Take a look at John Hawkins’ list of the ten Democrats that he thinks have the best chance to beat a Republican candidate for president in 2008. Whether you agree or disagree with the politicians he placed on his list or in what order they’re listed, he’s right on with his number one pick.
Who Could Beat the GOP in 2008?
About The Author
Kim Priestap
Wife. Mom. First and Second Amendment enthusiast. Gun owner. I train often. ***** He can't even run his own life, I'll be damned if he'll run mine.
I think after number 1, they are just whisteling dixie. Or to put it another way, if any of the other 9 could get elected, then anyone could get elected.
I mean number 8 of John Kerry. This is not only touted as one of those who could win, but somehow isn’t even at the bottom of the list.
If you look back over the last 40 years, what you see is that a diverse group of Republicans have been elected, but only southern democrat govenors who were unknown nationally prior to running can get elected. The key is that the person has to be unknown enough that the swing voters can project what they want the person to be into the candidate.
On the other hand, the top two names in the republican camp (Rudy and McCain) come more from the center. We shall see.
Disagreeing with the Preznit on a few select issues (like whether or not it’s okay to officially sanction torture) does not make McCain a centrist. He has a very conservative voting record on pretty much everything except campaign finance reform.
Being friends with Jon Stewart does not make you more liberal; his courtship with Jerry “homosexuality is bad because the plumbing don’t work” Falwell should tell you something. He is but a slick politician, which I think will rub most people the wrong way, as it probably should.
That’s why I like Gore. He sucks at politics.
That post assumes that any of them could win, which they can’t. Anyone sane enough to appeal to independents is too moderate for the Kossack/MoveOn types & anyone that appeals to the Kossack/MoveOn types is too insane to appeal to moderates.
Then there’s the issue of which states a Dem could flip from red to blue against a mainstream Republican, which is maybe Virginia if Warner runs & New Mexico if Richardson runs.
That still leaves them woefully short of 270 electoral votes.