Presidential Election

MrMan said:
I think you are giving far too much credit to Mitchell if you think that writing letters is why people won't vote for him.
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I don't actually. However the subject of the letter writing came up here and I responded.
 
I think Gallagher's links with FF will help him. Over 40% of the country used to vote for them and they’ve spent the last year being told that they were idiots (and possibly crooks) ever to do so. He may be getting a protest vote of sorts.

Pat Cox must be really peeved.
 
The biggest problem with negative campaigning is that it will deter decent canddiates from putting themselves forward for public office in the future and we will be left with hard necks and former murderers to choose from
 
Purple said:
I think Gallagher's links with FF will help him. Over 40% of the country used to vote for them and they’ve spent the last year being told that they were idiots (and possibly crooks) ever to do so. He may be getting a protest vote of sorts.
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Was thinking that too. A way for Fianna Fail voters to vote Fianna Fail with a clean conscience.
 
I have been looking at all the candidates and came across this..
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/through-the-eyes-of-a-dragon-2072647.html

Some things I wasnt aware of ,like; He was married before,
Sean Gallagher believes that it was thinking with his head and not his heart that ultimately ended his short marriage in the late Nineties. "She was a beautiful and bright woman," he says.

"I was more tuned into my head back then. Now I tune into what my heart and gut are telling me. Sometimes we all have to keep making mistakes until we eventually learn the lesson." (They married in 1997. "It lasted just over two years. Divorced and church annulled ... ")
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And,he seemed surprised at the amount of money spent on hair;
There are no such problems with communication with his girlfriend Trish O'Connor. "A brunette with some shades of red, which sometimes tends to vary for some inexplicable reason after visiting the hairdresser." Bald-as-a-snooker-ball Sean says that Trish, the sales rep for Munster for Vichy Skin Care, recently spent as much on one visit to the hairdresser as he spent in the last decade.
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And,he was on the board of FAS,
He drives a VW Tourag jeep -- "a bit like myself," he says, "functionable, strong but not flashy". Sean, who was appointed to the board of FAS last month, has come straight from his first board meeting in FAS to meet me today in the Shelbourne. What did you think of the disgraceful happenings at FAS last year"That was last year. You have to learn from the past and make sure it doesn't happen again. The key thing about the board on FAS is that it is not just government money; it is taxpayers' money. It is about value for money and being relevant to your target market -- the people who need to get back into the job market. How can I be of service? That is the new currency."
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Nothing wrong with any of the above,but I just dont know enough about this guy,apart from he was connected with Fianna Fail..He is a business man,and he was on Dragons den.
 
Pretty sure attention will focus on Gallagher this week given his massive lead in the polls. I have to agree with Higgins point yesterday about what exactly Gallagher has done in the past 15 years. I'm quite amazed that he is at 40% in the polls. I don't have a problem with him, he has come across very well in the panel interviews to date but surely that isn't enough to base a vote for President on? What exactly has he achieved that warrants him being such a hot favourite at this point?
 
Ceist Beag, could be that staunch FF ers ,are having their come back day,that they see him as one of them and feel it will give the party a boost on the road to recovery?
 
Ceist Beag said:
What exactly has he achieved that warrants him being such a hot favourite at this point?
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It's not what he has done, it's what he hasn't done

1. He hasn't sat in the Dail as a career politician and is now looking for a nice cushy retirement in the Park

2. He hasn't been involved in any terrorist organisations

3. He hasn't ridden the gravy train by getting appointed to multiple State boards / quangos

4. He hasn't written any letters to foreign (or Irish) courts to plead for clemency on behalf of former partners recently convicted of sexual offences against minors

5. He hasn't taken out American citizenship or sang in the Eurovision Song Contest
 
DB74 said:
3. He hasn't ridden the gravy train by getting appointed to multiple State boards / quangos
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Eh, FÁS anyone?

But enough of the diversions - let's look at his real track record. Let's look at how the great entrepreneur's greatest skill seems to be getting large public grants. €26k for his first company, and he repaid €19k when threatened with court proceedings. €860k for his second company, which closely matches the amount of cash taken out of the company by himself and his fellow director.

But it is clear that the closet FF supporters aren't bothered by any of this, and are taking the opportunity to come back out of the closet, just a little bit.
 
thedaras said:
Ceist Beag, could be that staunch FF ers ,are having their come back day,that they see him as one of them and feel it will give the party a boost on the road to recovery?
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Quite possibly thedaras. Or alternatively who is to say these polls are even close to accurate? Personally I don't think he will get anywhere near 40% on the day and I will be surprised if he is the next president. Or maybe I'm just hoping that someone with such an unimpressive background in terms of actual achievements won't become our head of state!

DB74 said:
1. He hasn't sat in the Dail as a career politician and is now looking for a nice cushy retirement in the Park
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Doesn't that just sum up how jaundiced the view of a politician has become tho! I mean personally, give me a career politician any day over a failed businessman! At least someone like Michael D (I presume it is he you refer to) has some worthwhile achievements to his name in terms of public service.
 
Complainer said:
But it is clear that the closet FF supporters aren't bothered by any of this, and are taking the opportunity to come back out of the closet, just a little bit.
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There is no such thing as a closet FF supporter. FF didn't put up an official candidate this time around and its obvious that many/most FF supporters have openly plumped for Gallagher. At least that's what I'm hearing from people I'm talking to.
 
DB74 said:
It's not what he has done, it's what he hasn't done

1. He hasn't sat in the Dail as a career politician and is now looking for a nice cushy retirement in the Park

2. He hasn't been involved in any terrorist organisations

3. He hasn't ridden the gravy train by getting appointed to multiple State boards / quangos

4. He hasn't written any letters to foreign (or Irish) courts to plead for clemency on behalf of former partners recently convicted of sexual offences against minors

5. He hasn't taken out American citizenship or sang in the Eurovision Song Contest
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I agree with this. I think people are defaulting to Gallagher because they just cannot bear to vote for any of the others. If there was a couple of strong players in the field he wouldn't really stand a chance.
 
Ceist Beag said:
give me a career politician any day over a failed businessman!
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nothing to do with Sean Gallagher but it alarms me to see the term 'failed businessman' being used in this way. How on earth will be ever have a proper enterprise culture in this country if entrepreneurs are personally derided if they have experienced business failure?
 
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