your choice for president of America

[SeaBob]

who would you pick to run the country?
A) John kerry
B) Al Gore
C) Hillary Clinton
D) John dean
E) Please suggest another canidate?______________________________________

[skipos]

1. Warner and Clark. nt

[FightingIrish]

2. Wes Clark, our best shot at a real president

[Bobbieo]

28. A real President

More than ever we need a military man to take control of our country and Wes Clark is the best choice.

[mtnsnake]

3. 1) Gore or 2) Clark or 3)Hillary. My fave if he was ready would be Obama

although it's still early for him, I suppose.

[goclark]

62. It's way too late for Obama

if bush is our measuring stick. :)

I would take Clinton, Clark, Edwards,Kerry or Obama.

I just want a WIN for the Democrats.

Right now the Media is telling us to hate CLINTON and we are buying into it.

I refuse to eat our own.

I will wait and see and be supportive of ALL of them right now.

[mbee]

4. Al Gore would be a great President - I only with he would

win again! Perhaps we can elect this time and not select a reject again!

[CAG]

5. me

My first executive order would be to declare that a sitting president could play augusta national at any time.

[ReadTomPaine]

6. Most of my political heroes are dead.

Republicans are funny that way about about effective Democrats. Maybe electronic voting does indeed represent compassionate conservatism.

On edit: By the way, Does the President of America also get to call the shots in Mexico and Canada? ;)

[Steely_Dan]

7. E....Mario Cuomo

Period!

[mtnsnake]

9. Maybe one of the best choices of all

Cuomo would've made a super one, IMO.

[Arkham House]

12. Super Mario...?

[CAG]

24. Could you imagine how Cuomo would just absolutely humiliate any repuke

who would challenge him??

Could you imagine what a figurative bloodbath a Cuomo-* debate would look like?

How about Cuomo-Delay or Cuomo-Frist debate???? OMG!!!

Cuomo would simply run laps around any of these bozo's

[Appalachian_American]

50. Cuomo/Dean would be inspiring!

[Clark2008]

56. Mario Cuomo said, "Wes Clark is a man of whom you can ask a question,

and he will look you directly in the eye, and give you the most truthful and complete answer you can imagine. You will know the absolute truth of the statement as well as the thought process behind the answer. You will have no doubt as to the intellect of the speaker and meaning of the answer to this question....So you can see, as a politician, he has a lot to learn."

[For PaisAn]

69. I love that Cuomo quote

n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

8. JOHN KERRY!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. President of America?

I think Canada and Mexico might not want to go with that.

[mtnsnake]

16. No kidding, & when did John Dean throw his hat into the ring?

"who would you pick to run the country?
A) John kerry
B) Al Gore
C) Hillary Clinton
D) John dean
E) Please suggest another canidate?____"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. And not to be too persnickety, but I'd also point out that

under the Constitution, the President doesn't "run the country." He/she is the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, but doesn't run the country -- that's a function of Congress and the administrative agencies of the Executive branch, overseen by the Supreme Court and subject to veto by the President. That arrangement has been largely ignored by the current squatter in the White House, who really does think he runs the country, but it's not supposed to work that way.

[Webster Green]

21. No shit!......My vote goes to Hugo Chavez!

Viva Hugo!

[Warpy]

11. My candidates wouldn't be in the east coast elites

and most of them would be relatively unknown, languishing in local offices because they know if they stuck their head up and got noticed by running for higher office, the established party conservatives would make sure they never got past the primary by endorsing their safe opposition candidates.

The only one worth my while above that level is Gov. Schweitzer of Montana because he knows what it takes to connect with the party base and get elected in GOP strongholds.

The rest of them only see the country's yuppies. They have no clue how to get the party's base back and therefore will lose if the anti Stupid sentiment isn't enough to propel any of them to a whopping four year term.

[NativeTexan]

13. Mr. Chairman, the delegation from NativeTexan casts......

........its vote for either Wesley Clark or Hillary Clinton and either with Obama as a running mate.

But thats just me.........

[Arkham House]

14. I'd like to see--

--a combination of Tom Paine, Jefferson, William Tecumseh Sherman, Thaddeus Stevens, FDR, Truman, JFK, HL Mencken, and maybe a touch of Robespierre...but, barring that rather unlikely combinmation in one man, I'll take Al Gore as my second choice...

[acmavm]

15. Wesley Clark. n/t

[AtomicKitten]

17. Al Gore, hands down.

[emulatorloo]

18. The Democrat, of course.

ABADR

Anybody But Another Damn Republican

(On that list, I prefer Kerry. Not on that list I like Clark and many others)

[mitchtv]

19. B. I like Al

VP, Clark

[0007]

60. That sounds like a good plan!

Clark would be a good secretary of state.

[LincolnMcGrath]

20. Leaning towards this guy right now.

[Olney Blue]

23. Pedro! He will make all your dreams come true.

[LincolnMcGrath]

26. What the hey, He offered me his protection as well.

[radio4progressives]

41. LOL

:rofl: you insignificant twerp! :rofl: :applause: :hi: :loveya:

[neoblues]

25. Gore, Dean, None of the Above...

Gore, if he could simply be aggressive about correcting others when they decide to misquote him (you can't counter an intentional misquote with "I'm sorry you misunderstood me" or "Perhaps I wasn't clear..."). He's made to "look the fool" too often and too easily--and very much wrongly.

Dean, if only to shake things up and/or antagonize the powers that be. Though even he doesn't back up all his promises of action (then again, perhaps no one could under today's conditions).

Hillary, simply has no chance--and given her willingness to embrace centrism, perhaps it's best that way.

Kerry, well, he was an all but absurd choice in the first place. A significant percentage of Americans may be shallow (in that looks, personality and mannerisms count) and they may be uneducated (in that they don't even understand the difference in decision making styles between the two distinctly different offices of President and Senator), but besides the charisma-vacuum, Kerry simply lacks the requisite backbone for the job.

Wes Clark, seems like an honorable guy and is probably pretty sharp, but he's never been anything but a guy who's really good at following orders. Just too one-dimensional in his military mystique; a little stiff and doesn't get his message out very well.

Obama, well, there's just something shady about him; I don't trust him. He seems to take the stage and then butterfly all over the issue without really making a real stand. Then again, that's a terrific skill for a poly-tician.

None of the Above, plainly this is the best answer yet. We need somebody who has "Presidential" looks, a "real" personality, personal integrity/honesty, a quick wit and sharp mind and some solid, unadulterated and inalienable Democratic/Left/Progressive values. Add to that a little charisma and passion and a decent amount of relevant experience and we have it. Even if the person wasn't exceptional in all such areas it would be enough. Alas, there seemes to be a real vacuum when it comes to "leadership"** in our party.

**psychological studies have noted that people who are the better/more natural "liars" (capable of deception without guilt) when judged by numbers of people, tend to score highly in the measure entitled "Leadership". That says something about people in general, and it's not particularly flattering. So, if we lack leadership, in a way, that's a good thing. Still, we not only crave inspired leadership, but we really do need it.

[ladjf]

27. Al Gore seems to be the most qualified candidate in the field.

I don't think he ran a good campaign in 2000, but it was good enough to get the votes. Since that time he has matured and has turned into a very effective statesman.

[Daphne08]

29. Anyone but Hillary, for the simple reason that the Republicans

have already decided for us that she will be the nominee.

They know she will bring out the "Anyone but Hillary" voters en masse.

[killerbush]

81. If you expect

Hillary to be like Bill, then your sorrily mistaken

[guidod]

30. Gore/Feingold

Clinton and Kerry voted in favor of the Patriot Act. I've removed them from my list. Dean is not strong enough and, unfortunately, he could never shake the scream. :banghead:

[PatrioticLeftie]

31. Al Gore

But there are many other qualified candidates.

[wisteria]

32. John Kerry!! n/t

[Lefty48197]

33. Not John Dean. Not Halderman or Erlichman either.

I'll take any Democrat right now. Even our worst is far better than anybody they will nominate.

[woo me with science]

55. Rosemary Woods might be good though. nt

[fooj]

34. My suggestion...

A girl can dream, can't she?

Peace.

[OctOct1]

35. Feingold/Gore or Feingold/Clark

[calmblueocean]

36. If only Gore would take the job

The man's been right about more things than any political leader in the past 20 years.

[Sensitivity]

37. The Future would seem brighter if we all stuck with KERRY as loyal

soldiers in this grave struggle.

[PVK]

38. HOWARD DEAN. n/t

[Sugarcoated]

39. Russ Feingold

The dark horse candidate

[Digit]

40. John Edwards, natch

[radio4progressives]

42. Feingold or Gore..

[election_2004]

43. John Dean???

Do you mean Howard Dean? (who can't run, because he's DNC chair)

Where are Warner, Richardson, Clark, Edwards, and Vilsack in your poll?

[depakid]

46. Mr. "punt on illegal NSA spying" Vilsack?

I don't think so.... after that, he's not fit to run for anything (except maybe DNC chairman).

Frankly, given this sorry list, Howard Dean really needs to find a graceful way out of the DNC after the 2006 congressional losses, so that he can hit the campaign trail again. He'd be a shoe-in this time.

[Blue_Tires]

44. Nader, of course....

ok, i kid, i kid!!!!

[FrenchieCat]

45. My candidate?

General Wesley Clark!

Watch him on Stenopholous(sp?) tomorrow morning!

[CJCRANE]

47. General Wesley K. Clark.

[Dinger]

48. Wesley Clark - The repug Silver Bullet

http://www.securingamerica.com/

[Minnesota Libra]

49. Al Gore as Pres and Hillary Clinton or John Dean Vice-Pres nt

[mithnanthy]

51. Gore/Feingold

That's my choice. Am I dreamin?

[stray cat]

52. Russ Feingold!

[mdmc]

53. G.O.R.E!

the new gore!

[PresidentObama]

54. John Kerry.

[benny05]

57. E-- which stands for Edwards

Today's appearance on MTP strengthened my belief that he is the man to lead our country out of this horrible mess this president has gotten us into.

And he said on MTP when asked if he was thinking about another run for the presidency..."I'm considering it, yes."



:kick:

[durtee librul]

78. Edwards/Feingold

That is the dream team.......

One who can admit he was wrong and one who didn't vote for it in the first place........

[benny05]

79. I like Feingold

He is my second choice to be the nominee if JRE is not. He stood against the Patriot Act too!!

[ultraist]

58. John Edwards

We need a progressive populist who can win.

[Catchawave]

59. E: Naturally.....

[riona]

61. welsey clark

it certainly wouldn't hurt to have someone with his military experience in the white house. i'm pretty sure we wouldn't be in this current mess if he were president. he has the patience and respect for negotiation and diplomacy. I hope he has improved his campaigning skills - especially handling the reporters that follow the primary candidates around. unfortunately that is a large part of a successful campaign. he does well when he's interviewed on tv. unfortunately by the time the primary rolled around here last time, the writing was on the wall. i walked into the polling place and there were at least a dozen poll workers and no voters - they got a good laugh when i announced that i must be the only democrat in our area. well, there was one other voter coming in as i left.

[sheelz]

63. Other

John Edwards or Russ Feingold

[karynnj]

64. John Kerry is by far the best of this group

[Cascadian]

67. Kerry gave up too easily after the 2004 election.

Plus he was not forceful enough about Iraq with Bush. He offered nothing new about the situation. Plus, it did not help matters with the debacle in Ohio. Something he should have fought to the bitter end. Kerry collapsed like a house of cards. Kerry should just stay in the Senate.


John

[Adelante]

65. E)---> A) Wes Clark

[blm]

66. Kerry, Gore and Clark would all be meaningful and competent presidents.

Whoever does take office in 2009 should immediately tap the other two to work SERIOUSLY on every matter before them and around the world - they are all brilliant and compassionate men.

I would hope that any of the three would OPEN THE BOOKS on IranContra, BCCI and CIA drugrunning because every issue today is rooted in those three.

Both Gore and Clark would need to shake off any infuence from Clinton to follow through on that.

[Generic Brad]

68. Mr. Krab From Spongebob Squarepants

Now there's a money manager.:)

[For PaisAn]

70. Wes Clark

[LWolf]

71. How about Evo Morales? Hugo Chavez?

David Chernushenko?

Who is my choice for president of the U.S.?

How about a general election ballot with these choices on it:

Medea Benjamin
Dennis Kucinich
John Hagelin
Rebecca Rotzler

Only get to pick one? Then make this the primary selection and I'll go with whoever wins.

Which one is my personal choice to run the country? Dennis Kucinich.

[SeaBob]

86. Denis Kucinich

He gets muy vote -- only because I don't know the others But If I know about them I might vote for one of them

[Sparkly]

72. Clark. nt

[Clarkie1]

73. Clark! n/t

[Tom Rinaldo]

74. Wes Clark. But first 2006 and winning back Congress n/t

[MH1]

75. John Kerry. n/t

[Piscis Austrinus]

76. Thing is... we have a plethora of excellent choices.

I think the earlier post about Iran/Contra - BCCI was incorrect. If I remember correctly, John Kerry played a role in exposing the BCCI scandal.

But going through the possibilities:

1) Mark Warner - southern governor. Last two Dems to win the White House were southern governors. Seems to be a winning formula.

2) Howard Dean - I like him, but the opposition has too many ways to come after him. I think the strategy would be to blame the Dems for everything that's gone wrong in the last 5 (it will be 8 by the election) years, and gloss over the obvious fact that the Dems have been the minority party for the duration. Dean would provide a bridge for the "Blame (Bill) Clinton" crowd.

3) Barack Obama - consummate politician and likable figure, but probably not yet. At any rate, he has stated for the record that he will not run in 2008.

4) Al Gore - the Wronged Man of American politics. The great thing about Al Gore is that he could go toe-to-toe with any Republican with absolutely genuine ire about almost any issue. Not only is he smarter than anyone in the GOP, but he can out-mad them, too. That's not insignificant, when you consider...

5) John Kerry - who absolutely should have won in 2004 (notwithstanding the fact that we may never know whether or not he did). He lost because he failed to counter two issues that wound up framing him throughout the campaign: the religious issue, and the Swift Boat ads. I posted in about June 2004 that Kerry needed to do as Rove does, and attack BushCo on what was considered his strongest point - namely, his religious base. It would have been remarkably easy; by presenting Bush's actions in contrast to Scriptural passages, he might have had a chance to break the hypnosis that has gripped the Christian right. At the very least, he would have forced Christofascists like James Dobson et al. to go on record with their reasons for supporting this president - and that would have destroyed those men in 2006, because all of those quotes could have been resurrected in the Congressional elections. I liked Kerry, but I think the 2004 elections have defined him too much in the public eye: bright, thoughtful, cerebral - and lacking in passion, at least by appearance. But he would make a terrific man in a Democratic cabinet.

6) Mario Cuomo - another bright mind. He'd be tougher than Kerry, but the problem here is that he's been around a long time, and it would be tough to claim a new vision for America while trotting out a guy who's been on the political scene for ages.

7) Wesley Clark. Military figure. Above reproach. Smart, and has a reputation for integrity. I like him. The only question for me is whether he can persuade the independents (though I think he can); surely the Democratic base has to be energized for 2006, and even if the Dems take Congress and rid the nation of the damnable occupants of the executive branch, chances are that we will remain energized for the foreseeable future - certainly through 2008 at the least.

8) John Edwards - I like him, but I hope he sits this one out. I'd rather see him in 2012 or 2016. He has all the qualifications, but I think politically he would be wiser to let the 2004 election collect some more dust.

9) Hillary Clinton.

I saved Hillary for last, because I just don't know what to make of her. She's obviously brilliant, centrist, and clearly not just Bill's spouse. I think it would be dangerous for the GOP to attack her, unless they have something on her or Bill that no one knows about. I do think that anything of that stripe would have come out by now, however, because the GOP has no control when it comes to trying to smear the Clintons. If they had anything, they would have used it before now.
To me, this makes her viable in two ways: they can't say anything more about her; she's been through the wringer and come out a Senator. She has to have enough anger at the rough treatment she's received to last a lifetime.
Moreover, attacking Hillary has the potential for grave backfire on the GOP. They've lied about her so many times that bringing these lies to the fore, in a time where Republicans are increasingly being perceived as corrupt, deceptive, secretive and untrustworthy - might cause more people to make the connection: "You've lied about everything else; you've been lying about her, too."
On the other hand, if you ask me if she's the BEST candidate, I would have to say no, even if Bill comes along. I would not be unhappy with another Clinton presidency. Certainly she would hit the ground running in a way that probably no one but Gore could. On the other hand, her voting record in the Senate isn't exactly exemplary in the eyes of the Democratic faithful. What she could gain from the middle, she might lose on the end.

My own choices would be Gore, Clark, Warner. Kerry, Clinton in roughly that order. That said, I feel compelled to relate this:

About six months ago, I had a very powerful dream. In the dream, I was in a city that was remarkably reminiscent of Moscow - cold, gray, wide empty streets, generally forbidding. It was an overcast morning.
In the dream, I was somehow - there's no other word for it - joyful. Here I was in what had to be the most depressing setting for a free-worlder to be in, and I was completely happy. Ahead of me, in the middle of the gray street, was a blonde, blue-eyed woman wearing a royal-blue coat. I walked up to her and she gave me a hug, and as she did, I said, "Congratulations. You're the President."

I know there is a lot of time between now and 2008. However, if the 2006 elections turn Congress over to the Democrats - and that is looking increasingly likely; the numbers are reaching the point where an electronic fix would be almost impossible and would raise an incredible hue and cry if it were to occur - then Congress will in all likelihood begin cleaning out the executive branch, one impeachment at a time. With subpoena power, we would finally be able to see much of what this White House has been endeavoring to hide. I wonder whether we might actually witness the spectacle of federal marshals entering the White House in order to secure documents (assuming that they all haven't been turned into confetti). In a nutshell, I believe that conditions moving into 2008 will continue the erosion of GOP support, with no new sources of support to tap.

So my prediction, and it's just mine, is: if Hillary Clinton runs, she will win. And while some might be disappointed with the election result, it is undeniable that she would be vastly superior to the guy that's in the Oval Office now.

Peace
PsA

[NJ Democrats]

77. Russ Feingold!!!

Go Russ!
But if not, then Gore, Edwards or Clark.

[killerbush]

80. either

Mark Warner or Evan Bayh would be good choices

[benny05]

82. Forgot to say hello

Welcome to the DU!

:hi:

[sandrakae]

83. John Kerry is the most qualified to run this country.

[killerbush]

84. Kerry had his chance

Time for someone new.

[sandrakae]

87. The Presidency is not a big prize to be won.

I deserve a President like John Kerry. I am tired of people acting like it is a big game. Oh you didn't make the first time, so the hell with the all the people who deserve a good president.

[wyldwolf]

85. well, since the qualification in this thread seems to be very broad

Bill Clinton.

!

[Auntie Bush]

88. Wes Clark is the only one !

[k_jerome]

89. HRC. nt.

[AlGore-08.com]

90. Al Gore

But then, y'all probably knew that already from my screen name... ;)