Gonna be interesting that the VP is not going to be a factor.

I thought that a evil/clever plan would've had Cheney "retire" (heart issues) well before Bush's term was up and replace him with a viable '08 contender.

Part of me still thinks this (The Medicare Drug Plan, Iraq, all the Pork) is part of a grand scheme by Rove and Norquist to bankrupt the Fed Gov. Katrina was just a lucky coincidence for them.

Nobody could be that devious/stupid could they??

I really really want to like Obama. Dude seems ridiculously bright and honest. He communicates very well, when his remarks are prepared. However, whenever he gets the chance to answer a direct yes/no question, he can't do it. He waffles and talks around the question. Just say "Yes, I believe that," or "No, I disagree." It's infuriating.

Isn't that true for every politician?

That's an interesting observation, and you are probably exposed to him more than I am down here.

I think he may be blossom into one of the great ones, because I do not sense what you say AT ALL. And it may just be in his ability to make his prepared remarks seem extemporaneous (sp?). I saw him on Russert and it seemed like they were having a conversation...unlike most people who either cannot comprehend or just do not even consider the questions(I'm look at you Nasty Nancy P)

so he's ready to be president?

I don't think Obama is naive enough to jump into this thing now. He's gotta be taking the longview and biding his time. He should. I think he's swell.

And I can't understand how anybody could discuss Hillary as a contender with a straight face. I like her, but so many people really, really hate her - probably because of the vagina.

Unless some dems are thinking that it would be a super polarizing thing and would rile people to the polls. Sounds crazy to me.

Plain and Simple: no one can raise as much MONEY as she can, and that's why she's the frontrunner

I wish presidential candidates were forced to run only on public financing. It would make elections a lot more interesting because they'd be forced to run on ideas rather than how much money they can throw into advertising.

it's not her vagina.
some people hate her because they hated Bill. People like me don't like her because every time she opens her mouth something stupid and akward is coming out. And loudly.

By the way, Biden's cool. I'd vote for him.

The Bill thing is valid, but I know quite a few people who dislike her simply because she would fall under their idea of a "bitchy" woman.

Looks like I'm going to have to throw away my vote again this year and vote Libertarian. None of the supposed candidates get my nethers excited.

I know quite a few Republicans who are serious about Condoleezza Rice running for president. It sounds crazy, but she's doing unusually well in the polls.

So Hillary can't win because she's a woman, Obama can't win because he's black. But a black woman could be nominated for the Republican party and stand a chance? Ain't gonna happen.

two negatives make a positive

So the concensus at this point is "who the fuck knows?"

we have something very much like this in canada. i dont know the rules around campaign financing well, so i cant say if its totally publicly funded, but you get around $1.50 or so per vote. it works quite well.

Not her vagina specifically, just vaginas in general. Have you seen one of those things? Ewww! Looks like an Arby's roast beef sandwich.

*wanders into traffic.*

OF COURSE ITS OVER 1000 DAYS AWAY.

Oh, and Condi can't win, cos that bitch gap-toothed.

Also, apparently an open secret in Washington is the fact that she suffers from THE MASSIVE DUMB

I have heard the opposite from folks who worked with her at Stanford. Smart, but untrustworthy and unpleasant.

I think it's pretty clear that we will have a conservative woman/minority/jewish president before we have a liberal one. The self loathing somehow negates the bigotry, softens up the electorate. (Some people hear vote for me, I'm a woman, and the rest of 'em get vote for me, I hate women and think they should be controlled!)

I'd vote for Hill if the Dems ran her, but I don't think they should or will.

but she can talk and sound inteligent in front of a camera, which i can't say about her boss.

Actually that would be Hillary.

So on this board there is the usual "not that bitch" reponse. She is not liberal in any sense. As far as policy positions she is mostly a centrist, on most issues her position would be comfortable to New England Republicans circa 1964. So what is the anger? (and every anger masks a fear... so what is the fear?)

It is a complex question, and something that is looks pretty deeply into the American psyche... I suppose she is a "bitch" by definition because she is a woman (although in my mind Cheney is usually "bitchy").

But tell me in words with specific meanings, why is she a "bitch." Why is she such a disgusting pariah to so many. I maintain it is something reflective of a universal misogynistic castration fear... she is a woman who will not play "girl" (i.e. Ann Richards, Olympia Snowe, even Rice) to any man, has no need to. This strength also does come across as rigidity and lack of humor, I'll grant that. But men with these qualities are not hated for them.

In any case, my prediction is that it will be Hilllary and Obama vs. Romney and Rice. I predict it will be President Romney.

hell, i've been painting hillary for prez signs for the past 6 months.
obama--the most exciting articulate politician in a long time.

and someone tell biden it's over.

Actually that would be Hillary.

So on this board there is the usual "not that bitch" reponse. She is not liberal in any sense. As far as policy positions she is mostly a centrist, on most issues her position would be comfortable to New England Republicans circa 1964. So what is the anger? (and every anger masks a fear... so what is the fear?)

It is a complex question, and something that is looks pretty deeply into the American psyche... I suppose she is a "bitch" by definition because she is a woman (although in my mind Cheney is usually "bitchy").

But tell me in words with specific meanings, why is she a "bitch." Why is she such a disgusting pariah to so many. I maintain it is something reflective of a universal misogynistic castration fear... she is a woman who will not play "girl" (i.e. Ann Richards, Olympia Snowe, even Rice) to any man, has no need to. This strength also does come across as rigidity and lack of humor, I'll grant that. But men with these qualities are not hated for them.

In any case, my prediction is that it will be Hilllary and Obama vs. Romney and Rice. I predict it will be President Romney.[/quote

Don't care about your knee jerk reaction that anyone who opposes her is a mysogynist.

My response: THAT BITCH CAN'T WIN. Not where I live and MAKE MY LIVING PRACTICING THE THINGS YOU PEOPLE WISH YOU COULD PREACH.

Here's the real reason this party is going the way of the dodo bird:
Warner may have glimpsed a piece of his future when he attended a dinner of wealthy Democrats last summer at the Bay Area home of Mark Buell and his wife, Susie Tompkins Buell, well-connected contributors and close friends of the Clintons. Warner made some introductory comments about "the Virginia story," but the first several questions were not about taxes or schools or health care, but about gay marriage (which he's against), the death penalty (which he's for) and abortion (he's in favor of parental notification but vetoed a bill banning all late-term abortions). Warner thought his liberal guests would be interested in his policies to improve Virginia schools and raise the standard of living in rural areas; instead, it seemed to him, they thought that they understood poverty and race in an intellectual way that he, as a red-state governor, could not. Like a lot of politicians, Warner can be snappish when he feels he isn't being heard, and the dialogue quickly grew testy.

At the end of the evening, according to people who were there, as some of the guests walked Warner to his car, one woman vowed to educate him on abortion rights. That was all he could take. "This is why America hates Democrats," a frustrated Warner blurted out before driving away. (Still piqued a month later, Warner, speaking to The Los Angeles Times, summarized the attitude of the assembled guests about their plans to save the country: "You little Virginia Democrat, how can you understand the great opportunities we have?")