How did you vote in the Presidential election of 2016?

[airdvr 210]

A little unscientific poll. Be honest. Just like in the booth no one will know how you really voted.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[AlanS 1]

This year I wrote in "Elon Musk" for President.

I could never vote for Trump at any level, ever. To me he is a text book narcissist and I'm worried what someone like that will do with power. When he won I withheld judgement and hoped for the best, but my worst fears are playing out right now.

I also couldn't vote for Hillary Clinton. Because I think it is a fundamental mistake for a democracy (or republic) to have dynastic families. We shouldn't allow power to gather with too few people/families. Bush, Clinton, even Kennedy. It doesn't matter if you agree/disagree with them a fundamental principle of our society should be keep power decentralized. We have three branches of government with separation of power for a reason. We don't have kings/ruling families and we shouldn't have dynasties where political power depends on your blood line.

Since I couldn't vote for either candidate, I decided for the first time to do a "write-in" and this freed me to select whoever I wanted. (It is my vote and I'll do what I want with it). Elon Musk is an entrepreneur that started PayPal (with several other), and took that money to run Tesla and SpaceX. Both Tesla and SpaceX are risky, so he wasn't just trying to make more money, he was with a clear vision of the future trying to solve real problems that I think need to be solved. These problems being getting off fossil fuel which will in several hundred or perhaps a thousand years time ruin the ecology and climate of our only home. And also better access to space. (I'm a big believer in the space program) Also he had a degree in physics and business. So isn't prone to "Alt Facts/Reality distortion fields" like so many politicians with flawed personalities.

I do think our presidential selection process is deeply flawed, and our choices this year reflected that. I would have preferred different candidates on both sides.

On the democratic side, I'm still confused by "super delegates" and how it distorts an honest selection process. Would Sander's have won without a "super delegate" rule? We will never know. Democracies need to be "transparent", and "super delegates" are the opposite.

On the republican side it seems like too many acceptable candidates diluted the vote and they got the worst possible candidate. I think it shows that during the primaries we need to be able to select a "top three" candidates list, and stop this state-by-state process where one small unrepresentative state like Iowa has disproportionate power in weeding out the early candidates.

I'm still hoping for the best, but am very worried about the next four years. Buckle up it is going to be a bumpy ride.


(And to anyone that wants to inform me that I "wasted my vote" because Elon Musk is an immigrant and not eligible to be President. Yes I am aware of that. I think Elon Musk is an example of why an open immigration policy is good and he is the person I would want to be President over who we currently have).

[Phil1111 1,186]

AlanS

(And to anyone that want to inform me that I "wasted my vote" because Elon Musk is an immigrant and not eligible to be President. Yes I am aware of that. I think Elon Musk is an example of why an open immigration policy is good and he is the person I would want to be President over who we currently have).

Only in the US has anything like this happened. A immigrant founding a company like Space X, using the industrial, scientific, regulatory base that only exists in the US. I won't comment on other immigrants founding major US companies that are world leaders. But there are plenty.

Setting aside his "text book narcissist" personality. Clearly there is nothing known about his political ideas. IMO Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina, had more sheer brains than 1/2 of the rest of the candidates combined. When she answered questions she was able to answer specific questions using a ranking of factors from major to minor. On the fly, with no hesitation and leaving no doubt that she knew the subject.

But those factors don't get a person elected. I find it amusing that Germany would pick a politician like Angela Merkel.

"Angela Merkel (born 1954), was elected chancellor of Germany in 2005 and re-elected in 2009. She is an ENTJ in the MBTITM personality system: extrovert, intuitive, thinking, judging. Another way to describe her type is as “extroverted thinking with intuition.” This type is known for leadership abilities and strength. In the Enneagram personality system, the toughest type, the Asserter, is often an ENTJ or the sensate version, an ESTJ. At 51, she was the first woman to serve as chancellor of Germany and the first Eastern German to lead the reunified country. She is also a scientist and the chairwoman of her political party, the Christian Democratic Union. Frau Merkel is often referred to as “the decider.” She was on top of Forbes magazine's list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. She was Forbes’ fourth most powerful person in the world in 2011."
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-career-within-you/201207/what-personality-type-is-angela-merkel

"She is "Europe's most dangerous leader", the "Iron Frau" who is "dragging us towards the abyss". Angela Merkel's handling of the euro crisis, it is safe to say, has not been met with approval on the world stage. Even at home, the German chancellor recently had to dodge criticism by a group of prominent economists; one of her own party members has gone public to complain about her authoritarian style of running the Christian Democrats. Such is the international anger about her apparent failure to save the euro that the Economist, in its current issue, asked for some sympathy for "Germany's long-suffering chancellor" – while still criticising Merkel for her indecisiveness.

And yet, in spite of the financial crisis going from bad to worse, the German people are still firmly behind her. According to a recent opinion poll by public broadcaster ARD, 70% of all Germans feel Merkel is the best person to save the euro. A similar survey by news magazine Stern confirmed her popularity; if they could vote for their head of government directly, 49% of all Germans would choose Merkel.

The fact that the German economy has until now fared rather well through the global downturn alone does not fully explain her widespread popularity. Her own Christian Democratic party, for example, has not benefitted from the country's economic stability in the same way. According to the ARD survey, only 36% of Germans would give Merkel's party their vote if they could go to the polls now. In contrast, Merkel is perceived almost as a non-partisan head of state rather than a career politician. To put this into perspective, imagine Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady" Merkel is often compared to, enjoying the Queen's levels of popularity.

This enthusiasm, to put it mildly, is puzzling. Even Merkel's most ardent supporters would find it hard to argue that she is a very inspirational or charismatic leader. How can such a reserved, rational and uninspiring politician arouse such widespread approval?"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/15/why-germans-love-enigmatic-angela-merkel

This about the woman that burn up so much political capital in allowing entry of 1,000,000 refugees.

Germany chose her. America chose trump. Go figure.

[normiss 900]

I'm thankful Carly didn't get a chance at managing this country like she did HP, as well as her spreading lies and fake news. She supported illegal sales of tech gear to blocked countries, she supported the H-1B visa programs in favor of US employees, yet she received on hell of a golden parachute after screwing over employees and share holders.
Last I heard, she was still lying about seeing the video as well.
I never saw her as smart.

[Phil1111 1,186]

normiss

I'm thankful Carly didn't get a chance at managing this country like she did HP, as well as her spreading lies and fake news. She supported illegal sales of tech gear to blocked countries, she supported the H-1B visa programs in favor of US employees, yet she received on hell of a golden parachute after screwing over employees and share holders.
Last I heard, she was still lying about seeing the video as well.
I never saw her as smart.

Well she certainly had failures at HP. The Harvard Business Review did a study of takeovers and the net results to the bottom line. They found the majority of the suitor companies had net losses to margins,return on invested capital and company morale subsequent to a takeover. Her tenure was also during a downturn in tech and at a time when HP products. That being PCs, printers, etc. and hardware in general became commoditized. Due to Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese competition. Primarily on price.

Somewhat balanced view of her HP tenure here.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/fiorinas-h-p-tenure-a-disputed-legacy-1444179445

The story doesn't take into account of patent lapses during her tenure. But does accurately state her role in the Compaq acquisition. A mistake. Her failure to maintain a HP lead in innovative technology and trying to match competition product to product. Led to product lines covering every segment of the market. Including ones where the margins suggested abandonment.

I guess it just comparing apples to oranges. Career politicians set a poor benchmark on business IQ and promoters make poor Presidents.