PREVIEW OF 2008 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Preview Of 2008 Presidential Race (Updated 1/21/07)

Who Are the Players?

The Republicans

The Pro-War Party, Pro-Imperialism Party, and Party of Big Business & the wealthy. The Greater of 2 Evils.

Likely Candidates:

John McCain- Unless he stumbles badly & implodes, he will likely be the next President of the U.S. He is a pro-war nut who still holds a grudge about Vietnam. Just imagine the Bush administration on steroids, and you get an idea of what a McCain administration would be like.
He is a military and political hardliner. He is part of the old group of pro-war Republicans who want to see a resurgence of the Cold War. He has already stated that his enemies would be Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Belarus, & more. Let’s just say… the U.S. won’t see Peace under John McCain. A McCain Presidency would be a disaster for the United States.

Rudy Giuliani- Former N.Y. City Mayor. Limited National support & lacks national experience.

Charles Hagel- Senator From Nebraska. Strong candidate, but it will be hard to beat John McCain.

John Sununu- U.S. Senator. Will be hard to relate to Southerners. Lacks the John Wayne Swagger that Republicans look for.

Asa Hutchinson (Unlikely) - Conservative Republican. Would be a strong candidate (for Republican voters), however, he has not made it clear if he wants the job. He is currently interested in a Governors Seat.

Jeb Bush (Not Running) - Governor of Florida. Frightening thought, but he is considering a run.

Elizabeth Dole (Unlikely) - Conservative Republican. Senator & Wife of Former Senator Bob Dole.
She is considered “not tough enough” for hardcore Republicans. Therefore it is not likely that she would be nominated. Age is also a factor. She has not committed to running.

Mitt Romney- Governor of Massachusetts. Strong candidate for the position, but not really a hit with die hard Republican voters. He is the governor of a largely Democratic State (Home of Senators Kennedy and Kerry), thus he is a moderate Republican. “Massachusetts” was turned into a bad word by Republicans during the 2004 campaign. He would find it hard to get support from Southern Republicans.

Charles Grassley- U.S. Senator from Iowa. Age a factor, and may lack the spunk and charisma needed. Also not as cut-throat as Republican voters want. He’s more moderate….too moderate for hardcore Republicans.

George Pataki- New York Governor. He would have the problem of being from the Northeast. Lacks the John Wayne Swagger that hardcore Republicans, Southerners in particular, are looking for. Too much of a technocrat.

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Sam Brownback- He Came out of nowhere. However, he will not be a serious Republican contender. He is an extremely Conservative Republican, making him unattractive to moderates and independents.

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The Democrats

The Pro-War Party, Pro-Imperialism Party, and Party of Big Business & the priviledged. But the Lesser of 2 Evils Because of Some of Their Economic and Social Policies.

The Candidates:

(Party has very few strong viable candidates. This is one of the poorest candidate pools that the Democrats have ever had).

Evan Bayh (Dropped Out)- Possible Good Candidate.
He could be the guy who comes out of nowhere. Likely front-runner, although he’s not getting the attention right now.

Bill Richardson- Governor of New Mexico. Lacks Charisma needed. Not Presidential material. He could win the Democratic nomination, but would be destroyed by the Republican candidate in the General election.

Mark Warner (Dropped Out)- Former Governor of Virginia. Lacks charisma. Another weak candidate. He won’t be a hit for Americans who traditionally choose style over substance.

Al Gore (Unlikely) - Former V.P. of the U.S. and Former long time Congressman. Skilled, but has developed such a bad reputation that he’s not really viable. He’s actually toxic and I hope that he does not run. All indications are that he will not run…he has stated repeatedly that he will stay out of the race.

John Edwards- All the makings of a legendary President. He has the skill, the brains, the charisma, the swagger, the DNA. And he’s electable. But it will be harder to get the nomination and get elected the 2nd time around, after being destroyed by Republicans in 2004. Also Brilliant, but not quite seasoned/experienced enough. He’s also been out of the spotlight & out of office too long. However, we will probably see this man again in 2016. Look for him to be a possible VP running mate again…perhaps in 08. May also likely see him in a future Democratic cabinet post.

John Kerry- Charismatic, seasoned, smart, Statesman-like, but will be harder for him to win the 2nd time around. He was so badly destroyed by the Republican machine in 2004, that he has become damaged/toxic goods. But he remains a vital leader in the Democratic Party.

Hillary Clinton- A media creation. She recently received low ratings in a recent survey. I wish the media would stop its tradition of picking who the front runners are so that they can boost their entertainment ratings. In doing so, they pick the candidates who will get more ratings for the networks rather than picking the best candidates for the job. The people should pick the candidates, not the news media.

No real chops here. She was recently booed by die-hard members of her own Party. Republicans and the Republican influenced media would love for her to run. They know that Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic nomination would be the best chance for Republicans to win in 2008. This is why we are seeing the current media push for Hillary… who controls the media? Republicans do….by far.

Wesley Clark- Former NATO Commander. He's a 2 faced phony. I pray that he doesn’t enter the race. This is a guy who nearly caused war between the U.S. & Russia in 1999. This is a story that the Western media did not cover. But his ability to make good, sound, well thought out decisions is in question. I wouldn’t want him in charge in a crisis of any kind. No Democrat really gives me any confidence, but out of all of them, I have the least confidence in Clark.

Christopher Dodd- U.S. Senator from the Northeast. Would have a hard time being elected from the Northeast.

Russell Feingold (Dropped Out)- U.S. Senator labeled as “too liberal” by the Republican media machine. Could easily be a front runner for the Democratic nomination. But would likely be devoured by the Republican in the General election.

Tom Vilsack- Governor of Iowa. Possible strong candidate. Would depend on chemistry between voters and himself.

Joe Lieberman- Senator from the Northeast. Conservative Democrat. He really seems to be a Wolf in Sheeps clothing- A Republican disguised as a Democrat.
It will be hard for Lieberman to win a National election. He does not have widespread support.

Joe Biden- A likely front runner. Seasoned U.S. Senator. Very outspoken. He will definitely be at the front of the pack.

What Democrats really need- they don’t have. And that is a strong Southern Governor or Congress member. Democrats usually find it extremely hard to win the Presidency without strong Southern candidates. This is because of the social & cultural situation in the South where racial issues and religion/moral issues rule the day.

Since Democrats are seen as more sympathetic to issues of race, and less stringent on religion/moral issues, it will be almost impossible for them to win Southern States. Without Southern States, it’s hard to win the White House. The last 2 Democratic Presidents (Carter in 1976 & Clinton in 1992) were strong candidates who were Southern Governors.

What kills me about the South is that Poor minorities and poor/middle class southern whites actually have quite a lot in common. The same economic policies that cause poor urban citizens to catch hell are the same policies causing Southerners to catch hell. But racism doesn’t allow these two segments of the population to work together for common interests.

Another problem with the South is that moral issues/single wedge issues have ruled politics there. Southern Whites continuously vote against their own best interests (economic interests in particular). They could be suffering from layoffs, outsourcing, lack of investment in their communities, etc etc…but they will vote Republican because of some religious wedge issue. Often a single issue at that.

This is a very strange phenomenon… it just shows the kind of control that the Republican party has over the minds of People from Southern States. Republicans know what buttons to push to get the response that they want- that response being making Southerners get out & vote for Republicans. Typically the issues that Republicans use to control Southern Whites are race issues, telling them that Christianity is under attack, or issues having to do with Terrorism- scaring them, telling them that they will die if they vote for the Democrat (something that really should be against the law). Southerners tend to buy into this stuff pretty easily, without questioning what they are told. I don’t know if this has something to do with the culture there, a lack of education & information, or what…. I think it may be a little bit of both.