# Dennis Kucinich announces for president (again) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 12, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877 "2006-12-12T22:18:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/1 "2006-12-12T22:18:16Z")
[Congressman Dennis Kucinich](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Kucinich) has [announced his candidacy](http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12345426.htm) for the Dem presidential nomination in 2008. Which, if I’m not mistaken, would make him the first Dem to formally announce. > [@](#): > > Kucinich, one of the most liberal members of Congress and an outspoken war critic, attacked Democratic leaders for supporting funding for the war even after they won control of Congress last month on a wave of anti-war voter sentiment. > > “You cannot support funding for the war and claim you are against the war. It’s not credible,” Kucinich said during a formal announcement of his 2008 presidential candidacy at Cleveland’s City Hall. Any chance this will be less of a quixotic effort than his 2004 run? Of course, if he’s going to run as a single-issue end-the-war candidate, it’ll cut his feet out from under him if we’ve already pulled out by 2008 . . . 😛😛😛 I can’t type that with a straight face! ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/2 "2006-12-12T22:22:57Z")
I was a big fan of Kucinich. I thought he was the most straightforward, genuine candidate. Sadly, he’ll never be elected president because he is an unabashed liberal, and liberal is still a dirty word to most Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/3 "2006-12-12T22:38:22Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Which, if I’m not mistaken, would make him the first Dem to formally announce. [/QUOTE] You are. Governor Tom Vilsack announced not long after the midterms. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/4 "2006-12-12T22:49:02Z")
If the campaign’s gonna begin this early, can we move the Iowa caucuses and the NH primary up to June and September of this year, to get rid of some of the clutter before 2008? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/5 "2006-12-12T22:53:14Z")
[From Sunday’s WaPo](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/09/AR2006120900933_5.html): > [@](#): > > But there can be no peace, in Carter’s view, when Palestinians are “deprived of basic human rights,” their land “occupied and then confiscated and then colonized by the Israeli settlers.” A system of required passes for Palestinians; a network of roads they mostly can’t use and often can’t even cross; security barriers being constructed, on Palestinian land, to segregate the peoples – are all part of Carter’s apartheid charge. Sure sounds like apartheid to me. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/6 "2006-12-12T22:55:23Z")
Oops - wrong thread. Nevermind. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/7 "2006-12-12T22:56:11Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] [From Sunday’s WaPo](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/09/AR2006120900933_5.html): Sure sounds like apartheid to me. [/QUOTE] Did you mean this post for a different thread? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/8 "2006-12-13T00:02:54Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Any chance this will be less of a quixotic effort than his 2004 run?/QUOTE] No. He’s too goofy looking to be taken seriously, even if he weren’t so far to the left. Not a chance. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/9 "2006-12-13T00:20:53Z")
I say the guy deserves a medal for his opposition to the war. Was fortunate enough to see him give a stirring speech when we visited DC a few years back. We could do worse (and IMO probably presently are.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/10 "2006-12-13T00:23:33Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] He’s too goofy looking to be taken seriously . . . [/QUOTE] We haven’t had a prez since JFK who **wasn’t.** (Never could see what anybody saw in Reagan, pulchritudinally speaking . . . sure, he was good-looking in the **'50s**. . .) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/11 "2006-12-13T00:35:14Z")
It’s quixotic from \*his \* POV, but he’s still politically useful to the party mainstream candidates, all of whom must welcome this development. He is extreme enough to make all the rest look moderate, just like Gary Bauer and others have been for the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/12 "2006-12-13T14:08:07Z")
I’m hoping that after the early primaries and caucuses, both parties will not invite the fringe candidates to the debates. I could care less if Kucinich, Sharpton, or Bauer wants to run for President. Just because they have opinions doesn’t mean they should be able express them alongside candidates who have actually won votes. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/13 "2006-12-13T14:41:44Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] I’m hoping that after the early primaries and caucuses, both parties will not invite the fringe candidates to the debates. I could care less if Kucinich, Sharpton, or Bauer wants to run for President. Just because they have opinions doesn’t mean they should be able express them alongside candidates who have actually won votes. [/QUOTE] I don’t. That’s the only thing that makes the debates interesting, if you ask me. They serve as a good contrast to the main guys, who are oh so careful not to say anything too controversial. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/14 "2006-12-13T14:59:11Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] I’m hoping that after the early primaries and caucuses, both parties will not invite the fringe candidates to the debates. I could care less if Kucinich, Sharpton, or Bauer wants to run for President. Just because they have opinions doesn’t mean they should be able express them alongside candidates who have actually won votes. [/QUOTE] The seven-way Dem primary debates in early 2004 were more interesting, educational, and fun to watch than anything else that happened in that campaign cycle, **dale.** And Kucinich **did** win some votes – so did Sharpton, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/15 "2006-12-13T18:56:56Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] If the campaign’s gonna begin this early, can we move the Iowa caucuses and the NH primary up to June and September of this year, to get rid of some of the clutter before 2008? [/QUOTE] Uh, no? Removing the “clutter” is what makes Presidential primaries in my home state meaningless! “Oh, Missouri, that’s just like Iowa, right?” :mad: ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/16 "2006-12-13T19:02:34Z")
I’m glad he’s running. He’s going to give Harold Stassen a run for the money for the record number of White House runs. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/17 "2006-12-13T19:42:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Any chance this will be less of a quixotic effort than his 2004 run? Not a hope in hell…nor does he have a hope of winning the presidency. I would be surprised if he even got the nod as the Dem’s candidate in 2008 to be honest. Though he has more of a chance at that than anything else. -XT ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/18 "2006-12-13T22:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Carrot] You are. Governor Tom Vilsack announced not long after the midterms. [/QUOTE] Should’ve remembered that. In a thread back in '04 (which I can’t seem to find after trying several different search strategies), someone remarked that one obstacle to Kucinich’s electability would be that his Eastern European name “sounds more like ‘Dukakis’ than Dukakis does.” This time around – well, let’s say Dennis owes a great big thank-you to Tom Vilsack! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/19 "2006-12-14T20:18:40Z")
I just got an e-mail about this from my father, who was an alternate delegate from Wash. State for Kucinich in the Boston convention thingie. Pop’s moved to Colorado so the possibility of a Denver convention is exciting for him. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877/20 "2006-12-14T20:31:36Z")
Here’s Dennis’ campaign [website,](http://www.denniskucinich.us/) BTW. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-kucinich-announces-for-president-again/383877.md?page=2)