# Who would you pick as the Democrat nominee in '08? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 3, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643 "2005-10-03T21:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/101 "2005-10-07T06:17:02Z")
**NO MORE SOUTHERNERS!** Pub or Dem! We need a break! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/102 "2005-10-07T12:26:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **NO MORE SOUTHERNERS!** Pub or Dem! We need a break! So you’re applying a regional test toward who the candidate should be? I disagree: I think we need to have no more “Must be southern!” rule. Wait–our last candidate, Kerry, wasn’t Southern. Guess that this rule doesn’t exist after all. Daniel ---
**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:** [October 7, 2005, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/103 "2005-10-07T12:32:55Z")
The “must be a southerner” rule only applies if you want to win the general election.l ---
**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:** [October 7, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/104 "2005-10-07T14:28:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **NO MORE SOUTHERNERS!** Pub or Dem! We need a break! I agree. I’m sick of hearing a Southern Accent in the W.H. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/105 "2005-10-07T15:14:03Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > We’re not _all_ coldly indifferent or insane in the North. I guess the rest of the country disagrees. Let’s face it, Northeasteners are gun-hating, queer-loving, baby-slaughtering, godless, snooty moral relativists who belong in Canada or…_France_. You want some American Eurofag elitist to run this great nation, son? Has he ever fired a weapon? In war? Wait, he has? Hold on, lemme think… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/106 "2005-10-07T16:03:11Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > So you’re applying a regional test toward who the candidate should be? I disagree: I think we need to have no more “Must be southern!” rule. > > Wait–our last candidate, Kerry, wasn’t Southern. Guess that this rule doesn’t exist after all. > > Daniel But even then they felt obliged to find Kerry a Southern running mate. In any case, I was merely expressing a wish that we not have a Southern **president** (nor vice-president) for a while. Sick of 'em. It would be refreshing to have a Northeastern prez and a Western or Midwestern veep, or vice-versa, whatever. Just for a break. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/107 "2005-10-07T16:36:20Z")
I don’t care where the candidate is from, the gender or the party. I just want a competent president again. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/108 "2005-10-07T17:05:56Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > In any case, I was merely expressing a wish that we not have a Southern **president** (nor vice-president) for a while. Sick of 'em. I guess that just seems ridiculous to me. I want a **competent** president, an **ethical** president. I don’t give a shit whether the president is white or black, Jewish or Baptist, left-handed or right-handed, skinny or obese, Southerner or Yankee. I want the best president we can get, and screw the irrelevancies. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/109 "2005-10-07T22:17:48Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I guess that just seems ridiculous to me. I want a **competent** president, an **ethical** president. I don’t give a shit whether the president is white or black, Jewish or Baptist, left-handed or right-handed, skinny or obese, Southerner or Yankee. I want the best president we can get, and screw the irrelevancies. I don’t care where the Prez is from either, but you have to admit the notion that there _has_ to be a Southerner (especially on the Democratic side) because Southerners need to vote for one of their own, is very irritating. If it’s true, it’s even more irritating. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/110 "2005-10-07T22:36:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If it’s true, it’s even more irritating. It’s generally accepted that a good formula for a winning strategy for the Dems is to find a moderate Southern governor with a Protestant religious affiliation that is publically affirmed. Being male and white would certainly help, though no one dares say that aloud. Mark Warner of VA fits this profile perfectly, just as Clinton did. Basically, find another Clinton, only without all the skirt-chasing baggage. Why _must_ it be a Southerner? Well, the drawl is “folksy”, you see. Fer some folks, it means yer personable and still got the common touch. It works like a charm fer Dubya, who’s shore to drop a few more “y’alls” in his speeches when he hits the Heartland and the Bible Belt. Mean’s yer our kinda people, see, and yah think like us and believe like us, and yer not gonna be pushed around by them big city libruls with their crazy godless ways into turnin’ yer back on the real 'merkuns. The folks how made this country great. That sorta thang. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/111 "2005-10-07T22:44:57Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Why _must_ it be a Southerner? Well, the drawl is “folksy”, you see. Yeah, I do understand the logic. It’s patronising on the party officials’/primary voters’ side, and if it’s actually true that blocs of Southern voters won’t accept a Northerner, it’s also annoying for being true. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/112 "2005-10-07T22:45:49Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Why _must_ it be a Southerner? Well, the drawl is “folksy”, you see. Yeah, I do understand the logic. It’s patronising on the party officials’/primary voters’ side, and if it’s actually true that blocs of Southern voters won’t accept a Northerner, it’s also annoying for being true. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/113 "2005-10-08T02:45:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t care where the Prez is from either, but you have to admit the notion that there _has_ to be a Southerner (especially on the Democratic side) because Southerners need to vote for one of their own, is very irritating. If it’s true, it’s even more irritating. I absolutely agree with both parts of this: indeed, my point is that **any** sort of regional rule, whether it’s “Must be Southern!” or “Must not be Southern!” is ridiculous. It does seem that many voters in the South have the sort of rule that you describe, and that’s stupid. But when Northern voters have a “Must not be Southern!” rule, or even inclination, that’s equally stupid. Vote for the best candidate, and screw the irrelevancies. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/114 "2005-10-08T07:52:11Z")
You know, Tony Blair’s going to be available 😃 Seriously, it’s good that there are so many possible candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/115 "2005-10-08T07:55:16Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > It does seem that many voters in the South have the sort of rule that you describe, and that’s stupid. But when Northern voters have a “Must not be Southern!” rule, or even inclination, that’s equally stupid. I suspect they were just reacting to the ‘truism’ that we’re talking about, but I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/116 "2005-10-08T17:17:26Z")
Gah! This is why I stopped registering as a Democrat. Gore? Kerry? ARE YOU KIDDING?!? Unless Biden comes with response to the plagiarism charge that’s shorter than a paragraph, he ain’t got a chance, neither. And is the party really stupid and short-sighted enough to nominate Hillary? Ain’t gonna happen, folks. If you insist on looking to the Senate in 2008, and we still have significant presence in Iraq at that point, here are the best bets for recent Democratic Senators. Akaka (D-HI) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Byrd (D-WV) Chafee (R-RI) Conrad (D-ND) Corzine (D-NJ) Dayton (D-MN) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Graham (D-FL) Inouye (D-HI) Kennedy (D-MA) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Reed (D-RI) Sarbanes (D-MD) Stabenow (D-MI) Wellstone (D-MN) Wyden (D-OR) These are the ones who voted against Bush’s war powers in 2002. Anyone else who voted the other way? Not a prayer. On the plus side for the Dems, they might end up running against McCain. If they are smart, no campaign material will fail to mention the “Keating Five”, which has at least as much currency as Biden’s plagiarism charge. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/117 "2005-10-08T17:19:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **NO MORE SOUTHERNERS!** Pub or Dem! We need a break! Actually, after LBJ and Dubya, I’m happy with “No More Texans!” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/118 "2005-10-08T17:34:11Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I’ve already bet $100 that Hillary won’t run. I believe the polls will show that too much of the vote is inaccessible to her. She won’t want to get embarrassed. I don’t believe her potential candidacy has ever been anything but a GOP fantasy. This is what I’ve been trying to tell the Republican nutjobs around here. Hillary has never said or done \*anything \* to indicate that she wants to be President. From what I’ve heard, it took some convincing by the NY Democrats to convince her to run for the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/119 "2005-10-08T19:28:52Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Hillary has never said or done \*anything \* to indicate that she wants to be President. That’s a matter of interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/120 "2005-10-08T19:41:27Z")
Got an example for us to interpret, then? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643.md?page=7)