I have been predicting this for months....

[greekguy]

the person i like the most of all the guys mentioned in this thread is McCain...i really hope he can bring the 2 parties together and pull out a win in '08 (if he can't, then maybe Obama could win it for the Dems).

 

[Kayak]

the person i like the most of all the guys mentioned in this thread is McCain...i really hope he can bring the 2 parties together and pull out a win in '08 (if he can't, then maybe Obama could win it for the Dems).

If McCain could make it through the first handfull of primaries he would be a shoo in. He doesn't cater to the religious right though, and that hurts. Obama needs some more experience/exposure first imo.

 

[ironduck]

Nor will Guiliani run for President. Unlike McCain, he has no "redeeming qualities" to the far (religious) right, a group that basically has a strangehold on who the Republican Party nominates largely because they are so vocal. There would be a smear campaign like you've never seen before if Guiliani tried to get the Republican nomination, and he would ultimately lose to some idiot like George Allen or Sam Brownback.

Yes, the smear campaign is what I was thinking of earlier with McCain vs Bush..

 

[Irish Caesar]

@ Kayak:
No, if Obama runs in '12 and stays in the Senate from now until then, it will be too late for him. Working in the Capitol isn't good for presidential campaigns.

 

[Kayak]

@ Kayak:
No, if Obama runs in '12 and stays in the Senate from now until then, it will be too late for him. Working in the Capitol isn't good for presidential campaigns.

True, who was the last senator elected to President anyway (slipped my mind). Obama needs a leadship position or a big issue though to let people around the country see what he is about.

 

[Irish Caesar]

John Kennedy.

It seems that being a governor is a good way to get to the Oval Office, though...

 

[MobBoss]

Exactly....we havent elected a former senator to the presidency in this country since Nixon......

So, look to the governors boys. Popular governors. Like New York governors.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Oh yeah...but Nixon didn't come right out of the Senate; it had been years since he was in the Capitol. Not to mention he was more recently a Vice President.

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

If McCain could make it through the first handfull of primaries he would be a shoo in. He doesn't cater to the religious right though, and that hurts. Obama needs some more experience/exposure first imo.

Now, I hate to sound cynical, but would enough Americans be so biased against having a middle Eastern person as president so as to make him unelectable? (Obama that is).

I can see the attack ads now. "Change one letter and Obama.....becomes Osama"

Too bad too. From what I have seen, he seems like an okay guy. But then I haven't seen very much.

 

[Irish Caesar]

From what I know about him, he seems too idealistic and not enough political experience to make a good president. Much like Carter: great guy, awful president. I could be wrong on this.

Another problem Obama would have is that I think he's too far from center for the average Republican voter to vote for him.

 

[kingjoshi]

Now, I hate to sound cynical, but would enough Americans be so biased against having a middle Eastern person as president so as to make him unelectable? (Obama that is).

I can see the attack ads now. "Change one letter and Obama.....becomes Osama"

Too bad too. From what I have seen, he seems like an okay guy. But then I haven't seen very much.

Born in Hawaii, his father is African and mother American (mixed races). He's a Middle East?

He's religious so he has that angle. He's worked with Churches in poor neighborhoods. He's smart enough that he got himself through Harvard Law. He's got quite the resume and I could even see some Republican leaders backing him. Very charismatic they say. Who knows, could be first black president.

 

[CoolioVonHoolio]

yeah, im still voting for nadar, even if he doesnt run.

but juliani probably will win if he runs.

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

Born in Hawaii, his father is African and mother American (mixed races). He's a Middle East?

That is what I was told (I don't know much about him). But I can still see people make fun of the way it rhymes.

 

[Cuivienen]

Besides, I think he's lost too much respect from too many people after the whole UN presentation...

No, I think he's been exonerated of most of the blame for the fiasco in the public's eyes, though he'd probably get more votes (even as a Republican) from Democrats.

@Sobieski: Only if Kenya is in the Middle-east. His father is Kenyan and his mother is American.

 

[EdwardTking]

Only if Kenya is in the Middle-east.

Kenya is in Africa.

 

[GenMarshall]

Far more kosher than a Catholic voting for a Democrat, so they'd make you believe.

Well, for a time, Catholics were part of the Democratic party mainly because of the anti-Catholic feelings the Republican party has during the immagration of Irish Catholics.

From what I've viewed of your beliefs you've always seemed to me to be more in line with the Republicans than the Democrats.

Only the social conservative line. I am not sure, but I think Catholics are more in line with the Democrats on economics.

 

[Little Raven]

Only the social conservative line. I am not sure, but I think Catholics are more in line with the Democrats on economics.

American Catholics are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans. This drives some Catholic bishops nuts. How the church responds to the growing pressure from the ever increasing partisan divide will be one of its great tests in coming years.

 

[Elrohir]

Rudy Guliani could probably beat any Democratic candidate. But he won't be acceptable to much of the Republican party, he is far too liberal, so he'll never get the chance to run. Which I feel is most definently a good thing.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Well, for a time, Catholics were part of the Democratic party mainly because of the anti-Catholic feelings the Republican party has during the immagration of Irish Catholics.

Only the social conservative line. I am not sure, but I think Catholics are more in line with the Democrats on economics.

True, but talk to your bishop about how to vote Catholic, and he'll most likely tell you that it's a sin to vote for a candidate who isn't: (a) vehemently anti-abortion, (b) vehemently against homosexual marriage, (c) vehemently against the use of embryonic stem cells for research--note that all other stem cells are a-ok!, (d) strongly against euthanasia, and (e) very much opposed to the possibility of human cloning.

There's an official "Catholic voting policy" if any of y'all are interested...here's an excerpt from http://www.catholic.com/library/voters_guide.asp:

HOW NOT TO VOTE


1. Do not just vote based on your political party affiliation, your earlier voting habits, or your family's voting tradition. Years ago, these may have been trustworthy ways to determine whom to vote for, but today they are often not reliable. You need to look at the stands each candidate takes. This means that you may end up casting votes for candidates from more than one party.

2. Do not cast your vote based on candidates' appearance, personality, or "media savvy." Some attractive, engaging, and "sound-bite-capable" candidates endorse intrinsic evils, while other candidates, who may be plain-looking, uninspiring, and ill at ease in front of cameras, endorse legislation in accord with basic Christian principles.

3. Do not vote for candidates simply because they declare themselves to be Catholic. Unfortunately, many self-described Catholic candidates reject basic Catholic moral teaching.

4. Do not choose among candidates based on "What's in it for me?" Make your decision based on which candidates seem most likely to promote the common good, even if you will not benefit directly or immediately from the legislation they propose.

5. Do not vote for candidates who are right on lesser issues but who will vote wrongly on key moral issues. One candidate may have a record of voting in line with Catholic values except, say, for euthanasia. Such a voting record is a clear signal that the candidate should not be chosen by a Catholic voter, unless the other candidates have voting records even less in accord with these moral norms.

Although I remember a visiting priest at my church pretty much ripped this apart...but then, he was pretty anti-establishment...

 

[ironduck]

Well, if you're already being told what is right and wrong in all other aspects of life by some self-promoted authority I suppose it makes sense to follow the same authority in politics.