What were the top issues in the 2008 presidential election?

[Astronuc]

I don't think that the real republican "run" has even started yet. They are waiting for the Democrats to spend a lot of money and flail each other to death with accusations.

They seem to be doing a good job of that.

I also don't believe that the real republican candidate has yet stepped forward. Whomever it turns out to be will not have had multiple wives and divorces.

Ah - family values.

 

[Astronuc]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070727/us_nm/usa_politics_democrats_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a flap that has shifted the Democratic 2008 presidential race to a more negative tone, Hillary Clinton is pitting her experience against Barack Obama's desire for fundamental change.

Neither side was backing down from a dispute that erupted at a debate on Monday and turned nastier as the week went on, wrapping up with bitter exchanges between top Clinton strategist Howard Wolfson and his Obama counterpart, David Axelrod.

Clinton considers the first-term senator from Illinois naive for saying he would be willing to meet leaders of hostile nations like Iran and Cuba, while Obama thinks Clinton is sticking to the foreign policy status quo of the much-criticized Bush administration.

It will be a long campaign season.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I thought that they both made good points in the debate, but they had better not get carried away. Edwards got a big response [yesterday or today] when he talked about focusing on the problems and not attacking the other candidates.

 

[Astronuc]

Aug. 11, 2007 - Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell Me
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35

Today's show was great - something about invertebrate congressional democrats.

Also - Not My Job: Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald
Former rock and roll bouncer (for the Rolling Stones) and current host of Animal Planet's, Emergency Vets: Interns, Kevin Fitzgerald plays our game called, "Now hold still while I inject this bovine steroid into your buttocks." Three questions about BALCO founder Victor Conte taken from the book Game of Shadows.

 

[Astronuc]

Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

 

[Astronuc]

Fred Thompson and Iowa's Great Bull
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1654125,00.html

He may not yet be an official candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, but after the day he spent at the Iowa State Fair Friday, Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson may as well be. Who else but a presidential wannabe, after all, would be escorted by the reigning Queen of Pork to see the fair's biggest bull, a 3,422-pound black bull named Lazar.

Like his rivals — Senator John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani — who skipped the Ames, Iowa straw poll for G.O.P. candidates last week, Thompson jetted into Des Moines and spent a couple of hours at the fair before heading off again. While pressing the flesh, he made sure to dismiss criticism that he has been waiting too long to enter the race. "I wasn't around when they made those rules and I'm not abiding by them," he said during a brief speech at the traditional fair soapbox. "We've got plenty of time."

Polls show Thompson placing second behind former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Ames straw poll winner. Ames, though, gave a bump to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is trying to claim the conservative mantle in the race — a title that Thompson was clearly aiming for in his soapbox speech when he proclaimed himself "strongly pro-life" and pro-gun rights.

. . . .

Two weeks ago - Waiting for Fred
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1647469,00.html

For those not paying close attention, and others simply in denial, it is worth taking a moment to review just how bleak life has become for members of the Grand Old Party. Last fall Republicans were swept from power in both houses of Congress. This summer the incumbent Republican President is setting standards for unpopularity not seen since the Nixon Watergate era. In recent weeks the campaign of the war-hero Senator who was once the party's presumptive nominee has all but collapsed in debt and blame. The latest financial reports show that the GOP's always reliable money advantage has vaporized, with Democratic candidates out-raising Republicans by more than $100 million for next year's federal elections. Adding a little salt to his party's wounds, Newt Gingrich, leader of a Republican revolution that seems but a misty memory, summed up the current field of would-be GOP Presidents as "pygmies."

Faced with this litany of despair, many Republican faithful, from the grass roots to the Capitol, have concluded that Fred Thompson, the preternaturally avuncular actor and former Senator from Tennessee, is the cure-all for their party's ills. Thompson has yet to enter the presidential race. He has, in fact, postponed until after Labor Day an official announcement that was supposed to be made in July. And yet Thompson already shares front-runner status with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in some national polls of GOP voters. "People are not inspired; everyone's flat-lining," says Ken Duberstein, former chief of staff for Ronald Reagan. "Right now, Fred is all things to all people. Everyone's waiting to see if he can live up to expectations."

With those expectations casting Thompson as Reagan reincarnate, it's easy to understand why he's staying out of the race for as long as he can. The next Republican debate takes place Aug. 5 in Des Moines, to be followed six days later by the Iowa straw poll in Ames, an expensive faux election that measures the muscle of a candidate's organization and the thickness of his wallet more than his actual appeal to caucus voters. Thompson advisers decided that the risk of underperforming at either of these high-profile events was too great--and outweighed any advantages that would be gained by launching the campaign over the summer. As one Thompson partisan noted, John McCain's spectacular fall from Establishment front runner to underfunded underdog proves how hard it is to sustain a lead, month after month, without faltering.

. . . .

 

[kach22i]

I think it will be Bill Richardson (D) verse Mitt Romney (R), the two governors.

Richardson lacks obvious flair but is a good experienced choice.
http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/home

Romney scares me, reminding me of a young Reagan but with religion overload.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

With his wife behind him, Kucinich may have a better chance than I thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0qQza8LGMg&mode=related&search=

 

[Astronuc]

Fred Thompson finally announced his candidacy on Jay Leno's show.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-09-05-1817708047_x.htm

Fred Thompson officially entered a wide-open Republican presidential race Thursday, vowing to invigorate a dispirited GOP and promising to thwart another Clinton from capturing the presidency.

. . . .

Thompson, 65, enters an extraordinarily fluid race four months before voting begins. While Giuliani leads in national polls, Romney maintains an edge in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Overall, Republican voters have expressed less satisfaction with their choices than Democrats, and Thompson, who ranks strongly in GOP surveys, is maneuvering to become the favorite of a GOP base that is searching for someone with right-flank bona fides who can win in a general election.

Can we move the election offshore? Some place like Krasnoyarsk maybe.

Meanwhile -

GOP Presidential Hopefuls Debate, Thompson Runs
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14204597

Fred Thompson Kicks Off Campaign in Iowa
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14218111

 

[Pre-AlgebraDude]

Fred Thompson could potentially be another Ronald Reagan...which would certainly be an improvement from what we've got now. I liked Ronald Reagan. He'd be better than any of the Democrats I'd wager...the very idea, Obama wanting to invade Pakistan...

 

[Astronuc]

Maureen Dowd challenged Steven Colbert to do a column in the NYTimes.

I Am an Op-Ed Columnist (And So Can You!)
By STEPHEN COLBERT

Surprised to see my byline here, aren’t you? I would be too, if I read The New York Times. But I don’t. So I’ll just have to take your word that this was published. Frankly, I prefer emoticons to the written word, and if you disagree :(

I’d like to thank Maureen Dowd for permitting/begging me to write her column today. As I type this, she’s watching from an overstuffed divan, petting her prize Abyssinian and sipping a Dirty Cosmotinijito. Which reminds me: Before I get started, I have to take care of one other bit of business:

Bad things are happening in countries you shouldn’t have to think about. It’s all George Bush’s fault, the vice president is Satan, and God is gay.

There. Now I’ve written Frank Rich’s column too.

So why I am writing Miss Dowd’s column today? Simple. Because I believe the 2008 election, unlike all previous elections, is important. And a lot of Americans feel confused about the current crop of presidential candidates.

For instance, Hillary Clinton. I can’t remember if I’m supposed to be scared of her so Democrats will think they should nominate her when she’s actually easy to beat, or if I’m supposed to be scared of her because she’s legitimately scary.

Or Rudy Giuliani. I can’t remember if I’m supposed to support him because he’s the one who can beat Hillary if she gets nominated, or if I’m supposed to support him because he’s legitimately scary.

And Fred Thompson. In my opinion “Law & Order” never sufficiently explained why the Manhattan D.A. had an accent like an Appalachian catfish wrestler.

Well, suddenly an option is looming on the horizon. And I don’t mean Al Gore (though he’s a world-class loomer). First of all, I don’t think Nobel Prizes should go to people I was seated next to at the Emmys. Second, winning the Nobel Prize does not automatically qualify you to be commander in chief. I think George Bush has proved definitively that to be president, you don’t need to care about science, literature or peace.

. . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/opinion/14dowd.html

 

[turbo]

Priceless!

 

[BobG]

I think it will be Bill Richardson (D) verse Mitt Romney (R), the two governors.

Richardson lacks obvious flair but is a good experienced choice.
http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/home

Romney scares me, reminding me of a young Reagan but with religion overload.

It's probably time to start making outrageous predictions.

I'm predicting Huckabee to defeat Clinton in November.

I don't have any idea how Huckabee's going to compete if has no money, even if he makes a strong showing in Iowa (which looks likely). Still, a choice between Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Thompson is leaving the GOP split and it's certainly possible for Huckabee to step right in if he somehow comes up with campaign money.

In a battle between Huckabee and Clinton, Clinton doesn't stand a chance. Huckabee's just too likeable, while Clinton's just too unlikeable. (Kind of ironic that Giuliani and Romney are both hoping Clinton's the Democratic nominee - she could beat both of them).

Even with Clinton's sudden supposed vulnerability, her campaign is just run too well for any of the other Democrats to really threaten her.

As to my own personal choice, that's probably kind of ironic, as well. I'd prefer McCain or Giuliani to Huckabee, but both would lose to Clinton. But, with a choice between Huckabee and Clinton, I might vote for Clinton.

 

[chemisttree]

And don't leave out Maureen's part! She paints wonderful pictures with prose, doesn't she? Oh, wait a minute... that was Colbert she was quoting!

I was in my office, writing a column on the injustice of relative marginal tax rates for hedge fund managers, when I saw Stephen Colbert on TV.

He was sneering that Times columns make good “kindling.” He was ranting that after you throw away the paper, “it takes over a hundred years for the lies to biodegrade.” He was observing, approvingly, that “Dick Cheney’s fondest pipe dream is driving a bulldozer into The New York Times while drinking crude oil out of Keith Olbermann’s skull.”

I called Colbert with a dare: if he thought it was so easy to be a Times Op-Ed pundit, he should try it. He came right over. In a moment of weakness, I had staged a coup d’moi. I just hope he leaves at some point. He’s typing and drinking and threatening to “shave Paul Krugman with a broken bottle.”

Perhaps I should rethink Colbert's presidential aspirations... Of course he might have a little problem with the ultra right wing vote regarding his stance on Olbermann.

 

[kach22i]

New life to an old thread.....UPDATE: 11/27/07


Zogby: Hillary Defeatable by 5 GOP Frontrunners
(11/26/2007)
- By: Newsmax Staff , NewsMax.com
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=16107

All five of the leading Republican presidential candidates — including John McCain — would beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head match-up, according to a surprising new poll from Zogby International.

............

And about Bill Richardson;

The Nation put it this way:
His numbers are dramatically up in other categories, as well, especially on measures of trust -- the New Mexican now leads Clinton in this category.

 

[turbo]

That's been evident to the GOP for some time. They keep portraying Clinton as the inevitable Democratic nominee because that's who they want to face. They have all the sincerity of Bre'r Rabbit pleading not to get thrown into the brier patch.

 

[WheelsRCool]

I would prefer Fred Thompson, but I don't think he has a chance of getting the nomination, or of beating Hillary if he did. I have a feeling that the Republican nomination will go to Giuliani. I like certain of his stances, but he is too much of a gun-grabber IMO.

Abortion I agree with him on, in that I don't like it, but I think it should ultimately be the woman's right to choose.

BTW, the Republican debate is tomorrow at 8 PM I believe on CNN for those who want to watch.

 

[BobG]

It's probably time to start making outrageous predictions.

I'm predicting Huckabee to defeat Clinton in November.

I don't have any idea how Huckabee's going to compete if has no money, even if he makes a strong showing in Iowa (which looks likely). Still, a choice between Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Thompson is leaving the GOP split and it's certainly possible for Huckabee to step right in if he somehow comes up with campaign money.

In a battle between Huckabee and Clinton, Clinton doesn't stand a chance. Huckabee's just too likeable, while Clinton's just too unlikeable. (Kind of ironic that Giuliani and Romney are both hoping Clinton's the Democratic nominee - she could beat both of them).

Even with Clinton's sudden supposed vulnerability, her campaign is just run too well for any of the other Democrats to really threaten her.

As to my own personal choice, that's probably kind of ironic, as well. I'd prefer McCain or Giuliani to Huckabee, but both would lose to Clinton. But, with a choice between Huckabee and Clinton, I might vote for Clinton.

Huckabee winning isn't looking quite so outrageous now. Surging to 2-1 lead over Romney (39% - 17%) in Iowa is shocking only because of the margin. The bigger news is that he's up to second in the national polls (Polling Report).

Win or lose the nomination, I think it's to the point that Huckabee sinks any chance Romney had of turning some early victories into momentum for the big primaries. Thompson had his moment and didn't have anything to say so he's going to slide on into oblivion. It's down to Huckabee, Giuliani, and McCain.

Obama looks like he might do well enough in Iowa to at least make it look like there's a Democratic race, but I still just don't see him really threatening the Clinton machine.

 

[Astronuc]

For those interested -

The Democratic presidential candidates on the stump
http://wordforword.publicradio.org/programs/2007/12/21/

Joe Biden in Portsmouth N.H. (11/27/07)
Hillary Clinton in Cedar Rapids Iowa (11/05/07)
Chris Dodd in Iowa City, Iowa (11/06/07)
John Edwards in Portsmouth, N.H. (10/30/07)
Mike Gravel in Bedford, N.H. (06/09/07)
Dennis Kucinich in Concord N.H. (11/27/07)
Barack Obama in Manchester, N.H. (12/09/07)
Bill Richardson at the Iowa State Fair (8/14/07)


The Republican presidential candidates on the stump
http://wordforword.publicradio.org/programs/2007/12/14/

Rudy Giuliani in Manchester, N.H. (11/5/07)
Mike Huckabee in Concord, N.H. (11/30/07)
John McCain in Concord, N.H. (7/13/07)
Ron Paul in Manchester, N.H. (9/29/07)
Mitt Romney at the Iowa State Fair (8/10/07)
Tom Tancredo in Somersworth, N.H. (3/10/07)
Fred Thompson at the Iowa State Fair (8/17/07)

 

[Astronuc]

Change?

Stirred, Not Shaken - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/opinion/06kinsley.html

By MICHAEL KINSLEY, Seattle

IF it’s a question of “experience” versus “change,” change will win every time. Hillary Clinton, of all people, should have known that. Doesn’t she remember 1992? That was when her husband made “change” his mantra and chanted it all the way to the White House. This year, Mrs. Clinton tried to suggest that Barack Obama does not have enough experience to be president. He hung her experience around her neck and chanted the change mantra himself.

An Obama presidency would, in fact, be a huge change in all sorts of obvious ways. Yet on the Republican side as well, there is talk of change. Of course it is trickier with a sitting Republican president. But that hasn’t stopped one of the candidates from seizing on the word and using it as the centerpiece of his campaign.

It’s not the candidate you would have guessed if you haven’t been listening to them: it’s Mitt Romney. Nothing better illustrates the mystical power of “change” in American politics, and its malleability, than its selection by the expensively engineered Romney machine, even though the word doesn’t seem to apply in any way to the man or his campaign.

It’s hard to say what Mr. Romney’s campaign is really about. He would clearly do or say anything or its opposite to become president. But, in general, he seems to be trying to make himself as conventional a Republican as possible, calling for tax cuts blah blah blah, supporting President Bush 100 percent on Iraq, shedding any aberrant views on abortion or gay rights that he may have picked up by accident in Massachusetts.

. . . .

So what "Change" do Americans want?

What "Change" does each candidate represent?

Or do we get status quo - "the more things change, the more they stay the same"?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

If Hillary is elected in November, that would mean that two US presidents had sex together. Now that's a first. This hubby/wife thing didn't seem all that strange until I thought about it that way!

 

[denverdoc]

Ivam,

Now how do we lnow this is a first?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well, everyone including ex-presidents have been screwed by Bush!