Which Democratic Party candidate has the best chance of winning in 2008?

[Anarcho-Socialist]

Poll question: Which Democratic Party candidate has the best chance of winning in 2008?

Which Democratic Party candidate has the best chance of winning in the 2008 Presidential Election? (Barring voting irregularities, fraud, disenfranchisement or martial law being declared)

Your answer to this poll may or may not be the same as the candidate you ideally want to be Presidential candidate - as the poll is about who has the best chance of winning.

[NYCGirl]

1. WWWWWAAAAAYYYY too early to think about this now.

2006 is much more important.

[Warpy]

14. No kidding!

Who outside of New England and who hadn't had contact with VVAW in the 70s knew who the hell John Kerry was in 1996?

The candidate of choice in 2008 is probably somebody who's completely below the radar right now and hopefully from left field, at least compared to the DLC milksops the party would prefer to offer us.

[janx]

15. I would much rather see a post about what is going on locally,

in every state. But maybe people are too into popularity contests, and besides, it's too much like work to find out about possible local candidates for 2006...:shrug:

[murray hill farm]

2. My write in is.....

Robert Kennedy jr.

[LiberalEsto]

4. He's good on issues

but didn't he overcome heroin addiction some years back? I'm afraid that would be the kiss of death for his chances.

[murray hill farm]

10. His name alone....

would overcome his past mistakes...and he is a strong man..and a good one.

[Clark2008]

3. I thought Dean, upon getting the DNC chair, would not be running

Of course, that doesn't stop him from being in this poll - since the question is "who has the better chance," but, realistically, he won't be running.
Doesn't matter, I didn't vote for him anyway. I'm assuming my user name explains for whom I voted. :)

[JHBowden]

5. Governor Warner, probably

He has the money to win the primary, a good record in public office, and can relate to pro-business and rural Republican voters.

Everyone here is going to say Wes Clark, though, just because they supported him last time. I think Hilary or even Edwards are more likely to get through the primary and face off against the Republicans than Clark.

[Clark2008]

6. Who's going to be voting for Edwards?

Or even Hillary, for that matter.

I don't know of any support for either of them down red-state way. Now, I can see your point with Warner.

Just an observation.

[JHBowden]

8. Who voted for him last time?

:shrug:

[Rooktoven]

17. ME for one.

I worked for him in 2004, will do so again in a heartbeat.

The fact is he was shut out by the MSM and the party apparatchiks who wanted a quick nominee.

[JHBowden]

11. *Ideally* -- Evan Bayh

I'd like to add that in strictly political terms, ignoring who is most likely to win the primary, Bayh would do the best against the GOP. I doubt he can do better than Lieberman in the primary though; he'll probably be a VP pick.

[AntiCoup2K4]

28. Nothing all "ideal" about that.

He's too Republican for any Democrat to vote for and the neocons will denounce him as "liberal" regardless. And the fact that he associates with these traitors means I'll never vote for him.

[WI_DEM]

7. I think the results will be the same as every other poll

we have done weekly since November 2, 2004. Wes Clark. He has the supporters on DU. And as these polls proved in 2004 they are pretty meaningless since Kerry rarely won any of them and turned out to be the nominee.

[vi5]

9. Why are people still all hopped up on Clark...

Clark is an interesting and accomplished guy. But I'm still not sure why people think he would appeal to the general public. Especially since by 2008 the economy is going to be in the crapper even moreso than it is now and I can't say I'd have any reason to think Clark would be equipped to handle that as an issue.

I think any any dem admin he'd be a key player but his appeal as a presidential candidate eludes me.

[tokenlib]

19. Actually he is well educated on economics...

He is better prepared than many of the other possibilities on this issue.

[ClarkUSA]

21. Wes Clark has a Master's Degree from Oxford U. in Economics as well as

Politics and Philosophy.

He understands economics a whole lot better than career politicians who have
advisors who tell them what to say.

[vi5]

23. Thanks....I did not know that...

I still don't necessarily think that would be enough to convince the bulk of the voting public to put their trust in him. Not that this is a dig at Clark just that I think unfortunately for a lot of people it would take more than that. Of course these are many of the same people who voted for a guy who failed at every single business related venture he ever took on, so there's no accounting for taste.

[sportndandy]

12. Enough Wes Clark already!

Too many moderate and conservative dems will never vote for him in the primary BECAUSE they are philosophically opposed to a career military man as president. No offense to Wes Clark. I love him and I think he would be a great president, but he will NEVER win the nomination. Sorry folks.

[ClarkUSA]

22. Huh? Those are the very Dems who would vote for him, in addition to

moderate and right-leaning independents concerned about a strong leader who will keep them safe (information I gathered from calling plenty of independents in NH).

[GOPBasher]

13. I think Rendell, though Clark and Richardson would also be formidable.

[MAlibdem]

16. Hillary

clearly she has the best chance of winning.

[ThorsHammer]

18. Agreed with NYCGirl that it is way to early, but I'm going with Clark

No offense to Kerry, who was a good man, but I wanted Clark as the nominee this past election. He didn't have the baggage of Senate votes, which can be twisted however Rove and friends wanted, and could have drilled Bush militarily. I also found him more down to earth (again, no offense to K/E), and thought he might have been able to do better in the South.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Warner or Richardson on the ticker, although they might be better in a VP role.

[Tactical Progressive]

20. Gore/Clark 2008

He already won the Presidency in 2000, and many if not most people know it. Those who don't saw him lose by either 1 vote or at most 537 votes, while getting the popular vote nationwide. He's got to be our number one candidate at this point.

I'm a huge Clark fan, but he has no experience. That's a real factor, and though it doesn't bother me too much, it would others. I think Clark is perfect for on-the-job training in the Vice Presidency.

[ArtVandaley]

24. Gore blew it

He ran a terrible campaign in 2000, and even when he was barely able to pull out a Win over his much less accomplished opponent, he still managed to lose! Gore does not deserve another shot. Even Kerry deserves one more than Gore does.

[ArtVandaley]

25. Who cares right now?

I'm much more concerned with what happens over the next two years and with the 2006 election than I am with 2008. We need to worry about stopping Bush now so that there's still something left for the next president to build on. Also, who knows what the political climate will be in 4 years? Way too early to pick. But I am for new blood, no Gore, Kerry, Clinton or Edwards.

[dback]

26. I say we run Clark plus someone from the Midwest or West

Clark and Bayh, or Clark and Gephardt, or Clark and Feinstein all have advantages--the first two lock up the midwest vote, the last one locks up California and the rest of the West Coast, as well as other centrist states. (Feinstein might help push Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada back into the Democratic column; it'd also solidify the Jewish vote.)

Clark & Clinton (Hillary as VP) isn't out of the question, but as much as I admire and respect Hillary, she's got a lot of baggage. (I'm not saying it's right or fair, so don't jump on me: it's a fact. The media will resurrect every non-scandal of the Clinton administration it can think of--Whitewater, Filegate, etc.--and ignore her very impressive Senate record.) Also, I don't see the Northeast being majorly in play the way the Midwest and Southwest are.

If I may be so crass: is there an outstanding Latino Senator or major political figure who could run with Clark? (It's too soon to run Barak Obama--give him another few years, like 2012 or 2016. Maybe then he can run with Hillary.)

[ZootSuitGringo]

27. I could easily envision a Wes Clark/Loretta Sanchez ticket in 2008!

Please Look into Loretta Sanchez as the ideal VP for a strong defense alpha male type, as opposed to a Richardson to add diversity to the democratic ticket. I can guarantee you that putting this strong woman (who has a very compelling life story) on the ticket would attract many votes in the southwest as well as other states with a high Hispanic population.

Sanchez kicked some righteous butt, if I recall correctly. She beat Bob Dorman, a Republican who was a real piece of work. Orange County is very Republican.

She's a good prospect, especially for Clark as his VP. That ticket could possibly kick ass in defense, draw strong from all minority groups (especially Hispanics), and women would love voting for her, cause she's real and competent. She has a strong domestic background too, and came from very humble circumstances.

http://www.lorettasanchez.house.gov/display2.cfm?id=805...
Congresswoman Sanchez is the ranking woman of the House Armed Services Committee. She has served on the Terrorism Panel of this Committee, where she joined other Members to investigate intelligence progress and terrorist threats to the United States.
While serving on the Homeland Security Committee, Congresswoman Sanchez took a leave of absence from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which oversees education and labor issues. During her tenure on the Committee, she has protected parental involvement initiatives and successfully saved national gender equity in education program. She spearheaded efforts to promote school safety. Congresswoman Sanchez is a member of the Hispanic Caucus, the Blue Dog Democrats, the New Democratic Coalition, and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. She also is a member of the Women's Congressional Caucus, the Older Americans Caucus, the Law Enforcement Caucus, and the Congressional Sportsman's Caucus.

CLARK/SANCHEZ '08!

(on edit)Looked up Loretta Sanchez sister, Linda Sanchez, who is also a congresswoman. First sister team ever to serve at the same time.
http://www.lindasanchez.house.gov/index.cfm?section=abo...
ABOUT LINDA SANCHEZ
Congresswoman Linda Sánchez was sworn into office on January 7, 2003 to represent the newly created 39th Congressional District of California. The 39th District includes the cities of Artesia, Cerrritos, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada, Lynwood, Paramount, and South Gate (in their entirety), a large portion of Whittier, small portions of Long Beach and Los Angeles, and parts of unincorporated Los Angeles County - East La Mirada, Florence-Graham, Los Nietos, West Whittier, and Willlowbrook. Sánchez's service is historic as she joins her sister Loretta (D–Garden Grove) in the U.S. House. They are the first sisters and the first women of any relation to ever serve in Congress.

[manly]

29. 2008 dem.

My write-in is Gov. Schweitzer.
Who, you ask. Wait and see, he's got what it takes. He will rise to the top over the next few years. You'll see.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

30. I didn't vote because

I'm afraid that I don't have faith in the fact that the candidate with the best credentials and qualities wins anymore. Whoever becomes the media darling (or the least trashed or ignored) will probably have the best chance. My own opinion seems to be completely out of step with that of the people who have the power to make or break candidates.