Does the Democratic Party need to nominate a Southerner to win in '04

[CMT]

Poll question: Does the Democratic Party need to nominate a Southerner to win in '04

There is a thread which asserts that the Democratic party to win the presidency in 2004 should nominate a Southerner to head the ticket based on the fact that only Southern Democrats have won the presidency in the past 40 years (on the Dem ticket). Do you agree or disagree?

Does the Democratic party need to nominate a Southerner to win the presidency in 2004?

[metisnation]

1. the south

cannot be ignored. I like a lot of the other candidates, but I am not so sure our friends to the south will elect them. If we want to win 04 we need a candidate from the south. I live in Chicago and this seems blatently obvious to me. For those of you that are shaking their heads at this point lets not forget that clinton was a dark horse candidate from the south.

[JVS]

2. I'm from Pittsburgh, what region does that fall under?

I've been told Midwest. Please tell me so I can vote.

[CMT]

4. I consider that the northeast

and most reference books do too, but I can see where the western part of the state may not think so.

[Township75]

5. PA is the NE, OH is the beginning of the MW*

*

[Hawkeye-X]

3. I'd rather have a southern VP

to go with a certain NE Presidential candidate - hint - he's not an Washington insider.

[metisnation]

6. Think about it folks

i will vote for whoever comes out of the primary, but we need to win some states in the south if we are to have any chance.

[Brucey]

7. The conventional wisdom in recent years is that you must be from the South

But it's not absolutely necessary. Most southern states won't support a southerner anyway (Gore didn't even win his own state of Tenn.). But if the Dem gets all the states Gore did (a tough road), then he/she will still need one more... maybe Tenn, MO, or FL. I hope.

[DoNotRefill]

11. Southerners WILL support a Southern candidate...

just not one pushing for more gun control.

[reachout]

8. Are these polls getting too complicated?

Are these polls getting too complicated?

Yes - I'm a Gay Midwestern Methodist Clark Supporter

No - I'm a Northern Latino Green-Leaning Dean Fan

Maybe - I'm a Southern Capricorn Woman IT Manager

Perhaps Not - I'm Dennis Kucinich

[CMT]

9. what is so complicated?

a little demogrpahics on this question isn't a bad idea, imo.

[DoNotRefill]

10. Nope...I'm from the south...and what our candidate needs to do....

is lay off pushing for federal gun control legislation. Make it a non-issue, negate the NRA's influence, and we've got a chance.

[On the Road]

12. Depends...

NASCAR dads are supposed to be the swing voters in next year's election, and they can be very discriminating:

A "blueblood from Taxachusetts" may not fare very well. A Vermonter might be accepted if he depicts himself as a rock-ribbed deer hunter or as Robert Frost. A New Yorker? Well, FDR was unique. Al Smith might be a better touchpoint.

[HPLeft]

13. No

Kerry or Dean at the top of the ticket, Edwards or Clark at the bottom. Any combination of these factors flushes the Bush Administration down the toliet bowl of history.

[ShimokitaJer]

14. The "Southern president" thing is a myth

Yes, it's been a trend for a few decades, but 10 elections is hardly enough of a sample to predict future trends. For an interesting take on how incomplete data can be used to reach weird conclusions, check out the Annals of Improbable Research's 2004 election prediction. Basically, either Dean or Clark will win it unless Bush orders the combat use of nuclear weapons.

http://members.bellatlantic.net/%7Evze3fs8i/air/pres2004b.html

Rather than trying to explain the elections of presidents as different as Carter, Johnson, Bush, and Clinton based on the fact that they are all from the south, maybe we should be looking at how an excessive focus on certain areas during election campaigns is a pervesion of representative democracy.

[onebigbadwulf]

15. Edwards for VP

It doesn't have to be a southern prez, just nominate Edwards for VP under a non-southern Prez.