Campaign 2008

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Why can't we have a candidate who is:

 

- Pro-Life

- Against big government

- Against illegal immigration

 

If there was someone competent and with some national recognition who stood on a platform like that, I think they could win quite handily.

[Dr. Zaius 0]

Anyway, I'm really hoping for Mark Warner to run for President, he's what the party needs now. I wouldn't mind seeing John Edwards run again either, he shouldn't have run in 2004 and instead spent all of the time building his Senate resume. I get a real Kennedy vibe from John Edwards.

God, you really jack it to handsome Democrats! Their sunny optimism and high rankings from People magazine are gonna TAKE BACK OUR WHITE HOUSE!

 

What do Kennedy and Edwards have in common beyond party affiliation and a killer smile? Edwards built himself up from practically nothing to become a successful litigator and Senator, whose political views have been shaped by his own experiences. JFK was born into his dad's bootlegging fortune, and is a liberal because that's what you do when you're a paternalistic New Englander.

And Edwards was never almost killed when the Japanese sunk his PT boat and he had to swim for miles to safety with an injured crewman on his back.

Just saying.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Why can't we have a candidate who is:

 

- Pro-Life

- Against big government

- Against illegal immigration

 

If there was someone competent and with some national recognition who stood on a platform like that, I think they could win quite handily.

 

Buchanan '08

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Yeah, I guess that's the closest guy I could think of. They just need someone...less insane.

[snuffbox 0]

Someone who doesnt like Big Govt probably shouldnt want the govt to be regulating what women do with their bodies.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Yeah, it is oxymoronic, but I think those views are generally going to appeal to most Americans (at least those likely to vote).

[Guest Felonies!]

Killer smiles can't win elections, but I truly do feel that sunny optimism is a big help. In fact, sunny optimism counts for at least 40% of your average "outsider" candidate. It can hold the base without ostracizing people who don't agree with every single one of your positions.

 

Dubya was a fairly sunny candidate at one point, too. The press grilled him for it, but it probably had to do with him being the son of a President while running an outsider campaign with the edge of a goofy guy image.

You know, try as I did, I never bought into John Edwards as this "hot young dynamic rising star." I just saw some guy who kept flashing a car salesman's grin and saying "there are two Americas!" when somebody pulled the string dangling from his side. Whatev.

[Quasar 0]

Killer smiles can't win elections, but I truly do feel that sunny optimism is a big help. In fact, sunny optimism counts for at least 40% of your average "outsider" candidate. It can hold the base without ostracizing people who don't agree with every single one of your positions.

 

Dubya was a fairly sunny candidate at one point, too. The press grilled him for it, but it probably had to do with him being the son of a President while running an outsider campaign with the edge of a goofy guy image.

You know, try as I did, I never bought into John Edwards as this "hot young dynamic rising star." I just saw some guy who kept flashing a car salesman's grin and saying "there are two Americas!" when somebody pulled the string dangling from his side. Whatev.

 

John Edwards was a highly intelligent man and had a fantastic knowledge of the law. Look at Edwards' lawyer career, he was one of the most respected lawyers in the country and became a multi-millionaire through being a lawyer. He went from being the poor son of a mill worker to being worth in excess of $60 Million. He also fought for the rights of people who were caused bodily harm through defective products or defective medical care.

 

The Kennedy comparison came from Edwards and Kennedy both being young, attractive and great speakers.

[Guest Felonies!]

John Edwards was a highly intelligent man and had a fantastic knowledge of the law. Look at Edwards' lawyer career, he was one of the most respected lawyers in the country and became a multi-millionaire through being a lawyer. He went from being the poor son of a mill worker to being worth in excess of $60 Million. He also fought for the rights of people who were caused bodily harm through defective products or defective medical care.

I'm aware; I basically went over his past.

 

The Kennedy comparison came from Edwards and Kennedy both being young, attractive and great speakers.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

While I thought John Edwards was charistmatic, I didn't really like what I saw from him during the televised debate with Vice President Cheney. Bringing up Cheney's lesbian daughter was a transparent tactic that wasn't really needed, especially while debating someone as unpopular as Cheney. I give Cheney credit for handling that the way he did, during the debate.

[snuffbox 0]

John Edwards is no Jack Kennedy...

 

Also, Edwards made the mistake that JFK missed in 1956 by getting the VP nomination in '04.

[Quasar 0]

While I thought John Edwards was charistmatic, I didn't really like what I saw from him during the televised debate with Vice President Cheney. Bringing up Cheney's lesbian daughter was a transparent tactic that wasn't really needed, especially while debating someone as unpopular as Cheney. I give Cheney credit for handling that the way he did, during the debate.

 

 

Was that really a cheap shot though? I mean, the Bush Administration's anti-gay marriage stance needed to be challenged. Dick Cheney has a gay daughter, yet he (along with Bush) are going around denying HIS OWN DAUGHTER the right to marry who she chooses. Edwards wanted to see if Cheney still stood on his platform of bigotry after Edwards reminded Cheney that he was oppressing his own daughter. He did this in hopes of challenging Cheney's stance on gay marriage and sparking an actual debate on the subject.

 

Of course, that was lost on the average American and John looked like a "big meanie"

 

In 08, I am hoping for a Edwards/Warner ticket because they could take back The South for the Democratic Party.

[EricMM 0]

I suppose the thing about that whole "daughter" issue was that Edwards didn't straight out say what he meant, he merely mentioned his daughter and didn't directly call his opponent a hypocrit.

 

(or possibly a daughter hater)

[SuperJerk 0]

Edwards simply shouldn't have been on the 2004 ticket. There was nothing he could have added (or did add, for that matter) that a dozen more qualified and/or electable people couldn't have done. Even though Dick Cheney's bitch-slapping of him at the VP debate was based on the lie that the two had never met, Edwards should have called him on it instead of just sitting there looking shocked.

[Vampiro69 0]

At least we don't have this guy as president.

 

this could be worse

[Quasar 0]

The problem is that John Kerry saw Edwards as someone who was popular enough to help him win the Presidency and Edwards' name has been soiled as a result. Of course, Edwards was also on Al Gore's short-list in 2000.

 

Edwards has a GREAT foundation for his campaign, poverty relief but we never saw much of that in the Kerry/Edwards campaign. I hope that people give Edwards a chance in 2008 because he is a great candidate and at one time, even appealed to the red state of North Carolina. Remember, he did unseat Senator Faircloth in 1998 so there is some appeal to Edwards for red-state voters. Edwards is a great speaker, a highly intelligent man and highly qualified to be the next nominee of the Democratic Party.

 

Of course, on paper, John Kerry was also more qualified than George W. Bush but Kerry had monkeys with typewriters running his campaign.

[Guest Felonies!]

Quasar has a John Edwards poster on his wall.

 

 

But the real question: is it framed?

[Art Sandusky 0]

I suppose the thing about that whole "daughter" issue was that Edwards didn't straight out say what he meant, he merely mentioned his daughter and didn't directly call his opponent a hypocrite.

 

(or possibly a daughter hater)

This is close to the core of why people don't connect with politicians anymore. The average American and their politicians speak completely different languages. A real, everyday person would have said "listen, you're endorsing an amendment that would prevent your own daughter from getting married. Come on, what kind of garbage is that?" But noooooo, it's just more and more excessive legalese that requires talking heads to decode simple speeches for people. No one gives a fuck, so the "insiders" take over more and more and you've got a disgruntled populace that feels more disconnected from its governmental institutions than ever.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Why can't we have a candidate who is:

 

- Pro-Life

- Against big government

- Against illegal immigration

 

If there was someone competent and with some national recognition who stood on a platform like that, I think they could win quite handily.

 

Buchanan '08

Ideally, we wouldn't have a Holocaust denier.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Edwards' poverty relief platform is slightly tarnished by the fact that there is no real poverty in the United States.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, some people would argue that, but you can't compare it to places like Somalia, etc.

[snuffbox 0]

No real poverty in the US? Are you fucking serious? No, its not as widespread as in the African countries but there are people living in terrible squalor in our country, people starving.

 

I suppose we can just take the easy route, though, and just pretend we're All doing fine in America...

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Give me a fucking break. Terrible squalor? Cry me a river.

 

There's some people in our country that live less well than others. There are also people in this country that live on the streets. However, squalor? Terrible? No. We have safety nets in place to help these people, and if they choose not to use it, that's their own damned fault. There hasn't been an American that starved to death based on complete inability to find food since the Depression. In every society in the world, there is inequity; that's the nature of LIFE. You're insulting the countries in Africa and around the world where there is TRUE squalor by crying a river about our poverty.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Give me a fucking break. Terrible squalor? Cry me a river.

 

There's some people in our country that live less well than others. There are also people in this country that live on the streets. However, squalor? Terrible? No. We have safety nets in place to help these people, and if they choose not to use it, that's their own damned fault. There hasn't been an American that starved to death based on complete inability to find food since the Depression. In every society in the world, there is inequity; that's the nature of LIFE. You're insulting the countries in Africa and around the world where there is TRUE squalor by crying a river about our poverty.

 

Agreed. I often wonder how these statistics you hear about "x amount of children go to bed hungry in this country each night" are found. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I find it hard to believe with the abundance of social services in this country that people are forced to starve. Certainly not on a consistent basis. If kids are starving, guess whose fault it is...it's not the government's fault, it's the parent's.

 

I think "progressive" liberal thinking is taking over this country at an alarming rate.

[snuffbox 0]

Progressivism is the deathblow to mankind. Bluh flu. Justin Timberlake lyrics. Otherstuffslayerlikestosay.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Our poor have air conditioners and TVs.

[snuffbox 0]

Yeah...no.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

Well, clearly, you beat me on this one.

[Danville_Wrestling 0]

I suppose the thing about that whole "daughter" issue was that Edwards didn't straight out say what he meant, he merely mentioned his daughter and didn't directly call his opponent a hypocrite.

 

(or possibly a daughter hater)

This is close to the core of why people don't connect with politicians anymore. The average American and their politicians speak completely different languages. A real, everyday person would have said "listen, you're endorsing an amendment that would prevent your own daughter from getting married. Come on, what kind of garbage is that?" But noooooo, it's just more and more excessive legalese that requires talking heads to decode simple speeches for people. No one gives a fuck, so the "insiders" take over more and more and you've got a disgruntled populace that feels more disconnected from its governmental institutions than ever.

 

Ching, ching, ching! We have a winner!

 

I totally agree with the above post. I was watching a political show on our local channel last night discussing KY politics and all everyone did was pat each other on the back and think they were God's gift to the political system. In fact, they were just talking about policies that were so paternalistic it wasn't even funny. For example, requiring booster seats for children ages 5 thru 9 because some parents "simply are not educated enough to know the real dangers involved in vehicular travel." I'm dead serious on that one. I am so tired of these government bureaucrats and politicians who believe they know the true conception of what the perfect life is and then dictate to the rest of us how to live that life without letting us decide ourselves.

 

I think there is ground to be won for candidates across the country regardless of political affiliation if they come out and be straight with voters. Forget the political wishy wash, we need people who say screw special interests and vote on the facts. Then again, Joe Lieberman tries to make decisions based on the evidence and what works instead of being ideologically constrained and he's the one facing a nasty primary campaign in Connecticut right now.

[Dr. Zaius 0]

Edwards has a GREAT foundation for his campaign, poverty relief but we never saw much of that in the Kerry/Edwards campaign.

 

Too bad poor people don't vote.