2004 Elections: Democratic Party Contenders

Timber--
<hushed tones>
You knew their names?

Steely Dan is much better. :wink:

True dat!

Ha ha ha!

Timber likes Abba. Sofia hates 'em. Live and learn ...

(I hated them, too. And everybody my age here knows their names ... <sigh>)

Seems I don't like 'em as much as once I thought I did, nimh ... yeah, live and learn.

Timber
Somebody
Who will be the Veep?

As expected as John Edwards......or a surprise?

(When nimh joked DeVillepin, I realized he and Kerry look like twins.)

Good question, Sophia ... I figure Edwards has gotta be on the short list, but likely not near the top of it. I doubt Clark even makes the folder, let alone the same page as the top picks. New Mexico's Bill Richardson might be a good fit, and some argument can be made for dragging Gephardt along, though I have my doubts Kerry will choose any of his former competitors. Virginia's Mark Warner is a strong possible, Nebraska's Bob Kerry, Iowa's Tom Vilsak, and Kansas' Kathleen Sebelius all seem to be "In the Running". An interesting longshot is Maine Republican Bill Cohen ... that'd be interesting as hell. All in all, though, I think, at least right now, its Richardson or Warner ... with Warner, a Southerner from Virginia, seeming to me to be a highly likely pick.

Yeah, I think it'll be Warner, but, of course, I reserve the right to reassess as developments warrant ... like, if somebody else gets picked :wink:

I always hope nominees will do something fabulous and unexpected with the VP spot.

I'm still waiting for the gender/color/religion barrier to be broken.

I think the GOP will be the first party to do it.

I to hope so, but doubt it will happen, since politics seems to be the art of "playing it safe."


That is pretty funny. That's twice today I have been proven wrong. Conservatives do indeed have a sense of humour!

That's not all that funny, Hbob ... I think the Dem Powers that be are still a little leery after Geraldine Ferraro and what his name ... that other guy from Minnesotta

Brand X, Ya gotta be careful when a presidential candidate promises "anything." 10 million jobs? That I gotta see.

c.i.: did you talk in politics with your Japanese family and friends last week?

Do they have any takes you can share on the United States and the election and Iraq and so on?

He must be really confident in Bush's economy to make that pledge... cuz things will really have to be booming for Kerry to take office and create that many jobs in 4 years.

PD, This trip to Japan was a buddhist pilgrimage with no "free time." The buddhist priest was our guide, although we had a Japanese speaking guide for the whole ten days. My Japanese language skills are almost nil, so I understood very little of what our Japan guide said during our ten days. Her English speaking skills were on par with my Japanese. No communicado, I'm afraid.

Not sure what you mean here.

As Timber points out, there's already been a female VP candidate - Democrat.

As for the religion barrier, the first Catholic presidential candidate - a boldy daring move, back then - was Al Smith, in 1928 - Democrat.

The first Catholic presidential candidate to make it was JFK, of course - Democrat. (Kerry himself is only the third Catholic presidential candidate in US history ...)

As for color - yes, we're still waiting for a person of color to get to run for Vice-President or President for either major party ... that's sad.

Of course, the strongest primary showings to date was by Jesse Jackson - Democrat.

He was preceded by the first Black candidate to ever run for a Presidential nomination, Rev. Phillips in 1968 - a Democrat.

And by the first Black woman to ever run for the presidential nomination in the primaries, Shirley Chisholm (1972) - a Democrat.

Credit where credit is due, though - the Mississippi Republican Blanche Kelso was the first Black man to get votes for vice-president at a nominating convention, in the 1880s. And it would of course be quite the stunner if the Republicans did indeed break the pattern of all the 20th century and be the first to nominate an African- (or Hispanic-)American for President or Vice-President ... Rice in 2008? ;-)

I was very aware of Shirley. She went nowhere. I was talking about the nominees of the parties, and their chosen running mates...
I had blocked on Ferraro. Probably because that ticket sort of sank into oblivion. Anyway, thanks for the remind.
Also, with religion, I meant 'other than Christian'. Am well aware Catholics have been annointed.<smile>

I was hoping for Powell, but if Rice gets through events like tomorrow's testimony well, she may be poised to break a couple of barriers in 2008.

Nimh-- Has Netherlands had a person of color in the top spot yet?

Just wondering why this discussion doesn't include the other 'minorities.'

American Indians - been here for over 11,000 years, get no respect . . . . .

Yeah. That's what I say.

No other minorities that I'm aware of have been nominated, or chosen as a running mate. Of course, obviously if I forgot Geraldine, I could have forgotten someone else. <poor tired head>

I can't think of another minority person in a position to run for President. Can you, CI?

Charles Curtis - Vice-President of the United States
(1929 - 1933)
born Jan. 25, 1860 North Topeka, Kansas
died Feb. 8, 1936 Washington D.C.
First Native Kansan to serve in U.S. Senate
(Has record of being member of most subcommittees at one time)
First to serve as U.S. Republican Senate Majority Leader
(By The Way - Bob Dole was the second one)
First Republican Floor Leader for Senate
First Native American as Vice-President.