uneasy the slogan makes me feel.

(Don't be too mean, this is my first real thread!)

reply to post by MojaveBurning


It definitely sends a different message than "Betting on America" would have.

Wonder if that was intentional, considering the millions and millions of dollars these guys spend on PR firms, I can only assume it was a calculated decision.

Strange indeed.

I don't gamble with criminals or liars.

What weird campaign slogan. Even Wall Street avoids the use of that word, and they are the biggest casino on the planet.

reply to post by MojaveBurning


My attention has wandered from the election (I'm hiding my eyes so I'll be surprised when the results are in; maybe I'll get lucky and the winner will be Thomas Jefferson again). So remind me what this slogan is? Not to lecture you, but you should include it in your post anyway, for those who--like me--have turned attention elsewhere....

ETA: If it has something to do with gambling or betting, I think I can already tell you who the losers will be....

reply to post by Ex_CT2


Well, I guess technically it's the name of his bus tour. Apparently, it's "Betting on America"... but I could have sworn I've seen it portrayed as "Gambling on America". Apologies then, if the thread title is misleading. I kept seeing it in the headlines as "Gambling"... but a new search shows "Betting". Either way, it's still gambling, and not the type of risk that I think should be applied to our country.

About the Campaign Tour

Originally posted by TinkerHaus
reply to post by MojaveBurning

 

It definitely sends a different message than "Betting on America" would have.

I could have sworn I've seen for days and days this tour as "Gambling on America".

Technically, I guess Betting on America is just as bad, since a bet is still a wager.

wa·ger   [wey-jer] Show IPA
noun
1.
something risked or staked on an uncertain event; bet: to place a wager on a soccer match.

Guess my first post flopped, here I thought I had solid ground for a solid opinion, and I had it wrong!

Originally posted by MojaveBurning

Originally posted by TinkerHaus
reply to post by MojaveBurning

 

It definitely sends a different message than "Betting on America" would have.

I could have sworn I've seen for days and days this tour as "Gambling on America".

Technically, I guess Betting on America is just as bad, since a bet is still a wager.

Guess my first post flopped, here I thought I had solid ground for a solid opinion, and I had it wrong!

Well, you couldn't prove it either way by me. I wasn't challenging you or baiting you: I really haven't been paying attention, so I hadn't heard about it.

But you're right: Either way it's a poor choice for either a bus tour or a campaign slogan. I swear I could write better stuff in my sleep than that bunch of hacks. Like all political hacks, they always overthink the problem; and in trying not to alienate this voting bloc or that ethnic group or those religious nuts, it ends up sounding like it was formulated by a committee of 3rd-graders--who then decided to take the 2nd choice because they didn't want it to seem like a popularity contest.

Buncha wankers....

The message I get is that he is going to become more competitive internationally with global relations more of a sport than a responsibility. Apart from drawn out Middle East war that is just increasing tensions, there are also things like the Trans Pacific Partnership where corporations will no longer be bound by national laws and quite significant conflicts of interest are in the adjudication process. From some reports it does appear that there is a corporate coup under way to subvert global governments.

He does sound like a internationalist pushing the American agenda, but which one? Corporatism is the main one sticking out with his track record so far.

uhh maybe he wants to counter all of the people who swear up and down that China is our new overlord with language that all people can understand ?

or he is a reptilain zombie from mars who eats babies

Originally posted by kwakakev
The message I get is that he is going to become more competitive internationally with global relations more of a sport than a responsibility. Apart from drawn out Middle East war that is just increasing tensions, there are also things like the Trans Pacific Partnership where corporations will no longer be bound by national laws and quite significant conflicts of interest are in the adjudication process. From some reports it does appear that there is a corporate coup under way to subvert global governments.

He does sound like a internationalist pushing the American agenda, but which one? Corporatism is the main one sticking out with his track record so far.

Good points. I've been seeing those things without actually putting them together. Also, I do remember recently reading about some group scheduling meetings to decide whether it was even a good idea allow or recognize "sovereignty of states." (I've lost my link to it, and I can't remember any other details; I could kick myself.)

It would be easy to say, "well, who the hell are THEY to even address such critical issues for the entire planet?" But that would be to ignore that fact that they're going to do it anyway, and we're allowing it to happen. I'm sure Obama's thrilled like little girl over it....

Originally posted by MojaveBurning
(please forgive and move if this is the wrong forum, I did a search and nothing showed up)

gam·bling  [gam-bling] Show IPA
noun
1.
the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes.
2.
the act or practice of risking the loss of something important by taking a chance or acting recklessly: If you don't back up your data, that's gambling.

I find myself extremely bothered by Obama's campaign slogan. I do not want to GAMBLE on my country. I want to KNOW that it is going to survive and thrive. I feel like his slogan doesn't inspire confidence in his leadership, or in our country at all. It makes me feel like the slogan might as well say: "America is screwed, so take a chance that I may or may not be able to hold it all together, but you're probably f-ed no matter what".

Does anyone else get that vibe from Obama's campaign slogan? I'm not trying to just bash the President, but I am interested in how uneasy the slogan makes me feel.

(Don't be too mean, this is my first real thread!)

edit on 9-7-2012 by MojaveBurning because: changed title to be accurate

I don't get that vibe at all, but then again, 3 things:

1) i'm an optimist, because in my experience, things usually turn out more positive than what the majority of people expect. Also, I believe the pessimistic viewpoint helps to train the mind toward failure.

2) A realist knows that everything is a gamble, and you're always vying for probability to be in your favor. Is he gambling on a longshot, hoping our economy will grow tenfold is two years? No. Successful gamblers analyze the situation, believe they have an edge, and invest in their chosen winner, hoping to make small but worthwile gains on their risk. Not once have I thought the president was going all-in on a dead hand with America and bluffing - what he's saying is what everyone who isn't spooked by the b.s. In the media knows - the U.S. Still holds the best hand at the table, and the biggest stack, and we're going to build on that. As we've done time and time again, we'll come out from a decimated economy on top.

3) the most comfort you're going to get that we're going to "survive and thrive" would be through a drastic cutback in standard of living. America is not about being certain that everything is going to be ok, and you don't gain with no risk. We're going to have to have some testicular fortitude if we want to rule the roost. If we want to drift along being barely-ok, then we can have relative certainty that we'll stay that way - no thank you.

The only person I bet on is myself and my family.

The only guarantee in life is death and taxes- Benjamin Franklin