Would you support Al Franken as a Presidential candidate in 2016?

[ZombieHorde]

eta: my final poll option ran too long.

[Better Believe It]

1. What if Sanders or Feingold run in 2012 for the nomination?

They've been around a lot longer than Al Franken and would have more credibility.

[ZombieHorde]

3. Al Franken may have a lot more credibility 6 years from now than he has today.

He has been successful so far and may gain a strong following.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. Meh, I don't think he could deliver speeches as well most other candidates.

I know I wouldn't want to sit twough four years of those speeches.

[ZombieHorde]

4. I would not want to follow Pres. Obama in the speech giving category. nt

[Ken Burch]

5. I'd strongly consider it.

But I'm open to others. My dream candidate would probably be Barbara Lee.

[demosincebirth]

6. I like Al, but he would never win in a two horse race for POTUS

[ZombieHorde]

9. By "two horse," do you mean Dem vs Dem or Dem vs Rep? nt

[demosincebirth]

12. Dem vs Rep

[ZombieHorde]

14. Ok, I did not know if you were refing to the primaries or the election.

Why don't you think he could beat a Republican?

[demosincebirth]

27. Because, it would be similar to the '72 election...

Until I know more of Al's position on issues thats what I think would happen

[DavidDvorkin]

7. Only if he promised to give a funny inaugural address.

[Sebastian Doyle]

8. There won't be another senator elected in 2016

Or probably in the forseeable future after that.

[ZombieHorde]

10. Why not? nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

15. It's only happened three times in history

Warren Harding in 1920

JFK in 1960

Barack Obama in 2008.

And the 2008 contest was semi-rigged, because the media picked who they wanted in the race, and it came down to a Repuke senator vs an extended primary between two Democratic senators, so it was going to be a senator no matter what by the time the campaign "officially" started in January 2008.

Most presidents have been either sitting VP's or governors. JFK narrowly beat Nixon, the sitting VP, and Harding beat Governor James Cox. Ironically enough, the veep nominee on the Cox ticket was a guy named Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Also odd that both candidates in that race were from Ohio. And Ken Blackwell wasn't even born yet.

[ZombieHorde]

16. Why do you think senators have such a difficult time becoming President? nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

17. Governors and VP's have executive experience

voters usually see that as a better qualification for the "biggest executive job in the country" than the legislative experience of a Senator. Unless the governor on the ticket is a complete imbecile like Sarah Palin.

[XOKCowboy]

22. Plus Senators have actual voting records

that the opposition can bring up against them. If you're a governor you just have to watch who you grant a pardon or clemency to.

[Ter]

11. Nope

He would get his ass handed to him in 2016 in the general election.

[Fire1]

13. No. n/t

[Aramchek]

18. no chance in hell

[ZombieHorde]

19. OK, but how about on Earth?

I guess I should have stated which dimension and planet I was referring to in my OP.

[gmoney]

30. The history of drug use would probably sink him.

Admitted and documented and such.

[PBS Poll-435]

20. I would. I really would.

Nothing else to say.

[NYC Liberal]

21. I'd like to see what he does over the next 8 years

But sure, I'd definitely take a look at him if he ran in 2016.

[XOKCowboy]

23. I've got a lot of faith in Al. He's not just a "former comedian"...

like he's portrayed. Listening to his AAR show I was impressed with his knowledge of the law. I think we'll see some great things from Al during his term.

Plus the fact he's always going to be a thorn in the RW's hide gives me great pleasure.

[krispos42]

24. Only to watch Bill O'Reilly say "President Franken"

:rofl:

[LastNaturalist]

25. 2016?

Little early, no? Mark Warner, Jim Webb, Brian Schweitzer, Amy Klobuchar - my preferences.

[ZombieHorde]

29. I like Schweitzer as well. His first hand knowledge of the ME and his fluent Arabic

could be very useful for today's world.

[karynnj]

26. He has no track record yet

and he was one of the people who signed a letter asking that coal plans get all their current carbon output waived. Now, this is just one issue, but an important one.

Only time will tell if by 2016 he would have the gravitas to be considered seriously. This is true for ANY possible candidate.

[Hansel]

28. He would carry MN. Something Pawlenty has no chance of doing.

Pawlenty is getting ready to do massive layoffs (spending cuts = layoffs at this point) in MN so that he can keep his perfect record of "no new taxes" so he can run for president. He's going to drive the state into the ground so he can have his 15 minutes of fame and the Dems are making a very loud statement pointing that out. If you think Bush was a dictator, try Pawlenty. It cracks me up with I hear Rachel Maddow refer to him as a moderate. He is about as moderate as Sarah Palin. But instead of a bridge to nowhere, he has no bridge.

No new taxes = increased property taxes, sales taxes and fees on everything. But his rich buddies don't have to pay more in income tax so "no new taxes".

[gmoney]

31. Listen to (or read) his book "Why Not Me?" for a preview of his campaign

It's the book he wrote about his fictional run for the 2000 Presidential Election. I'm sure the book is good, but the audiobook is produced and performed like a radio play and is just hilarious.

[Bryan]

32. No, I don't think I'll be supporting him for '16

Not to take anything away from Sen. Franken, but I recommend tabling this discussion at least until he can demonstrate an ability to win reelection by a margin in excess of three figures...