2008 DNC Primary Canidates

We are still five months before the first Presidential Primary. I am a proud Democrat so, I will focus on the candidates of my party first and then look at the other side next. In reality by the time of the Illinois primary, the winner of the nomination should be pretty much in the bag. But still, I will give my two minute opinions of the field of the main candidates in no order other then alphabetical.

Joe Biden, Senator from Delaware – On the surface there is a lot to like about Biden. For the most part I agree with what he has to say. However, he may never get over his 1988 campaign blunder where he plagiarized a speech. It has been twenty years but something tells me if he where to win the nomination (a tall order) the Republicans would be all over that long forgotten story. All in all he has been a Washington insider forever as he has been in the senate since 1973. This could be a plus or negative depending on how you view it. Overall, I don’t think he is delectable in a general election.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York – If there is a more polarizing candidate in this election I would like to know who that is. Her biggest weakness from what I can tell is that for the most part women don’t like her. Which if she is going to win she is going to need to get a big boost from the female vote. Still, her husband is very popular and many would vote for her as a vote in support of her husband. Then again, she is always going to be looked at as a carpet bagger (which she is) and you know the O’ Reilly’s and Hanitay’s are just praying she wins the nomination as they would have a field day with her. She is leading the polls. I am not sure she could pull off a victory in November 2008. A lot would depend on her running mate.

Christopher Dodd, Senator from Connecticut – Dodd has two big hurdles that I see. One is name recognition. Really does anyone outside of the Northeast even know his name? Second, he was divorced in the early 80’s and lived kind of a wild lifestyle when he became single again. That past could hurt him. In reality Dodd has no shot and I don’t see him getting past Iowa. He is pretty liberal which I like, but there is no way he gets the nomination.

John Edwards, Former Senator from South Carolina – I actually like Edwards. Sure, he is a politician, but they all are. Edwards has a lot of things going for him. He has a message that resonates. He is from the South which any Democrat who plans on winning is going to need to win at least one or two southern states. He is not a life long politician. He served only one six year term in the Senate. His lack of experience could also be a weakness which would get exploited by the right. Also, his unsuccessful run with Kerry in 2004 may paint him in a bad light. Still, I like Edwards a lot and he would get my vote as of right now. I think he is the Democrat’s best chance in a general election. He is a master debater and from what I have seen has the balls to stand up to the barrage of bile that is going to come his way.

Mike Gravel, Former Senator from Alaska – Who is this guy you say? Mike Gravel was a US Senator in 1981. That was 26 years ago. Since then he has bounced around doing some Real Estate work and was a stockbroker. Gravel’s candidacy is a bit of a joke. He favors abolishing the IRS among other things. Gravel seems like a nice enough guy as I recently saw him on Bill Mahr’s show. Still, at less then 1% in the polls he won’t last long in this election.

Dennis Kucinich, Congressman from Ohio – I am big fan of this guy’s. He is one of the very few politicians who was against the war from the beginning. He was one of the few who had the balls to speak out against it from the start. He is very liberal and is not a politician, in that he will state his opinion popular or not. That is what is going to hurt him. His lack of political savvy is his undoing. He has very little name recognition, and is looked at as unelectable. I like the guy, I really do and he makes sense when he talks, but there is no chance of him pulling off what would be a major upset.

Barack Obama, Senator from Illinois – It is rare that a politician gets me as excited as Obama got me in 2004. I saw him on a debate for the Democratic nomination for the senate seat in early 04 and was impressed from the start. I must say though lately he has kind of disappointed me. He has become sort of scripted now. He has not shown in my opinion the necessary backbone that great leaders need. I agree with almost everything he stands for, but he has made some mistakes and is showing his in-experience. I just don’t think it is his time. Maybe in 2012 or 2016. Hopefully, he learns from his mistakes this go round and becomes the candidate I think he can become.

Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico – Richardson is a joke. Plain and simple this guy is clueless. I thank god he is in the election because he has provided a lot of comedic moments. He has shown he is extremely un-informed and naive on various topics. He has no chance, thank god of securing the nomination.