# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 8
**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 10, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/141 "2005-10-10T14:55:55Z")
YOu guys got it mixed up. I wasn’t proposing Jesus Christ as the nominee: he was proposing me. I think He was making a point about how there are Southerners with great political philosophies, but I’m no Pat Robertson, so I don’t want to put words in His mouth. Daniel ---
**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 10, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/142 "2005-10-10T16:21:10Z")
> [@hendersonjustin](#): > > I am hoping that Evan Bayh get’s a chance. What I’m afraid we’ll see is a race between Hillary and Rice. Wait a minute, Ive changed my mind, I’m voting for Oprah!! I like Bayh, although he seems to be altering his positions in an attemp to gain some street cred with the left lately. I doubt he’d be a good candidate, though, as he seems awfully timid and soft spoken. A vicious presidential campaign (are there any other types these days) would probably tear him to shreds. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/143 "2005-10-10T18:25:34Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > I propose Jenna Jameson. Well, the problem with Jenna is that she comes off as a bimbo. She’s actually very articulate, and much more intelligent that one would think, but she still _looks_ like a bimbo. We need someone who looks the parts as well, so I say we nominate Ron Jeremy. He has a master’s in special education. Plus, we KNOW he has a large penis, so he won’t try to do any of those macho games world leaders play to make up for their small members. 😛 “Who needs a nuclear warhead when you got THIS!” And his runnign mate can be Asia Carrera, the Mensa-member (former) porn star. Smartest administration ever. (And then we get to go around saying “Our VP can kick your VP’s butt!..at Nintendo.”) ---
**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:** [October 13, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/144 "2005-10-13T05:13:53Z")
At this point, I would be happy to see a candidate run seriously against the South. (And I’m from Southern Missouri, thus less than fully Northern at the least). I’m not kidding. Pub or Dem, have someone say, “Hey, the South has usually been wrong–about everything. I don’t eat grits, I don’t speak with a twang, & I’m proud as a really-proud-thing inside whenever someone calls me a damyankee.” Then go through a list of 20th-Century American figures; noting which ones were from the South, & ass; & which ones were from the North, & less ass. Really. The South shot its dreamers, it shot Kennedy, people regularly flee the South for more hospitable climes. Appeal to Californians, Northerners, Northwesterners, Westerners, & Hawaiians; & while not demonizing Southerners, just say you don’t really need to “represent” a miserable minority of self-important, full-of-themselves jackasses. … Then again, that kind of region-baiting is probably more in line with Southern character. Never mind. Twang in power ‘til the end o’ time. ---
**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 13, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/145 "2005-10-13T12:06:10Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Then again, that kind of region-baiting is probably more in line with Southern character. The only evidence we have of this is that you’re from the south. All the other region-baiters in this thread appear to be from the North; and if you look around pop culture, there’s a lot more anti-Southern prejudice than anti-any-other-region. The South shot its dreamers? Okay, white boy, but the South also came **up** with the great Dreamer. People flee the South for more hospitable climes? What the heck are you talking about? Even if we posit that Southerners have secret weather control machines that make us responsible for the weather, people regularly come **to** the South for the climate. And if you think the South can’t stand up to the North in terms of great political and artistic leaders, well, bring it on. I’ll try to figure out whether our _battle royale_ ought to have a Jazz, Blues, Elvis, or Johnny Cash soundtrack. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/146 "2005-10-13T15:10:48Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Appeal to Californians, Northerners, Northwesterners, Westerners, & Hawaiians; & while not demonizing Southerners, just say you don’t really need to “represent” a miserable minority of self-important, full-of-themselves jackasses. Ummm… that is demonizing. You really think that Yankees (like me) would be lining up to vote for the asinine self-righteous bigot platform you propose? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/147 "2005-10-13T19:08:56Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > The only evidence we have of this is that you’re from the south. All the other region-baiters in this thread appear to be from the North . . . Umm, hello? Remember who brought the whole thing up? Or doesn’t Florida count? Of course the political culture of the South is not **entirely** sick. For every George W. Bush there’s a Jimmy Carter. For every Bull Connor there’s a Martin Luther King. (And vice-versa, of course.) But most of the things that make us politically **different** from the rest of the country (militarism, violence-obsession, residual racism, broader forms of xenophobia, Christian fundamentalism, etc., etc.) are sick, and **foolsguinea** is entirely right about the need to point that out publically on the national stage. The above analysis applies to political and social views only, not to art or cuisine. Many people have left the South for “more hospitable climes,” by the way. Most, but by no means all of them, were black. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/148 "2005-10-13T19:12:10Z")
> [@furt](#): > > You really think that Yankees (like me) would be lining up to vote for the asinine self-righteous bigot platform you propose? Because it’s better than the Southern Republicans’ asinine self-righteous bigot platform. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/149 "2005-10-13T20:06:29Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Umm, hello? Remember who brought the whole thing up? Or doesn’t Florida count? > > Of course the political culture of the South is not **entirely** sick. For every George W. Bush there’s a Jimmy Carter. For every Bull Connor there’s a Martin Luther King. (And vice-versa, of course.) But most of the things that make us politically **different** from the rest of the country (militarism, violence-obsession, residual racism, broader forms of xenophobia, Christian fundamentalism, etc., etc.) are sick, and **foolsguinea** is entirely right about the need to point that out publically on the national stage. > > The above analysis applies to political and social views only, not to art or cuisine. > > Many people have left the South for “more hospitable climes,” by the way. Most, but by no means all of them, were black. It’s a broad brush indeed, and unfortunately it glops the paint on mighty unevenly. I can tell you this. I now live in a multicultural, Republican leaning county in the Southeast. And there is in general far less racism here than in the insular areas of Pennsylvania that I grew up in, that were and continue to be dominated by Democrats. ---
**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 13, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/150 "2005-10-13T22:12:20Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Umm, hello? Remember who brought the whole thing up? Or doesn’t Florida count? Florida, part of the South? Hah! As if. > [@](#): > > But most of the things that make us politically **different** from the rest of the country (militarism, violence-obsession, residual racism, broader forms of xenophobia, Christian fundamentalism, etc., etc.) are sick, and **foolsguinea** is entirely right about the need to point that out publically on the national stage. Why is there this need? Point out that militarism is sick, that racism is sick, that xenophobia is sick. Pointing out that these exist in different proportions in different parts of the country may have interest in a trivial pursuit game; but when you’re pointing them out in politics, you run the danger (and in this case you’ve run afoul of the danger) of painting with too broad a brush, of stereotyping. And stereotyping is sick. Vote for a candidate based on her\* political views, not her region. Daniel - Because it’s high time we said Fuck You to male politicians, who are disproportioantely violence-obsessed and militaristic. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/151 "2005-10-14T17:48:44Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I think Southerners would vote for a midwesterner. I think the candidate just has to be a moderate. No, the candidate would have to be a non-Democrat. Want to guess what “Democrat” is a synonym for down here? -Joe, won’t see MS go Blue in his lifetime ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/152 "2005-10-14T18:26:57Z")
Mark Warner, while Governor of VA, will have a hard time qualifying as a “Southern” candidate in the Johnson, GW Bush, “aw shucks” sense of the word. For instance, he’s got absolutely no drawl and you’d never know he was the Governor of a southern state to hear him speak (which he’s not very effective in doing. He has very little charisma and a deadly dull delivery). What he does have is ability and very deep pockets. He’s an impossibillionaire many times over, but actually earned his fortune in the communications field instead of having it handed to him from his parents. He’s managed to deal with a big budget deficit here in VA by getting the Republican-led House of Delegates and Senate to approve tax increases (resulting in a surplus due to higher than expected revenues), and he’s had the opportunity to serve as head of the National Governor’s Association. His administration has been pretty much scandal free (which isn’t uncommon for VA governors - there isn’t usually a lot going on scandal-wise here). He plays big in Northern VA and Tidewater, much less so in the more rural areas. He’s been a good governor, but he doesn’t ignite the fire that would take him to the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/153 "2005-10-14T18:34:11Z")
I can’t believe this thread is 4 pages long and no one has mentioned [Janet Napolitano](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Napolitano). The woman is genius. Well educated, a Clinton apointee, charismatic, rational, conveys a real sense of genuinely _caring_. I’d love to see her run with Obama as her VP, or just as well - with McCain as her VP. He has shown in the past that he is timid about crossing party lines, but he just might be fed up once and for all by the next election. I’m not suggesting here that he join the Democratic party, just that he run with one. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/154 "2005-10-14T18:54:33Z")
They’re from the same state, which is actually prohibited by the Constitution. I know some try to claim that it’s not, really, but that is the understanding by nearly everyone, and nobody’s been foolish enough to test it in a court. Either someone would have to move, or it just wouldn’t happen. I’m betting on the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/155 "2005-10-14T18:59:43Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > They’re from the same state, which is actually prohibited by the Constitution. I know some try to claim that it’s not, really, but that is the understanding by nearly everyone, and nobody’s been foolish enough to test it in a court. > > Either someone would have to move, or it just wouldn’t happen. I’m betting on the latter. Well, Napolitano could carry AZ, NM, CA, WA, maybe OR, and most of the northeast and lake states, while McCain would no doubt carry most of the south, except SC, where he had an illegitimate black baby. I see it as win-win. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/156 "2005-10-14T19:19:56Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > They’re from the same state, which is actually prohibited by the Constitution. I know some try to claim that it’s not, really, but that is the understanding by nearly everyone, and nobody’s been foolish enough to test it in a court. For example, Cheney just bald-facedly claimed to still live in Wyoming, not Texas, so he could pick Bush as his running mate. To challenge it would have appeared too petty, though, and would in any future challenge, so in effect that clause is dead. > [@](#): > > Either someone would have to move, or it just wouldn’t happen. I’m betting on the latter. You guys are so cute when you do that. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/157 "2005-10-14T20:07:42Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Well, Napolitano could carry AZ, NM, CA, WA, maybe OR, and most of the northeast and lake states, while McCain would no doubt carry most of the south, except SC, where he had an illegitimate black baby. I see it as win-win. That’s a whoosh, right? McCain never had an illegitimate black baby. That’s a canard spread about him in a Karl Rove push-poll when he was running against Bush in the 2000 Republican priimary season. [John McCain’s “black” child | Sepia Mutiny](http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/000311.html) (He does have an adopted Bangladeshi daughter, who I suppose might look dark-skinned enough to fool some people.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/158 "2005-10-14T22:08:36Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That’s a whoosh, right? I’m sure that’s a whoosh. Note that he says McCain only has an illegitimate black baby in South Carolina. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643/159 "2005-10-14T23:11:45Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > They’re from the same state, which is actually prohibited by the Constitution. I know some try to claim that it’s not, really, but that is the understanding by nearly everyone, and nobody’s been foolish enough to test it in a court. > > Either someone would have to move, or it just wouldn’t happen. I’m betting on the latter. The only thing prohibited by the Constitution (Amendment XII) is for Electors to cast both their Presidential and Vice Presidential vote for people who live in the same state as themselves. One of the votes has to be for someone from a different state. Therefore, if a political party puts forth a ticket with two people from the same state, the electors of that state can not vote for that ticket. They would have to vote for one person on the ticket, and someone else from another state. It’s not unconstitutional for a party to put forth such a ticket, but it would only create problems for themselves. If it were determined that Cheney’s real residence was Texas at the time of either the 2000 or 2004 elections, for example, then any Texas Elector who voted for both Bush and Cheney should have their vote invalidated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-pick-as-the-democrat-nominee-in-08/324643.md?page=7)