John Edwards...

Exactly, Dan, couldn't have said it any better.

Zeni - he is not a good presidential candidate for the Dems. Two of his favorite things to do are bash the other candidates and talk about what a great guy Bush is. We can't afford another Dukakis.

I heard Edwards was 50 the other day..certainly doesn't look it. He's gonna campaign big time down here I bet. We are getting inundated with commercials showing the house he grew up in in S.C. and him talkin' about the "2 Americas." Our election is Feb. 3rd.. I better decide who I'm votin' for pretty quick. The main thing I will be focusing on is who can get that moron Bush out of the White House.

Fairly certain that in Iowa, Edwards did not bash the other contenders nor praise Bush.

Also, are Democrats looking for a candidate that opposed the war from the beginning (Dean), supported the war from the beginning (Lieberman), or flipped positions (The Rest of the Field)? Or is it fair to actually consider other problems facing America when settling on a candidate?

The battle ground is going to be for the middle of the road, so in that respects, Edwards may not be a poor candidate. You can bet that if Dean is selected, then Bush will try to be a centrist President and label Dean as a left-wing nut. Middle of the road worked for Clinton, might work for Edwards.

And no, I do not advocate Dean or Edwards. As an actual voter, I have yet to decide who I will support, but I'm not leaning in either of those two directions.

Doesn't really matter who the Democratic nominee is HERE anyway.. A Democrat will never get S.C.'s 6 little electorial votes in the election, thus making my vote not worth squat. :-/

Watching Edwards at the debate where Sharpton went nuts on Dean, I wanted to leap through the screen and slap him. He seems like a nice enough guy, but he can't debate.

Maybe a left-wing nut is exactly what the Democrats need. Clinton had a big advantage over any one of these guys, and that's that Bush I botched his war. I have to admit that Bush II could have handled things worse (not that we ever should have been in a war in the first place), and it certainly hasn't lost him a lot of support. We cannot win this election with Dukakis No. 2. If by some miracle Edwards wins the nomination, he will have the entire Republican party pointing the bleeding-heart liberal finger at him, regardless of whether he is one or not. They did it to Dukakis, and it worked. Oh my, did it ever work.

Edwards is not a bleeding-heart liberal. I am a bleeding-heart liberal. Maybe a far left-winger is what we need. They can't use that weapon against him...because the entire country will have one reaction: "No shit."

Hey Barry, i hear you man, its just hard getting heard through all these Yanks, Jonathan a very religeous man, from Gateshead, gold medal winner and world record holder.

This country is not litigous enough. We need an ambulance chaser running the country who gets the majority of his election funding from fellow lawyer cronies.

What about Liberman. He's a bit of whiner and worries too much about the moral fabric of this country, but at least he is mainsteam on most issues.

Looks like the presidentional choice will be between:

Lazy, unproductive, inefficient, anti-competitive, protectionist mob-controlled UNIONs.

versus

Money-grubbing, embezzling big-business

Without a moderate candidate, I will be forced to chose Bush because efficient productive criminals are better for the economy than unproductive, inefficient criminal leeches.

Mandy, how much of a left-winger are you?

Would you mind if I send you a Che Guevara shirt for your birthday?

i dont recall him bashing bush either
or his counterparts- he is credited with not going negative in Iowa--
unless that changed in the last few hours...

zeni i was only responding to geeks opinion-

to yours for me there is nothing wrong with middle of the road--thats the road clinton walked many a time--
and it is likely the only way a democrat will be elected

at this point i am not happy with any of the choices-- not democrat nor republican

perhaps a write in should be started for me!!!

Face it, IE, you were levelling a highly personal attack on my political leanings. That's the only possible excuse, as I never misread or misinterpret anyone's post. :)

As for the belief that Dems need a bleeding-heart liberal, that's a cliche that only works in an ideal world. The elder Bush lost to Clinton not because he botched his war, but because the economy went into the crapper. International issues rarely elect Presidents, and this year will be no different. When it comes to November, I think people will worry about Health care and medical costs, tax relief, and the economy more than Iraq. God knows I will.

:)

"When it comes to November, I think people will worry about Health care and medical costs, tax relief, and the economy more than Iraq. God knows I will."

In that case, I have something for you:

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/cg/index.html?type=page&pagename=policy_statement_health

dude you guys- saying "maybe the middle of the road is the best way to go" is like saying "ok- I give up on issues. we're gonna loose anyway" now, I'm not saying that negativity is bad, as I am a very negative person. however- electing someone like Liberman or Edwards is like loosing- except then I win a bet that I have with my mom.(but thats only if Lieberman wins)(long story) In the long run, tho- most people, wait EVERYONE looses. cos democrats dont have a candidate that they really support, and republicans don't like democrats. it's a loose loose situation. and then when comes time for reelection, democrats will be forced to support them for the next term, cos being the current president he has the best chance of winning. therefore- we'll all pretty much be screwed for 8 years.

My point- vote Dean.

Exactly, Margo.

We can't all be Republicans. Diversity makes the world go 'round.

Oh to be young and idealistic. I forgot how futile it can be to discuss liberal ideology with youth.

As much as I would have agreed with you all years ago, I have discovered that not everyone can live in an ideal world. If you lean too far to the Left, then that leaves the center open for the Right to claim. Keep in mind that the majority of people are centrist by nature and do not want to upset the status quo. Democrats, in order to survive especially as their party decreases in numbers, need to embrace the middle more than they do, and it's not that hard (exhibit one - Bill Clinton).

As for Dean's ideas for Health Care, I suggest you also peruse Clark's, Kerry's, and Edwards' policies and you'll notice they are not that different. As a matter of fact, I doubt there is a Democrat that opposes univerisal health care to some extent.

And finally, Margo without the T, I really don't follow your argument one bit, particularly the "lose-lose" argument. Care to try that again?