I used to root for the weakest Puggy candidate. But when I secretly cheered

[Jackpine Radical]

for Raygun as the only candidate Carter could for-sure beat in 1980, I discovered that I'm not able to figure out who the weakest candidate is. If you're a Republican, "Batshit crazy" isn't a weakness. Senile & delusional isn't a weakness. Stupid & sociopathic isn't a weakness. I finally figured out that, no matter how hard I try, I really can't quite grasp the (purported) thought processes of a Republican, so the only thing to do is to pay no attention to their Primary antics, & just focus on putting forward our best, most principled people to carry our banner against them. I think we could all save a lot of energy by just tending to things on our side of the fence, and let the wackos on the other side do whatever it is that they're gonna do.

[NightWatcher]

1. every repuke I find with a weakness, has a hidden strength

Mittens: con- he's a priest in a cult. pro: he has shitloads of money (Bain Capital)
Huckster: con- his crazy ass views re aids... pro: he's a southern preacher and popular with that set.

et cetera

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Same here, regarding Reagan

I heard him speak, and I was sure the public would laugh him out of the election. Instead, the media dubbed him The Great Communicator, which I thought was bizarre. And we know what happened, to America's shame.

[SoCalDem]

4. Media has decided our presidents for a LONG time now, and it's unlikely to change

The candidates who are touted by them, as "front-runners", have an edge against all the others..

People are easily "led", and are very susceptible to advertising, so whomever gets the most press is most likely to succeed.
In a perfect world, it should not matter what a candidate looks like or what sex, race or age they are, but the way campaigns are run, it's hard to get "fair' representations of people.

The presidency is the prime "job" , perhaps in the world, and yet we pay more attention to hairstyles, looks and quirks, than their real qualifications.

It's probably why we end up with such flawed people in that job..

Kucinich's proposals are closest to what the democratic principle claims to be, and yet he's thoroughly dismissed.

Hillary says what she thinks people want to hear...
John E. uses populism and "down-home folksy talk" to win over the "common man"
Barack O is a young, attractive guy, but short on "experience"
Dodd & Biden are routinely written off, after multiple tries at the presidency


Hucksterbee smiles and cracks jokes, so that makes him a front-runner...Mittens "looks" like a president...Rudy is a "tough guy" , so he's somehow qualified...McCain was a war hero, so he's an expert at military affairs..

Each candidate has something that "distinguishes' them from the crowd, but NONE of them seem to have "it".

The job is practically "un-do-able" these days, and the dirty secret that no one mentions much is this..

Any president with a cantankerous congress , can be totally undone and ineffective.

I long for a parliament..where the party is elected and a prime minister is selected from within the midst of the ruling party.. At least the person who emerges from that system, has the backing and the aura of legitimacy that our way seems to have tossed aside.

Our presidents enter office with half the country LOATHING them, and feeling as if they somehow stole the election (some HAVE), so they are automatically at a disadvantage.

[DavidDvorkin]

6. I've always preferred the parliamentary system

Preferably with some degree of proportional representation included.

Not only for the reason you give but also because, in our system, the presidency is too surrounded by an aura of reverence which is easy for an unscrupulous man -- a Republican, in practice -- to capitalize on. People, including Americans, seem to want kings, so it's wisest to separate the monarchical office, the head of state, a king or a president, from the office that does the actual governing, the head of government, the prime minister.

[mcscajun]

3. I think you said it all in your last sentence.

"I think we could all save a lot of energy by just tending to things on our side of the fence, and let the wackos on the other side do whatever it is that they're gonna do."

K&R

[madokie]

5. You got that right