2004 Elections: Democratic Party Contenders

Good idea ... why not do just that, and place cross-reference links connecting this and the new thread? The same could be done for any of the contestants. I don't see anything wrong with discussing any of them in detail on this thread either, but it could get to be a pretty lengthy thread.
Just a thought ...



timber

I'd like to see a thread dedicated to Dean. His plainspokenness intrigues me, and what I've heard so far seems reasonable (and very opposed to everything Bushy).

Gv. Dean Questions Wisdom of Accepting ESEA Money

You had one too many "http://"s in there, MapleLeaf


http://www.edweek.org/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=33vermont.h21



timber

A surprise hat is tossed into the ring:

Former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.), ending months of speculation, is announcing today that she will not run for the Senate and is expected to soon join the crowded Democratic presidential field.

Moseley-Braun, 55, the only African-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, told Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday night that she will not seek a rematch next year with Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald.

A source said Moseley-Braun asked McAuliffe to hold a slot for her among the 2004 presidential contenders at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting next month in Washington.

Ex-Senator Won't Run...for Senate...

Now to me, Mosely-Braun is REALLY a hold-your-noser.

Credibility - 0
Name recognition - 0
Experience and ability - 0
Grasp of issues -0
Opportunism and self-aggrandizement - 100%

She's have a hard time getting in as city comptroller, much less POTUS.

I started a thread re Howard Dean:

RESEARCHING HOWARD DEAN, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=74477#74477

In an unofficial kickoff to the 2004 campaign, three Democratic White House hopefuls appeared before party activists in Iowa Saturday to hammer President Bush's foreign and economic policies and offer their vision for the future:

CNN

Mosely-Braun, a Chicago Democrat, and a gender and ethnic standard-bearer of sorts, lost her essentially Chicago-Based Senatorial seat to a Republican, and was given little confidence of regaining that seat. That in itself speaks ill of her prospects.

" ... Even though Moseley-Braun had a good chance to win the primary, Democratic leaders were doubtful about her prospects against Fitzgerald. Moseley-Braun lost in 1998 partly because of controversies about her 1992 campaign finances and a 1996 visit to Nigeria ... "

There's some barrell-scraping going on in The Democratic Kitchen, I think, and the scraper's handle is pretty long.



timber

Dean is on C-Span right now. Man, he's pretty impressive. Seems to have a clear vision about what he can do better.

"Governor Ryan's action was shockingly wrong," Joe Lieberman said in an interview on Friday. "It did terrible damage to the credibility of our system of justice, and particularly for the victims."

Me, I'd think the thirteen wrongly convicted death row inmates might have done more damage to the credibility of the system. Not to mention the Chicago police officers who tortured suspects until they confessed.

But Joe Lieberman thinks it is the acknowledgement of the system's flaws which damages the credibility of the system.

Pathetic.

I really hope this guy isn't the Democratic nominee in '04.

NYT Week in Review

I know Hill has stated she won't run.

Yet, she tops the polls in recognition and Dem choice.

Anyone think she may do the smart thing (as presidential elections go), stay still during all the hard sloshing of the campaign, and then, late in the show, come out and announce?

I've got this feeling...

I think the political pundits are predicting that she'll wait till 2008. c.i.

I caught Lieberman being interviewed by Tim Russert last night and he seems to be all over the place. Russert brought up his "change of heart" on several issues when he ran for VP and Lieberman claimed he never waivered on any of his previous positions. Russert basically went through each and everyone of them and brought up his previous quotes and those he gave during the campaign as well as hit him on Afirmative Action (he had previously been opposed to AA programs but now is critical of the Bush stance on the U of Mich. case..).

I think the others in the race will hang Lieberman based on his flip-flops during the primary races and he'll be gone. I can't find any issue where he still maintains the same position he held 5 years ago.

fish, at this moment, who do you feel are the top three candidates to the Democratic Party? To the public?

My take is that Kerry is The One to Beat ... and as long as the rest are sparring with one another, he may comfortably look dignified and uninvolved ... which will do him much good. At this point, I see Kerry, a whole bunch of more-or-less indistinguishable wannabes, and bringing up the rear a couple of embarrasments who are in the game purely for personal aggrandizement.



timber

fishin, It's interesting that most have forgotten about Lieberman's flip-flops, but I didn't. I do not trust him because of that. He'll do anything to win. He has no ethics. c.i.

When speaking of Leiberman c.i. said:

This is not meant to defend Leiberman, who would not be my choice however, do you know a politician who has. How about the present occupant of the oval office. I doubt that he even knows what it means.
,

I'm purposely limiting my comments to those that have announced their intention to run so from that list I'd say Kerry, Dean and Edwards from within the party bigwigs. The general public would probably list Edwards second and Dean 3rd but IMO, that's more of a name recognition thing right now.

I'd have to put Kerry out there as the front runner for now. If a really big name steps in that could wash away in minutes...

Watching news this morn:
Leiberman has a commanding lead 29% of Dems polled.
Kerry was third with 19%

Funny, can't remember who was second.

Sharpton had 5%.

50% of Dem voters polled had never heard of John Edwards.

92% of voting Dems recognised Leiberman's name.