Sen. John McCain

[MargaritaLupita]

Saw Sen. John McCain on the daily show the other night. Had the feeling he's looking for the popular vote. I have always felt he is honest and intelligent as well as respected. Three things I wouldn't mind seeing in the white house. He seemed to be missing that X factor or Presidential quality.
Who do you think has the possibility of being the complete package? Either party

[Mexivoof]

Are you sure Tony Blair wasn't born on American soil??
If I have to pick between the 2 major parties I'm pulling for Condi, but If Lieberman follows through with his 3rd party bid, hmmm, I dunno.

[Dallas91]

I wanted McCain as the Republican candidate in 2000, but unfortunately he did not win the primary. We are voting here (local elections) now and I hate primaries. While most of my views do lean one way, I vote for the most qualified candidate and not via partisan politics. Can't stand being told who I can/can't vote for in primaries, but if I don't vote, I can't complain about the people I do want (and can actually vote for) to make it on to the general election not making it.
Not sure on the presidential election yet. I really have not spent enough time researching my options yet, so consider me a definite undecided.

[PlayadelSoul]

Originally Posted by Mexivoof

Are you sure Tony Blair wasn't born on American soil??
If I have to pick between the 2 major parties I'm pulling for Condi, but If Lieberman follows through with his 3rd party bid, hmmm, I dunno.

Lieberman's 3rd party bid is for his present seat in the Senate, not for President.

About 20 years ago, I was working construction with a friend of mine, who was a Vietnam vet. We did a lot of work on John McCain's townhouse, in Old Town Alexandria. He and his wife were very decent people, as I had the opportunity to chat a little with both of them. Lets just say, they didn't treat us like the hired help. I think he would be a good President, and might do a lot to heal some of the current divisions. That being said, I don't think he stands a chance.

[MWC]

McCain is good at getting good buzz from the media, but as a woman I am extremely uncomfortable with him. I think he is more conservative in his positions than the media gives him credit for -- because he is a personable guy, where have we heard that before? -- and I get the sense that women do not figure in his thinking at all, except in the most traditional ways.

Republicans will have a tough time coming up with a good candidate for the 2008 race. Dems I predict John Edwards will come back strong -- he had a good message in 2004 that is more relevant than ever for 2008. Pair him up with Mark Warner from VA or Evan Bayh from Indiana, and that would make an extremely attractive ticket.

[Mexivoof]

Originally Posted by PlayadelSoul

Lieberman's 3rd party bid is for his present seat in the Senate, not for President.

Thanks for the clarification, and darn

[equinenut]

Originally Posted by MWC

McCain is good at getting good buzz from the media, but as a woman I am extremely uncomfortable with him. I think he is more conservative in his positions than the media gives him credit for -- because he is a personable guy, where have we heard that before? -- and I get the sense that women do not figure in his thinking at all, except in the most traditional ways.

Republicans will have a tough time coming up with a good candidate for the 2008 race. Dems I predict John Edwards will come back strong -- he had a good message in 2004 that is more relevant than ever for 2008. Pair him up with Mark Warner from VA or Evan Bayh from Indiana, and that would make an extremely attractive ticket.

Agree completely. Dems need a Dixiecrat and if they're smart, Edwards should be their top candidate.

Feingold looks good to me but then I'm from Wisconsin and we've watched him for years here. He's consistently admired as honest, hard working and never wavered from his agenda. In fact W got 48% of the vote here and Feingold got @70%. Many voters crossed party lines to vote for him. Make what you will of that.

[Mexivoof]

But, remember who Feingold was running agaist in the last election. The 3 Repulicans spent the whole primary trying to prove he was the coziest with the Christian right. After that show I gladly voted for Russ despite his extreme left views.
I don't remember the exact election results, but it was a lot closer than 70-30; more like 55-45 or so, but yes, Feingold did do better than Kerry here.

[Icon oclast]

Dems need some new blood. Edwards is a non-starter. Ambulance chaser and all. It is McCains to lose in my opinion. Once the campaign begins in earnest, the usual band of left-wing whackos will ruin it for the moderate Democrats. Repubs will probably pick up a senate seat in Minnesota and in Connecticut, this Lieberman thing could cost the dems another seat if he jumps to independent and either wins or splits the vote. Let the foolishness begin.

[Just Lucky]

Originally Posted by equinenut

Agree completely. Dems need a Dixiecrat and if they're smart, Edwards should be their top candidate.

Feingold looks good to me but then I'm from Wisconsin and we've watched him for years here. He's consistently admired as honest, hard working and never wavered from his agenda. In fact W got 48% of the vote here and Feingold got @70%. Many voters crossed party lines to vote for him. Make what you will of that.

I like Feingold and Edwards. I disagree with McCain but he seems honest.Please, please do not use Dixiecrat to describe Democrats from the south. Dixicrats were an ignoble part of history. Here's some info about them:

1948 presidential election

The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived splinter group that broke from the Democratic Party in 1948. The States' Rights Democratic Party opposed racial integration and wanted to retain Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. The party slogan was "Segregation Forever!" Members of the States' Rights Democratic Party, were often known as Dixiecrats.
The party was formed after thirty-five delegates from Mississippi and Alabama walked out of the 1948 Democratic National Convention. The walkout was prompted by a controversial speech by then-Mayor Hubert Humphrey of Minneapolis, Minnesota urging the party to adopt an anti-segregationist plank in the platform, which it did. Even before the convention started, the Southern delegates were upset by President Harry S. Truman's executive order to racially integrate the armed forces.
After President Truman's endorsement of the civil rights plank, Strom Thurmond, governor of South Carolina, helped organize the walkout delegates into a separate party, whose platform was ostensibly concerned with states' rights. The Dixiecrats held their convention in Birmingham, Alabama, where they nominated Thurmond for president and Fielding L. Wright, governor of Mississippi, for vice president. Dixiecrat leaders worked to have Thurmond-Wright declared the official Democratic Party ticket in Southern states. They succeeded only in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina; in other states, they were forced to run as a third-party ticket. These included Arkansas, whose governor-elect, Sid McMath, a young prosecutor and decorated World War II Marine veteran, vigorously supported Truman in speeches across the region, much to the consternation of the sitting governor, Ben Laney, an ardent Thurmond supporter. Laney later used McMath's pro-Truman stance against him during his 1950 re-election bid which McMath won handily. Efforts to paint other Truman loyalists as turncoats generally failed, although the seeds of discontent were planted which in years to come took their toll on Southern moderates. Among these moderates was Congressman Brooks Hays of the 2nd District of Arkansas, whose efforts at reconciliation during the 1957 Little Rock School Crisis made him vulnerable to defeat in 1958 by a segregationist surrogate fielded by forces loyal to then-Governor Orval Faubus, who had used the National Guard to bar entry to black pupils in defiance of a federal court order.
On election day 1948, the Thurmond-Wright ticket carried the previously solid Democratic states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina, receiving 1,169,021 popular votes and 39 electoral votes. The split in the Democratic party in the 1948 election was seen as virtually guaranteeing a victory by the Republican nominee, Thomas E. Dewey of New York, yet Truman won re-election in an upset.

[equinenut]

Sorry Lucky, I stand corrected. I was just using the term, however erroneously, to describe someone more palatable to voters (generally) from the south that (seem) to dislike candidates from the NE.

[MWC]

Of Republicans, I like Sen. Chuck Hagel. But I don't think he stands a chance through the primary process.
Mitt Romney appears to be so competent in so many ways, but the Mormon thing has the potential to be a HUGE negative.

[MargaritaLupita]

So far gives me some names to look at before the spin. He was a dark horse in the last race, but I also liked Gen. Wesley Clark?

[Mexivoof]

Interesting that a certain name has not popped up yet, a Senator from NY

[Just Lucky]

Originally Posted by Mexivoof

Interesting that a certain name has not popped up yet, a Senator from NY

I don't think Chuck Schumer has shown any interest. I'm sure no one would want the other NY Senator to run.