Why don't we have a clear-cut winning choice?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

I've never voted for a non-Democrat in any election, but it isn't always fun. Historically, it seems that if there's a way to screw up a national election, we can find it. (Which is amazing, considering that we have been the majority party in this country for about 70 years!)

Only electability and a D after the name matters to me right now. We have two front-runners who have ALL the money. Obama could beat George W. Bush, but Bush isn't on the ballot. Obama beating any mainstream non-incumbant Republican in 2008 is a weird idea of the sort that attracts the masochistic elements of the Democratic soul. (It is sweetly quixotic to put such faith in the American people time after time, but since the people who have never done a thing to warrant that faith, it's kind of delusional. I've had enough beautiful gestures and moral victories to last a lifetime.) Hillary has always offered the best path to a narrow, controlled victory, avoiding Dukakis-style implosion, but her current disarray raises meaningful questions... She is capable of icy perfection, but if she isn't hitting on all eight cylinders she's a bad candidate, so any misfires are a concern. (The ice is off the rose.)

Richardson is an amazingly bad TV politician and a gaffe machine who makes Joe Biden look like Calvin Coolidge. Dodd is Dodd. Kucinich would be fortunate to pull 30% in a national election.

Given the climate, if we ran a white male with some regular-guy charm in 2008 we would all but eliminate the Republican party as a national entity--an objective more important to long-term world peace and prosperity than any other issue.

We happen to have two such candidates in Joe Biden and John Edwards. So, of course, the two candidates who could just ruin the Republicans are both dependent on public financing, meaning they wouldn't have any money to fight back during the "swift boat" phase between the primaries and the conventions! It's Democratic karma... we always seem to give all our money to the wrong people at the wrong time.

My personal 2008 candidate choices have always relied on electability above all, and I am elevating Edwards (who I cannot stand) into second above Clinton on that basis. Biden remains the no-brainer run-away electability candidate. (And will surely be my choice until he drops out or unless Gore an epiphany and dropped in)

BIDEN
EDWARDS
CLINTON
RICHARDSON
OBAMA
DODD
KUCINICH

[dbackjon]

1. There is no such hting as a perfect candidate

Bush was far from perfect - it is just that his target audience is as not self-reflecting as we are, and are happy to vote for whomever their minister or Faux News Anchor tells them to vote for.

[K Gardner]

2. Once again, well-put. K&R n/t

[SteppingRazor]

3. I disagree that being a women or a black man equates to unelectability in 2008.

Quite the opposite, actually. Indeed, if the Republican candidate used the same sort of tactics used against Harold Ford in the TN Senate race in 2006, the Republican would be bombarded with negative blowback.

It's not OK to rail against women and black people anymore, and if there is even the suggestion of racism or sexism on the part of the GOP candidate or NGOs working on the GOP side, it will only help our side. Now, if we were running a gay person, I'll grant you things would be different. It's still perfectly all right with a wide swath of Americans to bash gays -- both figuratively and, in a smaller but still frighteningly too-large minority of the population, literally.

Seriously, though, can you imagine a group working for the Republicans putting out that "call me" ad that was used against Harold Ford in a national campaign against Obama? They'd be excoriated.

[sandnsea]

6. If there was ever a year to risk it, it's now

I am shocked at that post. Floored really. And at DU. Unreal.

[FrenchieCat]

20. I so agree!

Democrats are so damn scared of everything until we tend to play it safe, and more than often, due to this fear, we lose. :scared:

The few times that we took chances, like with the untypical, the raucous and the unknowns who weren't exactly standard bearers (Catholic John Kennedy, soft spoken Jimmy Carter and womanizing charmer Bill Clinton) we won. But let's not think out of the fucking box that we have been put in by the Republican assholes who we must not be too much better than....apparently.

But noooo, we can't ever take a "risk" ever again. Even if the Republicans are at an all time low in approval rating. Let just have to run who they signal may be "acceptable" to run and cross our fingers. :eyes:

What's gonna happen is that we are gonna run with the "safe" seeming candidate, and we are going to get our asses handed to us. I hope Edwards and Biden will have something to fight with when they start getting ripped to shreds. Guess that since they will be looking just like the opponent, they won't have any excuses as to why they are getting dogged the way they will be.

I'll just realize that we get exactly what we deserve....with our scary selves! :scared:

BOO!

[peace13]

4. Why, because we don't own the media

or at a minimum have our own television channel. Because the Republicans literally repeat bold faced lies until they are taken as fact. Because the American people are not very smart. Because the last two elections were rigged. Because some of our Dem leaders act like Repugs. It won't be over until its over and even then we can't be certain if our candidate is for or against the American people. (Unless we somehow wake up and put Kucinich in the Whitehouse...something I am working toward.) Peace, Kim

[sandnsea]

5. wow. white male superiority. I didn't believe it

but there it is. People really believe white males have to always win. Unreal.

[Kucinich4America]

11. In some cases, the best candidate happens to be a white male

Not because he's a white male, of course. But because he has the best position on the issues. Give me a female candidate who is as good on the issues as Dennis Kucinich, and I will vote for her. I will NOT vote for Hillary.

[sandnsea]

13. Well I wasn't referring to Hillary

I was referring to this which refers to race. The OP is scaring people away from voting for Obama due to race. That is pathetic, especially at DU.

"It is sweetly quixotic to put such faith in the American people time after time, but since the people who have never done a thing to warrant that faith, it's kind of delusional. I've had enough beautiful gestures and moral victories to last a lifetime."

[FrenchieCat]

21. This is what the OP poster is talking about

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3816198

In fact, he made my point better than I did!

[frazzled]

7. So you're going for Calvin Coolidge and a guy you can't stand ...

because, I dunno ... you think people will vote for white males?

Newsflash: the Republican party has plenty of those. We haven't won an election with a white male very often, either.

You sure write purty, but your logic is quite deficient, I think.

[Renew Deal]

9. What are you talking about?

"We haven't won an election with a white male very often, either."

Name a non-white and/or non-male Democratic president. I'll be waiting.

[frazzled]

14. I meant, we haven't won that many presidential elections, even with our white males

Kennedy, Carter ... and after 16 years in the desert, Clinton. That's about it going back in my conscious presidential memory, which dates to Eisenhower.

I guess the point is: when WILL the country be ready to elect a woman or a non-white? Is someone going to give a signal when that's ok? And how do you know until you've tried?

[Renew Deal]

17. It was 12 years between Carter and Clinton.

And LBJ got elected once.

[1corona4u]

15. As is yours.

[Renew Deal]

8. I think Biden is a gaffe machine too.

He's got lots of dumb quotes in his background. That puts Edwards ahead of him on that alone.

[1corona4u]

16. Yeah, it's just too bad John's a liar and a fake.

[Mythsaje]

22. Yeah, it's terrible he's telling so many lies about corporatism

and how the wealthy are running and ruining this country.

Damn liar.

He should just shutup and let them go about their business.

Bite me.

[Steely_Dan]

10. Well Stated

Biden is the only logical choice when one looks at what we are facing. For me, it IS a no-brainer.

-P

[BootinUp]

12. I sort of decided

that the reason Hillary was the front runner, was that she was the best politician and she would kick some ass in the General. Its a nice dream anyways. Besides I can't change this reality and the other party is not an option for me.

[gateley]

18. K&R nt

[Colobo]

19. Everything good, except that you are underestimating Obama's

electability.

[eridani]

23. Biden has a very bad case of foot-in-mouth to match Richardson

I mean, isn't it really remarkable that Obama is so clean and well-spoken?