Given the two front runners, I’d say they’re doing a good job so far. Both are electable, but I wouldn’t give either very good odds.
Gore wouldn’t pick Hillary. No one would want her as a VP. Obama, maybe, but not HRC. She adds nothing to the ticket and subtracts quite a bit.
Yep, even those who would lean toward voting for a woman to break down that barrier probably wouldn’t bother if it’s just the VP position, and those who hate her would still hate her just as much.
Interesting comments, thank you.
He was energy secretary, but Frederico Pena had the job when the whole Win Ho Lee thing came to light…and the blame for it went mostly to Pena’s predecessor, Hazel O’Leary. (who IMO was bat shit crazy)
Pena lost all credibility, and Richardson was brought in to try to clean house, which he did somewhat, but O’Leary had done so much to make DOE dysfunctional that they are still trying to recover. I give him points for being at the helm when the bulk of charges against Win Ho Lee were dropped. (I worked for a DOE contractor under both Pena and Richardson, disgust over the whole WHL deal had a lot to do with my quitting.)
Prior to the DOE stint Richardson was 14yrs, in the US House, representing New Mexico’s 3rd district, and then US embassidor to the UN (I think).
Richardson is a career politician by design, but good at it, and seems to have good diplomatic skills, as he has been brokering deals the last few years where he has no official standing…kind of like Jimmy Carter on a smaller scale.
He’s taking this very seriously, having started a diet and physical fitness program a few months ago to get physically in shape for the campaign. His presidential ambitions have been a pretty open secret since he declared for the gubernatorial race.
Really? Cite?
So, you don’t think there are any other issues besides Iraq? Wow. So once we pull back from Iraq, the Dems can fold their tents and go home. And the Usual Suspects will shut up, too. Works for me. 
All seriousness aside, I get the feeling that Obama is running for vice-President on Hilary’s ticket. 'Cause like John Mace says, she doesn’t add much to a ticket - it is either Hilary-as-the-whole-show or nothing. Obama has no experience governing anything, and not even a full term at any national office - if he runs for VP all he has to do is be the black guy, and try to sell Hilary’s terms as co-President as experience in governing. Then in 2016 he can run on his own, if he wants to wait that long. Or maybe he is inspired by Jerry Ford into thinking he doesn’t have to wait that long to be President. 
I think the interesting thing about both Hilary and Obama is whether or not they will run on actual positions, or just assume that people are morally obligated to vote for them because they have estrogen and melanin. Will Hilary try health care again? Ah-nold seems to be trying that route.
And of course, much depends on what the Dems do in Congress over the next two years. Some major fuck-up or scandal may take some of the luster off that whole “first female in a leadership position” thing, if Pelosi doesn’t handle things like Jefferson and Reid that pop up under her leadership. If the economy goes to hell, it will be hard not to blame the Dem take over of Congress, especially if they raise taxes or the deficit. Yes, yes, I know - that doesn’t count if it’s Democrats doing it. Are they actually going to tackle Social Security and Medicare? They are in charge now - simply making sure that nothing changes is not a solution.
For the matter of that, come what may, the next President is going to have to deal with the aftermath of Iraq. Is it going to be like Viet Nam was, where the Dems look the other way and change the subject when things go to hell? Do they care if Iran starts looking like Pol Pot’s Cambodia? Or will it be considered enough to excoriate Bush and figure that that solves everything? OK, so you think it is a mess - are you going to do anything about it?
Regards,
Shodan
:rolleyes:
I asked YOU what else you want YOUR guy to run on. Got anything to offer?
You were saying?
I didn’t think so.
Tell us - did you do a search and find out you were wrong, or were you lying from the outset?
Get back to us when you have resolved that pesky “facts” vs. “opinion” vs. “stuff you pulled out of your ass” dilemma you put yourself into.
Regards,
Shodan
Thank you.
Biggest Warchest out there, and biggest name recognition. Still ranks highest in the polls. So, how is that “nothing”? All she subtracts is the votes of dudes who’d never vote for any Dem anywhere anytime anyway.
I didn’t realize people thought the Democratas had the better chance of winning the Presidency
Given that Bush’s approval ratings just keep sinking, currently at 28%, anyone tied to Bush is going to have an uphill battle ahead of him – and yes, I do say ‘him’, because the only female Republican name I’ve heard about in conjunction with '08 is Rice, who has shown absolutely no desire to run.
Wouldn’t matter, because she wouldn’t accept. You think she’s going to go and raise all that money and then give it to someone else? No way. We’re talking about politicians here. VP sucks as a job. She’d be better off staying Senator and hoping Dem loses.
The Republicans aren’t out of it yet - the election is a long ways away.
1 - Things could get better in Iraq. It could happen. An improvement there could be played into enough of a “we’ve turned the corner” strategy to convince swing voters.
2 - Things could get a lot worse. Another major terrorist attack might scare voters into voting for a Republican if it’s still perceived that they’re the “national security” part.
3 - The Republicans could dump Bush. The Republican candidate and the main body of the party could repudiate him and essentially run against him. It’s tough to do (it didn’t work for the Democrats in 1968 or the Republicans in 1976) but it might work.
4 - Don’t forget the negatives. Sure the Democratic candidates are looking okay now. But Gore and Kerry were both considered as respectable candidates until they actually ran. After eightteen months of Rush Limbaugh calling him an al-Qaida sleeper agent, Obama’s going to be looking ragged. And the same will be true for any other candidate. The Republican candidate doesn’t have to win if he can make the Democratic lose.
Looking in, it appears the US has begun a sea-change. These things have a momentum which has gone all one way for years and I can’t see it reversing suddenly in the pre-election months.
Huh? The Republicans in 1976 were running an incumbent (Ford) for re-election (well, for election). (It might have been considered a repudiation of their previous elected president if Ford hadn’t pardoned Nixon, but he did.)
!. The impact of a black running for prez is an unknown. It could be bigger than we think.
2. The impact of a woman running for prez is an unknown.
3. If a hot war or close to it is in Iran ,then the dont change parties during or crisis will be in play.
4. In America money talks. They could really pour money into it. Somehow the elections become much closer than any body thinks.
5. The large Dem field will result in their savaging each other to get the nomination. The Repubs will be spectators at that sport.
They could win.
It wasn’t a “near sweep.”
It was a sweep.
I suspect that when the 2008 campaign season rolls into high gear, the front-running Republican candidates will all be moderates and will all have strongly and convincingly distanced themselves from Bush II. As such, they could win. Voting in an opposition party is not the same as voting for a different Republican leader. Certainly, I think no one strongly associated with the current Bush regime has a chance; sorry, Dr. Rice.
This is of course assuming Bush has not regained ground in polls. It could happen, you know. Before 9/11, Bush was sliding into excessive-vacation mediocrity with lowish approval ratings, which then suddenly sky rocketed post-9/11 for no good reason having anything to do with anything Bush actually did, as far as I could tell. He’ll never reach those heights again, but it is certainly possible for him to get back above 50%. It’s a long time to 2008.
And Ford darn near won - maybe would have, but for the Poland remark. If you can come as close as that, after pardoning Nixon…
Regards,
Shodan
Here’s a Macchiavellian thought: suppose Cheney were to resign sometime soon, for health reasons. New VP comes in. This summer or autumn, Bush resigns. America suddenly has a new President, who will likely be running as an incumbent.
Way back when, I thought they would indeed appoint a new VP just so they would have someone set up to run. I don’t expect it now, but I really did right after the 2004 election.