Question for the Membership......What's the Deal With "Nice"

[TVDOC]

For the past several months a strong undercurrent in the media, and specific the conservative media has been the issue of our candidate being "nice"  Now my interpretation of "nice" means that they want our candidate to be non-confrontational........just get along with everyone.

Gallons of print ink and hours of broadcast time has been devoted to discussions and editorials that the majority of Americans want a president that is a "nice guy/gal", and doesn't make waves.  We have to be "bipartisan", and always aware of the opinions and "feelings" of the opposition.

I'm wondering if you folks consider "nice" a valuable characteristic in your choice of presidential candidates (or any other national office for that matter).

Personally......I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a "nice" guy.  In my business careers with two huge corporations, I had the best unit turnaround, and profit record of any executive in either company's history.  My salary and bonuses reflected that, and I didn't do it by being a "nice" guy.........I did it by taking names and kicking asses where required, identifying talent, motivating it, and following up to make certain that it was utilized, setting very high standards for professionalism and motivation......being a leader.......

I'm not sure that I want a president that is "nice"........I want a president that will call a spade a spade, and get the job done by whatever means necessary.  If that means pissing off the opposition, the UN, some third-world despot, or anyone else, tough shit.  The job description doesn't include being popular inside the beltway, in Europe, the Middle East, or elsewhere.  I want a president that knows how to take names and kick asses, and isn't afraid to do it.

What say you??

doc

[Chris_]

"Nice" is the tactic the opposition uses to hamstring worthy candidates.

Also, we have a "nice" President now.  He's worthless.

[DefiantSix]

Frankly, whatever this nebulous, mysterious majority that wants a "nice guy" is, I'm most definitely not one of them.  I think that in the interests of being "nice guys" republicans have traded and traded and traded, until now, we have a collection of spineless RINOs without a single guiding principle amongst them (what, exactly, is Romney's core principle or principles), nothing they couldn't be persuaded is an okay thing to go along with (amnesty, No Child Left Behind, the Patriot Act, and on, and on, and on...) and this sickens me.

The democrats have been on the wrong side of history damned near since the nation's founding (slavery, the civil war, segregation, socialism in all of it's myriad forms) and the fact that even the most rock-ribbed of Republicans in this, the 21st century, are unwilling to stop them from manipulating the language to make us the bad guys, and expose them for the collection of crooks, frauds and charlatans they as a party have been since Andrew Jackson.

[CG6468]

I want a president who is a CCP* to our enemies and who'll have the best interests of this country embedded deep within his heart.



































* - CCP = Card Carrying Prick

[debk]

I think what the media is referring to is that the candidates are being "nice" to each other, rather than slicing each other apart and focusing, instead, on what they want to do to change the country and to oust Obama.

Not much purpose in slicing each other apart, and I really don't want to hear them do it. It always seems particularly phony, especially when they turn around and either back someone they have sliced apart in debates, or ask them to be their VP. If the individual was worthy of slicing and dicing during debates or campaigning, how can they be worthy of being the "slicer's" VP?

I do want to hear them, at this point and time, focus on their "plans" for the country and their strategy for knocking Obama out of office and how to get things back on track for all of us.

They can slice and dice on Obama all they want....he deserves it. And it should be done, provided it is used as "Obama has done this/that or whatever, but here is what I am going to do instead...." . I don't want to hear candidates tell me what a piece of crap Obama is as a person, president, leader of the free world.... we already know he is, I want to hear how the candidate will be different.

I don't think being "nice" is detrimental, provdided the individual can be a pit bull when the situation warrants. 

[Duke Nukum]

I wrote a whole long reply, then I remembered this was about the Conservative Media (so-called) and I had to delete it.

The reason the alleged "conservative media" wants someone who is "nice" is because they have sold us out.  They don't want us to embarrass them in front of their liberal friends.

[DumbAss Tanker]

I want a candidate that will give it right back instead of laying there and taking it a la the McCain/Lott approach...I also want him to have the judgment, tact, and intelligence to know when it's time to STFU with the wild-man act and behave like a President for EVERYONE, not just the probably-less-than-55% who actually voted for him.

[NHSparky]

"I want you to get in their faces..." -Barack Hussein Obama

Sauce for the goose, mother****ers.

[TVDOC]

I want a candidate that will give it right back instead of laying there and taking it a la the McCain/Lott approach...I also want him to have the judgment, tact, and intelligence to know when it's time to STFU with the wild-man act and behave like a President for EVERYONE, not just the probably-less-than-55% who actually voted for him.

Although philosophically I agree, assuming one of our candidates is elected, I could really give a crap whether those who were actually so stupid as to vote for Obama think about whether the new president is representing them.........they're going to piss, moan, whine, and throw tantrums anyway.......I have to struggle really hard to find a logical basis for inclusion........really hard. 

Stupidity should have consequences........it does in the "real world".

doc

[Linda]

"I want you to get in their faces..." -Barack Hussein Obama

Sauce for the goose, mother****ers.

You said it right....I want them to get in their face too. All this BS about being nice has gotten up's walked on and dissed at every turn. Makes us look like whimps. I want a representative with a BACKBONE to stand up for what is right for our nation and best for it's people.

[zeitgeist]

You said it right....I want them to get in their face too. All this BS about being nice has gotten up's walked on and dissed at every turn. Makes us look like whimps. I want a representative with a BACKBONE to stand up for what is right for our nation and best for it's people.

Nothing wrong with a backbone of steel unless of course it looks like this:



 

[Linda]

Nothing wrong with a backbone of steel unless of course it looks like this:



 

[zeitgeist]

Sorry I couldn't resist.  I was going to use it on a dumpthread about O'bumbler caving on the pipeline just to light up a few dummies.

  

[IassaFTots]

Never been a fan of the nice guy.  I think the problem with our society now is that we are waiting for the nice guy.  No more.  Mr. Nice Guy.

[Eupher]

I think the "nice guy" thing is a direct result of political correctness, "team-based decision making," and other forms of proletariat collectivism that we've all been programmed to learn is the Way of the World.

You see this kind of crap in corporations all the time. Those that toe the party line, make no waves, and otherwise do little to no independent thinking are rewarded with promotions, perks, and bennies that exemplify how little decision-making is prized anymore.

And God help you if you decide to go after a non-performing cretin who never should have been hired to begin with, but is somebody you've been stuck with because the schmuck has been passed around like a bong. You have to be a lawyer anymore.

Performance Improvement Plans, weekly counselings, constant vetting of this process by HR and the rest of the no-help schmucks whose sole purpose in life is to ensure that the corporation is not sued by a pissed-off worker who feels they've been slighted because the boss ragged on them.

The "nice guy" is the guy who isn't in the trenches. He's not being shit on by the very schmucks he hired, because he's insulated and out of touch.

The nice guy is out of touch which is exactly where he's supposed to be. He can afford to be "nice" because he's clueless about what's going on.

[CG6468]

The so-called "bipartisanship" really iritates me. There isn't supposed to be bi-partisanship; there are supposed to be two sides to political decisions. When someone says it was a bi-partisan decision, all I can think of is that one side caved.

[vesta111]

This is all psycho mumbojumbo.

Nice means Polite and Friendly.  One can give respect to all and be nice.   In a way nice means giving up all power to others. A rude person smashes into your cart in the supermarket,  You are a nice guy and back off and smile, do these rude folks hold any respect for you if you do not object ????    Does the word Milk Toast, Pushover, Wimp come to mind???

Being nice to the bully's in life only leads to being more bullied. This can be a family member or neighbor that wants to control your life for their benefit.

I want a leader that is strong and can protect me, i do not want a leader that bowed before those that are his enemy.

Nice?????   Do we want a leader that fights for us, puts us above the rules of courtesy????

Do we want a Wimp that will back down and allow us to be harmed as they want to be thought of as a nice guy.

Leaders of the world are much like the ideas we have of a father or mother figure.    We need a figure that will step up and defend us from the bully's.  WW2 the king and Queen stayed in London to give their subjects the strength to face the distruction of the country. Gave them power to withstand and rise above the enemy.

9/11 Bush demanded to go to NYC but found he had no power to do so and was against his will flown off to some safe place.   It didn't matter that he was President, there were forces that were beyond even his control.   

OBAMA on the other hand bowed to others of much less importance in the world then he and caused these leaders of all sorts to usurp the power of America.  He has given billions of American dollars to those FRIENDLYS that he knows are turning most of the money over to our enemy's.

No country has ever survived by raping the country's treasury to aid the enemy.    No leader has survived or their country by trying to pacify the enemy.   Try to become their friends and expect no respect from them.

Obamas crazy wife stated that for the first time in her life she was proud to be an American.  Well little spoiled girl, for the first time in my life your husband is making me  wonder just how proud I am now of how your husband is doing to one of of the last free nations on earth.

Shit, I want a strong leader, a monster when it comes to protecting America.     No Father or mother that is sane will allow harm to come to their family, America is the leaders family, the leader has to place their life and that of their family on the line to protect the many millions in their family.

Nice to have a Nice guy as father or leader, but when it comes to our health and life, few leaders or fathers will allow outsiders to either beat up on their kids and pay them money to stop.

We need a leader who  is not afraid to protect their people or family.   The trade business that saps the wealth of a nation, who do we have to stand up tall and proud and say, this has got to stop.   The enemy wants our goods, then they have to pay to get them.  Why pay them to import our goods?

Country's that need our help, OK no problem but they have to pay for it.   People in NK eating grass, not our problem, the leaders spend thousands of dollars to feed their dogs and buy expensive food and drinks for themselves.

I want a leader that arms our military to the hilt, sends Americans to our border to keep drugs out of the country, a leader that has be them Male or female got BALLS big bright BALLS that have a sign on them'''SAM HOUSTION era ----TRY ME------ 

Nice be damn, in all walks of life we need a loyal to us person in our lives, be it government or family member.

Rant ended for now, to my mind Manning, poor insane person , has done less damage to America then the so called  well ballenced president. 

 

[P.J. Husker-Fan]

I think it's very possible to be respectful, courteous and still just as strong and assertive as a leader needs to be. What strikes me as funny about these criticisms coming from the media is that most of the front-running candidates do tend to conduct themselves as the statesmen they are expected to be, it's the media that crosses the lines. I certainly do not agree with President Obama, his policies, his views, his actions--I did not and will not vote for him but I was raised to respect the office that he holds as an American first and a Conservative second. There is general nastiness and disrespect from far too many Conservative journalists for my taste. I have heard the argument that the left does it as well, and I am very well aware of the disrespect they showed former President Bush, but I've never known two wrongs to be anything but twice as wrong.

Beyond the media, I've been sorely disappointed by the conduct of a lot of my fellow Conservatives on the ground. I don't consider myself a member of the Tea Party but I did attend a few of their rallies with my uncle and it was hard to focus on the important issues they were raising when so many otherwise very civil and patriotic people were there doing little more than personally insulting President Obama. There is plenty in his record and flawed ideas that can be debated. There's nothing to be gained by calling him a terrorist, anti-American or in any other way disrespecting the man personally. President Obama holds the office of the Presidency of the United States of America, if, in the spirit of patriotism, we can't show respect for any person who holds that office whether we agree with them or not, we weaken the office itself. The office of President belongs to my country, not to the man holding it. Not showing the utmost respect to that office is simply not in line with my values as a patriotic American citizen.

So no, it's not important that a candidate be nice, but it is important that he is respectful to this nation, it's institutions and it's leaders. I suppose nice would be not telling the truth of how many hard-working Americans are going to go broke trying to pay for government mandated health insurance, respectful would be doing so while still referring to the leader who authored it as President Obama, and nothing else.

[Gina]

I want a candidate that appears to be nice but lays it out in such a sharp witted way that he leaves the other guy speechless looking like an idiot.

[TVDOC]

I think it's very possible to be respectful, courteous and still just as strong and assertive as a leader needs to be. What strikes me as funny about these criticisms coming from the media is that most of the front-running candidates do tend to conduct themselves as the statesmen they are expected to be, it's the media that crosses the lines. I certainly do not agree with President Obama, his policies, his views, his actions--I did not and will not vote for him but I was raised to respect the office that he holds as an American first and a Conservative second. There is general nastiness and disrespect from far too many Conservative journalists for my taste. I have heard the argument that the left does it as well, and I am very well aware of the disrespect they showed former President Bush, but I've never known two wrongs to be anything but twice as wrong.

Beyond the media, I've been sorely disappointed by the conduct of a lot of my fellow Conservatives on the ground. I don't consider myself a member of the Tea Party but I did attend a few of their rallies with my uncle and it was hard to focus on the important issues they were raising when so many otherwise very civil and patriotic people were there doing little more than personally insulting President Obama. There is plenty in his record and flawed ideas that can be debated. There's nothing to be gained by calling him a terrorist, anti-American or in any other way disrespecting the man personally. President Obama holds the office of the Presidency of the United States of America, if, in the spirit of patriotism, we can't show respect for any person who holds that office whether we agree with them or not, we weaken the office itself. The office of President belongs to my country, not to the man holding it. Not showing the utmost respect to that office is simply not in line with my values as a patriotic American citizen.

So no, it's not important that a candidate be nice, but it is important that he is respectful to this nation, it's institutions and it's leaders. I suppose nice would be not telling the truth of how many hard-working Americans are going to go broke trying to pay for government mandated health insurance, respectful would be doing so while still referring to the leader who authored it as President Obama, and nothing else.

Well......to all of the above, I would just say that your perspective is likely similar to the "logic" used by many in the voting booth in November of 2007.......which got us Obama.

Although I hold the office in highest esteem, I have no respect for the man currently occupying it, rather, I despise him.  I don't despise him for his skin color, origins, or personal characteristics.........I despise him for what he has done (and publicly states that he wants to do) to 230 years of American history, and for what he stands for ideologically.  

I consider his vision of a "European Welfare State" for the US anti-American, and bordering on seditious.  I'm old enough to remember when citizens were imprisoned for sedition.  The man took an oath in front of myself and every other citizen to "uphold, protect, and defend" the Constitution of the United States, and since gaining office, he and his henchmen have done everything they can to undermine and distort its principals.

Respect must be earned........by individual  actions.......not by simply being elected to a public office.

On a personal level, I consider Obama a malignantly narcissistic, naive, lazy, Chicago affirmative-action thug......for his entire tenure, he has deferred all exective  decision-making to either his cabinet lackies, czars, or to the "progressive" congressional leadership.  On matters of national security, when he actually needed to defer to the experts (military leadership) he ignored their advice for purely political reasons.  In short, America is essentially "leaderless" right now.......awaiting the election of a "real" chief executive.

I  felt exactly the same about Bill Clinton following the Monica affair.......IMO, Clinton sullied and damaged the office that he held......I didn't respect him following those events, rather I despised him for his actions, and from that point forward, did not consider him presidential......just another dishonest scumbag Democrat.

Therefore, unfortunately I must disagree with at least the "spirit" of your position.  I categorically refuse to show (false) respect for the man simply because the electorate was either deceived or threw a tantrum in the last presidential election.

doc