Robert Reich for Pres. in '08?

[furt]

And BTW, I think Hillary might well make a good president for the same reason.

[brickbacon]

@Sam Stone

I think you’ve forgotten - they tried like hell to get Colin Powell, but Powell chose not to run. There was talk for quite a long time about how the nomination would be Powell’s in a walk if he just chose to run.

Sure, that was the official word, but I seriously doubt that was the case for a number of reasons.

@furt

Perhaps … but ISTM this is a statement of faith that you’re putting beyond the reach of any possible disproof.

Does anyone know if there are any data on the reliability of polls in regards black candidates?

Perhaps, but considering the great disparity between the number of blacks who’ve run for office, and the number elected (in addition to proven racism in many other areas), I think we can safely assume this is the case.

@Chance the Gardener

This may be a slight hijack, but if you think back to the 2004 Senate election in Illinois, there was quite a bit of excitement surrounding Barack Obama. He won the Democratic nomination, taking over 50% of an eight-way primary. His Republican opponent, Jack Ryan, pulled 35% in a seven-way primary. From the beginning, Ryan knew he was facing a tough race, and even if he hadn’t melted down, all the smart money was on Obama, early on. Obama was already very popular in Illinois, and would have cruised to victory over Jack Ryan or Jim Oberweis or whoever else the Republicans threw in his path. Illinois, it bears mentioning, elected a black woman to the Senate back in 1992.

Anyway, credit where credit is due: Barack Obama is a good politician in his own right.

Yes, but the picture you paint is incomplete. Obama wasn’t ahead in the polls until late in the game, and scandals rocked his opponents. As this article explains:

At the moment, Obama’s career is way up, the result of one of the more impressive political victories in recent Illinois history. Sixteen months ago, when he entered the U.S. Senate race here, the odds seemed decidedly against Obama, who was running in his first statewide contest and whose Kenyan last name rhymes uncomfortably with Osama. Yet on March 16, Obama captured 53 percent of the vote in a six-person field, more than double the vote garnered by his nearest competitor, Illinois’ comptroller, Dan Hynes. Hynes, who comes across as quiet, competent and likable, had been elected statewide twice before, and as the son of the former Cook County assessor, he is a scion of Chicago’s Democratic machine, whose apparatus was fully behind him throughout the campaign. Despite that, Obama outpolled Hynes even in Hynes’ home ward in Chicago. Coming in a distant third in the race was Blair Hull, who made half a billion dollars in the brokerage business and who spent $29 million of it on the primary. As the result of an early TV blitz, Hull led in the polls, until a past that included spousal-abuse charges and chemical-dependency treatment sank him.

Hull could have easily won had he not been sunk by those charges. Then Jack Ryan went down in flames. People rewrite history as thought Barack Obama was a front runner who everyone loved, when in reality, his victory was far from certain.

[John_Mace]

@Chance the Gardener

I agree with Diogenes the Cynic about a possible Hillary Clinton presidential run: it ain’t gonna happen. The Republicans are the ones who are kicking up all the dust about it.

I don’t know why you guys keep perpetuating that meme. Pretty much every political pundit on BOTH sides of the aisle is predicting a Hillary bid for the presidency. It’s quite possible that she won’t run, but you’re out of touch with the political zeitgeist if you think it’s only Republicans singing the Hillary tune.

[rjung]

@John Mace

We’re talking about race and political viability here. Powell’s “marginalization” had to do with disagreements over policy, most specifically on Iraq, and had nothing to do with his race.

To put it in words of two syllables or less for you, John, why should Powell want to run for the President (oops, three syllables) under the GOP ticket if he thinks his views will be dismissed by the other GOP bigwigs?

</two-syllable-mode>

Powell proved himself to be “solidly Republican,” and was still marginalized in spite of it. The idea that he’d be warmly embraced by the GOP after that is a fantasy embraced only by Republicans still in denial about the party’s racist foundations.

[XT]

@rjung

To put it in words of two syllables or less for you, John, why should Powell want to run for the President (oops, three syllables) under the GOP ticket if he thinks his views will be dismissed by the other GOP bigwigs?

Wow, when did we decend pitward? I have to admit that you calling down John for using simplistic arguements via your ‘two syllables or less’ bash is…well, ironic in the extreme.

@rjung

Powell proved himself to be “solidly Republican,” and was still marginalized in spite of it. The idea that he’d be warmly embraced by the GOP after that is a fantasy embraced only by Republicans still in denial about the party’s racist foundations.

And here I always thought that the Republican ‘foundations’ were in the anti-slavery movement prior to the civil war…fighting against the entrenched Democrats who wanted to maintain the status quo. Of course, you don’t mean the Republicans official stances on things but the kind of tin foil you generally throw out with your 1-2 paragraph fact free digs.

As for Powell, you could certainly make a case that he was marginalized by Bush et al in this administration. However, Bush and his merry men aren’t the whole of the Republican party…and there is still a lot of respect for Powell on both sides of the fence. Personally I don’t think he wants to run and in fact will do whatever he can to discourage a nomination…but I’m pretty confident that if he did run, he would be one of the front runners and would have as good a chance as any to win the nomination. Rice I don’t think has the same level of respect and weight as Powell, but I think she has more desire to run. Her I see as a better VP choice…maybe like John said earlier a McCain/Rice ticket. That would be nearly impossible for the Dems to beat IMO.

-XT

[Kalhoun]

@Eve

Crap. He’s only 4’10". He could be the reincarnation of Lincoln and Washington, and he couldn’t get elected.

4’10"! I believe he’s officially considered a “little person”. No way in hell will he be elected. Sad to say, but so far, I haven’t seen anyone that I feel can win the race in '08.

[John_Mace]

@rjung

To put it in words of two syllables or less for you, John, why should Powell want to run for the President (oops, three syllables) under the GOP ticket if he thinks his views will be dismissed by the other GOP bigwigs?

</two-syllable-mode>

Powell proved himself to be “solidly Republican,” and was still marginalized in spite of it. The idea that he’d be warmly embraced by the GOP after that is a fantasy embraced only by Republicans still in denial about the party’s racist foundations.

You’re right. Bush finally realized the mistake he made by choosing a Black Secretary of State. You can bet your last dollar that he’ll replace Powell with a White guy.

[wonderwench]

@Eve

Crap. He’s only 4’10". He could be the reincarnation of Lincoln and Washington, and he couldn’t get elected.

He’d only have a shot at it if the GOP chose Verne Troyer as their candidate.

Reich is a smart and articulate guy - but he is too much of an egghead to be President.