Well, I'm back for another semester of blogging at ProgressiveU. And I'm really surprised by what I'm reading in blogs and seeing on TV, especially about the 2008 Presidential Election.
My main pet peeve is the fact that the field has already been "narrowed down" to 4 candidates: Obama, Clinton, McCain and Giuliani. As far as I know, we haven't had the primaries yet, so there ARE other opinions that aren't being heard that need to be. In order for voters to be the MOST informed on issues of our country and to make a PROPER decision on who should lead us for the next 4 years, there need to be better methods of political reporting.
My personal choice for the '08 presidency is actually just behind Obama and Hillary in the polls. His name is Joe Biden, and he is the only candidate, in my opinion, that has both the Republicans and Democrats in mind with his policies. I believe this is important, especially since such a vast majority of the population falls more under "moderate" than anything else. The "big 4" candidates right now are all very partisan, and they are going to rely on their parties, more than anything, to back them up. Candidates like Senator Biden are relying on their skills and their beliefs to win the race, which is what a Presidential election should be about.
I don't really care if you disagree with my choice for president, but just know that there are other options out there that maybe aren't the most popular, but carry a stronger message.
For the uninformed, check out DC's Political Report for a list of all of the candidates, with links to their respective websites.
And for a sampling of the current polls, check out pollingreport.com.
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Having worked in legislature before and seen bipartisan politics up close, I agree that it's all very tiring.
I wonder if many possible candidates out there are waiting to announce they are running, just so the witch-hunting comments don't flare up so soon.
You are right in saying there are more than just the "narrowed" down candidates but you have to admit some of the people on the list of presidential candidates dont have a snowballs chance in hell of winning
Definitely true. My own senator, Sam Brownback, decided to run and I almost had a coronary. He is waaaay to partisan to get even a fraction of the vote. Besides, he just makes Kansas look bad.
Apparently its really is all about the money and who is popular. Obama has been recorded saying he might drop out because he can't keep up with the amount of money Hillary and others throw into this race.
As someone who wont be able to vote in the primaries, I haven't payed too much attention to the other candidates. Maybe you should hold a personal review of the candidates and list out all the unnamed future president hopefuls.
That's such a shame. Everything in this world is ruled by money. And an election, being as important as it is to run our country, shouldnt be based on money. but that's a big part of it because of advertising, etc. but does that mean that candidates that actually deserve to be in office can't run because they dont have enough money as, say, Hillary Clinton?
I believe the reason the show boating has even started sooooo soon, is money. Hilary knows Obama won't be able to keep up with her. (I'm not gonna even mention Guiliani and McCain).
But, I believe, there will be a ton of last minute hopefuls.
For instance, IF Gore decides to run he will definately wait to announce. That's just my 2 cents -- I would write a more intelligent comment, but I'm brain fried this evening.--
Ceila
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ceila30
I agree that it's frustrating that the only two Dems we hear about are the Big O and Ms. C. It's like no one else exists. Someone asked me today whether I was supporting Clinton and I said, "I have no idea...she may not even be in the race by NEXT YEAR!" That's what we forget - the election is in 2008, not even this year and already the field is narrowed to just two.
I'm keeping my options open and will remember that like in most great sporting events, the last two minutes are when the winner is actually decided.
i completely agree. pretty much everyone i know has their mind set on either Obama or Giuliani. I'm the only one I know of that has even heard of Joe Biden or anyone else, let alone thinking of supporting him.
I read Newsweek and every week they are doing big articles on the election. The 2008 election?! I don't want to read about cat fights between candidates in March 2007! Give me a break! Articles that I have seen get less than half a page include important issues like blood diamonds, the Navy, and Britain's troop withdrawal! Shesh!
The others get the attention of course because the money, but also because they're "electable." People know who they are already, so from the perspective of the parties, why not capitalize on top of it? On the Republican side of things there is also Mit Romney. I hope no one ever votes for him, but his name is definitely out there.
-Tim
"It costs nothing to be honest, loyal, and true." -Avett Bros.
yeah, ive heard his name, but he doesn't seem very "electable" to me. i havent heard one single thing about his platform. at least Hillary and Obama are attempting to share their views. my point is that their views just arent the only views.
He is from Mass. He is responsible for trying SO HARD at getting the Same-sex marriage thrown out. As well as other things. I'm sure he'll get votes, from the homophobic people of America. *shivers* He scares me. Check out his flip-flop behaviour here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/20/AR2006122002046.html
There is much more on this guy, just google him.
Ceila
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ceila30
Thanks alot for the info.
Yeah, I agree that the candidates are pretty few next year. Candidate Tom Vilsack just pulled out of the race just last week. That is really shocking, considering that the election is a year and a half away. Either way, for the Democratic side, it will be a first: first African-American or woman president. It will be interesting to see whether Obama or Clinton gets the nomination. Also, if a Democrat does take the presidency, and with the new Democratic majority in the Congress, we ought to see a tilt to the left side of things in '08.
Allison Parker
actually you illustrate my point quite well, because once again you're assuming that the only democratic candidates are Hillary and Obama, so no it won't necessarily be a "first" anything. There ARE other Democrats running, that was what my whole post was getting at.
Yeah Biden! The only reason I've heard of him is because I'm from Delaware, and he's one of the senators there. When I talk about him to my friends at my college (which is in PA), no one has heard of him.
This election is all about publicity. He needs to get out more and make himself known.
definitely. i totally agree.
John Edwards is pretty high profile and Wesley Clark is going to run again. I'm somewhat intrigued by Bill Richardson from New Mexico, to see what he has to offer.
On the Republican side there is Romney, who's biggest conservative credential is that he's the only been married once. GOP reptile Newt Gingrich recently revealed to Pat Robertson that he'd been having an affair while he was prosecuting Clinton, and he's likely to enter the race. Right wing nutjob radio personality Michael Savage has also thought about running.
And yes, it is too early to be talking about all of this.
"CONSERVATIVE, n.
A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."
- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
I don't really consider Edwards as high-profile, simply because he's only really known for being Kerry's running mate in '04. I'm not sure how he thinks he can do better this time, but I'm interested to find out.
I'm wondering if the recent announcement about his wife will either boost his appeal or knock him out of the race altogether. Edwards and his wife said they would keep going until her cancer got unbearable so until that point, does this announcement allow people to relate to him more than some of the other candidates?
Opinions will definitely vary. People will either see him as dedicated but still able to stand by and support his wife, but others may look at it as irresponsible for him to selfishly pursue the race while she's suffering. However, from what I've heard, she has told him to stick with the race so I think the decision not to drop out will be supported.
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Stephen Colbert: Enemy of the Democrat?
Have you heard what Rush Limbaugh had to say on it? He said Edwards is staying in the race because he thinks it'll help him score points. What a douche (Limbaugh, I mean)!
My take is that it was a mutual decision, albeit a possibly unwise one; NOBODY can be expected to function well after losing a spouse, especially to something as awful as cancer. But we'll see. I'm leaning towards Obama myself.
"CONSERVATIVE, n.
A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others."
- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
What's even more sad, is Limbaugh said that less then 1 hr after the announcement (I even think it was less then 20 mins. but not positive about that). There really is no end to the patheticness of people like him, but he IS just a radio personality.
Ceila
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ceila30
Limbaugh is a hypocritical ass who wouldn't pick a democrat if he had a gun pointed to his head. He is extremely inappropriate he says this about Edwards, he said that Michael J. Fox was acting during the 2006 elections, when in fact it was his disease.
Limbaugh has no soul.
Joe Biden's my number 1 choice! He's the only one brave enough to tell the truth. He says that getting out of Iraq will take time. He also has a plan to help Darfur. And he passed the Violence Against Women Act. A true American President.