Silicon Valley Prefers Obama 2 to 1

by nikunjk • 14 years ago

58 24 14 years ago

tptacek3• 14 years ago

Oh for God's sake.

w1ntermute2• 14 years ago

I don't understand your problem with this. It's always interesting to know where SV's movers and shakers stand on various issues, and if you ever have to socialize with them, you'll know what views to express.

sfreiberg3• 14 years ago

> if you ever have to socialize with them, you'll know what views to express.

I really hope you didn't mean that in the completely pathetic way that it sounded. Group think is a great way to fit in but certainly isn't a good way to stand out.

sfreiberg3• 14 years ago

Sorry I missed the sarcasm. Sometimes it's really hard to tell here and in the valley in general.

ssclafani• 14 years ago

I flagged this. No politics on HN, not even from PG.

tzs• 14 years ago

I wouldn't consider this to be politics. It is not advocating a political position, or discussing the merits of a political position, or advocating or discussing the merits of particular politicians. Rather, it is about how a particular demographic that is of particular interest on HN but that is not covered much in the mainstream press is leaning.

The distinction is subtle, but I think important. For instance, an article on Romney's attempt to take all sides on all issues so as to appeal to whatever audience he is speaking to at the moment would be inappropriate politics if the theme of the article is that Romney's campaign is setting the record as the most dishonest campaign in Presidential history.

On the other hand, if the theme of the article was that in the age of the internet, when we have near instant access to news, and anything a politician says is widely reported, you might expect that the "all things to all people" approach would be a terrible failure, and yet it is working well for Romney, and so the article tries to explore WHY this is so, I'd say that would be quite appropriate for HN. It raises an interesting question of whether widespread access to information actually helps people make better decisions, or just makes it easier for them to find information to reinforce their preexisting beliefs and contrary information gets ignored. It could be the launching point of some very interesting non-political discussion.

tptacek3• 14 years ago

The demographic here is "people will who answer questions like this from Paul Graham". It's not exactly a representative sample. We don't even know its operator vs. investor makeup. Some of the people in the sample don't even live in the Valley. But the headline...

I flagged it after 'ssclafani did, hoping it might just vanish (I've since unflagged it), but for what it's worth: I don't so much think it's radically inappropriate for HN (though it sets a disquieting precedent, because the world is full of cohorts that someone can claim are interesting to HN), just that it's not particularly valuable, and a little transparent.

(For whatever it's worth, I'm an Obama supporter).

Jd2• 14 years ago

> It is not advocating a political position

From the OP: "I prefer Obama too."

That's a political position, pure and simple. In fact, it is as good as an endorsement (and a somewhat sneaky one given that it comes at the end of a seemingly innocuous survey -- oh, la di da, I was interviewing my friends about economic growth since we know about it, being "startup leaders" and all, and what do you know, most of us support Obama. Oh, and by the way, so do I.).

mahyarm• 14 years ago

How much power does the 'king of america' really have? How much do they effect a country through their actions compared to the rest of the political apparatus?

fusiongyro3• 14 years ago

They have an effect, but not enough of one to justify the level of collective hysteria we experience every four years.

staunch• 14 years ago

They appoint Supreme Court Justices. Those appointments decide our constitutional rights for decades or centuries. For that reason alone, it's worth all the fuss.

jff• 14 years ago

Remember, HN, that the only way to success in startups is by slavishly following everything successful people do. Sit/stand desks, nerf guns, free food, and voting Obama. You heard it here first.

sfreiberg3• 14 years ago

Thinking is hard. Group think for the win!!

hiddenstage• 14 years ago

Obama is very well in touch with the tech generation. He was the first presidential candidate to really put social media to use and his recent AMA on Reddit shows he is still able to relate. The JOBS Act didn't hurt, either.

johnrob• 14 years ago

Is the implication here that choice is based on who is better for growth?

gms• 14 years ago

Assuming that these people are voting for Obama with economic growth potential as their metric (perhaps not a true assumption), can anyone explain why? Am wondering what Obama policies are pro-growth vs Romney's.

ryandvm• 14 years ago

Shouldn't the title be "32 of Paul Graham's associates prefer Obama 2 to 1"?

Frankly I'm surprised he even took the time to ruminate on such a fundamentally biased poll.

Silicon Valley Prefers Obama 2 to 1

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