The Early Favorites
As of Labor Day, 2007, who are your early favorites for the 2008 election? Why are they your favorites?
posted by Meyer @ 9:26 AM
Meyer AP Government - Election 2008
Our take on the very long 2008 Election.
27 Comments:
Yea! I'm the first one. So as of Labor Day my early favorite is Obama '08! I think that he has a lot of good qualities i.e. charasmatic and many others. And the necessary moderate view for the democratic nominee. As well as some good plans, and he does extremely well with the media, at least so far. It would also be really cool if we could have a black president. And have some diversity within the presidency.
But my dad loves Richardson. So I guess he might be someone to watch out for in the upincoming year or so. Since he supposedly has a lot of good plans, as well as a lot of experience.
Many people (including myself) worry about Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience. Of all the duties a president has, the one over which they have the most power is foreign policy and it is thus very important. I am frustrated over this election because I feel that I have major disagreements or problems with every candidate. However, of the Republicans my favorite is Fred Thompson, even though I fear that he might continue hard-line foreign policy. For example I disagree with him when he says that we should strengthen the embargo of Cuba. Of the democrats I would have to say that Joe Biden is my favorite. He is experienced, not Hillary Clinton, and says too much.
I agree with Janessa. I had the incredible experience to meet Obama this summer. I got to talk with him, his wife Michelle, and I am in contact with one of his campaign supervisors. Meeting him in person and seeing what a truly outstanding person he is made me support him even more. After I talked with him, and he asked me about myself, he remembered my name after talking to about 50 other people. As he was leaving he said, good luck in college, Kerry! He is definitely a people person. I agree with his foreign policy plans, as well as his view on abortion.He is also moderate, and knows how to communicate with the public. Yes, his lack of experience can be a worry, but maybe our country should give him a chance to prove that experience doesn't necessarily mean everything. Look at his other characteristics and see!
It is understandable that you would admire the candidate you've met, and from what I’ve heard Obama is an awesome guy. I don't believe he’s all that moderate, but I have read that he is open minded and respects opposing opinions. Though I tend to be more conservative, I would probably prefer him over many of the Republican candidates. However, sometimes I have to back up and ask myself, "In what way has he proven himself"? The list is pretty small. Why don’t we give John Madden a chance and see what happens? We could justify electing anyone by that logic.
I do admire Obama for his charisma and his ability to be so open-minded and thoughtful of the media and the citizens. Watching him on the Daily Show last week was cool to see him step up on Comedy Central and to see him in a relaxed, comortable environment....But wait, he didn't act different in any way, shape, or form. That was a point-scorer for me; to see Obama act in a parallel fashion to his actions on the ol' campaign trail. It made me feel less like this was just like any ordinary political action, and that he wasn't there to win us over, whatever it takes. It assured me that he is actually in this thing not to win, but to ask the country to give HIS policy a shot, and see if HIS methods would work for the nation. In other words, I felt like I was being shown a true leader, not a political salesman... But is that what this country needs? What are some of your thoughts?
Wow! I am so proud of all of you who see Obama in such a positive light. My views might be a little tainted because I volunteer for his campaign. Obama is an anomaly among politicians who are tied in to special interest groups and PAC's.(Political Action Comittees).
He really has shown himself in countless ways, and as he said on the Daily Show, some of the people with the longest resumes are not people we want in office, ie Cheney and Rove. Which means we need a fresh start and that is Obama! Brief history of our next president: lived in Indeonesia for awhile, went to a school that absolutely was NOT a crazy islamic school so dont believe that lie! He came back to Hawaii where he spent his time until he came to the mainland. Attended Harvard and was the editor of the Harvard Law Review. He taught constitutional law at University of Chicago, became a public oganizer, working in the South Side of Chicago. Ran for state senate, won by a longshot, ran in 2004 for US senate, won after we had some problematic candidates, ie Alan Keyes, he got on the map when he spoke at the DNC in 2004, now running for president. ( This was a very brief overview and just offf the top of my head so if you want his full story go to barackobama.com). He has the right values and isn't afraid of going across the aisle for help.He is viewed by many Republicans as a great guy with good values and has his head on straight. I admire him greatly, and have participated in the "walk for Change" where I went door to door in Highlands Ranch to rally support for the Senator. SAturday morning at 9 at Manuel High School there will be a caucus convention training for all Obama supporters and volunteers in the Colorado area, and I will be there as well!
He has plans that are fairly in depth and should expand more over the coming months. He is a real guy, not staged like Hillary, has an amazing staff, and a wonderful family. I have shook hands with him twice and his wife once, heard him speak three times in person, and never miss him when he is on a tv show. Basically anything you want to know about Obama, just ask me. I can almost guarantee I will have the answer and I promise not to ramble on about him like I am right now!
Sorry for the novel of a comment!
And after I posted this, I realized I wasn't done. I argue constantly with my grandfather who is a huge Hillary fan, and I have to remind everyone that there is SO much negativity that goes along with her name she simply cannot get elected. Obama's message resonates particularly well with young people, who dont like the way our country is going; but even most republicans I have talked to also appreciate him and would not mind him being in office. I say Obama Edwards 08 and take Hillary out of the running right now! Obama is charismatic and real, and compared to the other candidates is living a very normal life. He has the most active volunteers I have seen thus far in the race and that support will only grow. Obama 08.
i agree with you brooks
i think obama made a smart move by "unbuttoning his collar" and relaxing a little bit. the candidates get so intense with eachother and are seen in such a specific light it is hard to think of them as real people.
as i said, i met obama and it made him real to me. but not everyone gets that opportunity. i believe that the government does need to try a new method... a new type of leader. a revolutionary leader that possibly will change politics forever. obama is a great example of that. he IS out of the ordinary. he IS lacking the experience that some see as a fall back. but i think it would be good for our country to experience that.
nathan- the way you are thinking about new politicians with limited experience isn't looked at in the same light as others see it. read brooks's comment. if a new type of politician comes in and becomes president, it would be healthy in some ways. obama has the desire to change the country, it's policy and it's attitude. i don't think it would be that big of a difference except the image of our country might be taken lighter... or more seriously for those who make fun of Bush and how dim-witted he is :)
as fifth hour talked about,(everyone else probably did too?) so many people have power in the government. if a president with resticted experience steps into office, the rest of the government that holds tons of power will still be there to help him with the decisions he makes.
All I have to say is that, for one their has already been a black president. His name is William Clinton. Secondly, there are two women running for president. Hilary Clinton and John Edwards.
Now Rudy is my guy. You cannot look at the New York city of old and what it is now without tipping your hat at that guy for cleaning that place up. yes his family values might be a little off, but still he is a great guy. I actually cought up with him down at bonnie brae ice cream. Down to earth, great italian man, he's got my vote as of right now.
First- the democractic jokes were very nice. Thanks for not making fun of Obama, I would have gone after you. I wish I could have seen Rudydown at Bonnie Brae, did he speak at all or just hang around quietly?
Sam- Could you possibly explain all the things he has done to make him a good choice for president? What do you think Giuliani should do about the bad press he is sure to receive if he continues in the race? He already has like three or four anti- rudy books that have been written about him. And what are your views on Fred Thompson?
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Rudy Giuliani is a terrible choice for president. He was in the right time at the right place September 11th. His entire campaign is based off of New York and 9-11. His policies on anything foreign or national is only a guess. Of course his ideas sound great- he is living in theories. Somehow we've forgotten he was running NYC into the ground before the attacks.
RUNNING NYC INTO THE GROUND?!?!?!?! Were you telling a joke when you said that because no one in their honest mind can look at New York before Giuliani era and after and not see a phenom. change
Ok samh4. You have to realize that some people have different opinons than you about Rudy Giuliani. And if you think that he did so well in NYC even before 9/11, give examples please of his awesome "phenom. change". I would really like to see your side of the arguement.
You can't just tell someone that their just dead wrong without providing evidence. That way a person can see where your coming from and the reason behind your decision to support Giuliani 100%.
Yes you might say that he "at the right place at the right time" to make himself look better during September 11th. But I have family members who have lived in NYC since the early eighties and the two things that they tell me, and what news sources to me is how much better 1. The overall quality of life is in NYC and 2. How much lower the crime right is. Both of those things are charged to Giuliani. forgive me if I had said that I was ever 100% behind him though, I'm not just to set the camera straight, there is still so much time before the election, I'm keeping my options open.
When I was in New York a while ago, the driver we were riding with told us that Giuliani had done a lot with getting homeless people out of parks and off the streets, and also with regulating street vendors, such as having them get a pass to vend on the streets. The way he talked about Giuliani placed him (Giuliani) in a very positive light. He even called him "Pope Giuliani" at one point. So he did have some positive impact on the quality of life in New York.
I don't know if this has been discussed yet but I feel that if Guliani were to receive the republican nomination he would easily win the election. He is the most popular politician in the country due to his connections with the aftermath of 9/11. I feel he will have a very tough time getting the republican vote, however, because southern voters may view him as being too far to the left, and also may not agree with some things in his personal life (mist mistresses, etc.). Due to the incredible leadership he showed after 9/11 rudy's got my vote.
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Just as a point of interest did anyone see what Biden said about Mr. Giuliani in the debate on Tuesday night? He said,
"And the irony is, Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency, is here talking about any of the people here. Rudy Giuliani... I mean, think about it! Rudy Giuliani. There's only three things he mentions in a sentence -- a noun, a verb, and 9/11. There's nothing else! There's nothing else! And I mean this sincerely. He's genuinely not qualified to be president."
I got a good laugh from this, and after reading what everyone else wrote about him, its easy to see not even the American public can mention Giuliani without talking about 9/11.
Giulina, needs to insert a picture of himself helping the fire fighters raise the flag in the rubble of 9/11. I can see the add (a deep masculine voice) "similar to the current president in foreign policy yet outright liberal in social issues...But someone has to be the face of 9/11, why not a bald guy"
I think romney would beat obama
so regarding huckabee... i've heard 2 things.
1. he's too religeous to get elected... he'll turn people off.
2. BECAUSE he's more religeous than others, he'll pull unlikely voters out of their homes and into the voting booths... this could exponentially help him.
I struggle with these two different opinions. What do you guys think?
Go Ron Paul!
I have a question to ask of you Obama supporters: why, specifically, do you support him? Charisma is not a policy. Being black is not a policy. What would he DO as president to make you support him?
There is no way that religious voters are unlikely. They have formed a dependable block since Ronald Reagan. We will see if they come again, but I don’t think anyone will be surprised if they do. However, the three branches of Reagan conservativism (social, military, economic) have shattered after W. I think the winner of the Republican nomination will have to grab at least two of the branches and I think McCain does that. While his primary focus is military, he has also vowed to veto all earmarks, which is very appealing to economic conservatives. Another thing about Huckabee is that the non-religious vote has special animosity for the religious vote after W.
I saw Ron Paul in the South Carolina debate. He is awesome. Hikingout brings up an excellent point about Obama. However, remember that the president is only the tip of the governmental iceberg we see, the figurehead. The government doesn’t magically change because of one person. Because of this, among the largest of distinctions between two candidates are the ability to lead, the ability to unite, and the ability to listen to criticism and opposing view points. Hillary might lead (conceivably) but is extremely polarizing and continuously infuriates me with phrases like “republicans who have seen the light” and “some of us are wrong and some of us are right”. This attitude is reminiscent of W. I am sick and tired of the Clintons. They had their chance to run the country (yes I know Hillary wasn’t president, but she still received a lot of responsibility and authority from her husband). Why weren’t all these economic “problems” solved then. They balanced the budget, but raided the social security fund to do it, which will cause huge budget problems down the line. Any problem they claim (yes, including overstretching the military) was already in the palm of their hand (and don’t forget about that Iraq vote or the fact that Osama was captured and released). You can say that the president doesn’t control that much and that is why many of the problems Hillary is running on, including Health Care, were not solved then. That’ true, so let’s go with Obama while the Clinton’s fulfill their civic duty elsewhere. I believe he could unite America much better. My favorite candidate is McCain. Next is Mitt Romney, and then Obama.
P.S.
There is one reason that Hillary is a viable candidate right now and that reason is Bill. That is why I am forced to discuss them as a pair.
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