The 2004 American Presidential Election

[Sava]

Originally posted by Oerdin
To my knowledge Powell isn't running. Though I suspect he will be running in 2008.

Powell's wife says she'd divorce him if he runs... I doubt he will risk his marriage.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Japher
I know, I got Italian in there... Does that automatically mean he's Catholic? Uh, stupid question Mofioso for life!

He's very Catholic.

Giulliani might be able to take the nomination from Bush in 2004 if he wanted. But he won't.

[korn469]

I like Clark, I saw him on Bill Maher(sp) and he seemed to be able to voice virtues and ideas that makes me want to vote for him. He doesn't seem like a democratic partisan, but more like a moderate. I'll just have to wait and see what stands he takes.

Anyways here is my votes so far

turned 18 in 1995

didn't vote in 1996 because I couldn't stand clinton or dole, and since i was away from home I wasn't about to be bothered sending in an absentee ballot for a third party candidate who didn't have a chance in hell of getting the 5% needed for matching federal funds

in 2000 I voted in the Republican primary (we have an open primary here in Virginia) for McCain, because I respect him, and while I don't agree with him on everything I could live with most of his policy positions.

In the actual election I voted for Nader hoping he'd be able to get 5% and allow the green party to get matching federal funds. I was hoping to see a viable 3rd (second) party here in the US. It didn't happen, but it didn't matter. I knew that Virginia was going to Bush and with the electorial college, a vote for Gore here would have been wasted as well.

Electorial College
Popular Elections

[Sava]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Actually, on the positions I've seen them take, Clark is more to the left that Dean. Dean isn't a left-wing candidate.

What no one seems to understand is that there is a huge section of the popultation that absolutely, caagorically, hates Bush. They despise him and curse the ground he walks on. Of the viable candidates, only Dean recognizes it and speaks to it. That is the secret to his success.

Lieberman is only in the Democratic party because he's Jewish, and only is getting anywhere right now because he has name recognition. Kerry is too patrician and trying to be too bi-partisan when the party base wants blood. They want to see a candidate stand up to Bush, and Kerry hasn't.

Gephart gets it, but unless he is revived by Iowa, he's ot gonna go anywhere. He got rousing applause when he termed this President a miserable failure.

Clark is actually left of Dean. He openly calls himself a liberal and takes stances to the left of Dean. I have to wonder, however, to what extent the Democratic elite are behind Clark.

The elite are afraid of Dean, not because he's a loser. It's more than a year from the election. He doesn't need this handlers to tell him what he thinks (and then have them tell him the wrong thing ). When he gives a speach, he breathes fire, not just at Bush, but at the spineless Democrats who have rolled over and pissed on themselves. Dean is a threat to them because he's activating the masses of Democrats who want to take back their party.

Unlike every other candidate (with the exception of Clark), Dean has a movement behind him. His campaign is democracy in action. and that scares the elites, because they don't like democracy any more than the Republicans do.

I agree Che... Clark has taken a lot of "left" positions and is definitely more "left" than Dean. The more liberal party base likes Dean better because, as you said, he's been much more critical of Bush.

Bush will lose... there's no doubt in my mind. It's just a question of who will beat him. Personally, I am favoring either Dean or Clark... Dean I think will do a better job working on health care and purging the Democratic party of special interests and party elites... Clark will be more like Clinton, is probably better suited for our foreign policy and economic issues, but he is part of the whole "Clintonian wing" and will listen to special interersts. I'd probably prefer Dean because he's an outsider and has gotten most of his money from activists and "common folk" while Clark's campaign is probably being run by the Clinton people.

I think Kerry has an outside chance of winning the nomination, but it's probably going to be Dean or Clark.

[Japher]

Electorial College
Popular Elections

That's lame... Why don't we just count New York and Californias electorial votes then and be done with it.

[korn469]

what's lame Japher?

my support of having the person who wins the popular vote winning the presidency or the electorial college?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Japher
That's lame... Why don't we just count New York and Californias electorial votes then and be done with it.

Why should a minority get to decide the President of the whole United States?

[Edan]

Originally posted by Japher
I will vote for Bush, but it will be interesting to see who get as his Veep...

IIRC, Bush said a while ago that he's keeping Cheney as VP (which seems like an odd decision, to me)

[Q Classic]

clark won't be able to beat bush.

why? 'cause he's catholic. i hate to say it, but because of the fact that catholics are one of the few groups it's still ok to slander, he ain't going to the high office.

people still don't like papists.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Edan


IIRC, Bush said a while ago that he's keeping Cheney as VP (which seems like an odd decision, to me)

Don't you mean Cheney is keeping Bush as P candidate...

[Japher]

The fact that you feel that the leader of a nation should be determined by a large number of people in isolated areas... Talk about tailoring to local interests, though it would make campaigning much easier.

Perhaps a compromise would be to assign the "popular vote" an electorial value?

(Sorry for just saying "that's lame", stupid of me really)

[Sava]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
clark won't be able to beat bush.

not according to the latest Gallup polls

why? 'cause he's catholic. i hate to say it, but because of the fact that catholics are one of the few groups it's still ok to slander, he ain't going to the high office.

JFK...

[The diplomat]

It is still way too early to be caring about polls. I still believe that Bush has a good chance of winning in 04. I will certainly vote for Bush without hesitation. He has done a great job as President.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
clark won't be able to beat bush.

Clark is already beating Bush in one poll. Each of the other three main candidates are within a few points of beating Bush. Dean's still hurting on name recognition.

As a socialist, I don't suport any of the Democrats because they're candidates for one of the two parties of big business. As a radical democrat, however, I see Dean energizing people about politics and being the focal point for people to get active in politics again. That's a good thing. So I'm torn, even knowing that Dean will betray them in the end.

[Edan]

I don't like Bush, I cannot stand Dean. I'm not sold on Clark since he's only just entered the race and hasn't made his case yet. Of the remaining frontrunners (Kerry, Lieberman and Gephardt) I'm ok with all of them, although I prefer Kerry the most.