current American politicians that you respect

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I respect John McCain because he is a badass who survived tougher conditions than I can imagine.

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i certainly respect him for that, but it ends there.

im afraid he's lost pretty much all his credibility in the last few months with various comments/stances on the war andagreeing with and supporting bush no matter what happens.

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QFT

Also does Al Gore count?

I think he's done an excellent job with issues that he finds important in the past few years (whether you agree with him on global warming or not you have to accept that he's championed that cause like no other defeated presidential candidate)... I saw him recently speak on CNN about the media and candidates pandering to a sound bite political system (I agreed with that hatred)... and all without techincally no longer being a politician

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I respect John McCain because he is a badass who survived tougher conditions than I can imagine.

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i certainly respect him for that, but it ends there.

im afraid he's lost pretty much all his credibility in the last few months with various comments/stances on the war andagreeing with and supporting bush no matter what happens.

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QFT

Also does Al Gore count?

I think he's done an excellent job with issues that he finds important in the past few years (whether you agree with him on global warming or not you have to accept that he's championed that cause like no other defeated presidential candidate)... I saw him recently speak on CNN about the media and candidates pandering to a sound bite political system (I agreed with that hatred)... and all without techincally no longer being a politician

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There are a lot of people in this thread saying "whether you agree with his politics or not"...yada yada, you have to resepct the fact that he stuck to his guns/championed his cause. This doesnt make much sense to me, its really not hard to keep shoving your viewpoint down peoples throats when you have a lot of money. I mean, Hitler did pretty well in pushing his master plan upon the world, does that mean I should respect him? True respect should come only after change, and change that you agree with imo.

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Guids that's incredibly dumb... you can only respect someone if you agree or if theyve changed something?

Come on... we could get into insane debates about what constitutes an acceptable level of change... and as for agreeing completely with someone it's still possible to respect them even if you're against them. You can respect someone based on their behavior, the quality of their ideas, their capacity in defending their ideas, dedication to a cause, etc.

Check out Kennedy's attitude toward Goldwater if youre looking for a great example of respect between politicians despite opposing views.

Also Hitler comparison... classy (Godwin's Law). Because its evil to respect Hitler it must be totally evil to respect anyone who's the least bit forceful in their convictions/policies.

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Guids that's incredibly dumb... you can only respect someone if you agree or if theyve changed something?

Come on... we could get into insane debates about what constitutes an acceptable level of change... and as for agreeing completely with someone it's still possible to respect them even if you're against them. You can respect someone based on their behavior, the quality of their ideas, their capacity in defending their ideas, dedication to a cause, etc.

Check out Kennedy's attitude toward Goldwater if youre looking for a great example of respect between politicians despite opposing views.

Also Hitler comparison... classy (Godwin's Law). Because its evil to respect Hitler it must be totally evil to respect anyone who's the least bit forceful in their convictions/policies.

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I hated to use hitler as an example fwiw, but I couldnt think of anyway to convey what I was trying to say. But, no, I rarely can respect people that I feel are fundamentally at odds with what I think is right, it may be "dumb" in your opinion, but why should I hold anyone in any esteem if I think their viewpoints are silly?