But what do you make of the huge swing as soon as a name is filled in? It would appear the Democrats need only supply a candidate that America likes and they win in a landslide. But have they?
Obama: is an inexperienced (
), Black (
) man with a funny name (
). Major plus's in charisma, speaking ability and likeability, but not a ton to sink you teeth into in any traditional way.
Hillary: Through no fault of her own, she is, after all a she. She's also a personality that many, many Democrats react to as someone they'd NEVER vote for. Add to this; she has plenty of skeletons in her closet, both real and fictitious, that will no doubt be exploited to her detriment.
Edwards: Ambulance chasing scumbag that talks like a used car salesman, who in my opinion continues to belittle his base. Case in point. He admitted he made a 'mistake' in backing the Iraq War. This in itself is the right move for a Democrat. BUT; rather than showing the courtroom savvy I would expect from him; letting his constituent point out "at least he has the metal to admit his errors"... he regularly reminds everyone of the fact as if his admission makes the combination (mistake/admission) a feather in his cap. Now it may be, or may have been if he was clever enough to not go so far out of his way to blow his own horn about it. As it is; he just ends up looking like the opportunistic scumbag that he is.
Biden: Here is a man that actually sounds Presidential. He has a long history of personifying the Democrats philosophy, while simultaneously making it clear that he is a leader who has more than enough confidence in his own judgment. On the other hand; his love of the cameras has too often caused him to make a complete ass of himself (remember the hearings?). Even so; I doubt a significant percentage of Americans have paid enough attention that he couldn't overcome that by behaving better in the future. His biggest problem is; dude doesn't have any money. He also has a Mondale-like smart-ass persona that probably doesn't appeal much to the Dem base.
Richardson: This guy is a friggin moron. Again in the debate; he couldn't carry a thought long enough to not step on his own d!ck. I'd say he is the classic example of a man who's been promoted to position beyond his competence.
Kucinich: An anomaly who generally shows a fine mind, strong conviction and tremendous Democrat-favored ideals... but he's stuck with a charisma rating of about -10. He lacks the truly important (
) height, strong chin and good looks to be a contender... and is therefore irreversibly broke when it comes to campaign funding.
Now granted; this is a much better field than 4 years ago when the Dem's hoisted a Weathervane, a scumbag ambulance chaser, and a so-called lunatic as contenders. (Personally; I think if the Dems had circled the wagons around Dean and embraced, rather than scoffed at, his energy; he would probably have replaced George Bush). Instead they chose the least likeable of their field. I can only assume that virtually any Democrat but Kerry could have defeated the already highly unpopular Bush.
What does it tell you that the, arguably, most popular Democrat alive (Bill Clinton) is a philandering, traitor-pardoning, liar, who was impeached for lying to a Grand Jury? (I mean, the fairest, most lenient assessments of his Presidency is 8 years of not making things worse.) It tells me that the Democrats aren't exactly stellar at choosing representatives for their cause.
Now imagine the commanding lead Obama would have today if he were a well known, experienced white man.
I'm actually glad no equally endowed white man is running against him, because I think his current popularity is already an enormous step for race-equality. I strongly suspect America's polling is reflecting more race-openness than reality, because of the lesser quality of his competition. But so be it. The idea that a black kid can turn on the news and see a black man leading charge for the Presidency of the United States is a truly wonderful thing.
I've drifted pretty far, but to sum up my original point; Democrats have a lousy history of backing the right Democrat to deliver their message. It just doesn't make sense that they can't field a candidate, or won't throw their collective weight behind the right candidate to narrow the gap between the "unnamed" Democrat and any actual candidate.
