The Official After Hours Presidential Election Thread **POLL RESET 23/10**

pat13wx

I met Sean Gallagher in Thurles today. He was at the Source meeting local supporters and the curious. I have to say he came across as a very decent and likeable man, shook hands and spoke to everyone, answered questions and posed for photos, etc. He also gave a 10 minute speech, which although packed with many of the usual stuff we'd expect to hear from anyone running for office he seemed very sincere and heartfelt in everything he said.

fishy fishy

dvpower wrote: »

Here are the second preference figures from the Red C-Sunday Business Post poll from 25th September

Gay Mitchell 14%
Michael D. Higgins 20%
Sean Gallagher 14%
Mary Davis 16%
Martin McGuinness 8%
David Norris 6%
Dana Rosemary Scallon 7%

As it stands, MMcG would need to be a whole lot further ahead than Michael D in order to beat him with just 8% of second preferences.

LOL nothing like a three week old poll, to tell us all what's what.
Jesus wept!

billybudd

LordSutch wrote: »

Well indeed, but of course its a given that Sinn Fein & IRA sympathisers will vote for McGuinness in their droves, so its just a matter of how many innocent young people (who don't remember the PIRA carnage), and the 'waverers' who may, or may not be swayed by the McGuinness propaganda machine.

I am none of the above yet I will be voting for MMG based on him being in my opinion the best candidate to choose from, his past and present has shown a man of conviction who was not afraid and had the intelligence and ability to change his own views and that of others to a more peaceful way to reach objectives, otherwise we would still have a Israel/Palestine situation with no end in sight. What have the other candidates done that can even slightly match those achievements? I salute him, Gerry Adams and also the many unionists who had the foresight to work together for a better and more peaceful future.

dvpower

fishy fishy wrote: »

LOL nothing like a three week old poll, to tell us all what's what.
Jesus wept!

So Martin McGuinness was attracting 8% of second preferences just 3 weeks ago, but somehow he's turned it around since then. :pac:

The SF delusion continues...

fishy fishy

dvpower wrote: »

So Martin McGuinness was attracting 8% of second preferences just 3 weeks ago, but somehow he's turned it around since then. :pac:

The SF delusion continues...

you really haven't a clue at first I thought you were only on here to raise temperatures, but now I know you really just have no idea of what is going on at all at all.

K-9

fishy fishy wrote: »

LOL nothing like a three week old poll, to tell us all what's what.
Jesus wept!

Not too long to the real poll that matters. We'll see how liked he is by the transfers he gets.

fishy fishy

billybudd wrote: »

I am none of the above yet I will be voting for MMG based on him being in my opinion the best candidate to choose from, his past and present has shown a man of conviction who was not afraid and had the intelligence and ability to change his own views and that of others to a more peaceful way to reach objectives, otherwise we would still have a Israel/Palestine situation with no end in sight. What have the other candidates done that can even slightly match those achievements? I salute him, Gerry Adams and also the many unionists who had the foresight to work together for a better and more peaceful future.

you cannot do that - only Shinners and Terrorists vote for MMG you know. You cannot be just an ordinary person with no affiliations voting for him, even if he is the best candidate for the job.

dvpower

fishy fishy wrote: »

you really haven't a clue

I'm noticing a pattern here:rolleyes:

fishy fishy wrote: »

at first I thought you were only on here to raise temperatures, but now I know you really just have no idea of what is going on at all at all.

Go on - enlighten us. What's going on?

fishy fishy

K-9 wrote: »

Not too long to the real poll that matters. We'll see how liked he is by the transfers he gets.

yes agreed, we will all learn something on that day. Just like we did on the last elections.

Captain Darling

fishy fishy wrote: »

you cannot do that - only Shinners and Terrorists vote for MMG you know.

I totally agree. :pac:

Morlar

dvpower wrote: »

So Martin McGuinness was attracting 8% of second preferences just 3 weeks ago, but somehow he's turned it around since then. :pac:

The SF delusion continues...

In the meantime they have now become the 2nd biggest political party in the state. According to another poll.

I think this is uncharted territory.

No one actually knows how the transfers will work and a spot check poll from 3 weeks ago is no indicator. Given the way this campaign has progressed.

I think it's yet to be determined what the response of the electorate will be to the media & political scaremongering going on in the anti-McGuinness camp.

I think there is a collective experience of previous electoral scaremongering that is a factor, and it won't sit well with a lot of people. Traditional SF supporters or not.

dvpower

K-9 wrote: »

Not too long to the real poll that matters. We'll see how liked he is by the transfers he gets.

McGuinness' defeat will be blamed on the biased media, who wanted Michael D in the Áras all along.

fishy fishy

dvpower wrote: »

I'm noticing a pattern here:rolleyes:


Go on - enlighten us. What's going on?

if you read back the posts you will see exactly whats going on pet, unless you are so used to being spoonfed an opinion by our dear leaders that you cannot see anything beyond that.

K-9

fishy fishy wrote: »

yes agreed, we will all learn something on that day. Just like we did on the last elections.

Yeah, 4th to FF! Well done.

dvpower

fishy fishy wrote: »

if you read back the posts you will see exactly whats going on pet, unless you are so used to being spoonfed an opinion by our dear leaders that you cannot see anything beyond that.

That's par for the course.
If you disagree with me, your opinion is useless because you're being spoonfed

Captain Darling

Captain Darling wrote: »

Still, silence on the economic policy front. Thats another days argument though. No need to discuss that here. :rolleyes:

Morlar wrote: »

In the meantime they have now become the 2nd biggest political party in the state. According to another poll.

I think this is uncharted territory.

No one actually knows how the transfers will work and a spot check poll from 3 weeks ago is no indicator. Given the way this campaign has progressed.

I think it's yet to be determined what the response of the electorate will be to the media & political scaremongering going on in the anti-McGuinness camp.

I think there is a collective experience of previous electoral scaremongering that is a factor, and it won't sit well with a lot of people. Traditional SF supporters or not.

Cough it up. I'm still waiting here. The argument that it is not relevant doesnt hold any water with me. The Presidential Election shall be indicative of future support for SF.

What is your opinion on SF's leftist economic policies? A socialist 32 county republic with a socialist president??????

Morlar

K-9 wrote: »

Yeah, 4th to FF! Well done.

I recall it was an almost 50% increase in the SF vote at that general election compared to the previous, no ? Open to correction on that.

In any event, why does acknowledging their undoubted electoral progress present such a problem to some people ?

Morlar

dvpower wrote: »

McGuinness' defeat will be blamed on the biased media, who wanted Michael D in the Áras all along.

Personally, I think it is clear that they do. Norris also had an easy ride, now he's essentially fell off his barstool, Michael D is next and sole remaining non McGuinness contender. Can you post a link to a single mainstream media article which was negative about Michael D ? Even one which was critical of him ? I honestly can not recall a single one.

Even if you can post one or two the vast, overwhelming balance of the rest of the media coverage would indicate the simple undeniable fact that he has been given an extraordinarily free ride in terms of media scrutiny throughout this election.

Lollipops23

MMG doesn't have the first clue about what the role of the President is .
He was banging on and on about creating jobs for the country- that's nothing to do with the Presidency?

He should have run for a ministerial position if that's what he's interested in.

billybudd

dvpower wrote: »

McGuinness' defeat will be blamed on the biased media, who wanted Michael D in the Áras all along.

And he would be partially correct.

Captain Darling

Morlar wrote: »

Personally, I think it is clear that they do. Norris also had an easy ride, now he's essentially fell off his barstool, Michael D is next and sole remaining non McGuinness contender. Can you post a link to a single mainstream media article which was negative about Michael D ? Even one which was critical of him ? I honestly can not recall a single one.

Even if you can post one or two the vast, overwhelming balance of the rest of the media coverage would indicate the simple undeniable fact that he has been given an extraordinarily free ride in terms of media scrutiny throughout this election.

That is the amazing thing about this whole election. The worst bit of publicity Michael D got was apparently taking change of a fiver from a busker, even then it turned out that he only putting coins on his fiver to keep it down.

I dont know is that strange or just a reflection on the other candidates.

dvpower

Morlar wrote: »

In the meantime they have now become the 2nd biggest political party in the state. According to another poll.

No doubt SF's star is on the rise. I attribute this to
a) the fall of FF and
b) the fact that many of the new generation of SF representatives weren't involved in the IRA and are more palatable to people.

The fact that McGuinness was deeply associated with the IRA is the reason he won't be president.

Morlar wrote: »

No one actually knows how the transfers will work and a spot check poll from 3 weeks ago is no indicator. Given the way this campaign has progressed.

So the poll that puts SF in second place is OK, but the one that has MMcG on 8% second preferences is 'no indicator'.

Lollipops23

Morlar wrote: »

Can you post a link to a single mainstream media article which was negative about Michael D ? Even one which was critical of him ? I honestly can not recall a single one.

Maybe it's because he's managed to not get himself embroiled in anything mental like the other candidates (abusing Seanad position, swearing an oath of allegience to America, lying about being a member of a dissident Republican group etc etc). It's not hard to live your life without any major fúck ups like the aforementioned. You and I (i assume!) do it all the time.

billybudd

Lollipops23 wrote: »

MMG doesn't have the first clue about what the role of the President is .
He was banging on and on about creating jobs for the country- that's nothing to do with the Presidency?

He should have run for a ministerial position if that's what he's interested in.

Actually it is about creating jobs through attending world wide events that promote Ireland in a business sense. he wont be just making arsonic tea for the queen, many people are underplaying the important role that is the president of Ireland.

Morlar

Lollipops23 wrote: »

MMG doesn't have the first clue about what the role of the President is .
He was banging on and on about creating jobs for the country- that's nothing to do with the Presidency?

He should have run for a ministerial position if that's what he's interested in.

There is nothing in the constitution preventing the President from running initiatives, whether they are to reward civic behaviour or whether they are to create or reward job creation initiatives. There is a lot of leeway in terms of the role and the vision for the role.

Lollipops23

billybudd wrote: »

Actually it is about creating jobs through attending world wide events that promote Ireland in a business sense. he wont be just maing arsonic tea for he queen, many people are underplaying the important role that is the president of Ireland.

Maybe it's just down to my own personal opinion of him (actually has nothing to do with his membership of the IRA) but I don't believe for one second that he would bring an ounce of anything good to the Presidency.

Lollipops23

billybudd wrote: »

he wont be just making arsonic tea for the queen, many people are underplaying the important role that is the president of Ireland.

Sorry, I got the most tremendous image in my head at that point

Captain Darling

billybudd wrote: »

Actually it is about creating jobs through attending world wide events that promote Ireland in a business sense. he wont be just making arsonic tea for the queen, many people are underplaying the important role that is the president of Ireland.

But dont we have ambassadors to other countries? Surely they can fulfill that role?

billybudd

Lollipops23 wrote: »

Maybe it's just down to my own personal opinion of him (actually has nothing to do with his membership of the IRA) but I don't believe for one second that he would bring an ounce of anything good to the Presidency.

I repect your right to your own opinion, all i would ask is for you to research his work as minister in the assembly in N.I and what he brought to that before making judgements like that.

Morlar

Lollipops23 wrote: »

Maybe it's because he's managed to not get himself embroiled in anything mental like the other candidates (abusing Seanad position, swearing an oath of allegience to America, lying about being a member of a dissident Republican group etc etc). It's not hard to live your life without any major fúck ups like the aforementioned. You and I (i assume!) do it all the time.

Even in a presidential race without standout canditates like Norris or even McGuinness - in any bogstandard vanilla political race there is intense media scrutiny. In my view this has been lacking in the case of Higgins. To give you an example a few weeks ago someone posted a you tube clip of higgins on an anti-american rant, it sounded like he was literally foaming at the mouth. He ended it with 'the ****!!!' spat out with a vengance you don't see every day. Now I had not heard of that whatsoever, certainly it's not been mentioned in the media anywhere that I noticed. If McGuinness had an audio clip like that in his press file it would be on a 24x7 Rte ticker.

If there has been no effective, meaningful media scrutiny of a certain candidate (in this case Higgins) - how do you know he is whiter than white to begin with ?