I finally decided who gets my (MD) primary vote next week.

[Bertha Venation]

John Edwards.

Questions? Opinions? Flames?

[liberalnurse]

1. Great....because kerry is toast

if he gets the nomination. *bush has his game plan in action at this very moment. kerry just won't rise to the occasion like Edwards can. I hope Dean fits into Edwards coup too!

[emulatorloo]

13. Bush is toast

if Kerry gets the nomination. Kerry has his game plan in action at this very moment. I hope Dean fits into Kerry's coup too!

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. You are a GODDESS, Kim!

I am SOOOOOO happy to hear that! :hug::loveya:

[Bertha Venation]

17. aw, shucks, Tony....

go on.

Glad to make you smile.

[Cuban_Liberal]

19. You made my day!

:loveya:

[diamondsoul]

3. Question-

why not Kucinich?

Sincere question, I'm curious about why you dismissed him.

[Bertha Venation]

8. honest answer

I never considered Dennis Kucinich -- nor did I consider Mosley-Braun, Gephardt, Graham, or Sharpton, and I only briefly considered Kerry, and only after Dean dropped out. I'd been following Dean & Edwards for a long time -- mostly Dean, since late last summer -- and felt the two had what it takes to beat Bush and give me hope for the future.

[diamondsoul]

10. Thanks!

Heh! It appears you're a wee bit to my right as far as your candidate choices. Good luck and congrats on making a tough decision.

[EXE619K]

4. Dean is still on the ballot.

Just a friendly reminder from a neighbor, far...far away!

:-)

[liberalnurse]

6. I love Dean.....

but I don't understand the power impact voting for Dean now would be......I'd like it explained to me. I really see kerry as a total failure. Edwards was always my second choice. I see a vote for Edwards is a vote against kerry. How would a Dean vote be productive?

[EXE619K]

11. Well, I see it differently.

One could also make the argument that Edwards is not going to win the nomination by looking at the Super Tuesday states polling at this point.

No?

Therefore, considering Dean supporters are trying to get enough delegates for the national convention as a "show of force"....it makes perfect sense to me.

Now, in reality, do I think that this "show of force" will result in anything significant enough to change the "politics as usual" theme of the Dems for the last several years?

No.

But, then again...when the DFA first started out over two-years ago, I certainly didn't give Howard to become a Front-runner in the primaries either.

Edwards is a good choice, if one wishes for that choice and I'm not trying to detract from his future support.

However, If I truly wanted to support the most "electable" candidate in the race, I would have backed Kerry or Edwards 14 months ago.

But, that's just my opinion.

[Bertha Venation]

9. Yes, he is.

But he can't win the primary. :(

[katieforeman]

5. You are wise.

He'll beat George Bush and he'll make a truly great President.

[buddhamama]

7. you've piqued my curiosity, BerthaV

why Edwards?

how does his stance on marriage/civil unions sit with you?

[Bertha Venation]

12. As uneasily as Kerry's.

Like everyone else, he won't endorse my right to marry. I suppose he has his reasons, and it pisses me off. (Somehow it pisses me off less than Kerry's obstinacy, because Edwards doesn't claim divine right to some civil sacrament.)

Why Edwards? To be honest, I have a better feeling about him. It's not necessarily policy, it's just that I feel better about him. And I think he has a better chance of beating Bush.

[emulatorloo]

14. JE is a great candidate

He has a lot going for him. . .congrats on making a decision.

[jmoss]

15. Glad to see you've looked past the media hype, and chosen

John Edwards to represent us this summer & fall, and this country for the next 8 years!!!

If you liked Bill Clinton, you'll love John Edwards (I mean that seriously)!!!

:-) :-) :toast:

[jansu]

16. GREAT! Because the White House really wanted to run against Kerry!

They said the would love to run against Dean and would hate to run against Kerry! Do they ever lie?

They did not even think of Edwards.....which means they really are more stupid than we knew! They have all their arrows primed for Kerry and they know where they can take him down, but Edwards will put them off their game!

I have always asked everyone to support their candidate through the Convention, then get behind the Nominee! I am still voting for Dean on March 2nd. If Dean asks us to support Edwards, I will. Because I trust Dean to be my President, I would have to trust him to know who would be the best one to back. He has more knowledge of all the issues than I do.

We do live in interesting times, don't we!

[Sotarr2004]

22. Actually. . .

. . . my best guess is that since Edwards has less of a voting record, he's the one Karl Rove has less dirt on, and thus would be harder to fight. . .

BTW, I voted for Edwards in the Virginia primary 2-3 weeks ago. .

[VOX]

18. Go, BV! Edwards is a terrific choice! The GOP fears him...

He was the first Democratic candidate to take a major hit from the GOP (see the WP article below, from last year). They are deathly afraid of this guy. Why? Because he has an uncanny gift for connecting with people across a broad demographic spectrum.

I've seen Edwards in person -- two weeks ago he spoke in Culver City, CA. He sure can electrify a crowd! This guy is so good (without being slick) that if he's not on the ticket in November (in either slot), it'd be a shame.

He's sure got my vote come March 2 in CA.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A54335-2003Feb10?language=printer

With Edwards, White House Shows First-Strike Capability
Tuesday, February 11, 2003; Page A19
Is President Bush afraid of John Edwards?
<snip>
But the White House and Bush's political arm, the Republican National Committee, seem preoccupied with Edwards, a first-term former trial lawyer. A month ago, when Edwards began his candidacy, the RNC put out a 10-page report a day later branding him "An Unaccomplished Liberal in Moderate Clothing and a Friend To His Fellow Personal Injury Trial Lawyers." At the time, the GOP had not issued similar takedowns of the other Democrats in the field.

A week later, on Jan. 14, a White House official told the Associated Press that Bush was delivering a speech on medical malpractice as part of a "whack John Edwards" day. When Bush called for limits on awards in medical malpractice suits last July, he spoke in North Carolina.
<snip>
A key Bush activist, Tom Rath, has joined the American Association of Health Plans, an adversary of Edwards, to help the HMO lobby's political efforts in New Hampshire. The group last week released a poll showing Edwards in fifth place in the state.

In private conversations, Republicans linked to the White House often talk of Edwards as the most dangerous of the Democratic candidates, because he is handsome and southern and "undefined" in the public imagination. That gives him the potential to create a populist challenge to Bush...
<snip>

[arwalden]

20. And Barbara Mikulski?

[Bertha Venation]

21. I'm voting for Senator Barb.

I don't know anything about the Democrats running against her.