Is there such a thing as a "perfect" candidate?

[Stoic]

And what compromises have YOU made in selecting the one you support?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

1. Kucincih...and i've made no compromises

edit spelling

[Mairead]

22. Dennis Kucinich, and no compromises

Apart from his not being a socialist.

[wheresthemind]

23. Dennis Dennis Dennis....

"This time, vote for what you believe in!" -Paul Wellstone

[Terwilliger]

2. Al Gore

with the DLC yoke off of him, and a clear view of his own goals...I think he could swoop in and save the day.

Sorry Hildergast! You'll just have to wait until 2012!

OnEdit: Kucinich is still my main choice, but he still hasn't explained why he voted YES on the flag desecration thing...and that does bother me

[demnan]

3. No of course not

there is no such thing as a perfect person either. I'm a pragmatist. I want Bush out. I initially wanted to go for a Southerner, such as Edwards, but I didn't like his style, it seemed too, well Southern! Dean is from a small state in the North, but I still think he has a good chance if he picks a seasoned running mate from the South, like Graham.

[CWebster]

4. In retrospect, after they die and

their legend grows or if they were assassinated at a young age.

[NicRic]

5. Perfect time, important.

It seems like timing is important in making a candidate a "perfect" one ! Then again things change so fast , what was good timing yesterday could be way off the mark the next day. Right now for me the perfect candidate is the one that would win .I,like many here want bush out, and I really would prefer any of the Dems to bush. To me the ultimate would see bush sitting on the stage watching Al Gore being swron in. Iam still holding onto that dream, however as I stated I would be happy with anyone of them ,ending the current nightmare !!!

[waggawagga]

6. Says and Does are Two Different Things

There's no perfect candidate, of course. One of the odd things about the Kerry/Dean split, though, is that some of it is cosmetic. Dean is trying to mobilize the progressive wing of the party. I don't get the sense that he's like Wellstone, someone who lived and breathed progressive politics. I also get the sense that Kerry's instincts are much more liberal but he's riding the center because he thinks that's his best ticket to being elected.

What matters, after all, is not just what a person says before an election but what he does after. I don't think many who voted for Bush in 2000 thought that he would do the sorts of things he did.

I'm starting to lean strongly towards Kerry on the theory that even if Dean is elected he won't be able to enact most of what he is now proposing but Kerry probably would move the system gradually to the left. There's no doubt that Kerry knows on which side his bread gets buttered. And the American electorate, right now, is a few notches right of center.

Here's another way to think about it. Opposition to the war on Iraq, support for universal health care, and support of gay marriage, right now, are positions supported by a minority of voters within the US (unless one thinks that these polls are wrong, I don't).

The way you win an election is by getting a majority of voters to support you. And while I can understand how someone can support all three issues it just seems logical to me that any campaign which is defined on these issues (or, more generally, those supported by a minority) will lose.

It takes a lot of energy and effort to change people's minds. And the time to do that (or when you'll have the best results), generally, is after you've been elected (thinking about FDR, there was no connection between what he ran on and what he did).

[waggawagga]

8. Oh...

Forgot the summary. I think the best candidate, almost always, is the best man. Is he smart, clever, adept, tough, and so on? The question of whether he matches your issues point for point is of less importance. Because if you think of the best presidents we've had they've all been "A list" people (in recent times Kennedy and Clinton were just a cut above their competition, this is the edge I'm looking for).

[CWebster]

9. NO.

"I also get the sense that Kerry's instincts are much more liberal but he's riding the center because he thinks that's his best ticket to being elected...There's no doubt that Kerry knows on which side his bread gets buttered. And the American electorate, right now, is a few notches right of center."

Poor political calculation during a time when perhaps a better politician senses that the electorate wants a voice to speak for them. It also indicates a superficiality, a lack of deep conviction and a willingness to change with the tides rather than steer the boat.

[Terwilliger]

12. absolutely

Kerry showed us that he wasn't much of a leader with the war resolution vote

[jagguy]

7. hasn't been one yet

I like Edwards. I wish here were less anti-gun.

[CWebster]

10. Who?

Oh, that purty one.

:-)

[jagguy]

15. oh no no no

KERRY is the purty one with the french air and all. Edwards just has a fresh youthful face. You know, kind of like JFK.

[OKNancy]

17. After last night and the Larry King show I was all for

changing from Edwards to Dean. I liked what he said. I just can't get over the members of DU that are so hateful and rabid. You do your candidate no favors. If not for the Iraq vote, Edwards would be the most left of all the candidates. It is not Dean that I don't like...it's his supporters.

[CWebster]

18. Gracious!

You better grow a tougher shell than that. Just because the press coddled the the Smirk and Sneer administration, doesn't mean that political lampooning and humorous characterization aren't the norm. If anything, politicians have to be able to appreciate this goes with the territory and develop some self-deprecating qualities to use to their advantage.

You know what is wrong with most of today's politicians? None of them are funny. They all take themselves too seriously.

[Stoic]

21. Not every Dean supporter is like that.

Don't punish the candidate because of the messanger.

[OKNancy]

24. I realize that

I was just taking a dig at the hotheads and the condesending tone of some of the DU posters.

[nedlogg]

11. The perfect candidate . . .

is the one who'll beat Bush.

And I'm sorry to say, I don't think any of the current crop of Dems is gonna do it.

[CWebster]

13. Nothing like giving up before the first pitch

Bush is a simpleton that everyone secretly can't stand. It's true.

[ignatiusr]

14. Only

If Wesley Clark had been Governor of Arkansas and decided to enter the race in a conventional fashion, he would literally be the perfect candidate. There would be not one complaint.

[Mz Pip]

20. THere are people who

complain that Washington is full of "insiders" running things. I can see Clark's being and outsider as a plus. If he can present himself as knowledgeable and articulate I don't think the fact that he isn't an elected official will hurt him much. A lot of people are pretty sick of the political status quo. Clark might be the solution to that.

MzPip
:dem:

[whoYaCallinAlib]

19. I would give anything if that really were true.

Oh, doubtless your take on him being a simpleton is on point and way, way understated. But the part where EVERYONE "secretly can't stand" him . . . I won't believe that until his job approval rating falls another 10 points.

[whoYaCallinAlib]

16. No perfect candidate. I've compromised on Kerry's waffling

on his Iraq vote.