I think Gore may be the only person who can beat Hillary

[Quixote1818]

I am a Wes Clark supporter but my fear is that Hillary is too high profile to be stooped. Of course anything can happen once the debates start and things can shift very quickly so I certainly plan on working for Clark again if he runs but my feeling is that Gore is the only person who is high profile enough to end Hillary's bid. So, I hope Gore runs because right now I am not very impressed with Hillary who I think is closer to the person who worked for Barry Goldwater than the "liberal" democrat she claims to be and I don't think she could beat John McCain. Gore on the other hand would wipe the floor with McCain in a debate and a Gore/Clark ticket would be awesome! I think Gore is extremely smart and full of great ideas. He would have my full support and then some if he got the nomination. My bet is that he would pick Hillary as his VP choice though.

My fear is that after the Dems take congress and the senate the American people will want to keep the branches of government run by two different parties and elect a Republican president to keep the balance of power more balanced. The American people will not soon forget how screwed up things were when just one party ran everything.

[ShortnFiery]

1. Other than here, I don't know ONE PERSON who will vote for her. n/t

[Warpy]

3. No, she's the one candidate that will most easily be defeated.

She inspires a visceral reaction in a lot of people, most of it undeserved, and now she's doing enough pandering to right wing assholes to turn off much of her support within party rank and file.

We don't need another Eisenhower Repuglican in office. Sorry, Hillary, stay in the Senate.

[goddess40]

23. You're right - we are letting the rep's dictate who our canidate is

again - we let them do it with Kerry and we are letting them do it with Hillary.

[Quixote1818]

5. She wins all the polls easily though. Mostly name recognition.

When put up against the last group of Democratic candidates she was 40 points ahead of everyone.

[debbierlus]

8. It is pure name recognition. Most people can't name their own Senator

Or, Congressman/woman

I think her name recognition will HURT her. Many people (including dems) loathe this woman.

[Clark2008]

18. Pssst... This time last election cycle, Joe Lieberman won

all the polls in the lead-up to 2004.

I'm guessing what people say two years out isn't of much relevance.

Keep up all your hard work for Wes in 2004 (he has a much better chance of beating the Republican nominee than most all the other candidates being named). He's doing his fair share on the rubber-chicken circuit and is becoming very well-known among people who actually vote in Democratic primaries.

The voters who the media interviews for these polls are "likely" voters, not CERTAIN Dem primary voters. CERTAIN Dem primary voters actually GO to those rubber chicken dinners and spend time on boards like these, where Wes's approvals are MUCH higher than Hillary's.

:hi:

[Quixote1818]

19. Thats true. Clark could surprise!

I also think Clark will be MUCH more prepared to run this time. He wont make the same mistakes again. He is too smart not to have learned from his first run. Clark is one of the heavy hitters as well, plus I think he will be FULLY accepted as a Democrat this time. All his work with helping out Democratic candidates and his PAC will end ANY DOUBT he is not on our side!

[goddess40]

34. and look who Lieberman is in bed with now!

The right wanted us to run Lieberman so he was "ahead" in the polls and now they want Clinton so she's ahead in the polls as well. They want someone they can live with if their vote theft fails them.

[ShortnFiery]

21. Yes, but this is ONE TIME that the DLC should NOT have their way ...

I wonder, yes, I wonder ---> IF they (the Corporate lovin' DLC) don't mind losing the Presidency?

You HAVE to wonder given the past two elections ... beyond the Diebold and Choice Point Rosters, if the "power players" would have given Al Gore and John Kerry such piss poor, HALF ASSED ROTTEN ADVICE ... advice that we were all COUNTERING here at DU (stand up to the swift boaters, bring Clinton in to help Gore).

If Hillary gets the nomination we might as well pack it in for the Presidency, i.e., the Republican Nominee will win. That's why, IMO, we must FIGHT the damn Corporate DLCers who are pushing her. That is, I will NOT vote for someone who has kissed the fundy right wing a** and that don't make me a traitor to the Democratic Party. That makes me a LIBERAL and a dyed in the blue - Democrat with PEOPLE FIRST (vice DLC Corporate) VALUES.

[dchill]

6. And I will only vote for her...

If she manages to become our candidate. It still seems to me that her "candidacy" is a product that has been developed and sold by the Conservative Punditocracy. They know they can beat her, so they have spent the last year, and then some, talking about how unbeatable she is.

[debbierlus]

10. Excellent point.

Why should we run who they want to race?

[dchill]

24. Pass it around!

[Smarmie Doofus]

14. The media likes Hillary; or the IDEA of Hillary. But....

...I doubt that she'll last long in the primaries for several reasons.

She can't speak effectively.

She's way to the right of the center of the party.

Her personality is... well... let's just say she lacks the charm of her husband.

She's proven to be something of a mediocrity as US Senator.


She'll be facing people of substance and accomplishment like Gore, Kerry and the rest.



Stranger things have happened, but people that take Hillary seriously as a nat'l candidate are either Republicans, RW DEMS ( a tiny portion of the primary electorate)or mainstream DEMS who are not paying attention.

[debbierlus]

2. I want GORE. He is JUST what we need.

I don't hate Hilary, but I don't like her.

And, Gore has been out of the political fray. He has been RIGHT about everything.

He won't have a Iraq war vote on his shoulders. And, I think people WISH he was the President.

PLEASE AL, RUN!

[otohara]

28. I'm With You -

Al is meant to be - now more than ever.

[ladjf]

31. The abject corruption of the current political climate has

catapulted Gore to the top of the prospects list. We need exactly the kind of qualities possessed by Mr. Gore to lead us out of this nightmare.

[mdmc]

4. lets see what 2006 has in store for us

perhaps Gov. Richardson (nm) will be the pick of the political landscape. We really don't know. I would love to see a Clinton v. Gore primary.

[lancdem]

7. You really think Gore could beat McCain???

Polls show him losing to McCain by huge margins, doing much worse than Hillary and even worse than Kerry. I respect Gore a lot but I don't see him having any shot against McCain. I'm afraid he has limited appeal.

[debbierlus]

9. He could beat him, no doubt

All he will have to do is show ad upon ad upon ad of McCain HUGGING Bush...

McCain defending Bush

McCain voting for Bush policies

Most people have not a CLUE about who McCain really is...

And, when they take a look, they will NOT like him.

[tatertop]

11. You got that right... McCain will not stand up under scrutiny

Gore will kick his ass

[debbierlus]

15. McCain has been creating our campaign ads for the past five years

He has a TERRIBLE record. And, his recent kiss azz tactics to the far-right will be his down-fall.

Just watch.

He has RUINED his chances of running as a moderate.

[Pirate Smile]

22. I'd love ads of him telling Americans they can't pick lettuce for $50/hour

"You can't do it, my friends"

[Quixote1818]

16. And McCain with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. McCain the flip flopper

nt

[Quixote1818]

13. I think early polls have to be taken with a grain of salt

When things settle in the polls tighten up considerably and everyone tunes in to the debates and what each candidate stands for. Gore is a great debater and I don't think the country will care if he is stiff this time. They will want someone smart this time and NOT just someone they identify with. The American people learned their lesson with Bush on that.

[katty]

17. that's too bad about polls-McCain is such a moody sellout

[ladjf]

32. McCain will fade and Gore will be uplifted during the campaign.

Americans will be able to tell the difference be "real" and "phony", between "wise" and "dull", between "high character" and "sell out".

[NightOwwl]

12. It seems everyone but a majority of Democrats...

has anointed her as the 2008 presidential candidate. Well, Joe Lieberman thought he was the rightful owner to the throne in 2004 and look what happened to him. I hope a similar fate befalls Hillary.

I will support Gore 100%.

edited to add: Majority of Dems = non-DLCers

[Lancer]

20. I'm behind Al Gore, too

I had sort of put him out of my mind because I didn't think he was interested in running again. But now I think he's been laying the groundwork in a careful, methodical way -- championing all the right causes and judiciously meting out attacks on W on all the right issues.

I have never warmed up to Hillary Clinton -- try as I might, I cannot take her seriously as a presidential candidate. I don't hate her, I don't get vicious on the subject; I just feel she plays both ends against the middle and cannot possibly unite the Party, woo undecideds and moderate Republicans, the support of all of which she would need in order to win. IMO

Gore/Clark in '08 works for me. (Although I personally feel Wes Clark would make an ideal Sec'y. of State.)

[saltpoint]

25. I'm volunteering for a blue November in 06 but on Sen. Clinton,

I think we want to have a look at her winning percentage in the NY Senate Primary against Tasini, and then the winning percentage against the GOP stooge in the general election.

If it's under 60% or so in the general, her national sheen may have dulled too much for her to run for president.

If it's a smashing 65% or more, her stock goes way up overnight.

Let's say she wins the primary and wins with 63.5 % of the vote in the general. The war chest has fattened and she's still riding a media wave as frontrunner.

Sen. Clinton could be MUCH better at connecting with people than I think she is. I am allowing for that, and definitely not counting her out. As well, I fully acknowledge that she is an extraordinarily accomplished woman with more than one earned degrees from gleaming institutions, well-versed in the issues, capable, bright, and politically shrewd. Many New York Democrats are going to vote for her for re-election to the U.S. Senate and from most vantage points, she's truly earned their respect and support.

But unless she's better at connecting with many activist Dems in Iowa than I believe she is, she will finish 7th in the Iowa caucus beind (in no particular order) Gore (if he runs), Kerry (who's almost as well-funded as HClinton), Edwards (possibly the real frontrunner in Iowa), Evan Bayh (too conservative for some but formidalbe and well-funded with strong regional appeal), General Clark (who will combine earned authority with genuine personable charm), and Feingold (whose supporters are just too motivated to be outperformed by HClinton's people, IMO). Warner 8th, Richardson 9th, Biden 10th, Gravel 11th. I may have left somebody out.

If she finishes that far behind in the pack, her New Hampshire finish is not going to improve much.

She's effectively out of the race by the end of March of 08.

[union_maid]

26. Same here

I really, really like Clark and supported him in '04. Still think he'd make a great POTUS, but so would Gore. And I agree, Gore would have the best chance of beating Hillary.

Basically, I've heard two reasons why Hillary is inevitable. The money is one. She's raising a fortune, giving it to candidates and thereby gaining their support and building herself a base of operations. The other, posited by a local Democratic leader is the primary race is going to come down to Hillary and Not-Hillary with the latter cancelling each other out. I think that Al Gore would most easily distinguish himself as more than Not-Hillary.

[El Fuego]

27. I agree

I'd like to see a Gore/Clark ticket!

[DiverDave]

29. The REPUKES are the only ones that want her

jeez, don't people see it?
Murdoch giving her money?, after all the vitriol and mudslinging his newspapers threw at her?

People are so easily mislead.
She will not run if she has a clue.
And if she does, she will lose.

[ladjf]

33. Most of the Dems are on to the fact that Hillary is the dream

choice for the Republican's opponent. They KNOW that they can defeat her. If we can shut the DLC up, we won't nominate her.

[ladjf]

30. Hillary may have a "high profile". But, that profile lacks the

great features of the kind of powerful leader America needs. "High profile" doesn't equal good profile although "high" does have some political advantages.