Can a recently divorced, still unmarried candidate win the presidency?

[kentuck]

I appreciate everything Senator Feingold is doing by standing up for the laws and the Constitution and I would vote for him in a heartbeat. But, would the rest of America support him after the Repub attack machine got thru draggin his name thru the mud? Just wondering....

[EST]

1. Yes.

I worried about this, but yes, I think handled properly, it should not present an insurmoutable problem.

[elfin]

2. No - TWICE divorrced AND

Jewish. Shouldn't matter --- but it will.

[PassingFair]

11. Rayguns was divorced...

and the pukies LOVES him!

[quaoar]

22. Yes, but...

It's only OK if you're a Republican.

[PassingFair]

24. Damn.

I forgot!

:)

[riona]

26. and we know what saints they are

[PassingFair]

3. I guess it would depend on the attitude of...

his ex-wife.

Anyone?

Was it "amicable"?

[stray cat]

6. It seems like it was amicable with both ex wifes.

[JackintheGreen]

4. If he can't make his marriage work,

Can he make AMERICA work?

I can't help but think of the 1984 politcal ad (I think for Reagan, but I was only 10) showing the flannel-clad arms of a blue-collar worker reading, then crumpling a letter. Voiceover: "You really needed that job, but they gave it to a MINORITY." Blah blah blah

[DemDogs]

42. Jesse Helms ad

It was a Jesse Helms ad -- the famous hands ad, although it was probably later used elsewhere because it was devastating.

The problem with Feingold is complex. He has voted against a lot of things that liberals wanted him to vote against. But even outside the war and the Patriot Act, he has voted against a lot things that Americans support. Intervention in Bosnia. Chemical and Biological Weapons Threat Reduction. I can see him being painted in a very unflattering way and I don't see that he has the personal charisma, charm, warmth, the Clinton-touch to make people feel comfortable anyone.

Feingold the idea is better than Feingold the candidate.

[beaconess]

48. I'm still sore at him for voting for Ashcroft and Roberts

[stray cat]

5. yes - at least as a democrat

Extreme religious conservatives might not vote for him but they won't vote for any dem. A single candidate would be much more interesting to many of us.

[TAPat]

7. Illegal war and wiretapping don't seem to bother anyone

why should a divorce, or even 3 or 4 (Gingrich anyone)?
Oh wait, that's right, that's only for Rethugs.
Nevermind... :smoke:

[kenny blankenship]

8. No the business of America

is breeding. Because GOD SAID TO BREED, OK? It's in the preamble of the Constitution--look it up if you doubt me.
Nothing is more important that that the President not be gay and while there's no perfect guarantee of that, the next best thing to a guarantee is that the President is actively breeding.
If Russ wants to be President, he needs to get busy doing the Mommy-Daddy dance with someone with a matching ring and double X chromosones.

[ldf]

16. exactly, or

promise, AND KEEP the promise, that he would never, EVER have sex again, until he was married.

the whole "puritan" think is SOOO overrated.

frankly, i don't know if i would want someone in the whitehouse who was so "frustrated".....

although i DO very much support feingold. (for many americans the jewish thing could be a little bothersome, especially after the lieberman fiasco..)

:shrug:

[serryjw]

19. He has NO children?

Oh..I feel better. He has 2 grown daughters...This I LOVE BUT the other side will have a field day with it
quote........
Early life

Feingold was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, to Leon Feingold, an attorney, and Sylvia Feingold, a worker at a title company. As a child, his three idols were President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He showed an early interest in political activism, volunteering for the 1972 presidential campaign of New York City Mayor John Lindsay at the age of 18. Later on, he would support the presidential campaigns of Arizona Congressman Morris Udall and Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

end quote.........

http://www.blinkbits.com/blinks/russ__feingold

[SaveElmer]

9. I don't think that will affect anything...

I believe any attacks on his religion or marital status would backfire. Though if he does get the nod, he cannot let them go by without a counterattack.

[tatertop]

10. I hope this is researched BEFORE he runs

We cannot afford to lose

[Jersey Devil]

12. It needs details and research

If he divorced (twice) due to philandering forget it.

[slor]

13. We can make it a reality type show...

"Find the Prez a wife", and win over the large number of idiots in this country. While you choose his wife, out of several contestants, you also cast a vote for him! I am joking of course, but I do believe, so long as he answers in a straight forward manner, that he loved them, but that it just did not work, it may actually work FOR him, rather than Against.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Unfortunately, it will be a great big handicap for Feingold

Unless he has about 20 million in the bank to spend on Media, the media will make sure it "matters".

Two failed marriages and still looking will not be what voters had in mind.

A White House with only one person in it won't go over well....unless Feingold has a sister or an older daughter or someone that can take up the slack of the duties that a Mrs. Feingold might normally have performed. What happens when dignitaries come to town? Who are the wives gonna hang out with?


Certainly anything can happen, and folks might not end up caring as much as I anticipate......but it is a clear handicap nevertheless, no matter which way it is twisted.

[July]

25. Hope that applies to single Condi Rice, too, then.

Especially when her "husband" is the outgoing squatter. Of course, he loves the trappings of the WH so much, maybe he'd divorce Laura for a chance to hang out in the Oval Office as First "Gentleman" (in quotes because it doesn't really apply in his case). You know he's jealous of his new brother Bill, and this way he can get BJs in the WH, too.

[kentuck]

15. Just my opinion....

I think he would be accepted as VP but not at the top of the ticket at this time. And I'm sure he is aware of this handicap. But it hasn't prevented him from speaking out.

[meti57b]

17. How tall is he? I remember Paul Wellstone saying he, himself could not be

elected because he was "short, Jewish and liberal" (or something like that).

[NCarolinawoman]

27. Anybody know how tall McCain is? n/t

[FrenchieCat]

34. I read somewhere that Feingold was 5'6"

[benddem]

18. Newtie tootie

thinks he is presidential material and he is on 3rd marriage. Dumped two wives when they were ill one with Breast CA and the other with MS. Also was having affair with the next one while married to the old one. IOKIYAR I guess.

[Sugarcoated]

23. Those were the actual facts behind his breakups??

[zanne]

41. It isn't really about morality with these people...

They just like to use morality as a talking point; it would be too much of a burden for them to actually practice it.

[skipos]

20. It sure doesn't help the cause. nt

[mtnsnake]

21. If a lying murdering thug like Bush can be pres, than anything's possible!

[NYCGirl]

28. Giuliani was twice divorced. And his first wife was his cousin. NT

[Donna Zen]

29. I'll just bet the republicans run someone

Often times our speculation excludes the fact that there will be more than one person on the ballot. This isn't about whether I think that Feingold would make a great president; nor is about if I think that being twice divorced and single is not part of the equation. This is about America. At least two candidates will be running, and I'll place a bet that the republicans will include a stepford wife. America likes the concept of a couple in the WHouse. So, yes...one divorce and remarried for a while no longer raises hackles, but two divorces, no matter how amicable, will never pass America's sniff test.

Sorry, but that's the truth. I like Feingold very much because he is a truth teller and is married to his backbone, but it ain't gonna happen. Remember, most voters pay no attention to the issues...it's all about perceptions.

[salin]

30. Watch how repubs root for Rudy

and he moved gf into the house while he was still married to his second wife.

[JNelson6563]

31. I'll take one for the team

and marry President Feingold. :toast:

[Behind the Aegis]

36. I bet you would...trollop!

:)

:toast:

[JNelson6563]

38. But a Patriotic Trollop!

:toast: :patriot:

[Neil Lisst]

32. Two Jews walk into a divorce court ...

Never heard a joke that started like that.

I think Russ has a long, long way to go to make the ticket in 08, but he could get there.

Will his being divorced hurt him if he makes the ticket? Probably. It shouldn't, but it will.

His being liberal and from a small state will hurt him, too.

[PBass]

33. Giuliani doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell.

Neither does Condi Rice.

Not sure about Russ Feingold. I would hate to lose him in the Senate. Let the people decide.

[Neil Lisst]

35. I agree that Rice and Rudy will NOT be standard bearer for the Rs

[Behind the Aegis]

37. His divorces would be minor distractions.

Over 50% of the US are on second, third, or fourth marriages. It may actually be higher but I haven't seen recent data. His real battle will be his religion. Whereas many will not care, 33% of the US believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than the US and that will work against him. He doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve, but that won't matter, he is a Jew, not a Christian.

It would be very interesting to see what would happen, should he get the nomination. (Has he announced he is running?)

[pink-o]

46. I agree....

Anti-Semitism is always just under the surface, and there's a new breed of it from the left that believes what you say: we're loyal to Israel. So now, aside from the Shylock stereotypes I now have lefties telling me that "my people" are supporting Palestinian apartheid. I'm glad I have Russ Feingold as an example that we're not all Wolfowitzs and Liebermans.

That said, Russ would have a lot better chance if he found his third wife before the campaign begins in earnest. After his chuptzpah on the Senate floor, I've got a bunch of girlfriends crushing on him, so if he's in the market I'll be happy to be the matchmaker :hi:

[DemDogs]

39. Nope. n/t

[zanne]

40. How about Giulliani?

Isn't he a big GOP favorite to run for president? He had a very public, shocking divorce.

[Cocoa]

43. yes

of course. :bounce:

[AtomicKitten]

44. They will annihilate ANY Democratic nominee ....

and we better get used to that idea and quit trying to weed through our potential nominees for a "lesser target." They are excavating dirt on any potential candidate as we speak.

They would make Jesus H. Christ look like Attila the Hun.

[JeffR]

45. What putative Dem candidate won't get dragged thru the mud

by the attack machine? Feingold could become a Baptist, move south of the Mason-Dixon Line, announce his intention to cut taxes for the wealthy, spend all his free time watching NASCAR races, then formally announce his candidacy, and still they'd be sliming him right out of the gate.

[Freedom_Aflaim]

47. Possibly, but its a big burden to overcome

and would proably cost him votes.

Plus theres going to be alot of freshly slug mud ready to be reslung.