Why hasn't Bob Graham taken off soaring in the polls?

[Loyal]

He was against the war in Iraq, although that fact seems to get lost sometimes, and he is a fiscal conservative. He ran Florida great, and created so many jobs there. He's a solid progressive Democrat, so what gives? Is he too old? Is he too experienced? Not enough charisma? Help me out folks.

[thebigidea]

1. hmmm

"He was against the war in Iraq, although that fact seems to get lost sometimes,"

he voted against it because he thought it wasn't STRONG ENOUGH. He wanted to go after Syria and Iran too, or somesuch.

"Not enough charisma?"

that and a lackluster campaign. Are they even trying?

[Loyal]

10. I think that's incorrect

He didn't want to go after Syria and Iran, too. He didn't want to go after Iraq at all.

[thebigidea]

17. his proposed ammendment to the war resolution thingie

expanded (in addition to, not INSTEAD OF) Bush's powers to go after 5 groups. Hmmm, I wonder what country Hezbollah is in...

[madfloridian]

12. Not true.

That is just not true. He thought we should go after the "terrorists" not the nations. I know that is correct, I have verified it.

He is a good man. I hope he keeps his senate seat.

I agree, his campaign folks are lacking. I have told them so a couple of times.

[Judi Lynn]

21. He's so valuable as a Senator

Democrats really need him in the Senate, along with his seniority, and committee positioning.

[eileen_d]

2. I have the same question

I saw a clip of him in the debate, and he looked just fine to me. Plus the lack of the IWR vote is a plus for many people. But I admit I know next to nothing about him, mostly because he doesn't have "the buzz" that other candidates have. And I wonder why.

[Zuni]

3. He hasn't really distinguished himself

There is nothing about his campaign or his views that really make him stick out of the bunch.

[bahrbearian]

4. Can't tell you ... Beat's Me

Same with Dennis....They were the most vocal of the Dem's Yet.. I guess the Majoraity Still think the War was Justified.

[gully]

5. Because his stand against Iraq was perhaps a bit iffy..

* Reason for voting no: said the resolution should have authorized force against terrorist groups as well: "This resolution is too timid. … War abroad will, without assertive security action, increase the prospects of terrorist attacks here at home."

http://globalstewards.org/democrats.htm

This site may help you in your search for a candidate ;)

I like Bob Graham, I think his 'this resolution is too timid' meme was using the Repuke thought process against itself KWIM, an some people didn't 'get it.'

:shrug:

He may be VP for someone however, as he is a great Candidate and has elluded much of the fray.

[Girlfriday]

9. Thanks for the link Gully

John Kerry stacks up pretty well in his Dem quotient. i just wish he was a little less stiff.

I think people perceive Graham as just too old.

[Cheswick2.0]

6. I think Bob Graham is a very good man

I voted for him when I lived in Florida. I just think the people are not responding to him for whatever reason. It is the same with Edwards. They are both good men who would be a vast improvement over bush, but people are angry and they are responding to candidates who feed that, or validate it.

[Must_B_Free]

7. it's because Bob Barr has ruined the name Bob

.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

22. So I guess the Clark Barrs are fucked, too.

:shrug:

[Cha]

30. LOL!

[LittleApple81]

8. Sorry, he is excellent, smart, and apparently honest but

He is not "telegenic." His energy does not come across as it should. I wish it would. He seems to have what it takes to be an excellent president. Right now I am ABB and I like the majority of our candidates. I wish we could make up our mind as a country and not with primaries.

[ewagner]

11. Agree and add

He's just not exciting! But that's his style. He's a workhorse, not a flashy thoroughbred.

Sad. He's a man of integrity who richly deseerves to be President, but lacks the flash and fire necessary to capture the public attention.

On the up-side? Thomas Jefferson once said that by the time a man does all that is necessary to attain public office, he is no longer worthy of it. Bob Graham is still worthy of it.

[RandomUser]

13. I think so too

From what I've heard for him, he's really popular in FL and would definitely win us the state. But he doesn't have a flashy campaign, isn't telegenic, and hasn't attracted buzz by distinguishing himself from the pack. I like most of his positions with the my only qualm being that he helped draft the patriot act. In all honesty, I'm quite taken with his twin idiosyncracies of keeping a diary of whoever talks to him and working a regular man's job peroidically. I wish some of our other candidates had those two habits.

As thing stand, I think he'll run out of money soon and will need to drop.

[seafan]

15. Yes, Graham is very worthy of the office of President.

He is as complete a package for turning this country around that a person could hope for. Voted against Iraq Resolution because "it was the wrong war at the wrong time." He tried to convince his colleagues that stampeding into Iraq would take our eyes off of the true terror threat posed by specific terrorist groups (that Iraq had nothing to do with)...... He was right.

He created 1.4 million jobs in Florida when he was Guv, increased minority-owned businesses, increased teacher salaries and protected our Everglades. He has never lost an election. People love him in Florida. There's no other way to describe it. He took care of his state.

He has the deep desire to make things right for everyone in this country, and this is why he said publicly last autumn for the first time that he felt he MUST enter the race for President. He was outraged by what Bush has done and continues to do to our country and in foreign policy. And Graham is working his rear off to get his message out.


Why has he not had the media attention that a couple of the other candidates have lavished upon them... here are a few reasons, as I see it:

1. He started his campaign just 4 months ago.

2. He had heart surgery to replace a faulty heart valve in January, and many people are still not aware that his doctors told him in April that he is now healthier than he was even in the 10 years leading up to the surgery. Looking at the heavy schedule he has with Senate duties AND a campaign, you'd never guess all of this happened just 9 months ago. His health is no longer a question, but this issue still won't rest with some.

3. He is a low-key politician who is not into grabbing the spotlight and a microphone. He just quietly churns out solid results instead, and has since 1966, as a state Rep and Senator, Governor, and U. S. Senator.

4. He does not like to hurl personal attacks against his opponents. That is why he gets little attention from the TV media, because they dearly love to buzz around the latest blood-letting between two or three of the other candidates. Let's face it, blood and invective draws a crowd. And it also drowns out any other candidate's message, who is trying to focus on the issues. The media will nearly always prefer a fistfight rather than looking at the issues. The media are rubberneckers, what else can one say?

5. The most troubling aspect of why Senator Graham's campaign is virtually ignored is that a dishearteningly large number of folks want a candidate with a slicked-back, glossy presentation for the media, many times at the expense of substance or experience for the job of President. The problem is US, and what shiny bauble catches our eye at the moment. I think many of us are into revenge against Bush now, and it is totally human to feel that way. But revenge has a way of exhausting energy and blinding our eyes to what is right in front of us. It's Senator Graham. Quiet, courageous, sincere, honest as they come, and qualified for this job in ways that the others cannot match.


There are a good number of us out here who are behind Senator Graham all the way. I deeply hope that people will take a second look at his candidacy.

[ewagner]

25. Very well said,

I think the good Senator would probably blush over such a tribute even though it is well deserved.

[KoKo]

14. I like him alot..and have "puzzled" over this......I think it's Charisma..

He lacks a certain "spark" between the voter and candidate that our most electable Presidents have had.

It's some "undefined thing" where ordinary voters can see "Something" in a candidate which they identify with......Graham...for some reason doesn't have that "IT." Bush didn't have that "IT" for me! So, why is Graham not as Charismatic as Bush......I don't exactly know......Money......Frat Boy Charm......

Bush is the kind of guy many of us would have "laughed at" but found funny.....and he would have been the one you wanted to invite to your High School Party because EVERYONE would come....but IN THE END.....they would come because they needed something from him or they would come to see him make a fool of himself......

Bush was "Crazy, George of the Jungle" in my book! Or, the way I would have viewed him in High School.

Crazy George....invite him because he will make a "spectacle of himself" but he's sort of pitiful.....and so let's be "good guys" and invite him.......:shrug:

[jiacinto]

16. For whatever reason it's just not working out

I think the field is so large and he just isn't making an impression with the voters.

[Upfront]

18. Late Start

Lack of charisma and appears to lack energy. I think he is a great man and would like to see him serve as Dean's VP. He would be an excellent President.

[are_we_united_yet]

19. I think he is a decent guy as well

I'm not sure why he hasn't appealed to more people.

[LuCifer]

20. couple reasons

1) FloriDUH is regarded as a TOTAL and UTTER JOKE since the 2000 Election FIX, where everyone was instructed to hate this state cuz don'tcha know, we am be all stooooopid old people who can't finger out how to vote right. Some LIBERAL MEDIA, no?

2) Bob Graham isn't exactly, what's the word(s) I'm after...good looking, for lack of a better description. Matter over mind baby.

3) The "liberal media" FEARS Graham since he KNOWS DAMN WELL what went wrong on 9/11. Only he can't tell, cuz that stuff is classified.

That's my 50 cent (2 cents adjusted for stagflation...thanks Dumbya)
Lu Cifer, happy Equinox to Satanists, Native Americans/Aboriginals, Pagans, etc. EVERYWHERE!!!! SHEMHAMFORASH!!!!!!!!

[MGKrebs]

23. No money.

George W. Bush (R) $35,109,600
John Kerry (D) $16,028,266
John Edwards (D) $11,936,277
Howard Dean (D) $10,547,980
Dick Gephardt (D) $9,750,802
Joe Lieberman (D) $8,151,575
Lyndon H. Larouche Jr (D) $4,755,882
Bob Graham (D) $3,136,326
Dennis Kucinich (D) $1,738,953
Carol Moseley Braun (D) $217,109
Al Sharpton (D) $184,415

Now if you were to ask why he doesn't have any money, I would speculate that he hasn't really built a campaign to win. I think he is in the race for other reasons. Noble reasons, but not to win.

[MGKrebs]

26. BTW, here are the "cash on hand" numbers:

This is from last quarter, new numbers due out in a few days:

George W. Bush (R)$32,679,798
John Kerry (D)$10,927,807
John Edwards (D)$8,118,998
Howard Dean (D)$6,403,871
Dick Gephardt (D)$6,252,571
Joe Lieberman (D)$4,044,865
Bob Graham (D)$1,787,850
Dennis Kucinich (D)$1,081,491
Lyndon H. Larouche Jr (D)$94,373
Carol Moseley Braun (D)$22,127
Al Sharpton (D)$12,061

[spooky3]

24. are people tired/wary of candidates from the South?

Is there something about a drawl that worries Dems, after 3 years of * (and perhaps thinking it's time for a change from Clinton as well)? Are people concerned that the party has pandered too much to the more conservative Southern voters? Do they feel it is time for a change and prefer a more northern/eastern/midwestern candidate (Kerry, Lieberman, Dean, Gephardt?). Edwards has also had trouble getting the attention he probably deserves.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

27. I Forgot

Things were dreadful under Clinton......

[KoKo]

29. No.....obviously Wes Clark is from Arkansas..Southern Accent..They LOVE

candidates from the South.......!

[Deja Q]

28. I love the sig line!

I dunno why some candidates are being ignored while others are given every second of the day. Moore proof how biased, unfair, self-serving, and anti-american the media is. :-(

[Rowdyboy]

31. I love Bob...Wish this wasn't happening...

n/t

[Imajika]

32. No charisma, not exciting

I like Graham quite a lot. Actually, he is one of my favorite candidates. But I just don't think he is charismatic enough. He is not exciting to listen to and doesn't have a speaking style that motivates people to do much more than say "yeah, I like this guy". A successful presidential candidate neads to create energy and motivate volunteers to get active in pushing a candidacy. He just doesn't have that sort of charisma.

Graham had a little buzz going on earlier in the year when he was charging that the Bush administration was involved in a cover-up over 9-11. When no cover-up that the media could sink their teeth into emerged (at least so far), the Senator sort of flamed out.

Being from Florida, one would think Graham would make an ideal running mate, but I am beginning to wonder if his poor performance to date running for President might diminish even a shot at a VP slot.

It is early yet, still time for all of the candidates to make a move, but it ain't looking good for Graham so far.

Imajika