08 Presidential Elections

Just because Ted is endorcing someone doesn't mean that it's the right choice. There have been other times a front runner has been favored and then when the final election came they didn't win. Something may look shiney now but in the coming months may tarnish and not be so appealing anymore.

 

I honestly can't believe Giuliani's out. He was the frontrunner back in November, but his drop has been unbelievable! He's expected to endorse McCain at the GOP debate being held at the Reagan Library tonight. As for Paul: Either he's attempting to be a spoiler for the GOP race, or he's in serious denial.

I think Hilary's problem, or should I say the Clintons' problem, is that they thought Obama wouldn't pose a legitimate threat to her ascendancy. In their minds they thought they'd roll over everybody and take the wins. Obama's proven himself to be a viable candidate. Though I don't agree with the majority of planks on the Democratic platform, I am impressed with the way Obama's presented himself and his positions: with authority and sincerity. IMO, it seems that everything coming out of Hilary's mouth is changed at the next campaign stop.

I despise the fact that race has become an issue, when clearly it's not. That's like harping on the fact Hilary's a woman. Big deal! Can she do the job? If a voter feels she can do the job, then feel free to vote for her in good conscience. Race is irrelevant. Gender is irrelevant. Experiences gained from being a certain race/gender/religion can indeed shape a person, but the President must act with the facts presented to him/her. End of story.

 

Exactly, He's a well respected Senator, & has much clout, what a powerful speech he gave and Caroline is beloved, and them comparing him [Obama] to JFK is a dynamic move and JFK was a fantastic president before he was taken way to soon. And also thank's for the links!

 

Gotta congratulate John McCain on his win in Florida. Over the years, he almost always comes across as an outstanding individual.

Aside from the depth of domestic issues, the tactical experience and savvy to handle all the extraordinary width of external commitments and requirements is really going to be an integral issue for the next President. How do y'all think the the "presedential hopefuls: rate in this regard?

Springmoon, bananas is right! As for the Kennedy influence there's always going to be segments of the population that will be influenced by certain Kennedys especially with the use of emotive references to JFK, but it's nigh on 40 years on and the demographics and their splintered politico-socio-economic concerns and issues are quite different. Where does this demographic stand?

 

I'm still not sold on the Ted Kennedy endorsement. It has not affected the polling in his own state of Massachusetts, where Clinton still holds a commanding lead going into the next round of primaries (although polling being what it is, next Tuesday's outcome is anyone's guess). Even as one of the Senators with the longest tenure, can it really be said that his endorsement of Obama negates the latter's lack of experience? (Not that I think that experience is tantamount to being elected in the first place, after all George W. was elected after having been governor of Texas, and not a very good one at that.) I guess we'll have to wait until the August convention to see exactly who the nominee is going to be.

Giuliani ran a very shoddy campaign from almost the get-go. What exactly did he spend $50 million on to get that single delegate? Huckabee and Paul didn't spend anywhere near that and they spanked Giuliani in the early contests. His message was off and he should have realized months ago that his campaign needed retooling, long before he took a hit in the polls. He may not have ever won the nomination, but he could have had a decided influence on the final outcome. Oh well... I guess he's off to the world of political consulting with the other also-rans.

 

On John McCain winning, that's cool for Republicans who want him, and he's a nice guy! also Arnold just endorsed him personally I could give a ratts a.. who endorses who, I make up my own mind, but again the age,[like Ted] he'll be 72, and he backs Bush's gov. NO timeline for withdrawal of our troops, from Iraq, no health care for those who need it, and is against raising the mimimun wage, it's $5.75 here in Nevada, and to me that's criminal, who can live on that? Edwards was suggesting a raise to $9.50, that's more like it! to each ones own on who they like or don't, time will tell

 

I liked Giuliani; he was my candidate though I didn't agree with him on every issue. His campaign strategy, to write off the IA, NH and SC primaries thinking the other candidates would cancel each other out, would have been touted as brilliant had it worked. Unfortunately it didn't, and I think it was rather presumptuous of him to disregard those voters. That was a slap in the face.

Rumors are he endorsed McCain and threw support McCain's way in a bid for an AG nomination (or some other Cabinet post) if McCain wins. Win or lose, Giuliani's brand still has some clout, even if it's tarnished. I don't see him as a VP, because I honestly don't think he'd take a secondary position.

As for Kennedy's endorsement of Obama: Anything Ted Kennedy supports I oppose. If I were a Democrat Kennedy's endorsement would seal my support for Hilary, who is the better candidate IMO.

Excellent point! I vote candidate/proposition/issue by researching said c/p/i and making an informed decision. I don't vote because Streisand, Schwarzenegger, Stallone or some slick commercial touts the benefit or detriment of some c/p/i.

Example: Here in CA, we've got 4 ballot initiatives regarding Indian gaming. Nearly every commercial at this point is pro/con those initiatives. I'm sure there are some voters who will choose a position based on the commercials, but that's irresponsible, IMO.

 

So how does people think 'Super-Duper Tuesday' is going to go?

It won't be a foregone conclusion for either party probably but it may put certain candidates out infront and may swing opinion in a nominees favour when the remaining states vote during the Spring.

I've had a look at various betting websites and Clinton and McCain seem to be the bookies favourites to suceed for their respective parties.

The betting odds to be elected President at the moment appear to be

Hillary Clinton - 'Evens' 1/1
John McCain - 2/1
Barrack Obama 11/4

So at the moments the bookies are predicting a Democratic Victory if Hillary is their candidate but a Republican victory is Barack Obama is the Demcratic Candidate.

Personally I hope it isn't the case. I've seen many a raleigh speeches from the 3 front runners and I like Obama the most. But on the other side whatever the candidates polices are, it affects me very little not being an American and my opinions on who I like aren't really reflected on what they stand for.

 

Well, it doesn't effect me either, but I'm sort of following it (although those betting odds are Greek to me too!). It's amazing to see how different the US system is to ours here in Canada. The arguments the candidates, particularly Clinton and Obama, get into....wow, it's so far removed from our system.

So, I realize that the number of wins does not directly matter, it's about delegates, but what are we up to now, in terms of Clinton vs. Obama? They've done primaries in IA, NH, SC, NV, FL....I'm probably forgetting a few more....so who's on top right now?

If it were up to me I would go for Hillary. But it's not up to me, and although there's been talk that America might not be ready for a black president, from what I've heard and seen, they're more ready for that than they are for a woman president. But we'll see, anything can happen. I'd like to think that race and gender won't matter, but let's be honest, to some people, it does.

You know, it's sort of funny, there's been so much talk about Clinton vs. Obama, the Republican candidates are kind of getting ignored! Those two will go at it for so long during the debates, and the Republican is just standing there, waiting for them to shut up. :lol:

 

^You're so right about the "poor" Republicans. They are virtually being ignored! One of the reasons why is that their primary race is so very cut-and-dry: in most states, as far as the delegates go, it's winner take all. That makes it very easy for a single person to rack up the delegates that they would need for the final tally.

On the Democratic side, I use this site for catching up on the Electoral Vote. At the bottom, it uses the CNN tally for how many delegates each candidate has at the moment. Since it's such a complicated system, it's going to make sure that this race keeps going all the way to the Convention and that is very exciting! At the moment, Clinton has a small edge over Obama, if this tally is correct. But tomorrow night will change all of that!

Oh, and the best part about that site is that after the nominee is decided for both parties, it will update, state by state, to show who the ultimate winner will be. It does this with an exhaustive examination of polling data and a division of the number of seats in the electoral college that each candidate might amass. It's nonstop entertainment if you are a political junkie.

 

Romney Out!

I'm very glad to hear this news as I live in MA and can tell you that as a governor his entire term was planning for 08.

 

OBAMA, just won the caucus in Nebraska he and Hillary are very close in their delegates.. this is for sure a horse race now!

 

That's great news I'm ecstatic to hear that. Glad to know he's still doing well.

 

And in Washington state and Louisiana he's kicking butt!

 

Even better I didn't the results would be in this quick but hey its great.